|
|
|
|
|
|
| .1
¶ It came to pass after this also, that the children of Moab, and
the children of Ammon, and with them other beside the Ammonites, came against
Jehoshaphat to battle.
.2 Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side Syria; and, behold, they be in Hazazontamar, which is Engedi. |
See
the comments in connection Revelation - Link above.
1 - Other beside the Ammonites Literally, "from the Ammonites." The Septuagint reads Mehunim, mentioned in 2ch2627. Verse 10 also helps. More importantly, there are three enemies of the people of God just as there are three parterres in the end-time coalition: dragon, beast, and false prophet. 2 - Sea Here, the Dead Sea. 2 - Engedi "Fountain of the kid, 1Sa 24:1,3; called also Hazezon-Tamar, that is, the city of palm-trees, there being great numbers of palm-trees around it, Ge 14:7. . . It stood near the middle of the western shore of the Dead sea, twenty-five or thirty miles south-east of Jerusalem, in the edge of the loftiest part of the wilderness of Judea, a region full of rocks and caverns." (ATS Dict.) East of Dead Sea. See map. |
| .3
And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed
a fast throughout all Judah.
4 And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the LORD: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD. |
3 - Feared Not wrong. As he reached out for the Lord, we should do the same even when we are not in trouble. |
| .5
And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the
house of the LORD, before the new court,
.6 And said, O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee? 7 Art not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever? 8 And they dwelt therein, and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name, saying, 9 If, when evil cometh upon us, as the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and in thy presence, (for thy name is in this house,) and cry unto thee in our affliction, then thou wilt hear and help. |
"With confidence Jehoshaphat could
say to the Lord, 'Our eyes are upon Thee.' For years he had taught the
people to trust in the One who in past ages had so often interposed to
save His chosen ones from utter destruction; and now, when the kingdom
was in peril, Jehoshaphat did not stand alone; 'all Judah stood before
the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.' Unitedly
they fasted and prayed; unitedly they besought the Lord to put their enemies
to confusion, that the name of Jehovah might be glorified. . . .
God was the strength of Judah in this crisis, and He is the strength of His people today. We are not to trust in princes, or to set men in the place of God. We are to remember that human beings are fallible and erring, and that He who has all power is our strong tower of defense. In every emergency we are to feel that the battle is His. His resources are limitless, and apparent impossibilities will make the victory all the greater." (Conflict and Courage p. 217.) |
| .10
And now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and mount Seir, whom thou
wouldest not let Israel invade, when they came out of the land of Egypt,
but they turned from them, and destroyed them not;
11 Behold, I say, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit. 12 O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee. 13 And all Judah stood before the LORD, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. |
10
- Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir In the final conflict are three
enemies of God: the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet re1613.
10 - Mount Seir Apparently the Mehunim v1. |
| .14
¶ Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the
son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, came
the Spirit of the LORD in the midst of the congregation;
15 And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s. 16 To morrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel. .17 Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you. 18 And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the LORD, worshipping the LORD. 19 And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites, and of the children of the Korhites, stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with a loud voice on high. |
14-18
- Upon Gahaziel "This prophet is not elsewhere mentioned, but his
claim to the inspiration of a prophetic spirit was verified by the calm
and distinct announcement he gave, both of the manner and the completeness
of the deliverance he predicted." (JFB).
16 - Cliff of Ziz "The pass near Engedi, by which the Moabites and Ammonites ascended from the shore of the Dead Sea, having followed the southern and western coast to this point, [v16]. The same route is still traversed by the Arabs." (ATS Dict.). "Engedi" Or Fountain of the kid, 1Sa 24:1,3; called also Hazezon-Tamar, that is, the city of palm-trees, there being great numbers of palm-trees around it, Ge 14:7; 2Ch 20:1,2. It stood near the middle of the western shore of the Dead sea, twenty-five or thirty miles south-east of Jerusalem, in the edge of the loftiest part of the wilderness of Judea, a region full of rocks and caverns, 1Sa 23:29; Eze 47:10. |
| .20 ¶ And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper. | Tekoa
About 10 mi./16 km south of Jerusalem. See map.
Believe in ... believe Something for us to remember. Of course we need to test prophets by the Scriptures and by their works mt0720. "Believe in" means trusting God. We "believe" prophets as they speak in harmony with other truth is0820. We cannot just assume that the prophetic voice has been silenced am0307, jl0228. |
| .21
And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the
LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before
the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever.
.22 And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten. 23 For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another. |
21
- Before the army That is, in advance of the army, normally the
most dangerous place.
22 - Sing Not a typical war. 22 - The Lord set ambushments The soldiers may have been angels. 23 - To destroy another Compare ez3821, zc1413 . |
| .24
And when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked
unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth,
and none escaped.
25 And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in gathering of the spoil, it was so much. |
24 - Watchtower Towers were places of relative safety. People could pull up the ladder and could drop stones on enemies. |
| .26
And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Berachah;
for there they blessed the LORD: therefore the name of the same place was
called, The valley of Berachah, unto this day.
27 Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat in the forefront of them, to go again to Jerusalem with joy; for the LORD had made them to rejoice over their enemies. 28 And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets unto the house of the LORD. 29 And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries, when they had heard that the LORD fought against the enemies of Israel. 30 So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet: for his God gave him rest round about. |
26
- Assembled, valley of Berachah Or "Valley of blessing." The location
has been identified as Wadi el'Arrub, south of Tekoa which is directly
south of Jerusalem. See map.
29 - Fear of God ... all the kingdoms Maybe when Philistines brought "presents and tribute silver" and Arabians brought gifts. See 2ch1710,11. Compare "fear of the Jews" es0817, es0902. |
| .31
¶ And Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah: he was thirty and five years
old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty and five years in Jerusalem.
And his mother’s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi.
32 And he walked in the way of Asa his father, and departed not from it, doing that which was right in the sight of the LORD. 33 Howbeit the high places were not taken away: for as yet the people had not prepared their hearts unto the God of their fathers. 34 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Jehu the son of Hanani, who is mentioned in the book of the kings of Israel. .35 And after this did Jehoshaphat king of Judah join himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, who did very wickedly: .36 And he joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish: and they made the ships in Eziongeber. |
We may learn some lessons from this
contrast between following God and leaving Him.
 God
doesn't reject those He knows will turn away from Him.
A
saving relationship with God does not mean the person cannot choose to
leave Him.
Good
deeds do not merit us a place in heaven.
We
must never trust our spiritual life to in a leader no matter how popular
or successful. Christ is our guide. Of course religious leaders may help
us as they point us to Him.
32 - Right in the sight of the Lord A rare case. 34 - Rest ... written Jehu's book has not been preserved. Also 1ki2245. He also had a strong army and did building. 36 - Ships ... Tarsish See 1ki2248. Tarshish was likely Spain 1ki1022. Ophir was probably Punt ge1029, 1ki0928. 36 - Eziongeber This was considerably south of Judah, probably in the occupied territory of Edom. |
|
|
|
|
|
|