Walking With Christ

2 Chronicles 20:18-19 (18)Then Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. (19)And the Levites, of the Kohathites and the Korahites, stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.(ESV)

Continuing from Friday.

The tribe of Judah had just been told that the battle they had been in fear of had already been won and all they had to do was show up. What’s the proper response when you go from true, literal, mortal fear to miraculous salvation? You praise the one who brought about that salvation.

2 Chronicles 20:20-23 (20)And they rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. And when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be established; believe his prophets, and you will succeed.” (21)And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise him in holy attire, as they went before the army, and say, “Give thanks to the Lord, for his steadfast love endures forever.” (22)And when they began to sing and praise, the Lord set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed. (23)For the men of Ammon and Moab rose against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, devoting them to destruction, and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they all helped to destroy one another.(ESV)

Jehoshaphat knew that the people had slept since they got the news that the fight had already been won. He knew that there had been plenty of time for doubts and fears to creep back in. He wisely took the opportunity to remind them and then he appointed a group of people to sing praises ahead of the victory. The moment the singers began singing the enemy began to turn against each other. They destroyed each other to the last man. The ambush of God had been so complete that there were no survivors.

To drive the point home, when the army of Judah did reach the end of the valley where the enemy had been, all that was left to do was to loot the enemy camp. It took them three days to pick up the spoils they were given because they remembered to celebrate a victory they had nothing to do with in a battle that was never theirs.