Good weekend to you my ‘Walking with Jesus’ friends,
We have probably all experienced feeling outnumbered, and maybe some of those times you felt in danger?! Perhaps at a major sporting event where your seat was surrounded by fans of the opposing team and depending on how energetic the fans, you may have actually felt threatened. Or perhaps you found yourself in a political discussion with a group of people and it didn’t take long to discover no one else held the same political views as you and you might have felt in danger. Or maybe it was a spiritual situation and you felt no one else around you held the same view and respect for God as you did and you felt intimidated. Finally, there may be some military veterans reading this who have had the experience of being significantly outnumbered by the enemy and they were closing in on you!
Join me again back in ancient Israel around 850bc. For a few years things have been peaceful and prosperous for King Jehoshaphat and the people of Jerusalem and the southern kingdom Judah. Unfortunately human history shows us that peace & prosperity draw the attention of those who have ulterior motives and suddenly frightening news came to Jerusalem and the ears of King Jehoshaphat. “A vast army is coming against you from Edmon, from the other side of the Dead Sea. It is already in En Gedi.” (2 Chron. 20:2)
After some scouting evidently King Jehoshaphat learned this was a coordinated military maneuver uniting warriors from Moab, Ammon and even some Meunites. While all three of these neighboring peoples were antagonistic toward the Israelites, it was very, very rare for them to join forces in coming against God’s people Israel.
Once again it’s amazing to me how similar this situation, 2800 years ago, is to what is happening in and around Israel today… so let’s take a close look at the Biblical record!
The region of Moab is the mountainous region exactly east of the Dead Sea. Today it’s a portion of the modern nation of Jordan. You may recall it was into Moab that Naomi and her husband Elimelek, with their two sons, fled to escape a famine in Bethlehem. (Ruth 1:1-5) Naomi’s sons married Moabite women during their years in Moab, but all three men died during those years. We don’t know their cause of death but we do know Moab was not a safe place for Israelites to go, so it’s possible they did not die peaceful deaths.
When word came the famine was over in Bethlehem, Naomi set out from Moab to return home and Ruth, her daughter-in-law, accompanied Naomi. You may recall Ruth’s famous statement: “Where you go I will go and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die, I will die and there I will be buried.” (Ruth 2:16,17)
The Moabites were vicious warriors and to their north, also on the east side of the Jordan river were the Ammonites, equally vicious and both groups viewed the villages south and east of Jerusalem as easy prey when they found themselves in the mood for attack and conquer of these defenseless villages. But on this occasion they were evidently joined by a third force, the Meunites, also a desert warrior people, and together they formed a vast and dreadful army marching into southern Judean territory toward Jerusalem.
If you’ve visited Israel you know that is rugged, hot, wilderness territory down in the Dead Sea region. You may recall Herod the Great built a magnificent mountaintop fortress in that region known as Masada! Perhaps you’ve even visited that remarkable place of historical significance for both modern and first century Israel.
While we don’t have any military statistics on the size of this force nor the armaments they carried, we can assume King Jehoshaphat and the people of Jerusalem were terrified, for their small army would be miniscule compared to three armies joining against them. The next entry in the record is significant: “Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the LORD and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. The people of Judah came together to seek help from the LORD God of Israel; indeed they came from every town in Judah to seek God.” (2 Chronicles 20:3,4) Once again friends, I call us, and even any who read this in Israel, to consider the Biblical pattern for God’s people.
God invites His people to seek HIM for comfort and guidance when they find themselves terrorized! As long as we humans are self confident or relying on some other humans to help us in our time of need, God stands by watching and waiting. If you are a parent or grandparent you understand, for there are few things more frustrating than parents watching their children frightened or struggling in a situation and refusing to ask their parents for help! Sadly we see it all around today on national and global levels don’t we? Leaders refuse to seek God’s help, relying instead on their own plans or seeking armament and help from other nations rather than from God.
The history of both the northern kingdom Israel and the southern kingdom Judah have plenty of Biblical accounts when the people refused to seek God’s help and disaster overtook them, but in this case King Jehoshaphat showed great wisdom. He modeled well for every man in Judah, every husband, every father in the land, how to wisely turn to God when terrorized, and lead his family in doing the same!
Notice please Jehoshaphat did NOT take it upon himself to find the solution to this problem all by himself, nor did he form a war cabinet to find the best ideas from courageous leaders in the land. Jehoshaphat did what God had urged His people to do in such times. Jehoshaphat led the people to seek God’s help and God’s guidance!
Do you notice the record tells us the people enthusiastically responded to their King by coming TO Jerusalem anticipating they would be gathering at the great Temple for seeking God’s help! It appears to me when word went out that the King was calling the people to seek God’s help with prayer and fasting, they knew there was only one place they could gather for such an important assembly… The great Temple King Solomon had built and dedicated more than 100 years before in Jerusalem! (2 Chronicles 6)
Oh what a great sight that must have been, my friends… from the south they came, from way down in Beersheba through Hebron and finally through Bethlehem what a great throng came into Jerusalem! And from the west, from Aijalon and Kiriath Jearim and Beth-Shemesh they came to Jerusalem; and from the north, from Shiloh and Ramah and Bethel and Mizpah and Gibeon they came to Jerusalem. And finally from the east, from Gilgal and Jericho the Israelites came to Jerusalem.
It must have seemed like the annual Passover journey, only this time the people were not celebrating, they were anxious, frightened, praying as they came, desperate to hear what their King would tell them as they feared annihilation from this great approaching army.
Let’s walk with them this weekend, for some of these people walked many days to get to Jerusalem, and on Monday we’ll see what happened when they arrived at the Temple to meet with God. While we walk with them, may I ask, are you walking with fear or anxiety today about some heavy burden you carrying? Why not bring it to God, perhaps even with fasting and prayer as they did, and watch what God will do.
Here’s a song to help us walk with God and seek His help…
Today’s Scripture: 2 Chronicles 20:1-4.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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