Basic HTML Version
94
Royalty and Ruin
As the people joined with their king in humbling themselves
before God, the Spirit of the Lord came on Jahaziel, a Levite, and
he said, “Thus says the Lord to you: ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed
because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.
... You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand
still, and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and
Jerusalem! Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against
them, for the Lord is with you.’”
2 Chronicles 20:15-17
.
A Battle Won by a Choir Singing
Early in the morning as they advanced into the wilderness of
Tekoa to battle, Jehoshaphat said, “‘Believe in the Lord your God,
and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall
prosper.’ And ... he appointed those who should sing to the Lord,
and who should praise the beauty of holiness.”
Verses 20, 21
. These
singers went before the army, lifting their voices in praise to God
for the promise of victory.
It was a most unusual way of going to battle—singing and exalt-
ing the God of Israel! This was their battle song. They possessed
the beauty of holiness. Wouldn’t more praising of God strengthen
the hands of the valiant soldiers who are standing in defense of truth
today?
“The Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab,
and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were de-
feated. For the people of Ammon and Moab stood up against the
inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy them. And
when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to
destroy one another.”
Verses 22, 23
.
God was Judah’s strength in this crisis, and He is the strength of
His people today. We are not to trust in princes or to set anyone in
the place of God. In every emergency we are to feel that the battle
is God’s. His resources are limitless. Apparent impossibilities will
make the victory all the greater.
Loaded down with plunder, the armies of Judah returned “with
[72]
joy, for the Lord had made them rejoice over their enemies. So
they came to Jerusalem, with stringed instruments and harps and
trumpets, to the house of the Lord.”
Verses 27, 28
. They had put