Battle is God's II Chronicles 20

Jehoshaphat

II Chronicles 20:15 "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" Refer Ephesians 1:19, 6:10-18 Philippians 2:13

There were some people that Israel encountered while on the way to Canaan that God told them not to fight. They ended up going around them. Now these people are coming against Judah and the people are afraid.

Jehoshaphat comes before the LORD as do the people.

v3 "And Jehoshaphat feared and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah."

They stood at the house of the LORD before the new court. v5 The prayer he prayed was a very pleading prayer. He recalls the journey to Canaan, the inhabitants they did not fight, and the sanctuary they built for the name of the LORD.

v13 "And all Judah stood before the LORD, with their little ones, their wives, and their children."

Then comes our text verse where the LORD answered them. He told them three things: 1) Be not afraid 2) nor dismayed 3) this battle is God's. v15

Then in verse 16 tells them where the enemy is. Verse 17 tells them what to do:

v17 "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; tomorrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you."

It sounds like a parent talking to a frightened child. Just go over there and stand, everything will be alright. I'll take care of things.

Everything was alright. The enemy was destroyed and Judah reaped the spoils where the enemy had carried treasures into battle.

v20 "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."

It took three days for Judah to haul away all the spoils. They came to Jerusalem playing music and praising God. The balance of the chapter tells of Jehoshaphat later years. He did well except when he joined himself to Ahaziah to build ships. It was his old sin Chapter 19 verse 2) , like when he joined with Ahab. The ships did not float though and so that project was a failure.

Jehoshaphat reigned a good long time (25 years starting when he was 35 years old) and slept with his fathers.

Psalm 147:1 "Praise ye the LORD; for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely."

Jehoshaphat goes to battle but God does the fighting.

Note: I am by no means an authority on the scripture. As I study, I learn more and more. So if you look back on previous studies, there may be times where my comments are different from later commetns. I am learning as I go. I hope you are picking up some new insight as well.