The Bible Notebook

Alpha & Omega – 09/24/08

Passage: 2 Chronicles 20:1-30

Commentary:

• Verses 1-2
  • This passage starts out pretty grim – it’s a three-on-one. Three enemies against the one Judah; the odds seem stacked way up against the nation of Judah.
• Verse 3
  • The immediate response of Jehoshaphat (“alarmed”) is to be expected in such a grave situation. However, his next response is not typical of many in similar situations. Rather than go to his advisors, or figure a plan out with his own intellect, he goes to “inquire of the Lord”. This is the appropriate response for all of us when we are alarmed or upset over a matter. Going to ourselves or others first leads to trouble, but going first to God leads to the right destination and the way to get there.
  • Notice Jehoshaphat’s corporate mindset here as well (“he proclaimed a fast for all Judah”). These advancing armies would affect all the people of Judah, for they all could die in war, and so they all had a responsibility to “inquire of the Lord” in ways that were appropriate.
• Verse 4
  • This is a great picture of what the body of Christ should look like – believers coming from “every town” to “seek help from the Lord” in community. There should be unity in the body of Christ, as there was here in Judah.
• Verses 6-7
  • Jehoshaphat begins his speech by appealing to God as sovereign over all things. He recognizes that “no one can withstand [God]“; the Lord has ultimate authority over all nations & peoples.
• Verse 9
  • The faith of the people of the Lord here is quite amazing. Even if they were to die from the “sword of judgment” or from “plague or famine”, they would have unmoved faith that God would hear & save them. They are willing to stand in His presence no matter the cost to them, even their own lives. Should we not likewise stand?
• Verses 10-12
  • Jehoshaphat states the obvious – there are a ton of men coming to drive the people of Judah from their inheritance given by God. He also admits his lack of knowing what to do. So having no real worldly battle plan, all Jehoshaphat can say is that his eyes are upon God. He readily admits that he is powerless to face this approaching, vast army, and he knows that there is no way of deliverance except through the power of the Lord. Likewise, for our own lives, there is no other sustaining power than that of Jesus Christ and His presence in our daily lives. When all other strategies fail, there is one that remains – trusting God; this should be our first & foremost strategy, as it is the only one guaranteed to have success. Not always success in the ways we like it, but success nonetheless, and this is success defined by an all-good, infinite God who loves His people.
  • Just as Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah declared “our eyes are upon you” before the Lord, so should we declare before God today that we will fix our eyes on Jesus, who is the ”author and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2).
• Verses 14-17
  • Even though the people of Judah had much to be afraid of from a humanly perspective, God’s message to them was to not be afraid and that this battle wasn’t even theirs to fight. God would fight their battle; and fight He did – very mightily in fact (v. 22-23).
  • Though the battle was not that of the people of Judah (they would not even have to fight), they still were commanded to march towards the enemy. In other words, they weren’t told to take a seat and watch God “magically do His thing”. No, they were given a mission to do – “tomorrow march down against them” and “take up your positions; stand firm”. It is as they were fulfilling their God-appointed mission that they would “see the deliverance the Lord will give”, not as they sat around doing nothing. Likewise, we are not called to lives of laziness and no work. Rather, we are each sent with a divine purpose to accomplish what He wills, not in our own strength (for the battle is not ours), but by His strength, for He will be the deliverer and we will see it!
  • Though we are not engaged in a physical war with the enemies of God’s people, we are engaged in a spiritual war (Ephesians 6:12). And just as the people of Judah were told to go out and march, so we are told to march. We are called to “be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power”, and to “put on the full armor of God” so that we can stand (Ephesians 6:10-20). Just as the people were told to “stand firm” so are we commanded. And wearing the armor of God we can do just that. For the origin of this armor is not of ourselves, but of God, the provider of all our needs (1 Timothy 6:17, Matthew 6:33).
• Verse 20
  • We too will be upheld if we have faith in the Lord our God; we will be successful because of Him.
• Verse 21
  • May each of our lives be an echo of this great song sung here. Indeed let us “Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.”
• Verses 22-23
  • We see the end result of this conflict – that God mightily and easily defeated the enemies of Judah. But what if we don’t see the end of our conflicts? Does this mean we can’t trust God in the same way these people of Judah did? By no means! We may not be able to see how things are gonna turn out, but neither did the people of Judah in this passage – they didn’t know for sure God would deliver prior to Him doing so. But what they did know was that God was able, and they had faith He would. And God is still able to deliver mightily in our own lives (Ephesians 3:20). An important concept to learn is that God does not always deliver us from trials, but He does always deliver us through trials. Though we may have to endure hard things, the God who is allowing our trials according to His sovereign will is always with us and aids us. May we make Him our joy above all else, for truly only He can satisfy every longing of our heart, even in the midst of the most grotesque or grueling of circumstances.
• Verse 27
  • The response to God delivering should always be the same - His people praise Him and are joyous. Notice that the source of their joy is God – “the Lord had given them” joy. They were not joyful in of themselves; they were joyful in the Lord because He had done such a marvelous thing. May we look to the Lord for our sustaining joy over the ails of this life. We are commanded to “delight [ourselves] in the Lord” (Psalm 37:4). Let us do so right now; even this very moment, no matter what is troubling or might trouble us. Delight in the Lord!!!