II Chronicles 20
(Continued
from Last Post…)
Remember
that Judah had been invaded by Moab. The heathen. The enemy. God explicitly
laid down instructions for Jehoshaphat. He followed them precisely.
Oh,
that we would be attuned to the Spirit of God, that we would read and learn
daily from His instructions (the written Word), and that we would consciously
follow His instructions. “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman
that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (II Timothy
2:15).
Now,
watch as the scene unfolds, remembering that as all Judah stands before the
Lord—Jehovah answers through a Levite named Jahaziel when the Spirit of the
Lord came “in the midst of the congregation” (II Chronicles 20:14).
When
we were last together, we talked about specific instructions. Instructions for
battling the enemy. The list, you will remember, was interesting and very
important. The people had to participate accordingly. Their responsibility was
to be obedient—God’s pleasure was to deliver them. We cannot be a passive
people and expect God to heap his blessings of deliverance upon us. In fact,
the people were not to do the fighting. But they did have to do something.
Jehoshaphat appointed “singers unto the Lord, that should praise the beauty of
holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the Lord, for
his mercy endureth forever” (verse 21).
Now,
it was time for “Shock and Awe!” God so positioned the various enemies, set
ambuhments against them, and while Judah sang, the enemy slayed and destroyed
each other.
Awesome!
Only
in the mind of God does He so passionately and deliberately deliver His own.
“And
when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked unto the
multitude and behold—” To paraphrase what happened next—the enemy had destroyed
themselves.
Read
on, my friend! Judah took the spoil, and led by Jehoshaphat, they returned
triumphantly to Jerusalem. With joy,
the Bible says.
Oh,
that we would learn obedience to the God of our Salvation who leads us away
from the enemy that would rob us of joy and blessing, and who leads us back
to Jerusalem “unto the house of the Lord” (verse 20).
God
always provides a way “out of” but He also leads us “into.” And that list, my
dear reader, is far too long and meaningful to appropriately delineate at this
writing.
May
God bless His Word, and may it be “sweeter than honey from out of the comb” in
your life today.
Victor
W. Baugh, Sr., Th.D., Ph.D.
Pastor,
St. Luke AME Church
Havana,
AL
Lovely blog. Great posts!
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