Challenge
As
happens with kingdoms and politics in the world, one nation rises up against
another. Some time after Jehosophat’s
military blunder against the Syrians in which King Ahab was killed, a
collection of armies band together and come against Jerusalem. Isn’t it interesting to note that it is when
we struggle and fail that other people band together and try and take advantage
of us while we are down? I don’t think
that there is any reason to think otherwise than these nations heard that Judah
was defeated in battle and they must therefore be weak. So they come to see what plunder they might
achieve.
I am
amused at the human means of thinking.
We look for any opportunity to take advantage. We do it as a nation among nations. We do it as a community among
communities. And we do it as a person
among other people. Rather than being
content with what God has given us and being content going through the doors
that God opens for us, we try and open our own doors and force our way through
them. We try to claim territory –
geography, reputation, social status, associates, wealth, etc – that is not
ours to have. We do it because we are not
content being who God has made us to be.
Jehosophat’s Prayer
This
dynamic leads me to the content of Jehosophat’s prayer. I don’t know that Jehosophat really has fully
thought this through as he prays it, but this is exactly the topic of his
prayer. My gut says that Jehosophat is
simply panicked about having a large army at his border and he turns to God
because he has no other person to whom he can turn. So let’s at least give him that credit. Jehosophat turns to God and relies upon his
strength. As Asa did when the Ethiopians
rose up against Judah, Jehosophat turns to God.
Returning
to the topic at hand, let’s look at the content of Jehosophat’s prayer. Jehosophat is essentially saying, “These
people have come to take what You have not given into their hand. Help us defend what You have given to us!” Jehosophat is simply asking God to protect
the boundaries that God has established as proper. Jehosophat is praying against the greed of
the incoming army.
God’s Response
God
honors Jehosophat’s prayer. God tells
Jehosophat and the whole assembly that the battle will be won by God. God tells Jehosophat that all they need to do
is simply show up and watch God at work in their lives. I’m pretty sure that there is a deep
spiritual lesson in that.
How much
better is life when we are patient and let God go before us? How much better is life when we wait for
God’s grace to open doors before us and simply go through them? Why do we so often make life difficult by
trying to force open doors that aren’t meant to be forced open? I think God is teaching the people of Judah
just what life looks like when we are patient and wait for God. When we have the patience to not get ahead of
God, then we actually have the opportunity to see God’s grace go before us.
I love
the recounting of how it is that God works on behalf of Judah. This large army composed of three nations turns
on itself. Rivalries begin to form. There can be little doubt that some arguments
over power and plunder happen. Soon two
rise up against the third. The people of
Mount Seir are devoured. A third of the
army is destroyed.
However,
that doesn’t end the issue. Where there
are two, there are still reasons to compete.
Just because one party has been eliminated doesn’t mean that the
arguments over power, prestige, renown, and plunder end. The two who are left begin to rise up
themselves and battle each other. The annihilate
one another. They fight until the
battlefield is littered with corpses and there is nobody left to challenge
Judah.
Without
lifting a finger, the people of Judah watch as God allows the humanity of the
armies to resolve Judah’s issue for them.
God doesn’t force the people of the armies to bicker, squabble, and
destroy one another. God simply lets
human nature take its course. The self-centered
and greedy elements of humanity come alive once God no longer holds them
back. Soon a large army is decimated
simply because it is composed of human beings.
Isn’t
that an incredible testimony to the power of God? Who would I be if God did not hold my
humanity in check with His Spirit? Who would I devour in my self-centered
walk? What would I destroy on my way to
accomplishing my own designs? God doesn’t
have to destroy me. All God has to do is
remove His Spirit from me and I do a pretty good job of destroying myself as it
is.
The Plunder
It is
Judah who reaps the benefits of war, not the armies who came against Judah in
their moment of weakness. This is a
really powerful set of verses for me today.
The people of Judah do nothing but humble themselves before God and rely
upon Him. They simply pause and put
themselves in a position to have God go before them. That’s it.
Out of that simple act of humbleness, they reap more plunder than they
can carry away for three days.
How many
times am I wrapped up in what has to happen?
How often am I so wrapped up in what has to happen that I feel the
burden of it all on my shoulders? How
often does that place actually lead to forgetting about God as I try to do it
all? How often do I make the mistake of
Asa that Jeroboam so deftly avoids in this passage? How often should those moments of burden
cause me to turn to God and trust in Him rather than bear the burden to His
exclusion! Oh, wretched man that I am.
What an
incredible end to this story. The people
of Judah humble themselves and rely fully upon God. They reap the benefits of humbleness. God’s name is praised and the fear of the
Lord spreads. What an incredible
testimony. What a great chapter of the
Bible.
Humanity
God knows
about our humanity. After such an
incredibly testimony of what it looks like to submit, God gives us an
incredible testimony of Jehosophat’s blunder.
After trusting in the Lord, Jehosophat turns and joins up with Israel in
another endeavor. This displeases the
Lord greatly.
But in
some strange way, it is good to hear – one leader to another. Jehosophat had his moments when he got things
incredibly right because he was genuinely submitted. Jehosophat had his moments when he got things
incredibly wrong because he went his own way.
I’m not glad Jehosophat messed things up. But it is nice to realize that I am not alone
among people who forget to submit to God and get things messed up when they do
so.
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