Tag Archives: Jehoshaphat

Fasting together: Our eyes are on You

“Fasting is abstaining from anything that hinders prayer.” ~ Andrew Bonar

Learning about another great man of faith in the Bible who turned to fasting and prayer. Catch up on our previous posts here.

Jehoshaphat’s kingdom was about to be attacked by the Moabites and the Ammonites. “Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, “A great multitude is coming against you from Edom, from beyond the sea; and, behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar” (that is, Engedi).” 2 Chronicles 20:2 ESV.

Jehoshaphat did what any smart man of God would have done; any king that knew of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob would call a fast! Not just any fast, but all of Judah came together to pray and seek their God for His help. Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. And Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord; from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.” 

Did you notice the repetition of the word seek? Jehoshaphat was known as a king who “sought the God of his father.” Seek, in the Hebrew, means “to trample under foot,” or even interpreted that you go there so often you have made a path in the dirt!

The king’s prayer is interesting in that he doesn’t mention the problem that he is facing in the first four verses, he mentions GOD. And even when he gets to the problem, his focus is still on the One who can fix it.  O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” 2 Chronicles 20:12 ESV.

That focus soon pays off because suddenly, the spirit of the Lord comes upon Jahaziel, a Levite, and he says, “…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…Tomorrow go ye down against them…and ye shall find them at the end of the brook…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.” 2 Chronicles 20:15-17 KJV.

What an answer to prayer!

What power!

What authority!

The next morning they got up early and headed into the wilderness and King Jehoshaphat said, “Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.” 2 Chronicles 20:20 KJV.

I love what he does next. He appointed singers, “…unto the LORD, just to praise the beauty of holiness, and as they went out before the army, just to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever.” Wow!

They took time to praise the LORD in the MIDDLE of the battle!

God had told them that it was HIS battle and they took Him at His Word.

When they began to sing and praise, then the LORD began to act. The Bible says He set an ambush against the Ammonites, Moabites and Mount Seir and they were all smitten!

The children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, trying to destroy them. So when they had accomplished that then they destroyed one another.

When Judah showed up at the watch tower in the wilderness they looked out at the multitude and all they could see were the dead, “none escaped.”

“And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries, when they head heard that the LORD fought against the enemies of Israel.”

God had delivered His people once again because they turned to Him in fasting and prayer, believed and trusted in Him.

What can you believe God for today? What are you needing an answer for in your life? What battles are you trying to fight on your own?

Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord!

He is your VICTORIOUS WARRIOR and this is HIS BATTLE, not yours, Let Him take care of it for you. Trust Him, put your confidence in Him and then do what King Jehoshaphat and his people did…

Worship and give Him praise for the victory that is coming! Whether you see it today or tomorrow doesn’t matter. He is in control and His timing is perfect. Trust Him for the victory and then rest in His promises.

Our eyes are on YOU, Lord!

The Daniel Fast, A Devotional, is a great tool for ANY fast that you choose as a sacrifice to the Lord. 21 days of devotions and recipes too. Available in eBook or paperback!

The Daniel Fast: God is fighting for you!

Fasting Together in JanuaryGod is fighting for you!  If you have missed any posts, or just need some extra encouragement, go here to catch up! Blessings to you as you fast unto the Lord.

Jehoshaphat didn’t waste any time when he found out that Judah was about to be attacked. He did what any smart man of God would have done. Any king that knew of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob would call a fast. Not just any fast, but all of Judah came together to pray and seek their God for His help.

The end of their prayer for help went like this: “O our God, wilt thou not judge them? For we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.” 2 Chronicles 20:12 KJV.

They came together in unity, with their wives, their children, the Bible even says “…with their little ones.”

Then something powerful happened. Jahaziel was standing there with the rest of them when suddenly the Spirit of the Lord came upon him and he said, “…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…Tomorrow go ye down against them…and ye shall find them at the end of the brook…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.” 2 Chronicles 20:15-17 KJV.

What an answer to prayer!

What power!

What authority!

The next morning they got up early and headed into the wilderness and King Jehoshaphat said, “Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.” 2 Chronicles 20:20 KJV.

I love what he does next. He appointed singers, “…unto the LORD, just to praise the beauty of holiness, and as they went out before the army, just to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever.” Wow!

They took time to praise the LORD in the MIDDLE of the battle!

So what did they do since they didn’t have to fight? They worshipped and gave Him the praise that He deserved.

They had fasted; they had prayed.

He had heard; He had answered.

Now they were giving Him back the praise because He was worthy. When they began to sing and praise, then the LORD began to act. The Bible says He set an ambush against the Ammonites, Moabites and Mount Seir and they were all smitten!

Why did the children of Judah not have to fight? The children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, trying to destroy them. So when they had accomplished that then they destroyed one another!

When Judah showed up at the watch tower in the wilderness they looked out at the multitude and all they could see were the dead, “none escaped.”

“And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries, when they had heard that the LORD fought against the enemies of Israel.”

Good news travels fast. Bad news travels fast. God had delivered His people once again because they trusted in Him.

 

 

What can you believe God for today? What are you needing an answer for in your life? What battles are you trying to fight on your own?

Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord!

He is your VICTORIOUS WARRIOR and this is HIS BATTLE, not yours! Let Him take care of it for you. Trust Him, put your confidence in Him and then do what King Jehoshaphat and his people did…

Worship and give Him praise for the victory that is coming. Whether you see it today or tomorrow doesn’t matter. He is in control and His timing is perfect. Trust Him for the victory and then rest in His promises.

The Daniel Fast DevotionalThis was a complete chapter from The Daniel Fast Devotional. There are 21 days of devotions, three days of preparation and plenty of Daniel Fast recipes in this go-to book. Check it out on Kindle or paperback here on Amazon.

 

 

Fasting unto the Lord, Nannette

This is but a little thing…

Elisha Man of MiraclesContinuing our series on Elisha, Man of Miracles. You can read the first post, Borrow Not a Few here and the second one, A Little Chamber on the Wall here!

Elisha. This guy, let me be respectful, this prophet of God, learned from the best. Elijah was his mentor, his teacher, the one who he would brag to others, “…taught me everything I know!” He learned from the best.

But as we will find out in this story, and I love it about these two, they both had a bit of an attitude, and it will make you chuckle at how they used it.

First off, there are three kings who want to take on the Moabites: Jehoshaphat, king over Judah, Jehoram, son of Ahab and Jezebel, who was king over Israel, and a “representative” for the kingdom of Edom. We see earlier in the chapter there was no actual king in Edom at this time.

They assume this will be an easy victory. Who wouldn’t have confidence in three against one?!

As they journey through the dry desert region of Edom, disaster strikes. They run out of water for their animals and themselves. This is not going to be good. You cannot win a battle without water!

“So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom, and they marched on that roundabout route seven days; and there was no water for the army, nor for the animals that followed them. And the king of Israel said, ‘Alas! For the LORD has called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab.’”

Remember Jehoram was the son of the wicked King Ahab and his “even-more-wicked-there-should-be-a-movie-about-her”, Jezebel, whose name today is synonymous for evil. Jehoram remembers what happened to his parents when the judgment of God was poured out on them and he is certain that the fate of the three kings is impending doom.

“But Jehoshaphat said, ‘Is there no prophet of the LORD here, that we may inquire of the LORD by him?’ So one of the servants of the king of Israel answered and said, ‘Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, who poured water on the hands of Elijah.’ And Jehoshaphat said, ‘The word of the LORD is with him.’ So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.”

Elisha “just happens” to be in the area. No! This is a divine appointment by the hand of God! They were examples to them and reminders to us of our need for God today.

Here’s where it gets good. Elisha comes, but appears reluctant. As a matter of fact, he even pokes fun at the kings! This reminds us of a time that the prophet Elijah challenged 450 prophets and worshipers of the “god” Baal to see whose god was “bigger”. Elijah had a bit of an attitude in that story when he tells them to get two bulls. He will sacrifice one; they kill the other on an altar with trenches all around it. Whichever God answers by fire is who they will ALL serve.

Then he begins to taunt them a little. They had already been calling on their god for hours with no results. No fire under the sacrifice. Nothing was even beginning to get warm.

If you enjoy the Bible at all (and we should!) you have to be amused at some of the things Elijah says to them:

  • Cry louder, maybe he can’t hear!

  • Maybe he is meditating.

  • Perhaps he is busy.

  • Maybe he has gone on a journey.

  • He could be sleeping and you need to awaken him!

Of course Elijah’s God answers with fire and consumes everything on the altar!

Elisha, perhaps, had also borrowed a little of Elijah’s humor:

“Then Elisha said to the king of Israel, ‘What have I to do with you? Go to the prophets of your father and the prophets of your mother.’ But the king of Israel said to him, ‘No, for the LORD has called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab.’ And Elisha said, ‘As the LORD of hosts lives, before whom I stand, surely were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you, nor see you. But now bring me a musician.’ Then it happened, when the musician played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him.”

Elisha is basically saying he will only help because of Jehoshaphat, the only one of the three who had any respect for the God of Elisha. Otherwise, “…go on back to your own gods and see what they can do for you!”

Then, as a little side note, he asks for a musician to play for him. This was not unusual then as a prophet or man of God would sometimes ask for a minstrel to play for them, as did David for Saul, when they wanted to hear from God. It is the same for us today. We might turn on praise and worship music as we pray to take us into the presence of the Lord. As we worship, the Spirit of the Lord will come upon us as it did for the prophets so many thousands of years ago!

As the musician plays for Elisha, he hears from the Lord regarding the situation of the three kings.

“Thus says the LORD: ‘Make this valley full of ditches.’ For thus says the LORD: ‘You shall not see wind, nor shall you see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, so that you, your cattle, and your animals may drink.’ And this is a simple matter in the sight of the LORD; He will also deliver the Moabites into your hand.”

This is but a little thing

Dig ditches???

I am sure the kings were expecting God to just send water down from heaven and relieve their animals and refresh the men preparing for battle. But no, God wanted them to put their faith into action. “You dig the ditches; I will send the water to fill the trenches!”

According to what Elisha said, there would be no wind, no rain, and no dramatic storm that would bring the water that was needed. He just said that God would fill the trenches!!

Not only that, he said it was a simple matter, another version says, “…it is but a little thing…”

This is coming from the same God who parted the Red Sea! To Him it IS but a little thing!

God was going to send the blessing but they had to provide the faith by digging the trenches. Surely they were exasperated at the thought since they had been without water, been traveling in the desert for seven days and near exhaustion. But God did not ask them to do something they were not capable of doing. The blessing was on the way and they needed to prepare for the overflow!!

Will we put aside our own desires in order to make sure the miracle can come?

What about our titles? Just because they were kings didn’t mean they were not to be involved in the digging. Jehoram, Jehoshaphat and the “king” from Edom had to be a part of the miracle too. Better yet, they were CHOSEN to be a part of God’s plan!

“Now it happened in the morning, when the grain offering was offered, that suddenly water came by way of Edom, and the land was filled with water.”

A flash flood! If they had not dug the ditches and formed those trenches, then the water would have completely passed them by! But simply because they obeyed the man of God, those ditches were completely filled and provided all they needed to sustain them through to the end of the battle.

The God of Elisha not only sent the much-needed water, He gave them complete victory over the Moabites! The enemy saw the water, but with the reflection of the sun it looked like blood to them so they assumed the three kings had turned on each other! “Moab…to the spoil!” Thinking it was theirs for the taking they walked right into disaster and the battle was quickly over.

Just as He had promised, He delivered.

Is the Lord asking you to dig a ditch? To exhibit your faith and step out of the boat? You can trust Him! He will not ask YOU to do something you are not equipped to do. And as a result of your obedience, the victory will come! He will confuse the enemy and the battle will be over. God will fight for you! This is but a little thing to Him!

And here we find the Church today…right in the middle of the Endtime…no matter your view on the timing of the coming of the Lord, we can surely agree that the Bible and our newspaper are matching up more and more every day. The Lord WILL return for His people and we must be ready. We must proclaim His Word and spread the Gospel at every opportunity. We must dig the trenches for Endtime revival to come!

God left US here for this purpose. We are the prophets and messengers of this last day; let us not be afraid to stand up for Truth. He has equipped us with the Holy Spirit, all we need to make sure we can endure this battle and come out victorious!

If the Lord asks you to dig a ditch, count it all joy and grab that shovel. He is about to send a flood!

Kingdom2

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