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2 Chronicles 20

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Jehoshaphat Faces a Great Coalition 1–4

1
It came to pass after this also, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them other beside the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle. ​
2
Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side Syria; and, behold, they be in Hazazontamar, which is Engedi.
3
And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. ​
4
And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the LORD: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD.

The King’s Prayer for Deliverance 5–13

5
And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court,
6
And said, O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee? ​
7
Art not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever? ​
8
And they dwelt therein, and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name, saying,
9
If, when evil cometh upon us, as the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and in thy presence, (for thy name is in this house,) and cry unto thee in our affliction, then thou wilt hear and help. ​
10
And now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and mount Seir, whom thou wouldest not let Israel invade, when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them, and destroyed them not;
11
Behold, I say, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit.
12
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. ​
13
And all Judah stood before the LORD, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.

The Prophet Jahaziel Gives Assurance 14–19

14
Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the LORD in the midst of the congregation; ​
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. ​
16
To morrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel.
17
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; to morrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you. ​
18
And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the LORD, worshipping the LORD.
19
And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites, and of the children of the Korhites, stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with a loud voice on high.

Faith Leads to Miraculous Victory 20–30

20
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. ​
21
And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever. ​
22
And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten. ​
23
For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another.
24
And when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped.
25
And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in gathering of the spoil, it was so much.
26
And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Berachah; for there they blessed the LORD: therefore the name of the same place was called, The valley of Berachah, unto this day. ​
27
Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat in the forefront of them, to go again to Jerusalem with joy; for the LORD had made them to rejoice over their enemies.
28
And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets unto the house of the LORD.
29
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.
30
So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet: for his God gave him rest round about.

Summary of Jehoshaphat’s Later Reign 31–37

31
And Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah: he was thirty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi.
32
And he walked in the way of Asa his father, and departed not from it, doing that which was right in the sight of the LORD.
33
Howbeit the high places were not taken away: for as yet the people had not prepared their hearts unto the God of their fathers. ​
34
Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Jehu the son of Hanani, who is mentioned in the book of the kings of Israel.
35
And after this did Jehoshaphat king of Judah join himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, who did very wickedly: ​
36
And he joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish: and they made the ships in Eziongeber.
37
Then Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, the LORD hath broken thy works. And the ships were broken, that they were not able to go to Tarshish. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for 2 Chronicles 20

Verse 1

Moab… Ammon — Both peoples descend from Lot, and the LORD had forbidden Israel to take their land (Deut 2:9, 19). The 'other beside the Ammonites' seem to include 'mount Seir', named in v.10 and v.22 among those come against Judah. Ps 83:5–8 speaks of such a league: 'they have holpen the children of Lot.'

Verse 3

set himself to seek the LORD — 'Set' is nathan, 'gave', with panim, 'face': he gave his face to seek. 'Seek' is darash, to resort to and inquire of. The 'fast' (tsom) proclaimed through Judah is the course of Joel 1:14, 'Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly'.

Verse 6

art not thou God in heaven? — Three questions, each expecting 'yes': God in heaven, ruler of 'all the kingdoms of the heathen', and holder of 'power and might' (koach, gevurah). The last phrase is David's own: 'in thine hand is power and might' (1 Chr 29:12).

Verse 7

Abraham thy friend — Ahav is the verb 'to love': Abraham as the one who loves God. The title recurs in Isa 41:8, 'Abraham my friend', and James 2:23, 'the Friend of God'. The gift of the land 'for ever' recalls Gen 13:15, 'to thy seed for ever'.

Verse 9

we stand before this house — The four evils, 'the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine' (chereb, shephot, deber, ra'av), recall Solomon's dedication prayer, which names dearth, pestilence and besieging enemies (2 Chr 6:28). 'For thy name is in this house' rests on the LORD's word of 6:20, 'the place whereof thou hast said that thou wouldest put thy name there'.

Verse 12

wilt thou not judge them? — 'Judge' is shaphat, the root of Jehoshaphat's own name, 'Jehovah-judged'. The king confesses 'no might' (koach) and no plan, 'but our eyes are upon thee', as 'the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters' (Ps 123:2).

Verse 14

Jahaziel — The name means beheld of God. A Levite 'of the sons of Asaph', the family of singers (1 Chr 16:5), he speaks as the Spirit of the LORD comes 'in the midst of the congregation', as the Spirit had come on Azariah in 15:1.

Verse 15

the battle is not yours, but God's — Addressed to 'all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat', with the charge 'Be not afraid nor dismayed', later heard from Hezekiah (2 Chr 32:7). David had said the same to Goliath: 'the battle is the LORD'S' (1 Sam 17:47).

Verse 17

stand ye still — 'Set yourselves' (yatsab) and 'stand' (amad) mean to take position, and what they are to 'see' is the 'salvation' (yeshuah) of the LORD, as at the sea (Exod 14:13). They still go out, for the same verse says 'to morrow go out against them'.

Verse 20

Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established — 'Believe' and 'established' are one Hebrew verb, aman, to be firm, in two forms: those who stand firm in the LORD are made firm. 'Prosper' is tsalach. The march is into 'the wilderness of Tekoa'.

Verse 21

the beauty of holiness — Hadarah with qodesh, the phrase of 'worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness' (Ps 29:2; 1 Chr 16:29). The refrain 'for his mercy endureth for ever' (chesed) is that of 1 Chr 16:34 and Ps 107:1, here sung by appointed singers going 'before the army'.

Verse 22

when they began to sing and to praise — 'Sing' is rinnah, a ringing shout, and 'praise' tehillah. The 'ambushments' (arab, lying in wait) are explained in v.23: Ammon and Moab turned on Seir, then on each other, as when 'the LORD set every man's sword against his fellow' (Judg 7:22).

Verse 26

the valley of Berachah — Berakah is 'blessing', from barak, the verb of 'there they blessed the LORD'. The assembly came on the fourth day, after three days spent gathering the spoil (v.25), and the name stood 'unto this day'.

Verse 33

the high places were not taken away — 17:6 says he 'took away the high places and groves out of Judah'; here they remain, for 'the people had not prepared their hearts' (kun). The king had 'prepared thine heart to seek God' (19:3), but the people's hearts were not yet fixed.

Verse 35

join himself with Ahaziah — Chabar, to join, a verb that recurs in vv.36–37. 'After this' falls upon the deliverance just given. The alliance revives the rebuke of 19:2, 'Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the LORD?'

Verse 37

the LORD hath broken thy works — Eliezer of Mareshah speaks: 'broken' is parats, to break out, and the ships 'were broken' (shabar) at Eziongeber (v.36), as 1 Kings 22:48 also records. The verdict names the cause: 'Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah'.