2 Chronicles 20:30

Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah from about 870 to 848 BC, the fourth king of Judah after the kingdom divided. He is remembered as a righteous king who restored true worship and justice in the land (2 Chronicles 17), though he also made an unwise alliance with Ahab, the idolatrous king of Israel (2 Chronicles 18). 2 Chronicles 20 opens with news that a great army of Moabites, Ammonites and Meunites is already on its way (2 Chronicles 20:1–2). These were Judah’s neighbours to the east and southeast, and old adversaries. Ammon and Moab descended from Lot, and Edom, the people of mount Seir, from Esau.

Jehoshaphat was afraid, and he set himself to seek the LORD. He proclaimed a fast throughout Judah and gathered the people (2 Chronicles 20:3–4). A whole people fasting and praying in a crisis is something Scripture shows more than once, as when Nineveh fasted at Jonah’s preaching (Jonah 3:5–9) and when Ezra proclaimed a fast to seek God’s protection (Ezra 8:21–23). Then Jehoshaphat prayed before the assembly at the temple, owning Judah’s helplessness against such a multitude and looking to God alone (2 Chronicles 20:5–12).

The answer came through Jahaziel, a Levite on whom the Spirit of the LORD came (2 Chronicles 20:14–17). He told them to go down against the enemy the next day, take their stand and watch, because the LORD would fight for them. King and people bowed down and worshipped, and the Levites stood up to praise the LORD (2 Chronicles 20:18–19). Our passage begins the next morning.

Judah “rose early in the morning”, ready and in earnest, and went out “into the wilderness of Tekoa”. That is rugged, desolate country southeast of Jerusalem on the edge of the Judean desert, where the enemy was expected to come. Jahaziel had told them the LORD would do the fighting, and they marched straight toward the army all the same. Their going out was itself an act of faith.

As they went, Jehoshaphat stood and called for a hearing: “Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem.” The two names take in the whole nation and its capital, because the danger and the call to faith belonged to all of them together. A king of that day would address his troops before a battle to stir their courage and set out his plan. Jehoshaphat’s whole speech is about trusting God and his word.

The heart of it is two matching lines: “Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.” The first line plays on one Hebrew verb. “Believe” is ha’aminu and “be established” is te’amenu, and both come from ‘aman. In the form behind “believe” it means to trust someone, rely on him and count him firm. In the passive form behind “established” it means to be made firm, secure and stable. So Jehoshaphat is saying, in effect, hold firmly to the LORD and you will be held firm. The same root gives us “Amen”, the word that says a thing is sure. Isaiah states the same principle from the other side, warning that where there is a lack of belief there will be a lack of establishment (Isaiah 7:9).

“Prosper” is tatzlichu, from tsalach, a verb meaning to push forward, advance and succeed. In this form it means to be made successful. Believing the prophets would carry Judah forward and give them success in all that lay ahead of them, beginning with the enemy in front of them that day. Their security would rest on God’s power and faithfulness, and Jahaziel had just told them the battle was God’s alone.

“And when he had consulted with the people”, Jehoshaphat took counsel with them, so the whole nation shared in what came next. He “appointed singers unto the LORD”, and their song was addressed to God himself. They went “out before the army”, at its very head. Armies of that day put their strongest warriors at the front to break the enemy’s line, and here the front rank sang. Their place in the column declared that the LORD was leading this battle and that the victory would be his.

They were to “praise the beauty of holiness”. The word for beauty, hădârâh, comes from a root meaning to decorate, and it speaks of splendour, majesty and honour. The word for holiness, qôdesh, means sacredness, what is set apart, and here it speaks of God as wholly other and pure. Together they name the splendour of God’s holiness. With the enemy still ahead of them, the singers fixed their eyes on who God is.

Their words were “Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever.” Mercy here is cheçed, a rich word for kindness, lovingkindness, steadfast love and loyalty to a covenant. It is God’s faithful love for his people, and “for ever” means it has no end. The line was already part of Israel’s worship, and it is the refrain of Psalm 136. Judah went out singing of God’s mercy before they had seen what that mercy would do that day. The psalmist calls God the one who inhabits the praises of Israel (Psalm 22:3), and Psalm 149:6–9 sets praise in the mouths of God’s people as he brings judgment on the nations.

“And when they began to sing and to praise”. The verb châlal here is the ordinary word for beginning, used of starting any action. What the clause stresses is the timing: as the first notes rose, the LORD acted. Praise came first, and the victory followed at once.

“The LORD set ambushments.” Behind the word, which the Hebrew gives as me’arebim, is the verb ʼârab, to lurk or lie in wait. The LORD is the subject of the sentence, and he acted directly against “the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah”. The result was that “they were smitten”. That verb, nâgaph, means to strike, smite or defeat, and it is used of heavy blows dealt on purpose. The passive “were smitten” points away from Judah to the One who struck.

Verse 23 tells how it happened. Ammon and Moab “stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them”. The verb behind “utterly to slay”, châram, is the word for devoting something to destruction or putting it under the ban, and it describes total destruction. The allies turned on one of their own members and wiped them out. Then, “when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another.” The verb for “helped”, ʻâzar, means to aid or succour, the help an ally gives. Here that help became the means of their ruin. The word for destroying, mashchîyth, from shâḥath, means destruction or corruption, and it closes the verse with the whole army destroying itself.

This was Jahaziel’s word coming true: “the battle is not yours, but God’s” (2 Chronicles 20:15). Gideon’s enemies also fell by one another’s hands (Judges 7:22), and the psalmist prays that those who hid a net for him would be caught in it themselves (Psalm 35:7–8). The alliance formed to destroy Judah became the instrument of its own destruction, and the invaders met the end they had planned for God’s people.

When Judah came “toward the watch tower in the wilderness”, they reached a lookout. The word mitspeh (also written miṣpeh) comes from tsâphâh, to watch, and means an observation post, especially for war, whether a natural height or a built tower. From there they could see across the wilderness where Jahaziel had told them to go down against the enemy (2 Chronicles 20:16).

They “looked unto the multitude”. Hâmôwn can mean a noise or tumult, a crowd or great company, or abundance, and here it is the great army that had frightened them so. Then comes “behold”, the word that marks a sudden sight: “they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped.” The word pᵉlêyṭâh means an escape, or the part of a people that gets away, and here there was none. The deliverance was complete, and the threat from this alliance was over.

Judah’s part that day was the part God had given them: “stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you” (2 Chronicles 20:17). At the Red Sea Moses told Israel to stand still and see the salvation of the LORD, for the LORD would fight for them (Exodus 14:13–14). The deliverance in Exodus 14 and this one both leave God’s people as witnesses of what he alone has done. Salvation belongs to the LORD (Psalm 3:8), and if God be for us, who can be against us (Romans 8:31)?

Jehoshaphat and his people came “to take away the spoil of them”, and they found “in abundance both riches with the dead bodies, and precious jewels”. The king’s name, Yᵉhôwshâphâṭ, means “Jehovah-judged”, and in this chapter the LORD did judge, for his people and against their enemies. “Precious jewels” is kᵉlîy chemdâh, literally “vessels of desire”, that is, desirable things: ornaments and valuables, prized possessions well beyond plain provisions. The abundance (rôb) was such that they “stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away”. The verse measures it in days: “they were three days in gathering of the spoil, it was so much.” Shâlôwsh is the number three and yôwm is a day, and the verse gives its own reason for the three days, which is that there was so much.

The army that came out armed with praise went home rich from a battle the LORD had fought. Taking spoil was the custom of war in that day, and the law of Moses allowed Israel to take the spoil of a defeated enemy (Deuteronomy 20:14). This spoil was found lying where God’s own judgment had left it, and Judah received it as his gift. It fits the blessings for obedience that God set before Israel in Deuteronomy 28. One of those blessings is abundance from the LORD’s own hand (Deuteronomy 28:12). God spreads a table for his people in the presence of their enemies (Psalm 23:5), and he is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think (Ephesians 3:20).

“And on the fourth day”, once the three days of gathering were done, “they assembled themselves in the valley of Berachah; for there they blessed the LORD”. The whole people gathered on purpose and gave thanks before they went home with the spoil. The verb bârak, to bless, has the root sense of kneeling, and from there it means to bless or to praise. God had blessed them, and they blessed him in return. They blessed Yᵉhôvâh, the LORD, the covenant name of the God of Israel, who had shown himself faithful.

The valley took its name from that day. Bᵉrâkâh means blessing, praise or benediction, and the name comes twice in the verse: “therefore the name of the same place was called, The valley of Berachah, unto this day.” “Unto this day” means the name was still in use long afterwards, so that every time people said it they remembered what God had done there. Israel often named places after what happened in them, as Jacob called the place where God met him Bethel (Genesis 28:19). The valley is traditionally identified with Wadi Bereikut or Wadi el-Arrub, near Tekoa and within reach of Jerusalem, a natural place for the people to gather on the way home.

Remembering what God has done runs all through the Psalms. The psalmist resolves to remember the deeds of the LORD (Psalm 77:11), and God’s people enter his gates with thanksgiving (Psalm 100:4). A whole people praising together has the goodness that Psalm 133:1 sees in brothers living in unity. The place where Judah expected a battle became a valley of blessing.

“Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem”. Yᵉhûwdâh, Judah, is a name that means “celebrated”, from the verb to praise, and here it stands for the whole southern kingdom. Every man shared in the victory and in the joy. “And Jehoshaphat in the forefront of them”, literally at their head (rôʼsh). He had led them in seeking God at the start of the crisis (2 Chronicles 20:3–4), he led them out to the wilderness, and now he led them home in thanksgiving, pointing them to the LORD each time.

They went “to go again to Jerusalem with joy; for the LORD had made them to rejoice over their enemies.” The noun for joy (simchâh) and the verb for making glad (sâmach) stand side by side. Sâmach is the common verb for rejoicing and being glad, and the clause around it names the cause: the LORD made them glad. Their joy was his gift, and it answered the fear and fasting with which the chapter began. “Over their enemies” uses ʼôyêb, the ordinary word for an enemy, one who is hostile. God turns mourning into dancing (Psalm 30:11), the joy of the LORD is his people’s strength (Nehemiah 8:10), and Psalm 126:1–3 sings of Zion’s gladness when the LORD restored her fortunes.

“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.” The word for fear, pachad, means dread or terror, the fear that makes the flesh tremble. For these kingdoms it was the recognition that the God of Israel was terrible to oppose, and it kept them from making war on Judah. It was the fear of outsiders who had heard of his power, and the verse says nothing of their turning to worship him. The cause was what they heard: that the LORD “fought”. The verb lâcham means to fight or do battle, and the LORD is its subject. The nations of that day gave their gods the credit for their victories, as the Philistines did when they captured Samson (Judges 16:23), and a great alliance destroyed while Judah stood and watched would have unsettled every king who heard of it.

God’s acts for his people have always carried a witness to the nations. After the Red Sea the peoples of Canaan trembled (Exodus 15:14–16), and Rahab told the spies that the news of what the LORD had done had melted the hearts of Jericho (Joshua 2:9–11). The LORD says, “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).

“So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet: for his God gave him rest round about.” The word for quiet, shâqaṭ, means to be quiet, still or at rest. The word for rest, nûwach, means to settle down, to rest and to give rest. “Round about” is çâbîyb, on every side, so the peace held on all Judah’s borders at once. “His God” names the LORD as Jehoshaphat’s own God, who had cared for him personally. Earlier in his reign God had blessed him with peace in the same way (2 Chronicles 17:10), and the rest echoes the rest God gave Israel in the land after the conquest (Joshua 21:44). The peace was God’s gift, and the chapter that opened with an army on the border closes with a quiet kingdom. Isaiah says that God keeps in perfect peace the one whose mind is stayed on him (Isaiah 26:3).

This account shows how much God is willing to do for people who trust him and praise him, and he chooses the way and the time of each deliverance. Here he gave outward victory, wealth and peace. At other times he gives strength, inner peace, a clear way forward, or an outward rescue, according to his own will. The New Testament speaks of a battle against spiritual powers, in which God’s people stand in his armour with the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, and with prayer (Ephesians 6:10–18). In that battle we are more than conquerors through him that loved us (Romans 8:37). Prayer with thanksgiving brings the peace of God that keeps our hearts and minds (Philippians 4:6–7). The lesson of the chapter is deep trust in God, praise in every circumstance, and confidence that he fights his people’s battles in his own way.

Jehoshaphat’s call to believe the LORD and his prophets comes to its fullest in Jesus Christ. God, who spoke through the prophets, has spoken to us in his Son (Hebrews 1:1–2). Those who hear him and do what he says are built on the rock (Matthew 7:24–27). Christ is the chief cornerstone of his church (Ephesians 2:20), against which the gates of hell shall not prevail (Matthew 16:18). He came that we might have life abundantly (John 10:10), and in him God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3).

The singers’ song about God’s everlasting mercy finds its greatest proof at the cross, where God commended his love toward us while we were yet sinners (Romans 5:8). There Christ won the decisive victory over sin, death and the devil. By his own death he destroyed him that had the power of death (Hebrews 2:14), and he spoiled principalities and powers and triumphed over them openly (Colossians 2:15). He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29) and the Lion of the tribe of Judah who has prevailed (Revelation 5:5). His victory fulfils the first promise that the woman’s seed would crush the serpent’s head (Genesis 3:15). Jesus spoke of Satan’s kingdom divided against itself (Matthew 12:26), and he has overcome the world (John 16:33). In the end the devil will be cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10), and death will be swallowed up in victory (1 Corinthians 15:54–57).

Judah gathered spoil it had not fought for, and the spoil of Christ’s victory is ours by faith in him. In him we have reconciliation with God (2 Corinthians 5:18), redemption through his blood and the forgiveness of sins (Ephesians 1:7), everlasting life (John 3:16), his Spirit dwelling in us (Romans 8:9), and the exceeding riches of his grace (Ephesians 2:7). He redeemed us from the curse of the law so that the blessing might come to us (Galatians 3:13–14), and that is the deepest valley of blessing.

The joy of Judah’s return points to the joy unspeakable of those who love Christ (1 Peter 1:8) and to the joy in the Holy Spirit that belongs to God’s kingdom (Romans 14:17). The procession to the temple points to the worship of heaven, where the redeemed sing a new song to the Lamb who was slain (Revelation 5:9–10), a great multitude from every nation cries that salvation belongs to God (Revelation 7:9–10), and heaven rings with alleluia (Revelation 19:1–6). There God will wipe away all tears, and death and sorrow will be no more (Revelation 21:4).

The fear that fell on the kingdoms points to the day when every knee will bow at the name of Jesus and every tongue confess that he is Lord (Philippians 2:9–11). The rest God gave Jehoshaphat was for a season, and Christ gives a greater rest. He is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). Through him we have peace with God (Romans 5:1) and a peace the world cannot give (John 14:27). He calls the weary to come to him and find rest for their souls (Matthew 11:28–29), and there remains a rest for the people of God (Hebrews 4:9–10). We can cast all our care on him, because he cares for us (1 Peter 5:7).

These verses show God as faithful to his word. He promised through Jahaziel that the battle was his, and by evening the battle was over. They show him as the God whose mercy endures for ever, worthy to be praised before the victory as well as after it. They show him as generous beyond what his people could carry, and as the giver of joy and of rest on every side.

They also show what trust in him looks like. Judah rose early and walked toward the enemy on the strength of what God had said, with singers in front. Afterwards they stopped in a valley to bless him, gave the place a name so that it would never be forgotten, and went up to his house with music. The same LORD is our God. His word still stands, his mercy still endures, and whoever believes in him is established.