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2 Chronicles 20

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Jehoshaphat Faces a Great Coalition 1–4

1
And it came to pass after this, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them some of 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 from Syria; and, behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar (the same is En-gedi).
3
And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek unto Jehovah; and he proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. ​
4
And Judah gathered themselves together, to seek help of Jehovah: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek Jehovah.

The King’s Prayer for Deliverance 5–13

5
And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of Jehovah, before the new court;
6
and he said, O Jehovah, the God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and art not thou ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? and in thy hand is power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee. ​
7
Didst not thou, O our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and give 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 evil come upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house, and before thee (for thy name is in this house), and cry unto thee in our affliction, and thou wilt hear and save. ​
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 aside from them, and destroyed them not;
11
behold, 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 Jehovah, 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, the Levite, of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of Jehovah in the midst of the assembly; ​
15
and he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat: Thus saith Jehovah unto you, Fear not ye, neither be 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 ascent of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the valley, 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 Jehovah with you, O Judah and Jerusalem; fear not, nor be dismayed: to-morrow go out against them; for Jehovah is with you. ​
18
And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground; and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before Jehovah, worshipping Jehovah.
19
And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites, stood up to praise Jehovah, the God of Israel, with an exceeding loud voice.

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 Jehovah your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper. ​
21
And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed them that should sing unto Jehovah, and give praise in holy array, as they went out before the army, and say, Give thanks unto Jehovah; for his lovingkindness endureth for ever. ​
22
And when they began to sing and to praise, Jehovah set liers-in-wait against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, that 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 to the watch-tower of the wilderness, they looked upon the multitude; and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and there were none that escaped.
25
And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches and dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in taking the spoil, it was so much.
26
And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Beracah; for there they blessed Jehovah: therefore the name of that place was called The valley of Beracah 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 Jehovah had made them to rejoice over their enemies.
28
And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets unto the house of Jehovah.
29
And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of the countries, when they heard that Jehovah 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 turned not aside from it, doing that which was right in the eyes of Jehovah.
33
Howbeit the high places were not taken away; neither as yet had the people set 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 history of Jehu the son of Hanani, which is inserted in the book of the kings of Israel.
35
And after this did Jehoshaphat king of Judah join himself with Ahaziah king of Israel; the same did very wickedly: ​
36
and he joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish; and they made the ships in Ezion-geber.
37
Then Eliezer the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, Jehovah hath destroyed thy works. And the ships were broken, so that they were not able to go to Tarshish. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · 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? — There are 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', and the title describes 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 — This is 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' refers to 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'.