Hallelujah - Praise before thanksgiving

Praise before Thanksgiving

Don’t we normally go around the table and share what we are thankful for?

Are you struggling to come up with things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving Season?

Might I challenge you a bit with a story?

2 Chronicles 20:1-21 (ESV)

1 After this the Moabites and Ammonites, and with them some of the Meunites, came against Jehoshaphat for battle.

2 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).

3 Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.

4 And Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord; from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.

5 And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court,

6 and said, “O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you.

7 Did you not, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend?

8 And they have lived in it and have built for you in it a sanctuary for your name, saying,

9 ‘If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before you—for your name is in this house—and cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save.’

10 And now behold, the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, and whom they avoided and did not destroy—

11 behold, they reward us by coming to drive us out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit.

12 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.”

13 Meanwhile all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.

14 And the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly.

15 And he said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you, ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s.

16 Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the valley, east of the wilderness of Jeruel.

17 You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.”

18 Then Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord.

19 And the Levites, of the Kohathites and the Korahites, stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.

20 And they rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. And when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be established; believe his prophets, and you will succeed.”

21 And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise him in holy attire, as they went before the army, and say, “Give thanks to the Lord, for his steadfast love endures forever.”

Kings Response to the trial?

The pattern here is as follows

Trial comes, we look to the Lord as we praise him for who he is.

He reminds us who is fighting the battle, it’s him not us.

We respond in praise and worship and thanksgiving! Thanksgiving comes last after we have learned to first praise and worship God.

Philippians 4 tells us not to be anxious for anything, but through prayer and supplication, “WITH THANKSGIVING” make our petitions!

Hallelujah broken down

In the old testament we see this mostly represented as “Praise the Lord” or Halal Ya!

In the New testament we see the actual word hallelujah! They both mean the same thing, but what we don’t realize if we simply take the word at face value is we miss the command.

The command is found in the original Hebrew phrase, which is made up of three parts.

Halal - verb means To praise

U - Plural imperative verb - a command or invitation issued to two or more people

Jah - an abbreviation for the proper divine name of God - Yahweh

Put that all together, “everyone praise the Lord!”

When we are singing, and we say Hallelujah, or alleluia, or praise the Lord, remember there is a command or invitation to praise the Lord. We aren’t just praising him! When someone utters these words, they are literally inviting others to praise God!

Thinking back now to the story of King Jehosephat and Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, what happened when they got the order right, not just in execution but in their hearts first?

2 Chronicles 20:22–30 ESV

22 And when they began to sing and praise, the Lord set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed. 23 For the men of Ammon and Moab rose against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, devoting them to destruction, and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they all helped to destroy one another. 24 When Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness, they looked toward the horde, and behold, there were dead bodies lying on the ground; none had escaped. 25 When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take their spoil, they found among them, in great numbers, goods, clothing, and precious things, which they took for themselves until they could carry no more. They were three days in taking the spoil, it was so much. 26 On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Beracah, for there they blessed the Lord. Therefore the name of that place has been called the Valley of Beracah to this day. 27 Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat at their head, returning to Jerusalem with joy, for the Lord had made them rejoice over their enemies. 28 They came to Jerusalem with harps and lyres and trumpets, to the house of the Lord. 29 And the fear of God came on all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. 30 So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest all around.

I don’t know what battles you are waging right now in your life, but are you setting your eyes on the Lord? Are you remembering that it is Yahweh who fights your battles for you? Are you praising the Lord, worshiping him with your life, and giving thanks? Think what would happen if you did all of those things, praised the Lord, Worshiped the Lord, and gave thanks to the Lord? What would happen to your perspective on your troubles? Who would be in control then? How much MORE thankful would you be once your enemy is laid waste and you are reaping the spoils of the life that God has for you?

Would you still have trials come your way? Absolutely, the question isn’t whether you’ll have trials, it’s will you turn to the Lord and allow him to fight them for you and trust HIM with the results!

there is a battle coming one day and it’s another battle that God will fight for us! and there is a more than glorious ending.

Revelation 19:6–8 ESV

Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

How are you praising God as you see him moving in your life?

Provision? The Jehovah Jireh! The God who Provides!