King Jehoshaphat - What to Do When You Don't Know What to Do

A Storm Is Coming

I have been thinking about what can be put in someone’s hand that would best help them understand their need for God. First of all, we were all lost before knowing Christ. Secondly, doing life on our own without God’s help is impossible. The people who came to Jesus were blind, maim, possessed, or broken because someone they loved was sick or even dead.

We are all working through difficult things. Cindy’s uncle Laurel used to say, “We are either in a storm, coming out of a storm, or going into a storm”. That is simply the way it is. That storm could be physical, emotional, or spiritual but the storm is a reality. When the storm comes, we can become emotional. Do you remember when Elijah became withdrawn when Jezebel threatened his life? Do you remember Jonah’s fit when God showed mercy to the Ninevites? Job? Moses? When storms come into our lives, we have a range of emotions from denial to anger.

Unfortunately, we tend to forget that our help comes from the Lord! Let’s look at a couple of encouraging scriptures that we should remember before we get into our lesson from King Jehoshaphat

Psalm 121:2–4 NIV

My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

2 Kings 6:15–16 NIV

When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked. “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”

Hebrews 9:28 NIV

so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

Do you have any storms on the horizon that make you think the roof of your home is going to blow off? Something that seems impossible? Our lesson today will give you some really practical and powerful spiritual principles that will help you through the storm.

King Jehoshaphat

Our lesson this week comes from the reign of King Jehoshaphat who was, overall, a good king in Judah.

[slide 36 & 48]

Once Jehoshaphat assumed the throne, he built up the fortified cities. He followed the ways of David (2 Chron 17:3). He removed the Asherah poles from Judah (vs. 6). He listened to the prophetic voice of God in Israel. In the negative column he was rebuked for allying with the wicked King Ahab.

As we look at Jehoshaphat this morning, we will see that a storm is coming. A vast army from Edom was coming against them. With the Edomite Army just 40 miles away Jehoshaphat called the nation to a fast. Then he prays this prayer:

2 Chronicles 20:5–14 NIV

Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the Lord in the front of the new courtyard and said: “Lord, the God of our ancestors, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you. Our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? They have lived in it and have built in it a sanctuary for your Name, saying, ‘If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.’ “But now here are men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, whose territory you would not allow Israel to invade when they came from Egypt; so they turned away from them and did not destroy them. See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession you gave us as an inheritance. Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the Lord. Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jahaziel son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite and descendant of Asaph, as he stood in the assembly.

Imagine, with the Edomite army just 40 miles away, Jehoshaphat called the nation to a fast and pray! Perhaps you’ve heard this quote before:

“Little prayer, little power. Some prayer, some power. Much prayer, much power.”

King Jehoshaphat knew something very powerful – when you are confronted with an enemy, a storm, the most important thing to do is turn to God.

Jehoshaphat Shows Us What to Do When We Don’t Know What to Do

Even though they knew that they were a people of faith, they knew that they needed to keep their eyes on the Lord, stand strong, and anticipate the move of the Spirit.

Keep Your Eyes on the Lord!

I love what vs. 12 lays out…

2 Chronicles 20:12 NIV

Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”

Isn’t that exciting! He admits that they had no power to face the attacking army. They didn’t know what to do (the enemy is 40 miles away) but they are keeping their eyes on God. What a statement of faith! Trust!

Of course, this is the opposite of what we want to do. Louie Giglio explains, “By nature, leaders are confident, skilled, and battle tested. So often we roll out of bed and start leading the charge. It’s easy to wake up, survey the landscape, and immediately focus on solving problems, creating opportunities, and marshalling the troops.”[1] We try to solve the problem on our own without God.

It takes discipline to recognize the storm that is coming and dedicate yourself to setting your eyes on Jesus but that is exactly what we need to do. What is on your prayer list? I don’t know about you but there are a few things on mine that seem impossible right now. I have ‘no power’. I don’t ‘know what to do’. But I’m setting my eyes on the Lord!

Anticipate the Move of the Spirit

I was talking to David Privolsky, a missionary to Kyrgystan, on Thursday. He was telling me about growing up in a non-denominational but Baptist leaning church and then learning about the Holy Spirit in XA and the miraculous things he has seen. The first church I remember attending was a Baptist church but that my mother felt drawn to something more. Within a short time we were in a Pentecostal church. ‘Pentecostal’ is simply accepting the Person of the Holy Spirit as He is described by Jesus, the book of Acts, and the teachings of the apostles. You see, when we determine to set our eyes on the Lord, we need to be ready to embrace what He wants to do.

Right after Jehoshaphat prays and makes the statement that the nations’ eyes are on the Lord, a Levite by the name of Jahaziel begins to speak under the inspiration of the Spirit. His name, means “He sees God,” and the descent of “the Spirit of the Lord”.[2]

I think that it is amazing to see that the response to setting their eyes on the Lord comes from a Levite whose name means “He sees God”! Check out what the prophetic word is:

2 Chronicles 20:15–17 NIV

He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel. You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.’ ”

Remember that just a short time ago, King Jehoshaphat admitted that they were helpless against the enemy and had no solutions. I hope this is stirring up faith in you right now. I asked you at the beginning of the message if you were in a place where you were seeing storms, enemies, on the horizon and were feeling helpless about it.

I don’t think that God’s solution or His methods are always the same. I know that Jesus never dealt with hurting people the same way. But I know that He was able to help them! I believe that He is able to help us.

I think that we need to make sure that we get our prejudices about the Holy Spirit out of the way. We need to be people of the Holy Spirit!

1 Corinthians 12:7–11 NIV

Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

These are gifts of the Spirit that can be expected when we “put our eyes on God”. They are to strengthen the Body of Christ.

Stand Before the Lord

As I was preparing this message this week, I saw a post from Pastor David Summerlin. It was a clip from a camp meeting with Samuel Rodriquez in Ohio. I wanted to show the clip but couldn’t get it.

Pastor Sam had gone to apply for the open senior pastor position at a church and was being interviewed by the Board. In the interview one of the Board members told Pastor Sam that their church leaned left and then asked Pastor Sam where he leaned. Pastor Sam recalled all the thoughts that ran through his head. He had expected to be asked if he would have a Spanish or Slavic service. But, no, “where do you lean?” Pastor Sam recalls that it was then that the Holy Spirit hit him and said, “Go ahead. Tell him”. Sam told the Lord, “If I say it I won’t get the position.” The Lord said, “Say it Sammy!”

He said, “Reluctantly I had no choice, I opened up my mouth and said, ‘Sir, with great due deference, we don’t lean.’ We Stand! We stand on the Word of God, on the promises of God, and on the finished work of Jesus. And as a matter of fact, sir, whatever the Bible calls sin, we call sin. Whatever the Bible calls holiness, we call holiness. I’m tired of seeing Christians leaning one way or another. We don’t need people to lean. We need a church that stands!”[3]

The only actions required of the Judean army are merely to “go out against them”—that is, to march to the battle site, take positions, and “stand still and watch the Lord’s victory” (20:17), actions that are an echo of those commanded by Moses at the crossing of the Red Sea in Exodus 14:13–14 (Japhet 1993:795).[4]

There is another aspect to the victory over the Edomites and it had to do with praise. The Levites were commanded to lead the military out to battle with song. Vs 21 records the 10 words of the song, “Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.”

Watch what happens! They have set their eyes on the Lord. They have embraced the prophetic move of the Spirit. They have stood and now in response to their praise…

2 Chronicles 20:22–25 NIV

As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. The Ammonites and Moabites rose up against the men from Mount Seir to destroy and annihilate them. After they finished slaughtering the men from Seir, they helped to destroy one another. When the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks the desert and looked toward the vast army, they saw only dead bodies lying on the ground; no one had escaped. So Jehoshaphat and his men went to carry off their plunder, and they found among them a great amount of equipment and clothing and also articles of value—more than they could take away. There was so much plunder that it took three days to collect it.

The armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir were surprised by ambushes set by the Lord’s army (see note on 20:22), leading to confusion so that the armies slaughtered each other as they marched toward Jerusalem, first the Moabites and Ammonites turning on the Edomites (or Arabians), then the Moabites and Ammonites on each other (cf. Judg 7:22; 1 Sam 14:20).[5]

I don’t know about you but that makes me want to shout!

Let God Have the Storm!

Uncertain about tomorrow? – Hand it over to the Lord

Does this mean to do nothing? No! The people fasted, prayed, placed their eyes on God, embraced the move of the Spirit, worshipped, and stood. But they admitted that they were helpless without the Lord.

It wasn’t about going through the motions. It was about sincerity and worship. God is able. God asks us to pray. He asks us to come to him.

When we do, the enemy will fall. We can be assured of it. It may not look the same way every time but it is certain.

Do you have a storm in your life? It’s time to admit your helplessness and trust in Him!

[1] https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2020/april-web-only/we-dont-know-what-to-do-but-our-eyes-are-on-you.html [2] Mark J. Boda, Cornerstone Biblical Commentarya: 1-2 Chronicles, vol. 5 (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2010), 330. [3] https://fb.watch/lWyCRljP7Z/ [4] Mark J. Boda, Cornerstone Biblical Commentarya: 1-2 Chronicles, vol. 5 (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2010), 330. [5] Mark J. Boda, Cornerstone Biblical Commentarya: 1-2 Chronicles, vol. 5 (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2010), 330–331.