The Battle Belongs To The Lord

2 Chronicles 20:15-17 – The Battle Belongs to The LORD

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.

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.

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.

In the scriptures we see how God defeats the enemies of Israel in different ways.

· Exodus 14 – The destruction of the Egyptian army at the closing of the Red Sea.

· Deuteronomy 3:1-11 – The Lord fought with the Israelites allowing their army to defeat the army of Og king of Bashan.

· Joshua 8 – The Lord led Joshua and his army to defeat the king of Ai and his people and to take their land.

· Judges 4 – The Lord used the prophetess Deborah to strengthen the leaders of Israel to defeat Sisera and then used a lady named Jael to slay him with a nail.

· Judges 7 – The Lord used the obedience of Gideon with 300 men to defeat the surpeior army of the Midianites.

Sometimes the Lord works through men. Sometimes he just does takes care of business himself. Here we see that God intends to do the latter, “Ye shall not need to fight in this battle”.

The command, “Stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you” and “fear not… for the Lord will be with you”, are similar to Moses’ instructions in Exodus 14:13-14.

And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace. (Ex. 14:13-14)

What reassurance this must have been for king Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat reigned during the period of the divided monarch of Israel’s history. He is considered to be one of the godlier kings of Judah. He is noted for his efforts to ride Judeah of idol worship and to promote the teaching of God’s law throughout the land.

One of his not so brilliant moves however was to assist the evil king Ahab of Israel in retaking some territory from the Syrians. This brought them to the attention of the Syrians, as needing a good lesson in what it meant to fear the Syrians. So at this time there is a huge army marching on Jerusalem. This was such a frightful event that entire families from all areas of Judah came to the temple to find the king and see what he was going to do. The enemy was only less than a 3-day march from Jerusalem. Certain destruction laid ahead. Judah had no army suitable to meet them with.

The king went to the court of the temple and prayed… and waited on God. Then came this message. The message is not to all of Israel. It is to Judah, Jerusalem, and the king Jehoshaphat. The message from God… I got this… you just stand there and watch me.

When the enemy came upon Jehoshaphat, he used the armor of God.

He did what Paul said, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.”

Jehoshaphat trusted in the power of God’s might.

· He came to the temple. He sought God’s counsel, first!

· He prayed the Lord to defend his name. He knew the only way for Judah to survive was to call upon the commander-in-chief of Juday. He had to get the one who rules all the nations of the world. The one who commanded all armies.

· He made a righteous mans plea to God

· He trusted in the Word of God

· His mind was protected by the expectation of the salvation of the Lord

By putting on the armor of God, he would be able to stand. His first step in this was to pray. Paul further tells is in Ephesians 6:18, that even with the whole armor of God upon we are to Pray. “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints,” (Ephesians 6:18).

So it was that Jehosaphat prayed for all Judah, for all those who trusted in the Lord. So too is it that we aught to pray. But also it says “and watching thereunto” Pray therefore in expectation of seeing the salvation of the Lord.

“Fear ye not, stand still, see the salvation of the Lord” is mentioned numerous times in the scriptures. We are to trust in the Lord!

· Proverbs 3:5 - Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

· Psalms 118:8 - It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.

· Psalms 118:14 - The LORD is my strength and song, and is become my salvation.

Proverbs 3:5 - Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

Praying and trusting in the Lord and the power of his might. It does not good to have armor if you do not trust the craftsman who made it.

Jehosaphat trusted God, and God told him:

· Do not be afraid or dismayed (distraught; worried, perplexed)

· The size of the army doesn’t matter… you’re not going to have to fight them…

· Its not your battle… it’s mine!

· Intstead go out in the morning and go out to them. But you don’t need to fight. Set yourselves and stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord.

Isn’t it wonderful that we have absolutely nothing to do with the salvation of the Lord?

· Ephesians 2:8 - For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

· Psalms 37:39 - But the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD: he is their strength in the time of trouble.

· Romans 10:9 – That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

· Acts 4:12 – Neither is there salvation in any other: for these is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

How about you?

Is the enemy on a force-march to your door?

How to you intend to stand?

Are you seeking the Lord?