May the mumbling commence!
As I was reading the passages for today, I was reminded
of a sermon that I experienced when I was in seminary. It was the first time I ever “church-shopped”
in my life. The pastor, Andrew, asked
some people to come forward and demonstrate the “turtle” formation that the
Roman army once did.
I was one of those volunteers. We brought up a hymnal, and we used our
hymnals as shields to form a wall of protection all around us and above
us. Think about that imagery for a
minute… What does it mean to take our
hymnals to the battlefield?
With that in mind, read this passage from Second
Chronicles chapter twenty:
"And now see what the armies of Ammon, Moab, and
Mount Seir are doing. You would not let our ancestors invade those nations when
Israel left Egypt, so they went around them and did not destroy them. Now see how they
reward us! For they have come to throw us out of your land, which
you gave us as an inheritance. O our God, won't you stop them? We are
powerless against this mighty army that is about to attack us. We do not know
what to do, but we are
looking to you for help."
As all the men of Judah stood before the Lord with their little ones, wives, and
children, the
Spirit of the Lord came upon one
of the men standing there. His name was Jahaziel son of Zechariah,
son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite who was a descendant
of Asaph. He said, "Listen, King
Jehoshaphat! Listen, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid! Don't be discouraged by this
mighty army, for the battle is not
yours, but God's. Tomorrow, march
out against them. You will find them coming up through the ascent of Ziz at the
end of the valley that opens into the wilderness of Jeruel. But you will not even need to fight. Take your positions;
then stand still and watch the Lord's victory. He is with you, O people of Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Go out
there tomorrow, for the Lord is with you!"
Then King
Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground. And all the people of Judah
and Jerusalem did the same, worshiping the Lord. Then the Levites from the clans of Kohath and
Korah stood to praise the Lord,
the God of Israel, with a very loud shout.
Early the next morning the army of Judah went out into
the wilderness of Tekoa. On the way Jehoshaphat stopped and said, "Listen to
me, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Believe
in the Lord your God, and you will
be able to stand firm. Believe in his prophets, and you will succeed." After
consulting the leaders of the people, the
king appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the Lord and praising him for his holy
splendor. This is what they sang:
"Give thanks to the Lord;
his faithful love endures forever!"
At the moment they began to sing and give praise, the Lord
caused the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir to start fighting among
themselves. The armies of Moab and Ammon
turned against their allies from Mount Seir and killed every one of them. After
they had finished off the army of Seir, they turned on each other. (Verses 10-23)
What an impossible situation! But just look at what the Lord can do for
those who believe in Him! King
Jehoshaphat and Jahaziel helped to lead the people in the paths of the
Lord. Other leaders of the people helped
to prepare them for war against the immense combined army of Ammon, Moab and
Mount Seir.
How did they prepare for battle! Did they practice parrying with swords? NO!
They
talked about standing still and watching the victory of the Lord. How’s that for a battle plan! They worshiped the Lord with abandon.
And, on the morning of the battle, King Jehoshaphat put
the leaders’ heads together. They came
up with the idea of singing praises to the Lord as they went into battle. They had a hymn-sing!
Bring your hymnals to battle! And the battle was the Lord’s. The battle still is the Lord’s.
Trust in God… It’s
more than a phrase put on our currency.
God will still fight our battles, if we trust in Him and give the
battles of our lives over to Him.
Enough
mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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