Jehoshaphat's Deliverance through Prayer and Praise
2 Chronicles 20:1-30
1After this the sons of Moab and the sons of Ammon came, together with some of the Meunites, against Jehoshaphat for battle.2They came and reported to Jehoshaphat, saying, "A great multitude has come against you from beyond the sea, from Aram; and behold, they are at Hazazon-tamar"—that is, En-gedi.3Jehoshaphat was afraid, so he set his face to seek the LORD; he also proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.4Judah assembled to seek the LORD; indeed, people came from all the cities of Judah to seek the LORD.5Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the house of the LORD before the new court.6He said, "O LORD, God of our fathers, are you not the God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in your hand are power and might, so that no one can stand against you."7Are you not our God, who drove out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and gave it forever to the seed of Abraham, your beloved?8They settled in it and built in it a sanctuary for your name, saying,9"If calamity, sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine comes upon us, we will stand before this house and before you, for your name is in this house, and we will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear and save."10Now behold, the sons of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom you did not allow Israel to enter when they came from the land of Egypt, turned aside from them and did not destroy them.11Yet behold, they are repaying us by coming to drive us out from your possession that you gave us.12Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no strength before this great multitude that is coming against us, and we do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.13All Judah was standing before the LORD, together with their little ones, their wives, and their children.14Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel son of Zechariah son of Benaiah son of Jeiel son of Mattaniah, the Levite from the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly.15He said, "Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the LORD to you, Do not be afraid or dismayed before this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God's."16Tomorrow go down against them; behold, they are coming up by the ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the valley before the wilderness of Jeruel.17You will not need to fight in this battle; take your positions, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, and the LORD will be with you.18Jehoshaphat bowed with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the LORD to worship the LORD.19The Levites from the sons of the Kohathites and from the sons of the Korahites stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with a very loud voice.20They rose early in the morning and went out to the wilderness of Tekoa. As they set 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."21He consulted with the people and appointed men to sing to the LORD and to praise him for the splendor of holiness as they went out before the army, saying, "Give thanks to the LORD, for his steadfast love endures forever."22As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the sons of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir who had come against Judah, and they were routed.23The sons of Ammon and Moab rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to devote them to destruction; and when they had finished with the inhabitants of Seir, each helped his neighbor to destruction.24When Judah came to the lookout over the wilderness, they looked toward the great multitude, and behold, they were corpses lying on the ground; none had escaped.25Jehoshaphat and his people came to take the plunder; they found among them an abundance of goods, property, corpses, and precious articles, and they carried away so much that there was no burden; for three days they plundered the spoil, because there was so much.26On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Beracah, for there they blessed the LORD; therefore they called the name of that place the Valley of Beracah to this day.27Then all the men of Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat at their head, returned to Jerusalem with joy, because the LORD had given them cause to rejoice over their enemies.28They entered Jerusalem with harps, lyres, and trumpets to the house of the LORD.29The dread of God came upon all the kingdoms of the lands when they heard that the LORD had fought against the enemies of Israel.30So the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was quiet, and his God gave him rest on every side.