 Rev. Matthew J. Hook |
Attitudes
and Armies
Sermon:
Scripture: |
|
After this the Moabites and Ammonites, and with them some of the Meunites came against Jehoshaphat for battle. Messengers came and told Jehoshaphat, "A great multitude is coming against you from Edom, from beyond the sea. Already they are on the west shore of the Dead Sea." Jehoshaphat was afraid; he set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord; from all the towns of Judah they came to seek the Lord. Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, and said, "O Lord, God of our ancestors, are you not God in heaven? Do you not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? In your hand are power and might, so that no one is able to withstand you. O God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of your friend Abraham? They have lived in it, and in it have built you a sanctuary for your name. They have said, `If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house, and cry to you in our distress, and you will hear and save.' See now the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir. You would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, and whom they avoided and did not destroy - they reward us by coming to drive us out of your possession that you have given us to inherit. O God, will you not execute judgment upon them? For we are powerless against this great multitude that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you." Meanwhile all Judah stood before the Lord.... Then the spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel...a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the middle of the assembly. He said, "Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you, `Do not fear or be dismayed at this great multitude; for the battle is not yours but God's. Tomorrow go down against them; they will come up by the ascent of Ziz; you will find them at the end of the valley, before the wilderness of Jeruel. This battle is not for you to fight; take your position, stand still and see the victory of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.' Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you." Then Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. And the Levites...stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice. They rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Listen to me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God and you will be established; believe his prophets." When he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise him in holy splendor, as they went before the army, saying, "Give thanks to the Lord, for his steadfast love endures forever." As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set an ambush against the Ammonites, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed. The Ammonites and Moab attacked the inhabitants of Mount Seir, destroying them utterly; and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they all helped to destroy one another. When Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude; the other armies were corpses, lying on the ground; no one had escaped. II Chronicles 20:1-24. Let us pray: Take my lips and speak through them. Take our thoughts and think through them. Take our hearts and set them on fire with love for you. Unless you speak, nothing of significance will be spoken. Bring us your Word, Lord Jesus. Amen. * * * * * This little-known story is one of my favorites. It would make a great old Cecil B. DeMille movie. Can you see it? All the fearful people of Judah falling down worshiping in Solomon's new temple. The prophet rising to bring a message from God. Jehoshaphat quelling the doubters: "We will do as the Lord says!" The armies charging toward Judah, then turning on one another. Disaster averted, happily ever after. Jehoshaphat triumphant, thanks to God. It also explains why the Democratic congressmen in Washington, DC should love John Ashcroft, our new Attorney General. In the Senate hearings over the past few weeks, John Ashcroft's Christian faith was equated with hard liquor: okay to use evenings and weekends, but it clouds judgment during the workday. In contrast, nine out of ten Americans-most with a Christian heritage-say religion is important or very important in their lives. Many of those surveyed probably believe we should think about God only on Sunday, but others wouldn't mind an attorney general taking a swig from the Bible once in a while during working hours. Seeing news snippets of the hearings reminds me of the old youth Sunday school lesson in which one of the students is put on trial to see if there is enough "evidence" to convict him or her of being a Christian! Ashcroft has been accused of being "far out of the mainstream" of American thinking by many senators, including Teddy Kennedy (whose two brothers were President and Attorney General at the same time). Whether or not he is "far out," Mr. Ashcroft appears to be far out of the mainstream of Bush's team. Democrats who fear misuse of authority in a Republican White House should love a man willing to stand up to power, even White House power, because he professes to obey above all a higher authority, God. Democrats who want a watchdog to growl at any White House impropriety could not do better than John Ashcroft, so it seems. Praise God for the shrinking anti-Semitism as evidenced in the acceptance of Joe Lieberman, but isn't it interesting to see the increasing fear and distrust of openly-professing Christians? Let's move into the biblical account told by the Chronicler. First and Second Chronicles were originally one book, but fit much better on two scrolls. They contain the history of Israel from Adam to the Babylonian captivity and Cyrus' decree allowing the exiled Jews to return. In many ways, it's a miniature Old Testament, tracing the flow of Old Testament history. Many think the author was Ezra, who led a group of exiles back to Palestine in 458 BC. After the Israelites came from Egypt led by Moses, crossing the Red Sea, wandering 40 years in the wilderness, they crossed the Jordan into the Promised Land. Then they lived through the time of the Judges, followed by the time of Kings Saul, David and Solomon, who united all of Israel. After Solomon, the nation split, never again to be united. The Northern Kingdom was called Israel and the Southern Kingdom was called Judah. Jehoshaphat was a King of Judah in the mid-800s BC. He was a good king.
20:1-2: Jehoshaphat learns of the two great armies marching against him.
The future holds no guarantee. People hold no guarantee. Even advanced technology holds no guarantee. Look at California. It can be maddening, because we want to be in control, and without the assurance of faith in God we have no assurance with which to face the future. I may not know what the future holds, but I know who holds the future, and thus I stake my claim in God. What are you facing? There are so many issues in life that would be settled, that would not drain us of the energy involved in decision making, if we would settle once and for all who we are and whose we are. Remember Jehoshaphat! When his future suddenly became uncertain, he knew right away where to turn.
20:3-12: The King is fearful and proclaims a national fast and prays.
Have you ever brought yourself before the Lord in such honesty? Have you brought your life and problems to God? There are some things God either cannot or will not do unless people pray. Remember Jehoshaphat! His first act was to pray.
20:13-19: Jahaziel the Prophet is filled with the Spirit and proclaims comfort to the people. He declares to not be afraid or discouraged, because the battle is the Lord's. If they are being faithful to the Lord, it is God's responsibility to see them through. Jahaziel states they are to move to meet the enemy, and then they are to stand and watch what God would do. The circumstances in life are never as important as our attitudes toward those circumstances.
20:20-26: Jehoshaphat and the singers lead the way.
The battle really was the Lord's. Why do we who have the assurance of God in Jesus Christ worry so much?! Remember after Jesus died that the women who went to the tomb of Jesus to embalm the body worried all the way there about who would roll the stone away and then found that God had already done it. The fact is, we easily deplete our emotional energy by needlessly anticipating the bad, which never comes.
After they realized what had happened, the people praised God with thanksgiving for his enduring love. The people experienced God, and other nations heard of and feared the Lord. Key Verses:
The truths we take from this story living in 2001: When this was written, other nations had innumerable soldiers. Judah was an insignificant part of an outlying province in the vast Persian Empire. "Set yourselves," said the Chronicler to his people; "Be resolute," find strength not in soldiers but in your religion and morals. The Persian Empire has crumbled to dust; its religion is now known only to students of antiquity. Men and women who stand still and see the victory of the Lord keep steady, no matter what their external circumstances. There will always be armies coming at you; there will always be plenty to worry about. You will find yourself in life facing all kinds of foes, some from without, some from within. Realize that we will always live in the tension of God's faithfulness and appearances to the contrary. And God calls us to be faithful-as a church, as this Sunday Night Alive group of worshipers, and as individuals! Remember Jehoshaphat!
|