Bible Studies for Life By Jeffery M. Leonard, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Religion, Samford University
Give Thanks — Anyway!
2 Chronicles 20:10–12, 14–17, 20–22, 29–30
The rise of the Davidic monarchy and the development of Israel into a small empire in Canaan and the Levant coincided with a decline in the empires to the nation’s east and west. In the west, Egypt had been in a state of decline for centuries and would never regain the prestige it had enjoyed in previous eras. To the east, Assyria and Babylonia were both recovering from long periods of internal and external stress and were poorly positioned to dominate states like Israel. While these powerful empires on Israel’s borders were in retreat, Israel and her more immediate neighbors were left to work matters out among themselves. Conflict was never far in the past or future as Israel split into two kingdoms, Judah and Israel, and as nations such as Phoenicia, Philistia, Aram, Ammon, Moab and Edom fought for control of one piece of ground or another.
In 2 Chronicles 20, we find ourselves squarely in the middle of one of these moments of conflict. During the reign of the Judean king, Jehoshaphat, three nations to the southeast launched an attack on Judah. Ammon, Moab and Edom (called here “Mount Seir”) — nations that usually found themselves under Judean control — banded together to turn the tables on their erstwhile conqueror. King Jehoshaphat was quite frightened by the coalition pressing in on his eastern flanks (2 Chron. 20:3). The question was, “How would the king respond in the face of these fears?”
Give thanks because you can look to God when you are powerless. (10–12)
Jehoshaphat’s first instinct was one that was thoroughly biblical: He turned to God with words of lament. In verses 6–9 the king appeals to God, reminding Him that He is the God who rules heaven and earth. He is the God who gave the land to His people, and it is to Him that the king expresses his determination to appeal for deliverance.
What is most interesting about the king’s appeal in verses 10–13 is its frank admission that the king has no choice but to rely on God: “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” (v. 12). With nowhere else to turn, the king rightly turns to God and expresses his complete dependence on Him.
Give thanks because God is with you. (14–17)
The response to Jehoshaphat’s prayer was immediate. The text records that God prompted a man named Jahaziel to go to the king and give him the divine response. That response was an affirmation of what the king himself had said: Jehoshaphat was powerless before the coalition allied against him, but God would intervene to win the battle on the king’s behalf. In verse 15 the prophet declares, “The battle is not yours but God’s,” and in words reminiscent of God’s assurances to Moses in Exodus 3, he adds, “The Lord will be with you” (v. 17).
Give thanks because God gives victory and peace. (20–22, 29–30)
The next morning, Jehoshaphat did just as God had commanded him. He went out early and encouraged the people that God would deliver them; they had only to trust his messenger. The text then tells us that the king took one more step to affirm his trust in God’s promise of deliverance, he appointed singers to lead the army with hymns of praise to God. Though the battle had not yet been joined, Jehoshaphat was already praising God for the victory that would inevitably come. Even in the face of terrible odds, the king expressed extraordinary trust and extraordinary thanks to his extraordinary God.
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