2 Chronicles 20:1-37

2 Chronicles: God desires loyal people

The *Kingdom called Judah

2 Chronicles Chapter s 10 to 36

Ian Mackervoy

Chapter 20

Jehoshaphat trusts in the *LORD – 2 Chronicles 20:1-30

v1 After this, men from Moab and Ammon and some other people called Meunites came to start a war with Jehoshaphat.

v2 Some men came and they reported to Jehoshaphat. They said, ‘A large army is coming against you from Edom. They are coming from beyond the Dead Sea. They are already in Hazazon Tamar.’ (Hazazon Tamar is another name for the town called En-Gedi.) v3 Jehoshaphat was afraid. So, he decided to ask the *LORD what to do. Then he told the people in Judah not to eat for a time. v4 The people in Judah came together to ask the *LORD for help. They came from every town in Judah to pray to the *LORD.

v5 Then Jehoshaphat stood up in front of the people from Judah and from Jerusalem. He stood in the new yard in the *LORD’s *temple. v6 And he prayed, ‘*LORD, God of our *ancestors, you are the God in heaven. You rule over all the *kingdoms of the nations. You have power and strength, so nobody can stand against you. v7 Our God, you forced out the people who lived in this country. You forced them out in front of your people *Israel. And you gave this country for all time to the *descendants of your friend Abraham. v8 Your people have lived in this country and they have built a *temple for your name. v9 They said, “Maybe trouble will come upon us. That trouble might be war, punishment, disease or hunger. Then we will come and we will stand in front of you. We will stand in front of this *temple because your name is here. We will cry out to you when we are in trouble. Then you will hear us and you will save us.”

v10 Now here are men from Ammon, Moab, and *Mount Seir. When *Israel came from Egypt, you did not allow us to attack their countries. So, *Israel turned from them and they did not kill them. v11 See how they reward us for that. They have come to force us out of your country. You gave this country to us as our own. v12 You are our God. Therefore, punish these people. We have no power against this large army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do. So, we look to you for help.’

v13 All the men from Judah stood in front of the *LORD. With them were their wives, their children and their very young children.

v14 Then the Spirit of the *LORD came upon Jahaziel. He was Zechariah’s son and Zechariah was Benaiah’s son. Benaiah was Jeiel’s son, and Jeiel was Mattaniah’s son. Jahaziel was a *Levite and he was a *descendant of Asaph. He stood up among the people.

v15 He said, ‘Listen to me, King Jehoshaphat. And all you people who live in Judah and in Jerusalem listen to me. The *LORD says to you, “Do not be afraid. Do not let this large army depress you. The battle is not yours. This is God’s battle. v16 Tomorrow, march down there against that army. They will come up through the Pass of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the valley that leads to the Desert of Jeruel. v17 You will not fight this battle. Go to your positions and stand firm. People from Judah and from Jerusalem, you will see the *LORD save you. Do not be afraid. And do not let the enemy depress you. So go out against those people tomorrow. When you do, the *LORD will be with you.” ’

v18 Jehoshaphat bent down with his face to the ground. All the people from Judah and from Jerusalem bent down in front of the *LORD. And they *worshipped the *LORD. v19 Then some *Levites from the Kohath and Korah families stood up. And they praised the *LORD God of *Israel with very loud voices.

v20 Early in the morning, the *Israelites went out into the Tekoa desert. As they went out, Jehoshaphat stood up in front of them. He said, ‘Listen to me, people from Judah and from Jerusalem. Trust in the *LORD your God, then you will be strong. Believe his *prophets, then you will succeed.’ v21 Jehoshaphat talked with the people. Then he appointed men to sing to the *LORD. They praised the *LORD because he is holy and wonderful. Those who sang marched in front of the army. They said, ‘Thank the *LORD. He is always loyal to his promise and his love never ends.’

v22 They began to sing and to praise God. Then the *LORD put men in position to lie in wait for the enemy. The armies of Ammon and Moab and from *Mount Seir came to attack Judah. The *LORD defeated them. v23 He caused the men from Ammon and from Moab to attack the men from *Mount Seir. When they had killed all those men, they fought each other.

v24 The men from Judah came to a place where they could see the desert. They looked for the vast army. But all that they saw was dead bodies on the ground. Nobody had escaped. v25 Jehoshaphat and his army went to take away everything that was valuable. They found among the bodies a lot of wealth. There were many valuable things on the dead bodies. They took away all they could carry. There was so much there that it took three days to collect it. v26 On the fourth day, Jehoshaphat and his army came together in the Valley of Beracah. There they praised the *LORD. That is why that place is called the Valley of Beracah to this day.

v27 Then Jehoshaphat led all the men from Judah and Jerusalem back to Jerusalem with joy. They were happy because the *LORD had defeated their enemies. v28 They entered Jerusalem with *harps, *lyres and *trumpets. And they went to the *LORD’s *temple.

v29 All the nations heard how the *LORD had defeated *Israel’s enemies. And they were afraid of God. v30 And the *kingdom of Jehoshaphat had no war because God gave him peace on every side.

Verses 1-4 Jehoshaphat did not expect an attack by an army from Moab, Ammon, and the people called Meunites. The Meunites were a people from *Mount Seir in Edom. They may have come from a town called Maon. Maon was about 12 miles (19 kilometres) south and east of the city called Petra.

This army came from Edom, which was a territory to the east and south of the Dead Sea. The army came round the south of the Dead Sea. They had already beaten the people in En-Gedi. En-Gedi was a town about half way up on the western shore of the Dead Sea.

The news of this large army made Jehoshaphat afraid. But he trusted God rather than his own army. He called on all the people in Judah to ask the *LORD for help. He told the people not to eat any food but to pray to the *LORD. The people came together from all the towns of Judah to pray.

Verses 5-9 The people came to the *LORD’s *temple in Jerusalem. Then Jehoshaphat stood up in front of them. He stood in the new square. And he led the people in a prayer to the *LORD.

In Solomon’s *temple, there were two squares. It seems that either Asa or Jehoshaphat had repaired one of these squares. Also, it may be that they extended this square. So, they called it the new square.

The king’s prayer starts with statements that God rules in heaven and on earth. The *LORD is more powerful than all people. The *LORD gave the country of *Israel to the *descendants of Abraham for all time. The *LORD is the God of this people and they have built his *temple. Jehoshaphat then refers to the prayer of Solomon and to the *LORD’s answer to that prayer (6:28-30; 7:13-15).

Verses 10-13 When the *Israelites came from Egypt, God did not allow them to attack the nations of *Mount Seir. And God told them not to fight Moab and Ammon (Deuteronomy chapter 2). The people whom God did not allow *Israel to kill now attacked *Israel.

The *LORD gave *Israel to the *Israelites as their country. Now this large army had come to *capture the country from God’s people. Therefore, God should protect his country and he should punish those people.

Jehoshaphat did have a strong army (17:14). But maybe he could not get it to the battle quickly enough. They were not ready for war. Jehoshaphat would rather trust God than his army. If God were not with them, their strength would be like weakness. They would not be able to defeat the enemy. So, Jehoshaphat asked the *LORD for advice and help. He would depend on God and not on his own strength.

All the men, women and children in Judah stood there. They agreed with Jehoshaphat’s prayer.

Verses 14-19 Then the Spirit of the *LORD came upon Jahaziel. He was a *Levite and he was a *descendant of Asaph. Asaph lived when David was king. Jahaziel stood up among the people and he spoke to them a *prophecy from the *LORD.

They were afraid and the situation depressed them. But he told them that there was no cause for them to be afraid. The battle was God’s and God would fight it. The army of Jehoshaphat would not need to fight at all.

The army of Judah had to go the next day to the valley that leads to the Desert of Jeruel. They must get ready as if for battle. Then they would stand. And they would watch what would happen. The enemy would come through the Pass of Ziz.

The Pass of Ziz was a mountain path. It started about 7 miles (11 kilometres) north of En-Gedi. It went from the sea up to the Valley of Beracah, west of the town called Tekoa. The Desert of Jeruel was probably a flat area near Tekoa. The enemy would come this way to the Valley of Beracah, which leads to the Desert of Jeruel.

Jehoshaphat and the people believed what Jahaziel said. They all fell down and they *worshipped the *LORD. Then some of the *Levites stood up and they led the people to praise the *LORD.

Verses 20-21 Tekoa town was on a high hill. The Tekoa desert was to the east below the town.

As the *Israelites set out, Jehoshaphat stood in front of them. He gave to them this advice. ‘Trust in the *LORD and believe his *prophets.’ This is the best advice that anyone can give. It is quite as good for us today. If we trust in God, we will be strong. If we obey his word, we will succeed.

Jehoshaphat sent the *Levite singers in front of the army. They sang to the *LORD. They praised the *LORD. They thanked the *LORD for his love. They sang as if they had won the battle already. In effect, they had, because God had promised it.

Verses 22-23 As the *Israelites began to sing, the *LORD started the battle. He put men in places where they could surprise the enemy. We do not know who these men were. There is a tradition that they might have been *angels. But it is more probable that they were just men.

The enemy came to attack the *Israelites. But before they could reach the *Israelites, the *LORD defeated them. He caused confusion in the enemy camp. As a result, the soldiers from Ammon and Moab killed all the soldiers from *Mount Seir (that is Edom). Then the soldiers from Ammon and the soldiers from Moab fought against each other.

Verses 24-28 The men from Judah looked for the enemy camp. They expected to see a large camp. They should have seen hundreds of soldiers who were ready for war. But instead, they saw the dead bodies of the whole army.

The men from Judah took away everything valuable from the bodies and from the camp. They would have found *weapons and clothes. There would have been all the supplies for a large army. There was probably silver, gold and many other valuable things. There was so much that it took three days to complete this task.

On the 4th day, Jehoshaphat and his army praised the *LORD in the Valley of Beracah. Before this time, the name of the valley was probably not Beracah. But after this event, that was its name. The word Beracah means to praise or to bless.

Jehoshaphat led his army back to Jerusalem. The musicians led them into the city and to the *LORD’s *temple. There they praised the *LORD with joy.

Verses 29-30 News about the defeat of the men from Moab, Ammon and the people called Meunites went to all the countries round Judah. They knew that God had done this. So, they were too afraid of him to make war with Judah. So, there was a time of peace.

The end of Jehoshaphat’s rule – 2 Chronicles 20:31-37

v31 Jehoshaphat ruled over the country of Judah. He was 35 years old when he became king. And he ruled in Jerusalem for 25 years. His mother’s name was Azubah, daughter of Shilhi. v32 He lived as his father Asa had done. He was a good king as Asa was. And he did what was right in the opinion of the *LORD. v33 But he did not remove the high places where people *worshipped other gods. The people still had not settled their hearts to serve the God of their *ancestors.

v34 There is a record of the other events from the beginning to the end of Jehoshaphat’s rule. Jehu, son of Hanani wrote this record. And it is in the book of the kings of *Israel.

v35 Later, Jehoshaphat, king of Judah joined in an agreement with Ahaziah, the wicked king of *Israel. v36 They agreed together to build ships that could sail to trade in Tarshish. They built these ships in the town called Ezion-Geber. v37 Then Eliezer, son of Dodavahu from the town called Mareshah *prophesied against Jehoshaphat. He said, ‘You have joined with Ahaziah. Therefore the *LORD will destroy what you have made.’ The ships broke up in the sea. So, they could not sail to Tarshish to trade.

Verses 31-33 Jehoshaphat was a good king. In this, he was like his father Asa. But, unlike his father, he did not *turn from the *LORD. But he did not remove all the high places for *worship. He had removed the *altars for false gods. He had removed the *Asherah poles. But the people still *worshipped at high places. Perhaps they did *worship the *LORD there but they should have *worshipped him in the *temple.

Verse 34 Jehu wrote a record of all the events of Jehoshaphat’s rule. This record is in the book of the kings of *Israel. *Israel here means Judah.

Verses 35-37 We think that the word ‘later’ here refers back to the time immediately after the death of Ahab (18:4). Ahaziah became king in *Israel when his father Ahab died. He ruled for two years in Samaria. That was in the years 850 and 849 *BC. He was a wicked king. But during those two years, Jehoshaphat made an agreement with him. They decided to build ships in the town called Ezion-Geber.

Ezion-Geber was a port at the north end of the Gulf of Aqaba. The Gulf of Aqaba leads into the Red Sea. King Solomon had built ships at Ezion-Geber (1 Kings 9:26).

The ships were for trade with Tarshish. We do not know where this Tarshish was. There was a Tarshish that Jonah tried to go to (Jonah 1:3). That Tarshish was probably in Spain or in Sardinia.

It may be that the name Tarshish did not refer to a place. It might just mean trade with places a long way off. Both Solomon and Jehoshaphat wanted trade with Ophir. We do not know where Ophir was. But Solomon received a lot of gold from Ophir (8:17-18).

Jehoshaphat had not learned the lesson from his agreement with Ahab. The *LORD sent Eliezer to *prophesy against Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat ought not to have made an agreement with Ahaziah. Because he had done so, the *LORD destroyed the ships.

Probably Jehoshaphat did not do what he had promised to Ahaziah. He built ships at Ezion-Geber to trade with Ophir. When Ahaziah wanted his sailors to join with Jehoshaphat’s sailors, Jehoshaphat refused. But all of the ships broke up as they sailed from Ezion-Geber (1 Kings 22:48-49).

Jehoram – 2 Chronicles 21:1-20

kingdom ~ the place or territory where a king rules; or, the people that a king rules over.
LORD ~ ‘LORD’ is the special name that God gave to himself. It means that God has always been.
lord ~ someone with authority such as the king.
temple ~ a special building for the worship of God or of other gods. The Jews had one in Jerusalem for the worship of the real God.
worship ~ to praise God and to give thanks to him; to show honour to God and to say that we love him very much. But some people worship false gods instead of the real God.
Jews ~ another name for the *Israelites.
ancestors ~ people in history that your family has come from.
kingdom ~ the place or territory where a king rules; or, the people that a king rules over.
descendant ~ a future member of a family or of a nation.
mount ~ a short word for mountain; small mountain.
Levite ~ a person who belongs to the tribe of Levi.
tribe ~ the *Israelites were divided into the 12 families of the sons of Jacob. These families are the 12 tribes of *Israel.
worship ~ to praise God and to give thanks to him; to show honour to God and to say that we love him very much. But some people worship false gods instead of the real God.
prophet ~ person who speaks on behalf of God. He or she can sometimes say what will happen in the future. Some prophets worshipped false gods. So, not all prophets spoke words from God.
worship ~ to praise God and to give thanks to him; to show honour to God and to say that we love him very much. But some people worship false gods instead of the real God.
harp ~ a musical instrument that has many strings.
lyre ~ a musical instrument with strings.
trumpet ~ a musical instrument; it makes a sound when a person blows into it.
capture ~ to fight for something and to make it yours as a result; or, to make somebody a prisoner.
prophecy ~ a message from God; a gift of the Holy Spirit. But sometimes false prophets tried to speak a prophecy.
prophet ~ person who speaks on behalf of God. He or she can sometimes say what will happen in the future. Some prophets worshipped false gods. So, not all prophets spoke words from God.
worship ~ to praise God and to give thanks to him; to show honour to God and to say that we love him very much. But some people worship false gods instead of the real God.
angel ~ a messenger. God made angels to serve him and to take his messages.
weapon ~ a tool of war; people use it in attack or in defence when in a fight (like a sword or a gun).
prophesy ~ to speak a prophecy.
prophecy ~ a message from God; a gift of the Holy Spirit. But sometimes false prophets tried to speak a prophecy.
prophet ~ person who speaks on behalf of God. He or she can sometimes say what will happen in the future. Some prophets worshipped false gods. So, not all prophets spoke words from God.
worship ~ to praise God and to give thanks to him; to show honour to God and to say that we love him very much. But some people worship false gods instead of the real God.
turn ~ to decide to support someone. Or, to decide to oppose someone. If a person ‘turns away from God’, that person decides not to be loyal to God. If a person ‘turns to God’, that person decides to be loyal to God.
altar ~ the special table that someone made out of stone or wood or metal; on it they burnt animals or they offered other gifts to God or to false gods.
Asherah ~ a female god.
BC ~ years before Christ was born.