CLARITY EDITION · OLD TESTAMENT
2 Chronicles 20
Chapter 20 of 36
Chapter Overview
What happens in 2 Chronicles 20
A vast army from Moab, Ammon, and Mount Seir comes against Jehoshaphat. Terrified, he calls all of Judah to fast and pray. God speaks through a prophet: 'The battle is not yours but God's.' Jehoshaphat sends singers ahead of the army, and God causes the enemies to destroy each other.
Scripture
2 Chronicles 20
A Huge Army Threatens Judah
Study note
A massive coalition army from Moab, Ammon, and Edom came against Jehoshaphat from the east side of the Dead Sea. They were already at En-gedi, frighteningly close to Jerusalem. Jehoshaphat was terrified but immediately turned to the Lord. He called all of Judah to fast, and people from every town in Judah came to Jerusalem to seek the Lord's help.
1 After this, armies from Moab, Ammon, and some of their allies came to attack Jehoshaphat. It came to pass after this also, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them other beside the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle.
2 Messengers rushed to tell Jehoshaphat, "A massive army is marching toward you from across the Dead Sea, from Edom. They have already reached En-gedi." Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side Syria; and, behold, they be in Hazazon-tamar, which is En-gedi.
3 Jehoshaphat was scared. He made up his mind to ask the Lord for help and called on everyone in Judah to go without food and pray. And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
4 The people of Judah gathered from every town to ask the Lord for help. And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the LORD: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD.
Jehoshaphat's Prayer
Study note
Standing in the temple courtyard, Jehoshaphat prayed one of the most powerful prayers in the Bible. He acknowledged God's sovereignty over all nations, reminded God of how he had given the land to Abraham's descendants, and pointed out that the temple was built for exactly this kind of moment — to cry out to God when disaster came. He ended with the honest confession: 'We have no power against this great army. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.'
5 Jehoshaphat stood before the people. He was in the Lord's temple, in front of the new courtyard. And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court,
6 He prayed, "Lord, God of our ancestors, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over every kingdom on earth. You hold power and strength in your hands, and nobody can stand against you." And said, O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?
7 "Our God, did you not drive out the people who lived in this land before your people Israel arrived? Did you not give this land forever to the descendants of your friend Abraham?" Art not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever?
8 "They settled here and built a temple for your name, saying," And they dwelt therein, and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name, saying,
9 "'If disaster strikes us, whether war, judgment, disease, or famine, we will stand in front of this temple and before you, because your name is in this temple. We will cry out to you when we are in trouble, and you will hear us and save us.'" If, when evil cometh upon us, as the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and in thy presence, (for thy name is in this house,) and cry unto thee in our affliction, then thou wilt hear and help.
10 "Now look at the men from Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir! These are the very nations you would not let Israel attack when they came out of Egypt. Israel turned away and did not destroy them." And now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and mount Seir, whom thou wouldest not let Israel invade, when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them, and destroyed them not;
11 "See how they pay us back! They are coming to force us out of the land you gave us." Behold, I say, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit.
12 "Our God, will you not punish them? We have no strength to face this huge army coming at us. We do not know what to do, but we are looking to you for help." O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.
13 All the people of Judah stood before the Lord, including their small children, their wives, and their young people. And all Judah stood before the LORD, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.
God's Answer Through Jahaziel
Study note
The Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel, a Levite. He declared, 'Don't be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army, for the battle is not yours but God's.' He told them they would not even need to fight — just go out, stand still, and watch the Lord's deliverance. Jehoshaphat and all the people bowed down and worshipped.
14 Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jahaziel, a Levite and descendant of Asaph. He was the son of Zechariah, and he stood up in the middle of the gathering. Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the LORD in the midst of the congregation;
15 He said, "Pay attention, all of Judah and Jerusalem! Pay attention, King Jehoshaphat! The Lord's message for you is this: 'Don't be afraid or lose courage because of this enormous army. This battle does not belong to you. It belongs to God.'" And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's.
16 "Tomorrow, march down toward them. They will come up through the pass called Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the valley that opens into the wilderness of Jeruel." To morrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel.
17 "You will not even need to fight in this battle. Take your positions, stand still, and watch the Lord rescue you, people of Judah and Jerusalem. Don't be afraid or lose heart. Go out and face them tomorrow, because the Lord will be there with you." Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you.
18 Jehoshaphat bowed with his face to the ground. All the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down before the Lord to worship him. And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the LORD, worshipping the LORD.
19 Then Levites from the families of Kohath and Korah stood up. They praised the Lord, the God of Israel, with very loud voices. And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites, and of the children of the Korhites, stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with a loud voice on high.
The Miraculous Victory
Study note
The next morning, Jehoshaphat sent singers ahead of the army, praising God and singing, 'Give thanks to the Lord, for his faithful love endures forever.' As they began to sing, the Lord caused the enemy armies to turn on each other. By the time Judah reached the lookout point, there was nothing but dead bodies. It took three days to collect all the plunder.
20 Early the next morning, they headed out to the wilderness of Tekoa. As they started on their way, Jehoshaphat stood and called out, "Listen to me, people of Judah and Jerusalem! Put your trust in the Lord your God, and you will stand strong. Trust his prophets, and you will succeed." And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.
21 After talking it over with the people, he chose singers to walk ahead of the army, praising the Lord for his holy beauty. They sang, "Give thanks to the Lord, for his faithful love lasts forever!" And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever.
22 The moment they started singing and praising, the Lord set up an ambush against the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir that had invaded Judah. Those armies were thrown into confusion. And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.
23 The soldiers from Ammon and Moab turned on the men from Mount Seir and completely wiped them out. Then they turned on each other and destroyed themselves. For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another.
24 When the men of Judah reached the high ground overlooking the wilderness, they looked toward the huge army, but all they saw were dead bodies lying on the ground. Not a single enemy had escaped. And when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped.
25 Jehoshaphat and his men went to collect what was left behind. They found huge amounts of goods, clothing, and valuable items among the bodies, more than they could carry. It took three full days to gather everything because there was so much. And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in gathering of the spoil, it was so much.
Jehoshaphat's Later Years
Study note
They gathered in the Valley of Beracah (meaning 'blessing') to praise God. The surrounding nations were terrified when they heard how the Lord had fought for Israel. Jehoshaphat reigned 25 years and mostly did right before the Lord, though the hilltop shrines remained. His one later mistake was forming a shipping alliance with wicked King Ahaziah of Israel, which a prophet condemned. God destroyed the ships before they could sail.
26 On the fourth day, they gathered in the Valley of Beracah, which means "blessing," because that is where they praised the Lord. That place is still called the Valley of Beracah today. And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Berachah; for there they blessed the LORD: therefore the name of the same place was called, The valley of Berachah, unto this day.
27 Then all the men of Judah and Jerusalem headed back to Jerusalem with great joy, led by Jehoshaphat. The Lord had given them reason to celebrate over their enemies. Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat in the forefront of them, to go again to Jerusalem with joy; for the LORD had made them to rejoice over their enemies.
28 They arrived in Jerusalem with harps, lyres, and trumpets and went straight to the Lord's temple. And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets unto the house of the LORD.
29 All the nearby kingdoms became afraid of God. They had heard that the Lord himself had fought against Israel's enemies. And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries, when they had heard that the LORD fought against the enemies of Israel.
30 So Jehoshaphat's kingdom was at peace because his God had given him rest all around him. So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet: for his God gave him rest round about.
31 This is how Jehoshaphat ruled over Judah. He was 35 years old when he became king and ruled in Jerusalem for 25 years. His mother was Azubah, the daughter of Shilhi. And Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah: he was thirty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi.
32 He followed the example of his father Asa and never turned away from it. He did what the Lord considered right. And he walked in the way of Asa his father, and departed not from it, doing that which was right in the sight of the LORD.
33 However, the hilltop worship places were not all removed. The people still had not fully given their hearts to the God of their ancestors. Howbeit the high places were not taken away: for as yet the people had not prepared their hearts unto the God of their fathers.
34 All else about Jehoshaphat's rule is in the records of Jehu son of Hanani. These are part of the book of Israel's kings. Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Jehu the son of Hanani, who is mentioned in the book of the kings of Israel.
35 Later, King Jehoshaphat of Judah made a business deal with King Ahaziah of Israel. Ahaziah was a very wicked man. And after this did Jehoshaphat king of Judah join himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, who did very wickedly:
36 They agreed to build trading ships together, and they built them at Ezion-geber. And he joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish: and they made the ships in Ezion-geber.
37 Then Eliezer son of Dodavahu from Mareshah spoke a message from God against Jehoshaphat: "Because you partnered with Ahaziah, the Lord will wreck what you have built." And sure enough, the ships were destroyed and never sailed. Then Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, the LORD hath broken thy works. And the ships were broken, that they were not able to go to Tarshish.
Key Themes
Themes in 2 Chronicles 20
Praying when overwhelmedWorship as a weapon in spiritual battleGod fights the battles we cannot win aloneCorporate fasting and prayer in crisis
Prophetic Connections
How this chapter points to Christ
2 Chronicles 20:15 Romans 8:31
The message 'the battle is not yours, but God's' resonates with Paul's declaration: 'If God is for us, who can be against us?' Believers can face any opposition knowing God fights on their behalf.
Apply This Today
Living 2 Chronicles 20
Facing a vast army, Jehoshaphat prayed, 'We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on You.' God said, 'The battle is not yours, but God's.' When you are overwhelmed and out of options, fix your eyes on God. He is never overwhelmed, and He will fight for you.
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