2 chronicles chapter 19
Jahosaphat teaching about being courageous
Raynette K. Weiss Ministries run by Our Lord, and on earth by Rev. Raynette K. Weiss and Assistant Minister Jessie K. Weiss invite you to 2 Chronicles chapters 19 to 24. Monday July 31, 2023.
Jehoshaphat king of Judah came back safely to his palace in Jerusalem. 2 Jehu son of Hanani went out to meet him. Jehu was a seer. He said to King Jehoshaphat, “Why did you help evil people? Why do you love those who hate the Lord? That is the reason the Lord is angry with you. 3 But there is some good in you. You took the Asherah idols out of this country. And you have wanted to obey God.”
Jehoshaphat Chooses Judges
4 Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem. He went out again to be with the people. He went from Beersheba to the mountains of Ephraim. He brought these people back to the Lord, the God their ancestors followed. 5 Jehoshaphat appointed judges in all the land. He appointed judges for each of the strong, walled cities of Judah. 6 Jehoshaphat said to them, “Be careful in what you do. This is because you are not judging for people but for the Lord. He will be with you when you make a decision. 7 Now let each of you fear the Lord. Be careful in what you do because the Lord our God wants people to be fair. He wants all people to be treated the same. And he doesn’t want people to accept money to change their judgments.”
8 And in Jerusalem Jehoshaphat appointed some of the Levites, priests and leaders of Israelite families to be judges. They were to decide cases about the law of the Lord. And they were to settle problems between the people who lived in Jerusalem. 9 Jehoshaphat gave them commands. He said, “You must always serve the Lord completely. You must fear him. 10 You will have cases about killing, about the teachings, commands, rules or some other law. These cases will come from your people living in the cities. In all these cases you must warn the people not to sin against the Lord. If you don’t, the Lord will be angry with you and your people. But if you warn them, you won’t be guilty.
11 “Amariah is the leading priest. He will be over you in all cases about the Lord. Zebadiah son of Ishmael is a leader in the tribe of Judah. He will be over you in all cases about the king. Also, the Levites will serve as officers for you. Have courage. May the Lord be with those who do what is right.”
Summary; Be strong, and the LORD will be with the good: The subject of obedience is repeated again. It was the job of the judges to do what was good, and to then trust that the LORD will be with the good.
Closing Prayer; Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Word. We pray that our hearts may be Yours so that we may be made into the image and likeness of the Lord Jesus, to Your praise and glory. In Jesus' name, AMEN.
Prayer of Salvation to become a child of Our Heavenly Father. Lord Jesus, I confess my sins and ask for your forgiveness. Please come into my heart as my Lord and Savior. Take complete control of my life and help me to walk in Your footsteps daily by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thank you Lord for saving me and I know you will answer my prayers. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
email: raynettekweissministries@gmail.com.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/raynettekweissministries
Phone: 202-603-1821.
Jehoshaphat Faces War
20 Later some people came to start a war with Jehoshaphat. They were the Moabites, Ammonites and some Meunites. 2 Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, “A large army is coming against you from Edom. They are coming from the other side of the Dead Sea. They are already in Hazazon Tamar!” (Hazazon Tamar is also called En Gedi.) 3 Jehoshaphat was afraid. So he decided to ask the Lord what to do. He announced that no one in Judah should eat during this special time of prayer to God. 4 The people of Judah came together to ask the Lord for help. They came from every town in Judah to ask for his help.
5 The people of Judah and Jerusalem met in front of the new courtyard in the Temple of the Lord. Then Jehoshaphat stood up before them. 6 He said, “Lord, you are the God of our ancestors. You are the God in heaven. You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. You have power and strength. No one can stand against you. 7 Our God, you forced out the people who lived in this land. You forced them out as your people Israel moved in. And you gave this land forever to the descendants of your friend Abraham. 8 They lived in this land and built a Temple for worshiping you. They said, 9 ‘Trouble may come to us. It may be war, punishment, sickness or a time of hunger. If it comes, we will stand before you and before this Temple where you have chosen to be worshiped. We will cry out to you when we are in trouble. Then you will hear and save us.’
10 “But now here are men from Ammon, Moab and Edom. You wouldn’t let the Israelites enter their lands when the Israelites came from Egypt. So the Israelites turned away and did not destroy them. 11 But see how they repay us for not destroying them! They have come to force us out of your land. And you gave us this land as our own. 12 Our God, punish those people. We have no power against this large army that is attacking us. We don’t know what to do. So we look to you for help.”
13 All the men of Judah stood before the Lord. Their babies, wives and children were with them. 14 Then the Spirit of the Lord entered Jahaziel. (Jahaziel was Zechariah’s son. Zechariah was Benaiah’s son. Benaiah was Jeiel’s son, and Jeiel was Mattaniah’s son.) Jahaziel was a Levite and a descendant of Asaph. He stood up in the meeting. 15 And he said: “Listen to me, King Jehoshaphat! Listen, all you people living in Judah and Jerusalem! The Lord says this to you: ‘Don’t be afraid or discouraged because of this large army. The battle is not your battle. It is God’s battle. 16 Tomorrow go down there and fight those people. They will come up through the Pass of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the ravine that leads to the Desert of Jeruel. 17 You won’t need to fight in this battle. Just stand strong in your places. You will see the Lord save you. Judah and Jerusalem, don’t be afraid. Don’t be discouraged. The Lord is with you. So go out against those people tomorrow!’”
18 Jehoshaphat bowed facedown on the ground. All the people of Judah and Jerusalem bowed down before the Lord. And they worshiped him. 19 Then some Levites from the Kohathite and Korahite people stood up and praised the Lord. They praised the God of Israel with very loud voices.
20 Jehoshaphat’s army went out into the Desert of Tekoa early in the morning. As they were starting out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, people of Judah and Jerusalem! Have faith in the Lord your God. Then you will stand strong. Have faith in the Lord’s prophets. Then you will succeed.” 21 Jehoshaphat listened to the people’s advice. Then he chose men to be singers to the Lord. They were to praise the Lord because he is holy and wonderful. They marched in front of the army. They said,
“Thank the Lord.
His love continues forever.”
22 As they began to sing and praise God, the Lord set ambushes. He set them for the people of Ammon, Moab and Edom. They were the ones who came to attack Judah. And they were defeated. 23 The men of Ammon and Moab started to attack the men from Edom. They killed and destroyed them. After they had killed the men from Edom, they killed each other.
24 The men from Judah came to a place where they could see the desert. They looked at the enemy’s large army. But they only saw dead bodies lying on the ground. No one had escaped. 25 Jehoshaphat and his army came to take valuable things from the dead bodies. They found many supplies, much clothing, and other valuable things. There was more than they could carry away. There was so much it took three days to gather it all. 26 On the fourth day Jehoshaphat and his army met in the Valley of Beracah. There they praised the Lord. That is why that place has been called the Valley of Beracah[a] to this day.
27 Then Jehoshaphat led all the men from Judah and Jerusalem back to Jerusalem. The Lord had made them happy because their enemies were defeated. 28 They entered Jerusalem with lyres, harps and trumpets and went to the Temple of the Lord.
29 All the kingdoms of the lands around them heard how the Lord had fought Israel’s enemies. So they feared the Lord. 30 So Jehoshaphat’s kingdom was not at war. His God gave him peace from all the countries around him.
Jehoshaphat’s Rule Ends
31 Jehoshaphat ruled over the country of Judah. He was 35 years old when he began to rule. And he ruled 25 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Azubah daughter of Shilhi. 32 Jehoshaphat lived as his father Asa had lived. He followed what Asa had done. He did what the Lord said was right. 33 But the places where false gods were worshiped were not removed. And the people did not strongly desire to follow the God their ancestors had followed.
34 The other things Jehoshaphat did as king, from the beginning to the end, are written down. They are in the writings of Jehu son of Hanani. These writings are in the book of the kings of Israel.
35 Later, Jehoshaphat king of Judah made an agreement with Ahaziah king of Israel. It was wrong for him to do this. 36 Jehoshaphat agreed with Ahaziah to build trading ships. They built them in the town of Ezion Geber. 37 Then Eliezer son of Dodavahu spoke against Jehoshaphat. Eliezer was from the town of Mareshah. He said, “Jehoshaphat, because you joined with Ahaziah, the Lord will destroy what you have made.” The ships were wrecked. So Jehoshaphat and Ahaziah could not send them out to trade.
Summary; Be strong, and the LORD will be with the good: The subject of obedience is repeated again. It was the job of the judges to do what was good, and to then trust that the LORD will be with the good.
Closing Prayer; Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Word. We pray that our hearts may be Yours so that we may be made into the image and likeness of the Lord Jesus, to Your praise and glory. In Jesus' name, AMEN.
Prayer of Salvation to become a child of Our Heavenly Father. Lord Jesus, I confess my sins and ask for your forgiveness. Please come into my heart as my Lord and Savior. Take complete control of my life and help me to walk in Your footsteps daily by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thank you Lord for saving me and I know you will answer my prayers. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
email: raynettekweissministries@gmail.com.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/raynettekweissministries
Phone: 202-603-1821.