And when they began to sing and praise, the LORD set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed.
2 Chronicles 20:22 (ESV)
Jehoshaphat is one of my favorite kings. And it is apparent that he was a favorite of the chronicler. Chronicles devotes more space to him than most other kings. While he had his failures, Jehoshaphat also soared at times.
And this is, at least to me, the highest of the highs. Three nations had banded together and invaded Judah. When Jehoshaphat heard about it, he was understandably frightened. But he took his fear to the Lord. And the Lord assured him that the coming battle was the Lord’s (2 Chron. 20:15). Jehoshaphat was to take his army out. But only to watch and see what the Lord would do.
So Jehoshaphat did, trusting in the Lord’s promises. He marched out the next day with his army, heading toward the enemy. But he also did something unexpected. He put a choir at the head of his army singing songs of thanksgiving. He did not wait until after he had seen what God would do. Jehoshaphat went out with confidence that the Lord would do what He had said.
And as they began to sing and praise God, God acted to destroy their enemy. When the army arrived on the scene, all they found were dead bodies and a massive amount of plunder.
What a wonderful example Jehoshaphat set for us here in responding to challenges. Take your fears to God. And trust that He is big enough to see you through them. Respond to God with confidence, and see what He will do. You may well need to do more than sing. You may need to get your hands dirty and might even have to fight and suffer. But when we trust in Him, we will always experience His victory.
