Untitled article by Mrs. E. G. White

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jan 1, 1914

Jehoshaphat — No. 3

By Mrs. E. G. White

TOWARD the close of his reign, Jehoshaphat's kingdom was invaded by an army before whose approach the inhabitants of the land had reason to tremble. \x22The children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them other beside the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle.\x22 Tidings of this invasion reached the king through a messenger, who appeared with the startling word, \x22There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side Syria; and, behold, they be in Hazazon-tamer, which is En-gedi.\x22

Jehoshaphat was a man of courage and valor. For years he had been strengthening his armies and his fortified cities. He was well prepared to meet almost any foe; yet in this crisis he did not put his trust in the arm of flesh. Not by disciplined armies and fenced cities, but by a living faith in the God of Israel could he hope to gain the victory over these

heathen who boasted of their power to humble Judah in the eyes of the nations.

\x22Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 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.\x22

And Jehoshaphat, standing in the temple court before his people, poured out his soul in prayer, pleading God's promises, with confession of Israel's helplessness.

\x22O Lord God of our fathers,\x22 he said, \x22art 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? 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 forever? And they dwelt therein, and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name, saying, 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.

\x22And 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; behold, I say, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit. 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.\x22

With confidence Jehoshaphat could say to the Lord, \x22Our eyes are upon thee.\x22 For years he had taught the people that their strength was in the God of Israel, the One who in past ages had so often interposed to save his chosen ones from utter destruction; and now, when the kingdom was in peril, Jehoshaphat did not stand alone; \x22all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.\x22 Unitedly they fasted and prayed. Unitedly they besought the Lord to put their enemies to confusion, that the name of Jehovah might be glorified.

\x22Keep not thou silence, O God:\nHold not thy peace, and be not still,\nO God.\nFor, lo, thine enemies make a tumult:\nAnd they that hate thee have lifted up\nthe head.\nThey have taken crafty counsel against\nthy people,\nAnd consulted against thy hidden ones.\nThey have said, Come, and let us cut\nthem off from being a nation:\nThat the name of Israel may be no\nmore in remembrance.\nFor they have consulted together with\none consent:\nThey are confederate against thee:\nThe tabernacles of Edom, and the\nIshmaelites;\nOf Moab, and the Hagarenes;\nGebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; . . .\nDo unto them as unto the Midianites;\nAs to Sisera, as to Jabin, at the brook\nof Kison:\nWhich perished at En-dor: . . .\nFill their faces with shame;\nThat they may seek thy name, O Lord.\nLet them be confounded and troubled\nforever;\nYea, let them be put to shame, and\nperish:\nThat men may know that thou, whose\nname alone is Jehovah,\nArt the Most High over all the earth.\x22

As the people joined with their king in humbling themselves before God and asking him for help, the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel, \x22a Levite of the sons of Asaph,\x22 and he said:—

\x22Harken 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. Tomorrow 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. 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; tomorrow go out against them: for the Lord will be with you.\x22

\x22And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. 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.\x22

\x22And 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. And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the Lord, and that should praise the beauty of holiness.\x22 These singers went before the army, lifting their voices in praise to God, praising him for the victory promised.

And \x22the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten. 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.\x22

\x22And when Judah came toward the watchtower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped.\x22

God was the strength of Judah in this battle, and he is the strength of his people today. We are not to trust in princes, nor set men in the place of God. We are to remember that human beings are fallible and erring, and that he who has all power is their strong tower of defense. In every emergency they are to feel that the battle is his. His resources are limitless, and apparent impossibilities will make the victory all the greater.

\x22Save us, O God of our salvation,\nAnd gather us together,\nAnd deliver us from the heathen,\nThat we may give thanks to thy holy\nname,\nAnd glory in thy praise.\x22

Laden with spoil, the armies of Judah, with Jehoshaphat \x22in the forefront,\x22 returned home \x22with joy; for the Lord had made them to rejoice over their enemies. And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets unto the house of the Lord.\x22 They had come for rejoicing. In obedience to the command, \x22Stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord: . . . fear not, nor be dismayed,\x22 they had put their trust wholly in God; and he had proved their fortress and their deliverer. Now they could sing with understanding the inspired hymns of David:—

\x22God is our refuge and strength,\nA very present help in trouble. . . .\nHe breaketh the bow, and cutteth the\nspear in sunder;\nHe burneth the chariot in the fire.\nBe still, and know that I am God:\nI will be exalted among the heathen,\nI will be exalted in the earth.\nThe Lord of hosts is with us;\nThe God of Jacob is our refuge.\x22

\x22O clap your hands, all ye people;\nShout unto God with the voice of\ntriumph.\nFor the Lord most high is terrible;\nHe is a great King over all the earth.\nHe shall subdue the people under us,\nAnd the nations under our feet.\nHe shall choose our inheritance for us,\nThe excellency of Jacob whom he\nloved. . . .\n"Sing praises to God, sing praises:\nSing praises unto our King, sing\npraises.\nFor God is the King of all the earth:\nSing ye praises with understanding.\nGod reigneth over the heathen:\nGod sitteth upon the throne of his\nholiness.\nThe princes of the people are gathered\ntogether,\nEven the people of the God of Abraham:\nFor the shields of the earth belong\nunto God:\nHe is greatly exalted.\x22

\x22According to thy name, O God,\nSo is thy praise unto the ends of the\nearth:\nThy right hand is full of righteousness.\nLet mount Zion rejoice,\nLet the daughters of Judah be glad,\nBecause of thy judgments. . . .\n\x22This God is our God forever and ever:\nHe will be our guide even unto death.\x22

Through the faith of Judah's ruler and of his armies, \x22the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries, when they had heard that the Lord fought against the enemies of Israel. So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet: for his God gave him rest.

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