2 Chronicles 20

Jehoshaphat’s Prayer & God’s Miracle Victory

1 After all that, the Moabites, Ammonites, and some of the Meunites rolled up to fight against Jehoshaphat.

2 Then some dudes came and told Jehoshaphat, “A huge army is coming against you from Edom, from beyond the Dead Sea. Look, they already in Hazazon-Tamar (that is Engedi).”

3 Jehoshaphat got scared, so he decided to seek the Lord. He called for a fast throughout all Judah.

4 And Judah gathered to seek help from the Lord. From all the cities of Judah, they came to seek the Lord.

5 Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the Lord’s temple, in front of the new courtyard,

6 And said, “Lord, God of our ancestors, are You not God in heaven, And You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in Your hand, and nobody can stand against You!”

7 “Are You not our God, who kicked out the inhabitants of this land from in front of Your people Israel and gave it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever?”

8 “They lived in it and built a sanctuary in it for Your Name, saying,”

9 “’If trouble comes on us, sword, judgment, plague, or famine, we will stand before this temple and before You (for Your Name is in this temple), and cry out to You in our distress, and You will hear and save!’”

10 “And now, look, the Ammonites, Moabites, and Mount Seir folks, you did not let Israel invade them when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they curved around them and did not wipe them out.”

11 “Look how are they paying us back, coming to kick us out of Your property that You gave us as an inheritance!”

12 “Our God, You are not going to judge them, Because we do not have any strength to face this huge army that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on You!”

13 All Judah was standing before the Lord, with their little kids, their wives, and their sons.

14 Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jahaziel son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite from the sons of Asaph, in the middle of the assembly.

15 He said, “Listen up, all Judah, and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat! This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be scared or freaked out because of this huge army, because the battle is not yours, but God’s!’”

16 “’Tomorrow, go down against them. Look, they coming up by the Ascent of Ziz, and you are going to find them at the end of the valley, facing the Desert of Jeruel.’”

17 “’You are not even going to need to fight in this one! Just stand firm, hold your ground, and watch the Lord save you, O Judah and Jerusalem! Do not be scared or freaked out. Roll out tomorrow to face them, because the Lord is with you!’”

18 Then Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, bowing to the Lord.

19 And the Levites from the Kohathites and the Korahites stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a super loud voice.

20 They got up early in the morning and went out to the Desert of Tekoa. As they were going out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem! Trust in the Lord your God, and you will be established. Trust His prophets, and you will succeed!”

21 After talking to the people, he appointed singers for the Lord, to praise the splendor of His holiness as they went out ahead of the army, saying, “Give thanks to the Lord, for His loyal love endures forever!”

22 As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the Ammonites, Moabites, and Mount Seir folks who were coming against Judah, and they were struck down.

23 For the Ammonites and Moabites turned against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to wipe them out and destroy them. And when they finished with the inhabitants of Seir, they then started helping to destroy each other.

24 When Judah came to the lookout tower in the desert and looked at the army, look, they were all dead bodies lying on the ground; nobody had escaped!

25 When Jehoshaphat and his people came to gather the loot, they found among them a ton of riches, clothes, and precious items, more than they could carry. They spent three days gathering the loot, because there was so much of it.

26 On the fourth day, they gathered in the Valley of Berakah (which means ‘Blessing Valley’), because there they blessed the Lord. That is why that spot is called the Valley of Berakah to this day.

27 Then all the men of Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat leading them, went back to Jerusalem with joy, because the Lord had made them rejoice over their enemies.

28 They came to Jerusalem with harps, lyres, and trumpets, to the Lord’s temple.

29 And the fear of God fell on all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel.

30 So the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was chill, for his God gave him rest all around.

31 Jehoshaphat ruled over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he ruled in Jerusalem for twenty-five years. His mama’s name was Azubah daughter of Shilhi.

32 He walked in the way of his pops Asa and did not curve from it, doing what was right in the eyes of the Lord.

33 However, the high places were not removed; the people still had not set their hearts to the God of their ancestors.

34 As for the rest of Jehoshaphat’s story, from beginning to end, look, it is written in the records of Jehu son of Hanani, which are included in the Book of the Kings of Israel.

35 After this, Jehoshaphat king of Judah formed an alliance with Ahaziah king of Israel, who did what was extremely wicked.

36 He teamed up with him to build ships to go to Tarshish, and they built the ships at Ezion Geber.

37 Then Eliezer son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you teamed up with Ahaziah, the Lord is going to wreck your work!" So the ships were broken and could not go to Tarshish.