2 Chronicles 20

Chapter 20

War with Surrounding Nations

1 After this, the armies of the Moabites, Ammonites, and some of the Meunitest declared war on Jehoshaphat.

2 Messengers came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast army from Edomt is marching against you from beyond the Dead Sea.t They are already at Hazazon-tamar.” (This was another name for En-gedi.)
3 Jehoshaphat was terrified by this news and begged the LORD for guidance. He also ordered everyone in Judah to begin fasting.

4 So people from all the towns of Judah came to Jerusalem to seek the LORD’s help.
5 Jehoshaphat stood before the community of Judah and Jerusalem in front of the new courtyard at the Temple of the LORD.6 He prayed, “O LORD, God of our ancestors, you alone are the God who is in heaven. You are ruler of all the kingdoms of the earth. You are powerful and mighty; no one can stand against you!7 O our God, did you not drive out those who lived in this land when your people Israel arrived? And did you not give this land forever to the descendants of your friend Abraham?8 Your people settled here and built this Temple to honor your name.

9 They said, ‘Whenever we are faced with any calamity such as war,t plague, or famine, we can come to stand in your presence before this Temple where your name is honored. We can cry out to you to save us, and you will hear us and rescue us.’
10 “And now see what the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir are doing. You would not let our ancestors invade those nations when Israel left Egypt, so they went around them and did not destroy them.11 Now see how they reward us! For they have come to throw us out of your land, which you gave us as an inheritance.

12 O our God, won’t you stop them? We are powerless against this mighty army that is about to attack us. We do not know what to do, but we are looking to you for help.”
13 As all the men of Judah stood before the LORD with their little ones, wives, and children,

14 the Spirit of the LORD came upon one of the men standing there. His name was Jahaziel son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite who was a descendant of Asaph.
15 He said, “Listen, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Listen, King Jehoshaphat! This is what the LORD says: Do not be afraid! Don’t be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.16 Tomorrow, march out against them. You will find them coming up through the ascent of Ziz at the end of the valley that opens into the wilderness of Jeruel.

17 But you will not even need to fight. Take your positions; then stand still and watch the LORD’s victory. He is with you, O people of Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Go out against them tomorrow, for the LORD is with you!”
18 Then King Jehoshaphat bowed low with his face to the ground. And all the people of Judah and Jerusalem did the same, worshiping the LORD.

19 Then the Levites from the clans of Kohath and Korah stood to praise the LORD, the God of Israel, with a very loud shout.

20 Early the next morning the army of Judah went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. On the way Jehoshaphat stopped and said, “Listen to me, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Believe in the LORD your God, and you will be able to stand firm. Believe in his prophets, and you will succeed.”

21 After consulting the people, the king appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the LORD and praising him for his holy splendor. This is what they sang:
“Give thanks to the LORD;
his faithful love endures forever!”22 At the very moment they began to sing and give praise, the LORD caused the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir to start fighting among themselves.23 The armies of Moab and Ammon turned against their allies from Mount Seir and killed every one of them. After they had destroyed the army of Seir, they began attacking each other.

24 So when the army of Judah arrived at the lookout point in the wilderness, all they saw were dead bodies lying on the ground as far as they could see. Not a single one of the enemy had escaped.
25 King Jehoshaphat and his men went out to gather the plunder. They found vast amounts of equipment, clothing,t and other valuables—more than they could carry. There was so much plunder that it took them three days just to collect it all!

26 On the fourth day they gathered in the Valley of Blessing,t which got its name that day because the people praised and thanked the LORD there. It is still called the Valley of Blessing today.
27 Then all the men returned to Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat leading them, overjoyed that the LORD had given them victory over their enemies.

28 They marched into Jerusalem to the music of harps, lyres, and trumpets, and they proceeded to the Temple of the LORD.
29 When all the surrounding kingdoms heard that the LORD himself had fought against the enemies of Israel, the fear of God came over them.

30 So Jehoshaphat’s kingdom was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side.

Summary of Jehoshaphat’s Reign

31 So Jehoshaphat ruled over the land of Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-five years. His mother was Azubah, the daughter of Shilhi.
32 Jehoshaphat was a good king, following the ways of his father, Asa. He did what was pleasing in the LORD’s sight.

33 During his reign, however, he failed to remove all the pagan shrines, and the people never fully committed themselves to follow the God of their ancestors.

34 The rest of the events of Jehoshaphat’s reign, from beginning to end, are recorded in The Record of Jehu Son of Hanani, which is included in The Book of the Kings of Israel.
35 Some time later King Jehoshaphat of Judah made an alliance with King Ahaziah of Israel, who was very wicked.t36 Together they built a fleet of trading shipst at the port of Ezion-geber.

37 Then Eliezer son of Dodavahu from Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat. He said, “Because you have allied yourself with King Ahaziah, the LORD will destroy your work.” So the ships met with disaster and never put out to sea.t

2 CHRONICLES 20

Moab and Ammon //Are Defeated

1 Some time later, the armies of Moab and Ammon, together with the Meunites, t went to war against Jehoshaphat.

2 Messengers told Jehoshaphat, “A large army from Edomt east of the Dead Sea has invaded our country. They have already reached En-Gedi.”t
3 Jehoshaphat was afraid, so he asked the [Lord] what to do. He then told the people of Judah to go without eating to show their sorrow.

4 They immediately left for Jerusalem to ask for the [Lord]'s help.
5 After everyone from Judah and Jerusalem had come together at the [Lord]'s temple, Jehoshaphat stood in front of the new courtyard

6 and prayed:
You, [Lord], are the God our ancestors worshiped, and from heaven you rule every nation in the world. You are so powerful that no one can defeat you. 7 t Our God, you forced out the nations who lived in this land before your people Israel came here, and you gave it to the descendants of your friend Abraham forever. 8 Our ancestors lived in this land and built a temple to honor you.

9 They believed that whenever this land is struck by war or disease or famine, your people can pray to you at the temple, and you will hear their prayer and save them.
10  t You can see that the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Edom are attacking us! Those are the nations you would not let our ancestors invade on their way from Egypt, so these nations were not destroyed. 11 Now they are coming to take back the land you gave us.

12 Aren't you going to punish them? We won't stand a chance when this army attacks. We don't know what to do—we are begging for your help.
13 While every man, woman, and child of Judah was standing there at the temple, 14 the [Lord]'s Spirit suddenly spoke to Jahaziel, a Levite from the Asaph clan.t

15 t Then Jahaziel said:
Your Majesty and everyone from Judah and Jerusalem, the [Lord] says that you don't need to be afraid or let this powerful army discourage you. God will fight on your side! 16 So here's what you must do. Tomorrow the enemy armies will march through the desert around the town of Jeruel. March down and meet them at the town of Ziz as they come up the valley.

17 t You won't even have to fight. Just take your positions and watch the [Lord] rescue you from your enemy. Don't be afraid. Just do as you're told. And as you march out tomorrow, the [Lord] will be there with you.
18 Jehoshaphat bowed low to the ground and everyone worshiped the [Lord].

19 Then some Levites from the Kohath and Korah clans stood up and shouted praises to the [Lord] God of Israel.
20 Early the next morning, as everyone got ready to leave for the desert near Tekoa, Jehoshaphat stood up and said, “Listen my friends, if we trust the [Lord] God and believe what these prophets have told us, the [Lord] will help us, and we will be successful.”

21 Then he explained his plan and appointed men to march in front of the army and praise the [Lord] for his holy power by singing:t
“Praise the [Lord]!
His love never ends.”
22 As soon as they began singing, the [Lord] confused the enemy camp,

23 so that the Ammonite and Moabite troops attacked and completely destroyed those from Edom. Then they turned against each other and fought until the entire camp was wiped out!
24 When Judah's army reached the tower that overlooked the desert, they saw that every soldier in the enemy's army was lying dead on the ground.

25 So Jehoshaphat and his troops went into the camp to carry away everything of value. They found a large herd of livestock, t a lot of equipment, clothes, t and other valuable things. It took them three days to carry it all away, and there was still some left over.

26 Then on the fourth day, everyone came together in Beracah Valley and sang praises to the [Lord]. That's why that place was called Praise Valley.t

27-28 Jehoshaphat led the crowd back to Jerusalem. And as they marched, they played harps and blew trumpets. They were very happy because the [Lord] had given them victory over their enemies, so when they reached the city, they went straight to the temple.
29 When the other nations heard how the [Lord] had fought against Judah's enemies, they were too afraid

30 to invade Judah. The [Lord] let Jehoshaphat's kingdom be at peace.

Jehoshaphat Dies

(1 Kings 22.41-50)

33 but he did not destroy the local shrines.t So the people still worshiped foreign gods, instead of faithfully serving the God their ancestors had worshiped.

34 Everything else Jehoshaphat did while he was king is written in the records of Jehu son of Hanani that are included in The History of the Kings of Israel.
35 While Jehoshaphat was king, he signed a peace treaty with Ahaziah the wicked king of Israel. 36 They agreed to build several seagoing shipst at Ezion-Geber. 37 But the prophet Eliezert warned Jehoshaphat, “The [Lord] will destroy these ships because you have supported Ahaziah.” The ships were wrecked and never sailed.