Our Eyes Are Upon Thee

In the Old Testament manual four years ago for Come, Follow Me, the books of 1^st and 2^nd Chronicles were not covered. But I’m grateful that some chapters are included in the manual for this year, and this week’s material includes the story of Jehoshaphat recounted in 2 Chronicles 20 (and which is not found in 1^st and 2^nd Kings). The introduction gives this description of what happened: “The Kingdom of Judah was surrounded. Armies from three powerful enemy nations were all advancing at once, prepared for battle. In this desperate moment of need, Jehoshaphat, King of Judah, turned to the King of heaven and earth. Jehoshaphat gathered his people at the temple and prayed. He acknowledged their human weakness and pleaded for deliverance. In response, the Lord promised His protection: ‘Fear not, nor be dismayed’ (2 Chronicles 20:17).” The Ammonites, the Moabites, and the Edomites (labeled as “Mount Seir” in the chapter) “came against Jehoshaphat to battle” (v1). We read that “Jehoshaphat feared” and he knew that his relatively small people “had no might against this great company” that had come against them for war (v3, 12). He was left to do the only thing he could: put his trust in the Lord.    

What Jehoshaphat did in this moment of crisis is very instructive for us when we have challenges that seem too large to conquer. We read that the king “set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah” (v3). He sought the Lord himself and then urged all of Judah to do so: “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” (v4). After seeking the Lord and proclaiming a fast, he turned to the temple: “And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, And said, O Lord God of our fathers, art 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?” (v5-6) So there at the temple he pled for the Lord’s help against this enemy that was upon them. The scripture help for these verses suggests that “Jehoshaphat asked the Lord to honor the blessings Solomon had prayed for.” Solomon had “prayed for the people to receive the Lord’s blessings in their times of need, including protection from their enemies,” and this was certainly a time of need for the people at Jerusalem. Jehoshaphat finished his prayer this way: “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” (v12). Surely that is a prayer we will all have occasion to speak if we turn to the Lord in our trials. The king knew not what to do and so he turned his eyes upon the Lord for help. It is a powerful example of how we should likewise look to Him when do not know how to act in difficult situations. We fast, we pray, we go to the temple, and we turn our eyes upon Him.

The Lord did indeed answer the prayers and fasting of His people. A prophet named Jahaziel declared to them, “Hearken 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. To morrow go ye down against them…. 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; to morrow go out against them: for the Lord will be with you” (v15). So the Jews went up to battle with these stirring words of Jehoshaphat, “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” (v20). And prosper they did, 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” (v23). There was fighting between the three groups before they got to the people of Jehoshaphat, and the three armies destroyed each other. The Lord had fought the battle for them, and they were miraculously preserved. This story is a powerful example of what it means to put one’s trust in the Lord and how He will preserve those whose eyes are upon Him.