What does it mean to put faith in Jehovah God? What benefits can we expect by placing our faith in the living God?
King Jehoshaphat and the people of ancient Judah provide answers to these questions.
They simultaneously faced three menacing groups of enemies: the Moabites, Ammonites, and the Ammonim. This "large crowd" (2 Chronicles 20:1-2) threatened Judah and King Jehoshaphat. How would they handle this threat? Please turn to 2 Chronicles 20:12-13.
Did you notice the attitude of Jehoshaphat when these forces came against him? He immediately turned to Jehovah in prayer.
There were men, little ones and wives standing before Jehovah at that time. Nevertheless, whether young or old, they strove to follow Jehovah’s
direction, and he protected them from their enemies.
One way that Jehovah came to their aid was by raising up a Levite, Jahaziel. He spoke encouraging words to King Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah. Please turn with me to 2 Chronicles 20:17 to find out more about this Levite.
Jehovah comforted his people by providing them with clear direction: the battle was not theirs, but Jehovah's. Their faith in him was rewarded, but the people of Judah must have wondered what would happen next since they were instructed to go out against their enemies without using weapons. Yet their comfort would be in the fact that Jehovah promised to be with them.
If we turn to 2 Chronicles 20:21-22, we see Jehovah's response to the Judeans' faith. (Read).
Jahaziel told God's people to "stand still and see the salvation of Jehovah."
That is not how armies normally fight battles, but those
instructions did not come from a human: they originated with Jehovah. Therefore, with
full trust in his God, Jehoshaphat implicitly followed divine instructions. When the king and his
people went out to meet the enemy, he placed unarmed singers at the front of his troops,
not the most skilled soldiers. Jehovah did not
let Jehoshaphat down; He soundly defeated the Moabites, Ammonites, and the people from the region of Seir by making them strike one another down. Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah were rewarded for their faith in Jehovah.
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Conclusion:
When Gog of Magog attacks Jehovah’s people during the great tribulation, those
who put faith in Jehovah and who trust those whom he is using to take
the lead will have nothing to fear (2 Chron. 20:20). Their faith in Jehovah God will be rewarded with an imperishable gift--everlasting life.
Sporadic theological and historical musings by Edgar Foster (Ph.D. in Theology and Religious Studies and one of Jehovah's Witnesses).
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