UBF Daily Bread

JEHOSHAPHAT'S PRAYER

Passage: 2Chronicles 20:1~13

Key verse: 12b

Jehoshaphat Defeats Moab and Ammon

20 After this, the Moabites^(A) and Ammonites with some of the Meunites^[a]^(B) came to wage war against Jehoshaphat.

²Some people came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast army^(C) is coming against you from Edom,^[b] from the other side of the Dead Sea. It is already in Hazezon Tamar^(D)” (that is, En Gedi).^(E) ³Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast^(F) for all Judah. ⁴The people of Judah^(G) came together to seek help from the Lord; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him.

⁵Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the Lord in the front of the new courtyard ⁶and said:

“Lord, the God of our ancestors,^(H) are you not the God who is in heaven?^(I) You rule over all the kingdoms^(J) of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you.^(K) ⁷Our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land^(L) before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend?^(M) ⁸They have lived in it and have built in it a sanctuary^(N) for your Name, saying, ⁹‘If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine,^(O) we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.’

¹⁰“But now here are men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, whose territory you would not allow Israel to invade when they came from Egypt;^(P) so they turned away from them and did not destroy them. ¹¹See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession^(Q) you gave us as an inheritance. ¹²Our God, will you not judge them?^(R) For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.^(S)”

¹³All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the Lord.

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Footnotes

2 Chronicles 20:1 Some Septuagint manuscripts; Hebrew Ammonites
2 Chronicles 20:2 One Hebrew manuscript; most Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint and Vulgate Aram

1. A vast army of enemies (1-5)

The Moabites and Ammonites joined with others to make war on Judah. They were a vast army, and when Jehoshaphat heard about it, they were already marching toward him. Jehoshaphat was greatly alarmed, but he did not seek a human solution. He mobilized his people to fast and pray. They came from every town in Judah to seek help from the Lord.

2. Our eyes are on you, Lord (6-13)

Jehoshaphat and all the people--men, women and children--stood before the Lord. The king prayed. He remembered how God had exercised his almighty power to drive out the Canaanites and give the land to the descendants of Abraham, his friend. He remembered God's promises concerning the temple. He remembered how Israel had obeyed God and spared these enemy nations. He confessed his powerlessness and helplessness and turned things over to God.

Prayer: Lord, teach me to stand in your history and turn my eyes to you in prayer.

One Word: Fix your eyes on the Lord