- [Narrator] Jehoshaphat knew what many did not know.
King Jehoshaphat, the son of Asa,
was the fourth king of Judah
during the time of the divided kingdom.
We first meet him in 1 Kings 15:24,
where we are told he succeeded Asa.
Jehoshaphat knew that he had to seek God
before any significant decision.
With God at the center of our arrangements,
we will have fewer regrets.
It doesn't matter our status.
We will always need God's leading to walk on the right path,
and Jehoshaphat knew this.
Jehoshaphat had much wealth and honor,
so initially he agreed with King Ahab through marriage.
Ahab request Jehoshaphat's assistance in attacking Syria.
Jehoshaphat wisely asked that they seek advice
from the Lord on the matter.
1 Kings 22:4-14.
"So he said to Jehoshaphat,
'Will you go to battle with me at Ramoth-gilead?'
And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel,
'Consider me yours,
my people yours,
and my horses yours!'
However, Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel,
'Please request the word of the Lord first.'
So the king of Israel assembled the prophets,
about 400 men, and said to them,
'Should I go to battle against Ramoth-gilead
or should I refrain?'
And they said,
'Go up, for the Lord will hand it over to the king.'
But Jehoshaphat said,
'Is there no longer a prophet of the Lord here,
that we may inquire of him?'
And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat,
'There is still one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord,
but I hate him,
because he does not prophesy anything good regarding me,
but only bad.
He is Micaiah, the son of Imlah.'
But Jehoshaphat said,
'May the king not say so.'
Then the king of Israel summoned an officer and said,
'Bring Micaiah, son of Imlah quickly.'"
Jehoshaphat wisely requests that they seek advice
from the Lord on the matter.
This should also be our posture and attitude today.
Making God the foundation of all we do is essential
so we don't enter into worse situations full of troubles.
What kind of agreement or partnership have you chosen?
Are they right and God-centered?
More importantly, did you take time to talk to God about it
before moving forward?
Or did you ask for the leading of the Holy Spirit?
When the foundation is wrong,
many things will go wrong.
But if you are already in a wrong agreement that is binding
and you cannot seem to get out of it,
it is definitely time to seek God.
If something bothers you,
pray to God and seek counseling
from spiritually-mature leaders or friends.
The king also knew to seek God
when he faced one of the significant challenges
in the Word of God.
"Now it came about after this,
that the sons of Moab and the sons of Ammon,
together with some of the Meunites,
came to make war against Jehoshaphat.
Then some came and reported to Jehoshaphat, saying,
'A great multitude is coming against you
from beyond the sea, from Aram,
and behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar,
that is Engedi.'
Jehoshaphat was afraid
and turned his attention to seek the Lord,
and he proclaimed a period of fasting throughout Judah.
So Judah gathered together to seek help from the Lord.
They even came from all the cities of Judah
to seek the Lord.
Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly
of Judah and Jerusalem,
in the house of the Lord in front of the new courtyard,
and he said,
'Lord, God of our fathers,
are You not God in the heavens?
And are You not ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations?
Power and might are in Your hand
so that no one can stand against you.'"
2 Chronicles 20:1-6.
Jehoshaphat was justifiably alarmed.
He proclaimed a fast and called the people to the temple,
where he prayed to the Lord.
There was undoubtedly a sense
in which Jehoshaphat feared
the great multitude coming against him,
yet the sense here is that he feared the Lord
and was more awed at God's power and majesty
than at his enemy's destructive force.
Jehoshaphat knew what to do
because he was familiar with King Solomon's prayer
given over a century earlier at the temple dedication.
He even mentioned Solomon's prayer in his intercession
because his situation was exactly the type
of disaster Solomon had prayed for.
Solomon spoke of the Lord emerging from His temple
and fighting battles for His people.
Jehoshaphat asked the Lord the same question
and used the exact words.
God's people were attacked
and the Promised Land was threatened,
but Jehoshaphat knew
that God's hand had pledged a victory long ago,
and Jehoshaphat was well aware that God kept His promises.
This is a powerful example for Christians
of how to respond to crises and triumph
in the strength of God.
Though Christians, like the rest of the world,
can be overwhelmed by an emergency,
we can turn to the Lord for intervention and deliverance
when we don't know what to do.
Jehoshaphat reminded the Lord
that they were His chosen people under the covenant.
Jehoshaphat prayed in the temple,
considered God's sanctuary in a place
where He promised to listen and respond to prayers.
Those to whom Israel had once shown kindness were now coming
to destroy her and take away her land.
Jehoshaphat closed his passionate appeal,
and with all Judah, stood before the Lord,
awaiting His answer.
God responded to the king's prayer
through a man named Jahaziel,
through whom the Lord speared encouraged
both the king and the people.
Take note of Jahaziel's declaration.
"The battle is not yours to fight but God's."
To put it another way,
the Lord was saying to His people,
"I've got this."
Even though the king's forces would have
to confront the enemy,
they would not have to fire a single arrow.
When Jehoshaphat and the people heard the news,
they fell in worship
while the Levites stood up to sing praises to God.
Please take note that Jehoshaphat
and his people won this battle on their faces before Him.
"Then in the midst of the assembly
the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel,
the son of Zechariah,
the son of Benaiah,
the son of Jeiel,
the son of Mattaniah,
the Levite of the sons of Asaph,
and he said, 'Listen, all you of Judah
and the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
and King Jehoshaphat,
this is what the Lord says to you:
"Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude,
for the battle is not yours but God's.
Tomorrow, go down against them.
Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz,
and you will find them at the end of the valley
in front of the wilderness of Jeruel.
You need not fight in this battle.
Take your position,
stand and watch the salvation of the Lord in your behalf,
Judah and Jerusalem."
Do not fear or be dismayed.
Tomorrow, go out to face them,
for the Lord is with you.'
Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground,
and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down
before the Lord, worshiping the Lord.
The Levites, from the sons of the Kohathites
and from the sons of the Korahites,
stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel,
with a very loud voice.
They rose early in the morning
and went out to the wilderness of Tekoa.
And when they went out,
Jehoshaphat stood and said,
'Listen to me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem.
Put your trust in the Lord your God and you will endure.
Put your trust in His prophets, and succeed.'
When he had consulted with the people,
he appointed those who sang to the Lord
and those who praised Him in holy attire,
as they went out before the army and said,
'Give thanks to the Lord,
for His faithfulness is everlasting.'"
2 Chronicles 20:14-21.
Jesus warned us to be careful about what you listen to.
The fundamental condition
for belonging to God's people throughout the Bible,
from the Old Testament to the New Testament,
is listening to and obeying His voice.
In the New Testament, Jesus said,
"My sheep hear my voice,
and I know them, and they follow me."
John 10:27.
In the typical sheep folds of age old times,
the shepherd simply gave his unique call,
and his sheep came out from the others,
following him out of the sheep fold.
Sheep are adept at recognizing the voice of their shepherd.
There is a story of a Scotch traveler
who changed clothes with a Jerusalem shepherd
and tried to lead the sheep,
but the sheep followed the shepherd's voice
and not his clothes.
During World War I,
some soldiers tried to steal a flock of sheep
from a hillside near Jerusalem.
The shepherd who was sleeping suddenly woke up
and noticed that his flock was being taken away.
He couldn't recapture them by force,
so he called out to his flock with his unique call.
The sheep heard and returned to their appropriate owner.
The soldiers couldn't stop the sheep
from returning to their shepherd's voice.
The Bible tells us,
"My sheep hear my voice,
and I know them, and they follow me."
This requirement does not change in any age or dispensation.
We will now reflect more
on what it means to hear God's voice.
We are not naturally born
with the ability to hear God's voice.
It needs to be communicated to us through the Holy Spirit.
It is something that needs to be cultivated.
What am I going to do with the rest of my life?
Where should I go to school?
Should I take this job,
or is something better on the horizon?
Who should I marry?
Life is a never-ending series of choices.
Can we know whether we are making the right decisions?
Should we consult our horoscope?
Maybe we should call the psychic hotline.
Do we go with the experts or rely on our gut feeling?
Should we look to the stars or seek the maker of the stars?
God wants to fellowship and communicate with us.
That's two-way communication.
Why?
Because you can only really have a relationship
if there is true dialogue.
How do we get to know a person?
By communicating with them,
by talking, and listening.
It's the same with our relationship with God.
He talks, and we listen.
We talk, He listens.
God loves us so much
that He sent Jesus to take our place
and to die for us.
He did this so that
we could once again have fellowship with Him.
In the book of Hebrews,
we can access God's very presence.
God desires to walk with and communicate with His children.
He wants to talk to us,
and He wants us to listen and talk to Him too.
There is more good news.
We can hear His voice.
The Bible, God's love letter to humanity,
clarifies that we were created
to have two-way communication with Him.
Discerning God's voice can be challenging,
requiring time and humility.
"Then you will call on Me
and you will come and pray to Me,
and I will hear your voice
and I will listen to you.
Then with a deep longing,
you will seek Me
and require Me as a vital necessity,
and you will find Me when you search for Me
with all your heart."
Jeremiah 29:12-13.
The Lord manifests Himself to us and through us
as we humbly seek Him.
The familiar passage
in Proverbs 3 makes it even more simple.
Proverbs 3:5-6.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
and He will make your path straight."
Our own flesh can scream pretty loud,
especially when we are under pressure
or we want something very badly.
And the devil is the father of lies.
He is the great deceiver.
The Bible gives us keys or filters
for judging every possible leading.
Number one, scripture.
Number two, the Holy Spirit speaking to our heart.
Number three, the prophetic.
Word of knowledge, word of wisdom, personal prophecy.
Number four, godly counsel.
Number five, confirmation.
Number six, the peace of God.
Yes, my friend.
You can hear and know the voice of God.
The benefit of His voice is so crucial for His children.
One of the very first voices a baby discerns
is the voice of the mother.
The early bonding process between a mother
and her baby is filled with words.
The baby begins to recognize that voice in a little while,
and then the initial smiles come in.
In like manner,
the Lord woos us with a beautiful story of redemption,
and we are supposed to identify His voice
the way the baby identifies the voice of the mother.
One of man's deepest desires is to know what next to do
or to understand the next decision to make.
It is comforting to know that living a life filled
with the presence of God
and being receptive to His voice is an asset
that makes life profitable.
Getting to know the different ways that God communicates
with His children is also very crucial,
because that is how we could know what to run from
and what to run towards.
Jehoshaphat is still regarded as a good and godly king,
but his rule ended in disaster.
He persisted in attempting to ally with Israel
even though the kings of Israel were evil.
Jehoshaphat worshiped the Lord
and led his people to seek the Lord,
but the people's hearts were never wholly changed.
They went back to pagan customs.
We can learn a lot from this Old Testament king
about whom we don't hear enough.
Let us pray.
Father, thank you for Your word
and the gift of the Holy Spirit.
I am grateful because He is here
to guide and help me in my course through life.
In the name of Jesus,
I ask that Your word will continue
to be a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
Help me to always move in the right direction
as I make agreements that please You.
I ask that Your spirit will lead me
and bring the right kind of people around me.
No matter how high I go, like Jehoshaphat,
please keep me away from wrong teams,
associations, or partnerships
so that I will not live in regrets.
In Jesus' name, amen.