"We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on You."
I would love if you read this post with an open Bible (or app) in hand.
At the time I'm writing this, we're finishing week 4 (or 3? 5? I don't even know anymore...) of the COVID-19 crisis in the United States. As a Michigan resident, I live in the now-third ranked state for the number of deaths for the coronavirus. Detroit, a city where I spend a lot of my time, is one of the hardest-hit cities in the country.
This global pandemic is a slow but ever-moving calamity. Rather than a momentary impact, this crisis hits in waves, gradually pervading one area of our lives, then another. I'm incredibly thankful for my family's and my own health thus far, and I genuinely don't take that for granted. However, the amount of uncertainty and the loss of big things I was hoping in can be a struggle -- as I know it has been in different ways for many.
We are living in a time when we are more than ever faced with the magnitude of our humanity, our limitations, our finiteness. We may not know what to do, and more than ever, our eyes need to be on the Lord. Are they?
I came across 2 Chronicles 20:12, the title of this post, a few months ago through a textbook reading for class. The chapter as a whole has been incredibly timely, and I've read and shared it often in this crisis. I'd like to share here a study of this chapter I led some women through a few weeks ago.
The Holy Spirit still speaks, and one way we hear Him is through His Word. Regardless of whether you are new to reading the Bible or you are familiar with its pages, I hope this post leads you to a fuller and more intimate picture of the LORD who is fighting for you, who carries you, and who is in control.
Read 2 Chronicles 20:1-4.
Some background info you might be wondering:
The Israelite nation is divided at this time between the northern kingdom (Israel, containing ten of the twelve tribes of Israel) and the southern kingdom (Judah, containing two of the twelve tribes).
Jehoshaphat (verse 1) is the king of Judah. He's a flawed but generally good leader who brings physical and spiritual revival to the nation.
The Moabites, Ammonites, and Meunites (v. 1) are people groups from surrounding nations on the eastern and southern border of Judah.
Verse 2 says that some men came and told Jehoshaphat that "a great multitude" was coming to attack. If you look on the map below, the areas labeled Ammon, Moab, and Edom are the places from which the attack was coming, essentially east and south of the Dead Sea.
However, if you notice, the men told Jehoshaphat that "they are [already] in...Engedi" (verse 2). Find Engedi on the map.
Engedi is on the western coast of the Dead Sea. The approaching attack had already reached Judah's land. What was once a farther away threat is now a real, close enemy.
I think of this as similar to the common enemy of today, the COVID-19 virus. Remember when we were hearing about some virus in China and, honestly, dismissing it as a distant threat that really didn't have an impact on us here in America? A few months later...here we are. The enemy is at Engedi.
What is Jehoshaphat's response?
What is the nation of Judah's response?
In verse 3 we see that Jehoshaphat was "afraid." He experienced fear in response to the news he received about the oncoming attack. Fear is not a sinful emotion in itself; it is natural. But what are you doing with that fear? Notice what Jehoshaphat does as recorded in the rest of this verse. He "set his face to seek the LORD" and "proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah." In verse 4 we see the ripple effects of his leadership: twice we are told that Judah assembled together from all over to "seek help from the LORD."
What is your response to the fear you may be experiencing? From where (or whom) are you seeking help?
If you are a leader -- in your home, workplace, church, school, ministry setting, circle of friends -- how can you be honest about your fear yet pointing those you're leading to together "seek the LORD"?
Read 2 Chronicles 20:5-12.
What can we learn about God through Jehoshaphat's prayer?
In Jehoshaphat's prayer, we're reminded that God is God in heaven. He rules over all the kingdoms of the nations. He is powerful and mighty. Nothing or no one is able to withstand Him (2 Chron. 20:6). He befriends His people. He has proved Himself to be a mighty Deliverer (2 Chron. 20:7).
Note what the people of Israel past have proclaimed in verse 9: "If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence [disease], or famine, we will stand before this house [the sanctuary and dwelling place of God at that time] and before You" (2 Chron. 20:9a).
What reasons are given for the people coming to the presence of the Lord during times of disaster, including pestilence?
His Name is in the house of God (2 Chron. 20:9b), and we're told in Proverbs 10:18 that "the Name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe." We also see that the promise that God "will hear and save" in response to the people's crying out to God in their affliction (v. 9b) is assumed. As a leader of the people, Jehoshaphat recalled the reasons their nation had been able to trust God in the past to remind them that they were able to trust Him in the present.
Some background to understand verses 10-12:
If you read Deuteronomy 2: 4-5, 9, and 19, you'll see that Moses reminds the people how the Lord specifically told them not to bother the people in the lands of Mount Seir (the Meunites), Moab (the Moabites), or Ammon (the Ammonites).
Why? These lands already belonged to the descendants of Esau and Lot as an inheritance (Genesis 19:37-38; 32:3; 36:8).
Jehoshaphat is addressing the injustice of the people whom God had protected now attacking the people of God. He cries out essentially, Is this how they reward us?
The prayer concludes with one of the most honest prayers I think in Scripture. I love it and have prayed it often the past few months when I haven't known how else to pray...
[I] do not know what to do, but [my] eyes are on You."
2 Chronicles 20:12
Where are your "eyes" right now? What are you looking to for answers, certainty, security?
Ironically we look for and attempt to manufacture certainty in that which is uncertain, such as our own plans for the future or explanations of the present (i.e. the news... which definitely proves super stable and secure ;)). However, we adamantly ignore that which IS certain, such as the character of God and the promises we have in His Word. Let us follow Jehoshaphat's example. "Turn your eyes upon Jesus...."
Read 2 Chronicles 20:13-17.
What is the LORD's response to Jehoshaphat's prayer?
Here the LORD speaks through a prophet. He tells them the exact location and route of their enemies (v. 16), reminding them that He is Supreme. He knows exactly what the enemy will do and He has a plan.
He tells the people not to be afraid or dismayed twice (v. 15, 17).
He tells them He will be with them (v. 17).
He tells them to stand firm, hold their position, and see the salvation of the Lord.
He tells them "the battle is not yours but God's" (v. 15).
He tells them that they "will not need to fight in this battle," yet they will still need to "go out against them." but it is there they will see "the salvation of the LORD on [their] behalf" (v. 18).
These words would have reminded the people of another "battle" in their history, an echo of a miraculous rescue from another "great horde." At the coast of the Red Sea, Moses says to the Israelites, "Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be still" (Exodus 14:13-14). The LORD led them across the waters on dry ground and destroyed their oncoming enemies, the Egyptians.
And here, He would fight for them again.
Read 2 Chronicles 20:18-19.
How do the people respond to God's promise of protection and victory?
Some people fall down before the Lord in worship. Some stand up to praise Him. All choose to trust His Word of promise and worship in response.
What is our response to God's promises, especially in times of trouble and uncertainty?
Do we likewise trust Him? Do we take Him at His Word? Do we choose to worship before we even see the victory? We are enabled to have such eyes of faith if we have our eyes on Him.
Read 2 Chronicles 20:20-30.
What was the battle plan?
What was the result?
Jehoshaphat "rose early" the next morning and led the people from Jerusalem to face the enemy. He "took counsel" and "appointed those who were to sing to the LORD and praise Him in holy attire, as they went before the army" (v. 21). Their battle plan was literally to sing praise! What did they specifically praise God for? "His steadfast love endures forever" (v. 21). The steadfast love of the Lord was their banner of victory in the battle, and they praised Him for it.
What happened as they praised God? "And when they began to sing and praise, the LORD set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed." In verse 23 we see that the people literally "helped to destroy one another."
When Judah arrived at the battleground, they saw the fulfillment of the Lord's promise to fight for them -- "they looked toward the horde, and behold, there were dead bodies lying on the ground; none had escaped" (v. 24). They didn't even have to lift a sword. The only lifting they did was to collect the spoil, which took three days because "it was so much"!! This is the LORD fighting for the people. This is the LORD fulfilling His promises. He is true to His Word.
We later see that the people returned "with joy." The surrounding nations feared God "when they heard that the LORD had fought against the enemies of Israel. The realm of Jehoshaphat's reign is described as "quiet," because "his God gave him rest all around."
I'm reading Elisabeth Elliot's book The Music of His Promises: Listening to God with Love, Trust, and Obedience right now. It's a series of short devotionals reminding readers of God's promises. Coincidentally (or not!), I read one of the devotionals last night before I went to bed. I've been meditating on 2 Chronicles 20 since February and have been writing this post for the last few days. Yet, last night, I read this:
"Fear arises when we imagine that everything depends on us. We assume burdens God never meant us to carry. How much better to take whatever is troubling us immediately to God, confess our helplessness and perplexity, and then do the next thing. The story of how Jehoshaphat responded [in 2 Chronicles 20] when news came of hordes of enemies about to attack should furnish some clues for us.
'Jehoshaphat, in his alarm, resolved to seek guidance of the Lord' (2 Chron. 20:3). He proclaimed a fast, and in front of the people, prayed. He remembered who God was, His power and help in the past, stated his case regarding the present threat, and acknowledged his own powerlessness. 'We know not what we ought to do; we lift our eyes to Thee' (2 Chron. 20:12). God answered through a prophet, 'Have no fear...the battle is in God's hands, not yours' (v. 15) What a relief!
But there were things for the people to do: Stand firm. Wait. Do not fear. Go out and face the enemy.
Next morning early they set out, and Jehoshaphat told them, 'Hold firmly to your faith...and you will be upheld' (v. 20). Then he appointed men to sing! Going to meet the hordes they so desperately feared, they sang.
Make sure you are on God's side, whatever today's 'battle' may be. Then do what Jehoshaphat did. Stand firm, wait, don't be afraid, go and face the enemy, sing."
We can trust Him in these days. We can choose worship even when we have not yet seen the victory. Even when we don't know what to do, we can turn our eyes to Him, and know that He will provide rest all around. May we choose Him today.