Friday
#1. Jehoshaphat as we mentioned yesterday was a pretty good king. He made his mistakes, but for the most part he kept the commands of God and he loved the Lord and led the people in keeping out the false gods. Some of the surrounding kingdoms wanted to make war against Judah. Jehoshaphat asked God to protect them (smart, very smart thing to do). And God answers their prayers. They are to march to the Desert of Tekoa and arm themselves with nothing more that musical instruments and their voices.
Wow, kind of picturing a marching band going up against Hitler’s Army of the Third Reich – doesn’t make much sense to us, but for God it is everything. It tells Him that His people are obedient and willing to follow whatever he tells them. Well, we read that Ammon and Moab were soundly defeated and Judah instead of raising swords, raised their voices in praise of God.
What an amazing God we serve – So the people of Judah took all the plunder and “returned joyfully to Jerusalem, for the Lord had given them cause to rejoice over their enemies.” (20:27) I wonder if that is why singing and praising God is so essential to our spiritual walk and witness? It helps us defeat our enemies – enemies of fear and doubt, of oppression. (Remember Paul and Silas singing and praising in the prison? – Acts 16:25)
#2. The second story for today centers around Jehoram, son of Jehoshaphat. Jehoram is not a nice king. He has his brothers killed (eliminating the competition). Jehoram’s punishment does not come swiftly, instead Elijah the prophet tells him, because he has not walked in the ways of his father, his death will be slow and very painful. My thought here is why didn’t Jehoshaphat do a better job of raising his son to be a faithful follower. Do you see dads and moms how important it is for us to raise our children as followers of Jesus, to encourage them to attend church regularly (and if you aren’t, then why not?) Get involved in a local Christian church that preaches and teaches sound biblical theology, come to ours. Don’t let the world sway you from what is true.
#3. The third thing is standing up against opposition. Athaliah ruled for about seven years, she thought she had executed everyone who could possibly be king. Athaliah was wrong in believing she could stand up against the Lord our God. And so, Jehoiada the priest finally got up the courage to confront her. He banded together with other believers, had her killed and established the rightful king, Joash. We are more powerful when we band together with other Christians to fight off bad people, influences and situations. Like Ecclesiastes 4:12 tells us “a cord of three strands is not easily broken” and “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I with them.” Matthew 18:20.
Singing and praise God
Pastor Kathy