Setting Up Ambushes against the Enemy...with Worship in Your Heart!!!

[Nice & Wavy]

Whew! Like a fire released from my bones...His Word is alive and is well within me!


2 Chronicles 20:1-25

[FONT=arial, helvetica]After this the Moabites and Ammonites, and with them some of the Meunites, came against Jehoshaphat for battle. Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, "A great multitude is coming against you from Edom, from beyond the sea; and, behold, they are in Hazazontamar" (that is, Engedi). Then Jehoshapaht feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. And Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord; from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.[/FONT]​

[FONT=arial, helvetica]And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, and said , "O Lord, God of our fathers, art thou not God in heaven? Dost thou not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? In thy hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee. Didst thou not, O our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and give it for ever to the descendants of Abraham thy friend? And they have dwelt in it, and have built thee in it a sanctuary for thy name, saying, "If evil comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house, and before thee, for thy name is in this house, and cry to thee in our affliction, and thou wilt hear and save.' And now behold, the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom thou wouldst not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, and whom they avoided and did not destroy - behold, they reward us by coming to drive us out of thy possession, which thou has given us to inherit. O our God, wilt thou not execute judgment upon them? For we are powerless against this great multitude that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon thee."[/FONT]​

[FONT=arial, helvetica]Meanwhile all the men of Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. And the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. And he said, "Hearken, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you, 'Fear not, and be not dismayed at 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; you will find them at the end of the valley, east of the wilderness of Jeruel. You will not need to fight in this battle; only take your position, stand still, and see the victory of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.' Fear not, and be not dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you."[/FONT]​

[FONT=arial, helvetica]Then 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. And the Levites, of the Kohathites and the Korahites, stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice. And they rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be established; believe his prophets, and you will succeed." And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise him in holy array, as they went before the army, and say,[/FONT]​

[FONT=arial, helvetica]"Give thanks to the Lord, for his steadfast love endures forever."[/FONT]​

[FONT=arial, helvetica]And when they began to sing and praise, the Lord set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed. For the men of Ammon and Moab rose against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, destroying them utterly, and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they all helped to destroy one another.[/FONT]​

[FONT=arial, helvetica]When Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude; and behold, they were dead bodies lying on the ground; none had escaped. When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take the spoil from them, they found cattle in great numbers, goods, clothing, and precious things, which they took for themselves until they could carry no more. They were three days in taking the spoil, it was so much.[/FONT]

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Jehoshaphat's fell with his face to the ground and worshipped. Verse 18: "Then 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." ​

Then something different happens. While everyone is bowed down low on their faces before the Lord, a group of people stand up. And together they begin to praise the Lord. Verse 19: "And the Levites, of the Kohathites and the Korahites, stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice." Was this a spontaneous eruption of song from a few free spirits? Who were these people? ​

Turn with me to 1 Chronicles 6:31. Here the writer is listing the families of the tribe of Levi. In verse 31 he says, "These are the men whom David put in charge of the service of song in the house of the Lord, after the ark rested there. They ministered with song before the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, until Solomon had built the house of the Lord in Jerusalem; and they performed their service in due order. These are the men who served and their sons. Of the sons of the Kohathites..." And then the descendants of Kohath the son of Levi are given. ​

In other words this group who stood up to praise the Lord in 2 Chronicles 20:19 are not merely a group of charismatic free spirits. They are the Choir of Israel. They are the group who ever since the time of David had been appointed to do the ministry of song in Israel. So they stood up while everybody else was bowed before God and they led the people and helped the people praise the Lord for his promised victory. ​

After this great time of worship in response to God's word, the people make ready to meet the enemy. They rise early the next morning and head out into the wilderness. And as they go, Jehoshaphat commands them to trust God's promise. Verse 20: "Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be established; believe his prophets, and you will succeed." ​

Then Jehoshaphat appoints his frontline troops. But the frontline troops are not charioteers or swordsmen. They are singers. Jehoshaphat aims to conquer with a choir. God had said that the battle was his to fight. So what better way for Israel to meet the enemy than with songs of victory in the front ranks. You are appointed and anointed to go forth and win!​

Verse 21: "And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise him in holy array, as they went before the army, and say, `Give thanks to the Lord, for his steadfast love endures for ever.'" When God tells us that the battle is his and that the victory is sure, the way we should meet the enemy is with songs of thanks to God. ​

And I think that the writer of this book wants to make it clear that, even though the victory belongs to God, the human means through which God gives victory is the ministry of the choir. For it says in verse 22, "And when they began to sing and praise, the Lord set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed." First Moab and Ammon turn against Mt. Seir. Then they turn against each other. When it's all over the defeat is so great it takes three days for Jehoshaphat and his people to carry away the spoil. This right here is what I'm talkin' about.....​

From this story I would draw out the following exhortation: Spiritual worship and spiritual warfare should be carried out with singing. In verse 19 when all the people fell down to worship, the choir stood up to sing. And in verse 21 when the people went out to meet the enemy the choir went before them with songs of victory. ​

And even more than that, I think that the writer wants us to learn from verse 22 that the enemies of God are thrown into confusion by the songs of God's people. Or to put it another way, God has appointed the use of spiritual songs as an effective weapon against his arch enemy Satan.

Oh, people of God...how blessed we are!
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Sing, rejoice...for victory is won!​

Hallelujah, sing...and then go back and take everything that satan has stolen from you...go and get your spoils...I'm going to get mine right now!!!!​

 

[Shimmie]

Ooooooo, this is so on time! Precious Wavy, I have a testimony.

This past Friday I was commuting by train and bus. (Remember when I left work early and logged out of the forum early on Friday?)...Okay.

Coming home later that evening, my train missed the connecting shuttle bus which takes me DIRECTLY home. I mean, the bus was pulling off as I was leaving the train. I was UPSET. It was cold outside, no taxi's anywhere and the next shuttle wasn't due for another 30 minutes.

I stood there and just 'talked' to God. I shared, "Father, I'm so upset right now and I don't feel like waiting out here. I don't see a taxi and I just don't feel like waiting.'

Ummmmm, I was really upset ....

But then, I turned it around. I actually turned my back from the direction that a taxi or the next shuttle would come. And then I began to tell God how much I loved Him.

"Lord, I am so sorry for my attitude. I don't care if I did miss the bus, all I know is that I love you Lord. I love you anyway, and I know that you are here with me and that I am not alone. I thank you for all the love you've given me. I thank you for my babies, my family, my loved ones, the people I care about and for those who care about me. Lord, I just love you, no matter what. I love you Lord so much. Thank you for being in my life and most of all in my heart."

Precious Wavy, guess what happen? Out of 'no where' and I do mean NO WHERE, another bus showed up right in front of me, in the OPPOSITE direction of the normal route. I was standing in a ''horse shoe' type area of the waiting area, and a bus pulled up into the horse shoe.

Precious Wavy, I was TOO through...Do you hear me? I was TOO Through. And the Driver of the bus was unknown to me (and it was a woman Driver, not the normal men Drivers). I know just about all of the Drivers for I see them often in my commuting travels.

Whew! All I could do was 'cry' (happy tears) and thank God the whole time.

This is one of those "Ram in the Bush" experiences. OR the ax that floated to the top of the waters in I Kings.

And guess what else? Ummmmm .... I was only out there every bit of only 8 minutes.

Precious Wavy, I'm so spoiled. Our 'Daddy" in Heaven didn't make me wait 30 minutes for the next bus.

Your messages are so on Time and So lead of the Holy Spirit. As I shared with you earlier, you are on FIRE! Like Jeremiah, 'It's like fire shut up in your bones. You can't keep it in. And no devil in or out of hell can stop or top you...EVER! You are Covenant protected.

Love you much.... Keep the fire going Angel. It's awesome! So on time. So on Jesus!

 

[dreamer26]

Amen and Amen and it just doesn't work for the people in the bible it works even today.

I think the key to getting from God is staying in a posture of praise and worship, even when it looks bad, if you are a child of God praise is always in order.

I don't mean we won't ever hurt or be sad, but even in the midst of the test or trial or sad time, find a reason to give God an inspite of praise.

 

[Sui Topi]

Yes! Good and bad fall on the good and bad...but the catch is, if you have God in your life, He'll help you get through ANYTHING

 

[shalom]

I gots some people coming against me right now and this is just confirmation that God is on my side.

I have to keep reminding myself though, that the battle is not mine, but the Lords.

Thanks once again for sharing the gospel of our Lord and Savior.

SPREAD THE GOOD NEWSSSSSSSSS.