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2
Chronicles 20:20 |
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And they rose
early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa:
and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O
Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the LORD your
God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye
prosper |
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The
thanksgiving of Judah |
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Bible reading: 2
Chronicles 20:20-30
20 And
they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the
wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood
and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem;
Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established;
believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper. 21 And
when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto
the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they
went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his
mercy endureth for ever. 22 And when they
began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against
the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come
against Judah; and they were smitten. 23 For the
children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of
mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when
they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one
helped to destroy another. 24 And when Judah came
toward the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked unto the
multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to
the earth, and none escaped. 25 And when
Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil of them,
they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead
bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for
themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three
days in gathering of the spoil, it was so much. 26 And
on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of
Berachah; for there they blessed the LORD: therefore the name of
the same place was called, The valley of Berachah, unto this
day. 27 Then they returned, every man of Judah and
Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat in the forefront of them, to go again
to Jerusalem with joy; for the LORD had made them to rejoice
over their enemies. 28 And they came to Jerusalem
with psalteries and harps and trumpets unto the house of the
LORD. 29 And the fear of God was on all the
kingdoms of those countries, when they had heard that the
LORD fought against the enemies of Israel. 30 So
the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet: for his God gave him rest
round about.
Jehoshaphat
exhorted his troops to firm faith in God.
Faith inspires a man with true courage; nor will any thing help
more to the establishing of the heart in shaking times, than a
firm belief of the power, and mercy, and promise of God. In all
our trust in the Lord, and our praises of him, let us especially
look at his everlasting mercy to sinners through Jesus Christ.
Never was an army so destroyed as that of the enemy. Thus God
often makes wicked people destroy one another. And never was a
victory celebrated with more solemn thanksgivings.
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