God’s Creative Battle Plans – Jehoshaphat and the Singing Priests
God’s Creative Battle Plans – Jehoshaphat and the Singing Priests.
Yahweh is a warrior! Yahweh is His Name! (Exodus 15:3).
Moses and Miriam in their famous Song at the Red Sea, were the first ones to describe the Lord as a warrior. And throughout Scripture, God was identified as a warrior ever since. The Hebrew word for warrior in this passage is “ish milhamah,” which means man of war, warrior, champion, hero, fighter, mighty man. God’s stature as a fighter was taken up by the prophets, like David, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Zephaniah.
The Fierce Warrior with a Vivid Imagination. Lord Yahweh, as we would expect, was not just any common fighter. He was a warrior with the divine imagination that created completely unpredictable battle plans for every conflict between an enemy of God and His Chosen People. In Scripture, the Warrior-King was the master of unconventional warfare, unexpected schemes that would leave people scratching their heads in surprise or shaking their heads in amazement. God’s strategies were so diverse that they might appear to be random, but of course they were divinely orchestrated. His battle strategies to victory were well outside the human imagination, in such a way that the faith of His fighters on the ground was tested. It became obvious to His fighting men, though, that God was going about this battle in a completely different way than they would, and they were wise when they trusted in Him.
“And when he had taken counsel with the people, Jehoshaphat appointed those who were to sing to Yahweh and praise Him in the splendor of holiness, in holy attire. As they went to the front lines they sang, ‘Give thanks to the Lord, for His steadfast love, His mercy, endures forever!’ And when they began to sing and praise, the Lord set an ambush against the Canaanites who had come against Judah, so that the enemy was routed.” (2 Chronicles 20:22).
King Jehoshaphat. He was one of the most faithful and devoted God-followers in the royal history of Israel. He led a national revival and “brought the people back to the Lord God of their fathers.” (2 Chron. 19:4). At one point he was faced with a threatening coalition of powerful Canaanite forces. It was abundantly clear to everyone that the forces of Judah were vastly outnumbered by this enemy coalition of warriors, that they were helpless against what the Bible called “a multitude, a vast horde” of enemies. Jehoshaphat’s response to this threat was to declare a fast throughout the nation, to seek the help of Yahweh. He stood in the Temple in Jerusalem, and he humbly uttered a prayer that has inspired countless readers ever since. Some of his prayer’s highlights: “O Yahweh God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You?… If disaster comes upon us – sword, judgment, pestilence, famine – we will stand before this Temple and in Your presence, and cry out to You in our affliction, and You will hear and save… Oh our God, will You not judge our enemies? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us, nor do we know what to do. But our eyes are upon You.” (2 Chronicles 20:6-12). Jehoshaphat offered these memorable words to God in the presence of all the people of Judah. We could all stand to memorize his words… If we meet with affliction, we will cry out to you, Lord, and you will hear us and save us. We don’t know what to do, Father God, but we look to you for help. After a trusted prophet of Yahweh assured him that the battle was the Lord’s and that He would defeat their enemy, King Jehoshaphat gathered the people again and declared, “Believe in Yahweh your God and you will be able to stand firm! Believe in the Lord’s prophets and you will succeed!” (v. 20). At this point we witness in this passage the spiritual genius and faith of King Jehoshaphat, and we become inspired by the three elements that led to his victory: Worship, Music, and Mercy.
WORSHIP: In preparation for battle, Jehoshaphat first appointed a choir, a choir of all things, to approach the battle lines and sing to Yahweh. This choir was to shout their praises and sing in “the beauty of holiness.” (v. 21). That phrase has two different translations, depending on the version of the Bible. One version translates it as meaning to praise the splendor of His holiness, to exalt Him in His beauty, to worship the One majestic in holiness. Or the other translation would be, to worship Him in holy attire, in sacred vestments, in clothing that sets them apart from everyone else in service to God. There is, however, no controversy of the Hebrew word for “praise” in this passage (yadah). To praise Yahweh here means to worship the Lord with hands extended. Setting the stage here in the valley before battle… If you were an enemy of Israel and waiting for the war to begin, what is the first thing you would see on the front lines? Instead of soldiers breathing fire, you would see a marching choir out in front, wearing priestly clothing, with arms extended outward, singing and shouting and praising their God Yahweh! It would seem that the enemies of Judah would be dumbfounded, to say the least.
MUSIC: Music on the battlefield? On the first line of defense, the front lines? Actually, what would inspire the troops better than music lifting up the power and love of their God Yahweh? This reminds us of David, “the sweet psalmist of Israel,” singing his songs of victory and deliverance, “You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. You shall encircle me with joyous shouts of victory and rescue. Like garlands of hosannas, you shall enfold me with songs of salvation.” (Psalm 32:7). Jehoshaphat’s prophet said exactly the same thing. In other words, watch Yahweh do all the heavy lifting in this battle! Sure enough, after crossing the Red Sea, what’s the first thing Moses sang in praise to the Lord? Moses and Miriam referred to God as “Yahweh the Warrior!” Much like David and Moses and countless other biblical heroes, Jehoshaphat believed that God is a conqueror, and He can vanquish the foes of His Chosen People. And there is something about music that inspires the heart, enlivens the mind, and activates the will. Music has an indescribable impact on the human being. Music can’t really be defined, it can only be experienced, loved and lived into. Apart from the Bible’s hymn book, the Psalms, there are well over thirty songs recorded in Scriptures. We even see a strong connection between music and the works of prophets, confirming the spiritual nature of music. “When you arrive at Gibeah of God, you will meet a band of prophets coming down from the place of worship. They will be playing harp, a tambourine, a flute, and a lyre, and they will be prophesying. At that time the Spirit of the Lord will come powerfully upon you, and you will be prophesying with them. You will be changed into a different person.” (I Samuel 10:5-6). So in light of the nature of music, and its history in Scripture, it is not necessarily surprising that Jehoshaphat chose to put his choir on the front lines, singing about the mercy of Yahweh God.
MERCY: “They went out ahead of the army, singing, ‘Give thanks to the Lord Yahweh, for His mercy continues forever!’ And what was the choir singing about as they confidently walked into battle against a fierce foe? What was the most important thing they could think about at that particular time? Yes, they sang what has been called the eternal song of the saints. They lifted their voices and triumphantly sang about Mercy. God’s Mercy. The Hebrew word for mercy in this passage is the rich word hesed. It is a rich feast of a word. Hesed needs to be described, not defined; lived into, not merely thought through. HESED: completely undeserved mercy and loving-kindness; practical and eager love-in-action; steadfast and loyal compassion; unending favor; the ardent desire to do good for someone; the deep love reserved for someone in an intimate relationship, and if there is no prior relationship to treat someone as if that relationship existed; covenant faithfulness; a merciful generosity that goes above and beyond what is expected.
Hesed, translated as mercy or loving-kindness in most Bibles, is named by many scholars the most important word in the Hebrew Bible. Hesed is used over 250 times in Jewish Scriptures (unfortunately called the Old Testament by most Christians), and rabbinic tradition declares that mercy is the outstanding attribute, the central quality, of our God. Is there any phrase repeated more often in Scripture than “His mercies endure forever,” or more accurately, “His mercy is everlasting.” This soul-changing phrase is repeated at least forty times in the Hebrew Bible. The Hebrew of this phrase doesn’t actually say the word “endure.” It simply says, “mercy everlasting.” In other words, God’s mercy doesn’t simply “endure” by the skin of its teeth, mercy doesn’t just hang in there to survive, it doesn’t have its existence hanging in the balance or threatened in any way. Mercy just is. Mercy is an indispensable, permanent part of the universe, always there like the sky. There has always been mercy. There will always be mercy. Mercy just is. Because God just is. “Beyond all mystery is the mercy of God. It is a love, a mercy, that transcends the world, its value and merit. To live by such a love, to reflect it, however humbly, is the test of religious experience.” (Abraham Joshua Heschel, God In Search of Man).
Victory. As it turned out, the battle of Jehoshaphat wasn’t even close. No contest. It ended before it began. The enemies of Israel didn’t have a chance, because the Lord decided the battle was His to win. The singing, shouting and praising confused the enemy forces, and they somehow, with the Lord’s help, caused them to panic in confusion! All the enemy soldiers turned against each other, and completely destroyed each other. “When the army of Judah arrived at the lookout point, all they saw were dead bodies lying on the ground as far as they could see.” (v. 24). We don’t know if it was a band of angels who set the ambush, or perhaps some of Jehoshaphat’s soldiers, but it was a convincing victory nonetheless. The “vast horde” was defeated, and the army of Judah didn’t have to lift a finger. The Kidron Valley was nicknamed the Valley of Beracah, which means Blessing, because the plunder from the enemy after the defeat was more than they could carry away. There were vast amounts of equipment, clothing, and other valuables, and it took three days just to collect it all. The people of Judah gathered together in that valley after the plunder was taken away, and they thanked the Lord for this unexpected blessing.
Sometimes the Lord says to us, “Don’t just stand there, do something! And other times He says, “Don’t just do something, stand there!” In this case, the army of Judah did indeed stand there and watch at the front lines as the singing priests lifted the battle to God and His blessing. As the worship song, “Surrounded – This is the Way We Fight our Battles” sings out, “It might look like I’m surrounded, but I’m surrounded by You!”
Surrounded ( Fight My Battles ) – UPPERROOM