Week 29

2 Chronicles 7-27

Anyone else now have Chris Tomlin’s Forever stuck in their heads?!

So again- we are getting the recap of previous chapters. The kings- which did evil in the eyes of the Lord and which did right in the eyes of the Lord. It’s no mystery which (the evil or the right) kings prospered and which kings were defeated, often in very violent, messy ways.

What really struck me here was Jehoshaphat’s army. So Jehoshaphat is the son of Asa, and Asa is one of the “good” kings so I’m assuming he was taught “how to behave”- maybe that’s a stretch that I shouldn’t assume but I would like to think his dad taught him to follow the Lord. So Jehoshaphat becomes king of Judah; somewhere along the way Jehoshaphat teams up with Ahab, the evil king of Israel. They go into battle at Ramoth Gilead together and Ahab nearly has Jehoshaphat killed by having Jehoshaphat wear his clothes- knowing the Aram army would be looking to kill him. Of course God intercedes here and the “good guy,” Jehoshaphat, is ok and the “bad guy,” Ahab ends up getting killed. BUT WAIT- so we fast forward to the next battle; the Moabites & the Ammonites along with some of the Meunites come to make war on Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat goes to God, asking for help and guidance and God basically says “it’s ok; I got you. Don’t worry, just go into battle and I’ll take care of it.”

Ok now- on one hand, how great, right? “Don’t worry; just go. I’ll take care of it”

BUT on the other hand- how many of us would just go with that? No plan B; no follow up questions, no “are you sure?” “You promise?!” Just march right in there. Can you imagine how hard these guys hearts are beating as they march into this battle? They are outnumbered, possibly with lessor equipment- and yet not only do they go but they go singing and praising.

Obviously I would like to think I would do the same- faithfully march, head first into battle knowing that God has my back but in reality, is this the case? I’m afraid I would be going back asking God for reassurance; walking into battle praying for help, not singing God’s praises; looking for a plan b, a safety net just in case.

What about you? New takeaways or thoughts?