Lessons from the Jews on Praise ~Part 2

If you remember from the last article, we were in the middle 2 Chronicles 20.  The Jews (led by king Jehoshaphat) had just received an answer from the Lord telling them that they would be victorious, and amazingly, they would not need to fight in this battle.  They believed the Lord and praised Him lifting their voices high in worship.  The next morning here's what happened:

"So 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, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.”

And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the Lord, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying:

“Praise the Lord,

For His mercy endures forever.”

Now when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated" (vs. 20-22).

What did they do?  PRAISED!  They praised the Lord, knowing that He would answer. They went out to the place of battle with a song of praise on their lips.  How amazing!

Notice too that when they began to sing, the Lord began to win the victory.  To praise the Lord was the part in the battle that the Jews were supposed to play.  Here's what happened next:

"For the people of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy them. And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.   So when Judah came to a place overlooking the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude; and there were their dead bodies, fallen on the earth. No one had escaped" (23-24).

The Jews didn't even have to lift a finger! The Lord fought for them and they had only to "stand still and see the salvation of the Lord."  Think of how amazing this is!  What a great victory the Lord won for them in that day!  He still required obedience (they had to have enough faith to go out to the wilderness of Tekoa) but it was the Lord who fought for them and won the victory.

In addition to that amazing triumph, the people of Israel found so much spoil on their enemies that it took them three whole days to gather it!  What happened next the day?

"And on the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Berachah [which means blessing], for there they blessed the Lord; therefore the name of that place was called The Valley of Berachah until this day" (verse 26).

 They blessed the Lord there.  And after:

"Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat in front of them, to go back to Jerusalem with joy, for the Lord had made them rejoice over their enemies. So they came to Jerusalem, with stringed instruments and harps and trumpets, to the house of the Lord" (vs. 27,28).

They won the victory through rejoicing.  The Lord had made them rejoice over their enemies.  It was praise the whole way through! Praise when they came to seek the face of the Lord.  Praise when He gave His answer. Praise on the way to battle. Praise when they saw Him win the victory.  And praise once they returned back to Jerusalem.

What about us?  Are our lives so saturated with praise?  Continue to meditate on the lessons you have learned from this amazing chapter of the Bible.  What challenges you? In what area might the Lord be asking you to become more like the men and women in this chapter?  I would love to hear your thoughts on how we can apply this biblical account to our own lives!