Deeper Commentary
2Ch 20:1 It happened after this that the children of Moab, and the
children of Ammon, and with them some of the other Ammonites, came against
Jehoshaphat to battle-
For "Ammonites", LXX and some texts read "the Mehunim", of 2 Chron.
26:7; 1 Chron. 4:41.
2Ch 20:2 Then some came who told Jehoshaphat saying, A great multitude is
coming against you from beyond the sea from Syria. Behold, they are in
Hazazon Tamar (that is, En Gedi)-
Some manuscripts read "from Edom", called "mount Seir" in :10, which
would make better sense of them coming from En Gedi, with "the sea" then
referring to the Dead Sea.. G.A. Smith explains that En Gedi was "on the
west coast of the Dead Sea at a point where a rugged pass leads up into the
hill country of Judah".
2Ch 20:3 Jehoshaphat was alarmed, and set himself to seek to Yahweh. He
proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah-
Fasts were typically proclaimed to call for repentance, as a result
of calamity convicting people of sin. Jehoshaphat recognized that his
reforms had not touched the soul of most of his people, and saw this
invasion as a result of that. See on :10.
2Ch 20:4 Judah gathered themselves together to seek help from Yahweh. They
came out of all the cities of Judah to seek Yahweh-
The people came to "seek help", but as explained on :3, Jehoshaphat
realized that what was essentially needed was repentance.
2Ch 20:5 Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the
house of Yahweh, before the new court-
Jehoshaphat stood not "in" but "before" this court, so it may refer
to the court of the priests which had been rebuilt recently. Hence "new".
2Ch 20:6 and he said, Yahweh, the God of our fathers, aren’t You God in
heaven? Aren’t You ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and
might are in Your hand, so that no one is able to stand against You-
To "stand against" is s.w. "stand with" or "before". Jehoshaphat
'stood' "before" Yahweh (:5). He feels his unworthiness to do this, and
yet is aware that all the world likewise stands before Him, and cannot
stand against Him. We note that God was king of the Gentile world even
then. For them to become His 'kingdom', as today, required a recognition
that He is king, and to accept His position as their king and they as His
subjects. In other words, to accept what is already potentially the
situation. This aspect of the call of the Gospel of the Kingdom is often
felt by those who truly respond to it, having previously known nothing of
His ways.
2Ch 20:7 Didn’t You, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land
before Your people Israel, and give it to the seed of Abraham Your friend
forever?-
"Drive out" is s.w. "inherit" in :11. It is not the usual word for
"drive out". If as suggested on :2 the invaders were from Edom, Ammon and
Moab (:10), they too were the seed of Abraham. And it is all of them whom
Jehoshaphat has in view here. They were called to be part of God's kingdom
(see on :6). The idea is not, therefore. 'You drove out the Canaanites, do
drive out these invaders now'. For the Canaanites were not the seed of
Abraham. But these invaders were. These descendants of Abraham were to be
defeated, Jehoshaphat argues, because they were trying to drive Judah out
of the land which they too had been given to inherit (:11). So the grounds
of their condemnation were not that they were Canaanites, but rather that
they were forbidding other members of the seed a place in the inheritance.
And there is a lesson for that in the warring members of the true seed of
Abraham today.
2Ch 20:8 They lived in it, and have built You a sanctuary in it for Your
name saying-
Jehoshaphat has great spirituality and faith at this point. But he
retains the misunderstanding of David and Solomon, that the sanctuary or
temple built was somehow a guarantee that God would always protect His
people. God had explained that He didn't want them to build it, but rather
wanted to build them a 'house' or family of humbled hearts, open to the
operation of His Spirit. See on :28.
2Ch 20:9 If evil comes on us- the sword, judgment, plague or famine- we
will stand before this house and before You, (for Your name is in this
house), and cry to You in our affliction, and You will hear and save-
He is repeating the prayer of Solomon. But he also repeats the same
misunderstanding, that the physical temple was some kind of talisman which
would nudge God into saving His people from judgment even when they
sinned. This was not the case. And the final destruction of the temple and
captivity of the people was evidence enough of that.
2Ch 20:10 Now, consider the children of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir,
whom You would not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of
Egypt, but they turned aside from them, and didn’t destroy them-
This is starting to put the blame on God for allowing these people to
still exist. But the reason for their invasion was because Judah had
sinned, and Jehoshaphat realized that when he called for a fast (see on
:3). But like us, he soon drifted away from that initial realization of
sin and the need for repentance and salvation by grace. For from that
height, he slips down into considering the temple as a physical talisman
which would bring help (:8,9), and now he tries to rationalize the
situation by even blaming God. Rather than retaining his sense of sin.
2Ch 20:11 See how they reward us, to come to cast us out of Your
possession which You have given us to inherit-
As discussed on :7, their behaviour was obnoxious because they too
were the seed of Abraham, but refused to allow Judah to have a place in
the land promised to Abraham.
2Ch 20:12 Our God, will You not judge them? For we have no might against
this great company that comes against us; neither know we what to do, but
our eyes are toward You-
As discussed on :10, Jehoshaphat has slipped down from his initial
sense that Judah have sinned and must desperately, urgently repent (:3).
Now he is saying that those sent to judge Judah are sinners worthy of
judgment. And yet he recognizes that he has no might against that
judgment. And yet the history of Israel is full of faithful individuals
and armies winning victories, with Yahweh's help, against far larger and
stronger armies. Yet Jehoshaphat seems to lack that level of faith, and is
simply "dismayed", which we will note on :15 seems to imply a lack of
faith.
2Ch 20:13 All Judah stood before Yahweh, with their little ones, their
wives and their children-
We see here how "all" in the Bible isn't always to be read
literally. Representatives from a community are counted as "all" of it.
"Little ones" seems here to mean babies.
2Ch 20:14 Then the Spirit of Yahweh came on Jahaziel the son of Zechariah,
son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, the Levite, of the sons of
Asaph, in the midst of the assembly-
"Jahaziel", 'he who sees visions of God', is an example of a person
having a name which was acquired due to later life experience, and was
likely not the birth name. We note he was a Levite not from the priestly
line, continuing the theme we saw developed in 2 Chron. 19:8,11 of Levites
being chosen for exalted work. Levites were servants to the priests, but
here they are invested with high authority.
2Ch 20:15 He said, Listen, all Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and
you, king Jehoshaphat. Thus says Yahweh to you, ‘Don’t be afraid, neither
be dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not
yours, but God’s-
I noted on :12 that Jehoshaphat's faith was rather weak and he
appeared almost fatalistic.
2Ch 20:16 Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they are coming up by the
ascent of Ziz. You shall find them at the end of the valley, before the
wilderness of Jeruel-
The valley refers to one of the ravines leading from the Dead Sea;
see on :2.
2Ch 20:17 You will not need to fight this battle. Set yourselves, stand
still, and see the salvation of Yahweh with you, O Judah and Jerusalem.
Don’t be afraid, nor be dismayed. Go out against them tomorrow, for Yahweh
is with you’-
To "stand still and see" was the language of the invitation to behold
the miracle of the salvation at the Red Sea (Ex. 14:13, cp. 1 Sam. 12:16
and see note there). Yahweh was "with you" whilst they were with Him (2
Chron. 15:2), and yet it seems the faith of the people was weak, and they
had been called to radical repentance in :3. But by grace, Yahweh was with
them despite this. Just as they had stood still and seen His salvation at
the Red Sea whilst they were still clutching the idols of Egypt (according
to Ez. 20). And Jehoshaphat grasped that, saying that the victory was to
be by grace (:21).
2Ch 20:18 Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground; and all
Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before Yahweh,
worshipping Yahweh-
This was an act of great faith in the prophetic word. For at that
point there was no visible evidence that this victory would happen.
2Ch 20:19 The Levites, of the children of the Kohathites and of the
children of the Korahites, stood up to praise Yahweh, the God of Israel,
with an exceeding loud voice-
This again, as noted on :19, was the joy of deep faith. For there was
no evidence that the victory would happen. That had to be taken on
absolute faith. They didn't just 'wait and see', they proactively
rejoiced.
2Ch 20:20 They rose early in the morning and went forth into the
wilderness of Tekoa. As they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said,
Listen to me, Judah, and you inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in Yahweh
your God, so you shall be established!-
The word was and is God. Dt. 4:12 [Heb.] says that Israel heard God's
voice and saw no similitude save a voice. To hear the word is to
in that sense see God; for the word was and is God. There are other
connections between seeing God and hearing His word in Ex. 20:21 and 1
Kings 19:12-14. Observe the parallelism in 2 Chron. 20:20: "Believe in the
Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall
ye prosper". Our attitude to God is our attitude to His word. Because the
word is so pure, therefore we love it (Ps. 119:140). John Carter
rightly observed: "Upon our understanding of what the Bible is, our
attitude to it will be determined".
Believe His prophets, so you shall
prosper-
The false prophets had told Ahab and Jehoshaphat to go up and fight
at Ramoth Gilead, "for Yahweh will deliver it into the hand of the king"
(1 Kings 22:12). But Jehoshaphat had nearly lost his life, because he had
refused to hear the voice of the one true prophet of Yahweh. So the
emphasis is upon believing Yahweh's prophets, and not false prophets. By
saying this, Jehoshaphat shows he had learned from his mistake.
2Ch 20:21 When he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those
who should sing to Yahweh and give praise in holy array, as they went out
before the army, and say, Give thanks to Yahweh; for His grace endures
forever-
This is really a parade example of believing that you receive what
you ask for, before the answer arrives. And feeling you have received it.
It seems they sung Ps. 136, glorying in the victory which was not then
theirs. The vanguard were singing Levites, as in the victory over Jericho.
Indeed "before the army" appears to allude to Josh. 6:7,9.
2Ch 20:22 When they began to sing and to praise, Yahweh set ambushers
against the children of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against
Judah; and they were struck-
It was exactly at the moment that they began to praise God for a
victory which seemed impossible, that Yahweh began to destroy them. The
ambushers could have been Angels appearing as men. Or more likely, the
people of Esau / Edom (see on :2) began fighting amongst themselves (:23).
It could be however that as in Josh. 8:2, God told Jehoshaphat to set an
ambush against the enemy, which resulted in them fighting each other.
2Ch 20:23 For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the
inhabitants of Mount Seir, utterly to kill and destroy them. When they had
made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, each one helped to destroy
another-
This is typical of how God so often destroyed Israel's enemies (e.g.
Jud. 7:22), and how He will work in the last days. They destroy each
other, just as men bring about their own judgment rather than being simply
judged by God.
2Ch 20:24 When Judah came to the place overlooking the wilderness, they
looked at the multitude which were now dead bodies fallen to the earth,
and there were none who escaped-
As they came to the edge of the cliff, down which they had to descend
in full view of the enemy they expected, their faith was at maximum
stretch. We wonder whether the singers of confident praise for the
promised victory... just slightly quavered as they approached it. But
faith was rewarded. AV "came toward the watchtower" may refer to one of
the castles built by Jehoshaphat (2 Chron. 17:12).
2Ch 20:25 When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take their spoil, they
found among them in abundance both riches and dead bodies, and precious
jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry
away. They were three days in taking the spoil, it was so much-
The presence of so much wealth amongst the attackers was doubtless a
reason they fought each other.
2Ch 20:26 On the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of
Beracah; for there they blessed Yahweh. Therefore the name of that place
is called The valley of Beracah to this day-
This may be the "valley of Jehoshaphat" which will feature in the
latter day destruction of Israel's enemies (Joel 3:2,12).
2Ch 20:27 Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and
Jehoshaphat in their forefront, to go again to Jerusalem with joy; for
Yahweh had made them to rejoice over their enemies-
God's psychological influencing of people is a parade example of how
His Spirit works upon the human spirit. They rejoiced before the battle
with the same joy they experienced after it. Truly they believed they had
already received what they had asked for (Mk. 11:24).
2Ch 20:28 They came to Jerusalem with stringed instruments and harps and
trumpets to the house of Yahweh-
This returning to Jerusalem recalls how Jehoshaphat had earlier
returned to Jerusalem in shame after the conflict at Ramoth Gilead. He
ought to have learned that without association with the ten tribes, he
would return to Jerusalem with joy. However we note that they came to the
temple with their praise. On one hand this was appropriate, but we sense
that for all their faith, they had still not learned the lesson that the
temple was not in fact the source of their victory. See on :8.9.
2Ch 20:29 The fear of God was on all the kingdoms of the countries, when
they heard that Yahweh fought against the enemies of Israel-
The fear of Yahweh coming upon those cities was the promised reward
for obedience (Dt. 11:25), and recalls the terror which fell upon the
cities around Jacob at the time of Gen. 35:5. But that terror didn't come
because Israel were righteous at that time; in fact the opposite. For they
had just massacred Shechem. Likewise here, these blessings were by grace,
for Judah were not so righteous at this time (:33); and reflected Yahweh's
extreme sensitivity to any faith and obedience toward Him.
2Ch 20:30 So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet; for his God gave him rest
all around-
As in 2 Chron. 15;15, peace with the surrounding nations is seen as a
result of spiritual blessing. This also implies that the invasion they had
just experienced was indeed due to their serious sins (see on :3).
2Ch 20:31 Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah: he was thirty-five years old
when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His
mother’s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi-
Kings notes that he "began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of
Ahab king of Israel", but Chronicles seems to not mention Ahab, nor use
the apostate kings of Israel as a time marker for the reigns of the kings
of Judah. Perhaps in exile, when Chronicles was written or rewritten, they
realized that it was thanks to the influence of the kings of Israel that
Judah had fallen away from Yahweh. "Azubah" means 'forsaking' and may mean
that although his mother forsook Yahweh, Jehoshaphat in the end was loyal
to Him in his heart.
2Ch 20:32 He walked in the way of Asa his father, and didn’t turn aside
from it, doing that which was right in the eyes of Yahweh-
Jehoshaphat did externally turn aside, in his trust in Ahab and
association with the apostate ten tribes. His behaviour incited the wrath
of God against him- serious language. See on 2 Chron. 19:2. But God saw
that in his heart, he didn't swerve from Him; and He considered those
heart positions as being the 'doing' which is all important to Him. This
idea is continued in :33, where we learn God's overall judgment upon Judah
at this time was that their hearts were not with Him- despite their great
faith shown in the conflict earlier in this chapter. Peaks of faith and
works are not the same as a core heart position.
2Ch 20:33 However the high places were not taken away; neither as yet had
the people set their hearts to the God of their fathers-
Israel never really wholeheartedly committed themselves to Yahweh, and yet 2
Chron. 20:33 AV positively and hopefully says: "As
yet the people had not prepared their hearts unto the God of
their fathers". They never did. Especially in the preaching of the word of
salvation to those who they knew wouldn’t respond, the Father and Son show
their hopeful spirit. We therefore conclude that the apparent blessings upon
the people for obedience were by grace, or perhaps from Divine respect for
Jehoshaphat's faithful heart. For their hearts were not set upon their
God.
Asa and Jehoshaphat removed the high places, but in a sense they didn't
(1 Kings 15:14 cp. 2 Chron. 14:5; 17:6 cp. 20:33). We read of how the land
was purged of Baal, Sodomites etc.; but in a very short time, we read of
another purge being necessary. Hezekiah, Manasseh and Josiah all made
major purges within a space of 80 years. Jeremiah therefore condemns the
Jews who lived at the time of Josiah's reformation for not knowing
God in their hearts. Asa gathered the gold and silver vessels back into
the temple- and then went and used them to make a political treaty. He
apparently treated them as God's riches, but then in reality he used
them as his own (1 Kings 15:18, 15). Many a Western Christian has this
very same tendency. We too must ask ourselves whether our spirituality is
really just a product of the crowd mentality; as the crowd shouted one day
"Hosanna to the Son of David", a few days later they wanted Jesus to be
delivered rather than Barabbas, but within minutes they were persuaded to
cry for the crucifixion of the Son of God. Church life, Bible studies, the
breaking of bread... inevitably, there is a crowd mentality developed
here. There is a feeling of devotion which wells up within us as a
community, as an audience, as we sit there, as we stand in praise and
worship together. But the real spirituality is far deeper than
this. We must seriously ask whether our spirituality, our feelings of
devotion, our true repentance, are only stimulated by these
meetings?
2Ch 20:34 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, behold,
they are written in the history of Jehu the son of Hanani, which is
inserted in the book of the kings of Israel-
The prophet Jehu rebuked Baasha (1 Kings 16:1) and yet he also wrote
a history of Jehoshaphat's reign (2 Chron. 20:34), implying that he
outlived Jehoshaphat. This means that Jehu must have been a young man at
the time of his rebuke of Baasha. It's hard to keep on keeping on in
ministry over a long lifetime, and those who do should be deeply
respected.
2Ch 20:35 After this, Jehoshaphat king of Judah joined himself with
Ahaziah king of Israel, who did very wickedly-
He was so slow to learn the lesson that he should not work together
with the apostate ten tribe kingdom. He had almost lost his life because
of this whilst fighting at Ramoth Gilead. And like us, the situations were
repeated, but he was so slow to learn.
2Ch 20:36 He joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish; and
they made the ships in Ezion Geber-
1 Kings 22:48 "to go to Ophir for gold". Despite the wealth
God gave Jehoshaphat, even he was tempted by the desire for more. This has
to be a warning to all generations.
"Ships of Tarshish" is clearly a technical term for a long distance trading vessel. "Tarshish" appears to have been the source of gold, peacocks, silver etc., which are only found together in southern India. But a ship of Tarshish wasn't necessarily a ship which went to Tarshish. "Tarshish" means 'endurance' and refers to vessels which had a capacity for long distance trading. At that time, India was the end of the earth for someone living in Israel. There is an analogous situation with how 19th century long distance trading vessels were known as "Indiamen", not because they necessarily sailed the routes to India, but because they were long distance vessels of the kind which had sailed to India. This is why 'going to Tarshish' in 2 Chron. 20:36,37 is paralleled with 'going to Ophir in ships of Tarshish' in 1 Kings 22:48.
"Ophir" may have been a generic name for areas to the east, including southern Arabia (famed for gold in Ps. 72:15; Ez. 27:22) and India; Ophir was in Arabia according to Gen. 10:29. Sheba was nearby and was famed for gold, so it was through this trading that the Queen of Sheba heard of the wisdom of Solomon. 1 Kings 10:1 goes on to speak of her after mentioning gold of Ophir in 1 Kings 9:28, connecting her with this gold trade with Ophir. But 1 Kings 10:11 connects Ophir with "almug trees and precious stones". "Almug" appears to refer to sandalwood, "the Hebraized form of the Deccan word for sandal". This points to "Ophir" as being in the east, possibly as far as the Indian coast where these trees grow.
2Ch 20:37 Then Eliezer the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against
Jehoshaphat saying, Because you have joined yourself with Ahaziah, Yahweh
has destroyed your works. The ships were broken, so that they were not
able to go to Tarshish-
"Broken" is literally 'broken forth'. It is used of God as it were lashing
out in sudden judgment (1 Chron. 13:11). He was so patient with
Jehoshaphat regarding his abiding weakness of association with wicked
people, even though his core heart position was with Yahweh. 1 Kings 22:49
suggests that the ships were broken because Jehoshaphat refused Ahaziah's
offer of more experienced sailors. So perhaps the ships were destroyed by
a storm as soon as they left, which Ahaziah blamed upon inexperienced
sailors from Judah. The ships had to be broken by the wind / storm of
God's wrath, perhaps in the form of a gale. But according to 1 Kings, when
Ahaziah proposes another join venture, Jehoshaphat apparently learns the
lesson. I say apparently, because after Ahaziah dies, Jehoshaphat again
repeats the same mistake with Ahab's other son Jehoram (2 Kings 3:7). And
yet he was finally counted righteous with God because his basic state of
heart was for Him. We marvel again at God's patience with men. This means
that we are to continue seeking the repentance of men and never cut them
off, as is typically done by small minded churches 'disfellowshipping'
people.
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