II Chronicles 20
Army coming against Jehoshaphatverses 1-2
It came to pass after this also – that the children of Moab
children of Ammon and with them other
beside the Ammonites
came against Jehoshaphat to battle
Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat
saying
There come a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on
this side Syria
And BEHOLD – they be in Hazazon-tamar – which is Engedi
Jehoshaphat ordered fasting and prayerverses 3-4
And Jehoshaphat feared – set himself to seek the LORD
proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah
And Judah gathered themselves together – to ask help of the LORD
even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD
Jehoshaphat prayer: History of the work of the LORDverses 5-9
And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem
in the house of the LORD – before the new court
and said
O LORD God of our fathers – are not YOU God in heaven?
and rule not YOU over all the kingdoms of the heathen?
and in YOUR hand is there not power and might
so that none is able to withstand YOU?
Are not YOU our God –
WHO did drive out the inhabitants of this land before YOUR
people Israel and gave it to the seed of Abraham
YOUR friend forever?
And they dwelt therein – and have built YOU a sanctuary therein
for YOUR name
saying
IF – when evil comes upon us as the sword – judgment
pestilence – famine – we stand before this house
and in YOUR presence
(for YOUR name is in this house)
and cry unto YOU in our affliction
THEN YOU will hear and help
Jehoshaphat prayer: Present circumstancesverses 10-12
And now BEHOLD – 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 from them
and destroyed them not
BEHOLD I say how they reward us
to come to cast us out of YOUR possession
which YOU have given us to inherit – O our God
will YOU not judge them?
for we have no might against this great
company that come against us
neither know we what to do
BUT our eyes are upon YOU
Spirit of the LORD comes upon Jahazielverses 13-14
And all Judah stood before the LORD
with their little ones and their wives and their children
Then upon Jahaziel – the son of Zechariah – the son of benaiah
the son of Jeiel – the son of Mattaniah
a Levite of the sons of Asaph
came the Spirit of the LORD
in the midst of the congregation
Jahaziel delivers message from the LORDverses 15-17
And he said
Hearken you all Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem
and you king Jehoshaphat
Thus says the LORD to you
Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude
FOR the battle is not yours BUT God’s
Tomorrow go you down against them – BEHOLD
they come up by the cliff of Ziz
and you shall find them at the end of the brook
before the wilderness of Jeruel
You shall not to fight in this battle – SET YOURSELVES
STAND you still
SEE the salvation of the LORD with you
O Judah and Jerusalem
FEAR not – nor be dismayed
tomorrow go out against them
for the LORD will be with you
King and people praised the LORDverses 18-19
And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground
and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem
fell before the LORD
WORSHIPING the LORD
And the Levites of the children of the Kohathites
of the children of the Korhites – stood up to
PRAISE the LORD God of Israel
with a loud voice on high
Jehoshaphat encourages the troopsverse 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 you be established
BELIEVE his prophets
so shall you prosper
Singers started singingverse 21
And when he had consulted with the people
he appointed singers to 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 endures for ever
Enemy army started fighting each otherverses 22-24
And when they began to sing and to praise
the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon
Moab – Mount Seir – which were come against Judah
and they were smitten
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
And when Judah came toward the watchtower in the wilderness
they looked unto the multitude – and BEHOLD
they were dead bodies fallen to the earth
and none escaped
Judah gathered spoilsverses 25-26
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
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 [Blessing] – to this day
Jehoshaphat led army into Jerusalemverses 27-28
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
And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets
to the house of the LORD
Jehoshaphat had peaceverses 29-30
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
SO the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet
for his God gave him rest round about
Jehoshaphat reigned for twenty five yearsverse 31
And Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah
he was thirty and five years old
when he began to reign
and he reigned twenty and five years
in Jerusalem
and his mother’s name was Azubah
the daughter of Shilhi
Jehoshaphat failed to remove all high placesverses 32-33
And he WALKED in the way of Asa his father
and departed not from it
doing that which was RIGHT
in the sight of the LORD
Howbeit the high places were not taken away
for as yet the people had not prepared their hearts
to the God of their fathers
Record of Jehoshaphat’s reign recordedverse 34
Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat – first and last – BEHOLD
they are written in the book of Jehu the son of Hanani
who is mentioned in the book of the kings of Israel
Jehoshaphat joins in failed ventureverses 35-37
And after this did Jehoshaphat king of Judah join himself
with Ahaziah king of Israel – who did very wickedly
and he joined himself with him to make ships
to go to Tarshish – and they made the ships
in Ezion-geber
THEN Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah prophesied
against Jehoshaphat saying
Because you hast joined yourself with Ahaziah
the LORD has broken your works
And the ships were broken
that they were not able to go to Tarshish
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 3 And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. (6684 “fast” [tsuwm] means period of fasting, or abstaining from food for a certain time period for religious reasons)
DEVOTION: Before every major event in our lives we should go to the LORD for wisdom on how to act during those times. When it is a time when we want guidance from the LORD it can and should include a time of going without food and water for a time period. This shows the LORD that you are serious regarding finding out HIS answer to your present situation.
Sometimes when there are major problems in a marriage or when there is a major expense in our lives we should ask the LORD for wisdom. Here we have an enemy army coming against the children of Judah and they know that they can’t defend themselves against such an army without the help of the LORD.
They turn to the LORD and ask HIM for his wisdom by showing HIM that they really need HIS help. Fasting and prayer were a way to show HIM how much we are dependent on HIM.
Jesus commanded HIS disciples to fast and pray. They communicated to us that we need to fast and pray in the books of the New Testament. It is something that each Christian should practice at times in their life.
Those who were going into the ministry at the beginning of the Methodist movement were required to fast twice a week. The Pharisees even fasted twice a week to show how spiritual they were when in reality they were not spiritual at all but were doing to impress people rather than the LORD.
So we can fast and pray to brag to people or we can do it when no one is looking and we tell no one. This is the way the LORD wants us to put this into practice in our lives.
CHALLENGE: Are you making a major decision in your life? Have you gone to the LORD through fasting and prayer for HIS answer to what is happening? You and I should!!!
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 7 Are not YOU our God, who did drive out the inhabitants of this land before YOUR people Israel, and gave it to the seed of Abraham YOUR friend forever? (157 “friend” [’ahab] means to endear, to have a great affection or care for or loyalty towards, human love for another, or God;s love toward man)
DEVOTION: Jehoshaphat brought up the past to the LORD. When we are having a difficult time in the present we need to look at what the LORD has done for us in the past. Too often we have short memories. The LORD has been with us ever since we made a commitment to HIM in the past. HE has shown HIS power in our life through many events that only HE could have worked a miracle.
Jehoshaphat reminded the LORD of how HE had worked in the past for the nation and wanted HIM to do the same on this occasion. He was facing a large army that he knew he couldn’t defeat himself.
The LORD told him to just watch and see what HE was going to do with that army. HE caused them to fight amongst themselves to the point where they killed each other and the children of Judah could walk into the camp and take the spoils without having to fight one soldier.
We need to realize that at time we need to wait on the LORD and watch HIM fight for our victories. Sometimes we tend to try to fight and then ask for help. It should always be the other way around. We need to go to HIM first and watch HIM work out the details of the battle we are facing.
What enemy are you facing today? It can be a health issue. It can be a financial issue. It can be a family issue. HE can give us victory in any area of our life if we will go to HIM in prayer and ask HIM for wisdom regarding any issue we are facing.
CHALLENGE: Don’t face your problems alone.
: 9 If, when evil comes on us, as the sword, judgment or pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and in YOUR presence, (for YOUR name is in this house) and cry to YOU in our affliction, then YOU will hear and help. (8085 “hear” [shama] means listen, pay attention, to understand things heard, examine, to hear with attention or interest, or to understand)
DEVOTION: What the Old Testament saints we also want today. We want to know that when we call on the LORD that HE will listen to our requests and grant us the ones that HE feels is best for us.
Most of the time we would rather that HE answer all our requests with a YES answer because we think that we know what is best for us and think that HE would agree.
This is not always the care. Sometimes we don’t know what to ask for properly or we don’t know what timing is right for our personal growth in our relationship to HIM.
It makes it hard but we still want HIM to hear us and answer us when the time is right.
We need to have the patience to know enough to wait for HIM to answer our request and try to understand that HIS timing is always perfect.
All of us have evil happen to us at one time or another. It is just part of life that the LORD knows will happen for our good. HE knows that sometimes we don’t understand what HE is doing but we have to be patient with HIM as HE is patient with us.
This prayer of Jehoshaphat is one that can be and was expressed in all generations of those who trust in HIM. It is normal for us to want the LORD to answer us right away but we have to realize that HIS timing is always better than our time.
CHALLENGE: Waiting on the LORD for answers during hard times is not easy but we have to trust HIS timing in our lives.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 17 Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you. (3898 “fight” [lacham] means to feed on, to consume, to battle, struggle, fight against, come to close quarters, prevail, make war)
DEVOTION: Here we have a good king who has an army coming against him. What does he do? He declares a time of fasting and prayer. He waits for the LORD to respond. The people join him in waiting on the LORD. The LORD sends a prophet to instruct them in what they are to do regarding this army.
What a great three-point sermon. The children of Judah were told that they would not have to go to battle against the large armies of the Moabites, Ammonites, and Edomites. What happened? The LORD caused them to go to battle against each other. The children of Judah just had to go into the camp and collect the spoil. It took them over three days to collect all the spoils of war.
This chapter tells us the reason why the LORD was going to make war against their enemies. Jehoshaphat called for a fast. He called for a time to seek the LORD. He prayed to the LORD for help. He used the promises of the LORD in his prayer.
The LORD had promised to help HIS people if they turned to him for help. Simple plan but many try to do it on their own instead. They were told to BELIEVE in the LORD. Once they did believe, they only had to set themselves, stand still, and watch the LORD work.
It is a plan we can use today. The LORD is the real fighter in any battle we enter. We need to depend on HIM as Jehoshaphat and the children of Judah depended on HIM for their battle. We can do “all things through Christ who gives us strength.”
Notice the words – Set, Stand, and See. Victory can be ours!!! Great sermon for every battle we fight.
CHALLENGE: Does it seem like circumstances are building up against us? Are these circumstances larger than we think we can handle? What are we going to do? The Bible is specific each time the people of God faced an enemy – GO TO HIM FIRST!!!!
: 37 Then Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you have joined yourself with Ahazaiah, the LORD has broken your works. And the ships were broken, that they were not able to go to Tarshish”. (6555 “broken” [parats] means break down, to make a breach, break in pieces, use violence, to destroy, destroy a object using impact, or tear down.)
DEVOTION: When God is not please, with our actions HE will sometimes show it in a unusual way. Here we find that the LORD was again displeased with Jehoshaphat and his actions regarding working with those who don’t love the LORD.
This was an investment of two kings to make money for themselves. They were going to build ship to go to Tarshish to trade for goods and make a profit for their nations. However, one nation didn’t love the LORD and the other was not working with the LORD.
Here comes a prophet of the LORD to tell Jehoshaphat that he was moving away from a proper relationship with him. He was depending again on his own wisdom instead of the wisdom of God. He was depending on his own methods to gain wealth rather than trusting in the LORD for his needs.
Working with those who don’t love the LORD can be hazardous to our spiritual life. We need to witness to those who don’t know the LORD but to be in partnership with them can cause our testimony to be of little good. If our goal is wealth instead of witness it can put us against the LORD and HIS work in our life and in the life of those we have gone into business with for gain.
So, the result of his action was that both men lost all their money that they invested. The LORD was displeased and HE showed it in a direct way. When the LORD is not part of the equation, HE can act in such a way even in our lives today. HE wants us to consult HIM when we are looking to gain wealth. Some of us are not able to handle wealth and HE knows it. Some of us need to have our daily needs met daily to keep us dependant on HIM through our prayer life and through our continual growth in HIS Word through the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
CHALLENGE: Before working with those who don’t love the LORD, ask the LORD for guidance. Our witness is more important than wealth.
DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Jehoshaphat proclaimed a fastverse 3
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Prosperverse 20
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Book of Jehuverse 34
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Jehoshaphat proclaim fast to seek the LORDverse 3
Judah asked LORD for helpverse 4
Jehoshaphat prayedverses 6-12
Cry in affliction
Help
Answered prayerverse 15
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
House of the LORDverses 5, 9, 28
Sanctuaryverse 7
Zechariah – the son of Benaiah –Leviteverses 14-17
Be not afraid
Be not dismayed
See salvation of the LORD
Levites – children of Kohathites and
Korhites stood and praised
The LORDverse 19
Singers led worshipverses 21, 22
Prasise the beauty of holiness
Praise the beauty of holinessverses 21, 22
Musical instrumentsverse 28
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Book of the kings of Israelverse 34
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal)verses 3-6, 14, 15, 17, 18-22, 26-29, 32, 37
House of the LORDverses 5, 28
God – Elohim (Sovereign, Creator)verses 6, 7, 12, 15, 19, 20, 29, 30, 33
LORD God of our fathersverse 6
God in heavenverse 6
Rule over all the kingdoms of the heathenverse 6
Power and might in HIS handsverse 6
None able to withstand HIMverse 6
Judgeverse 12
LORD God of Israelverse 19
LORD your Godverse 20
Fear of Godverse 29
God gave rest round aboutverse 30
Sight of the LORD verse 32
God of their fathersverse 33
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead – God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahazielverse 14
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Children of Moabverses 1, 10, 22, 23
Children of Ammonverses 1, 10, 22, 23
Syriaverse 2
Heathenverse 6
Mount Seirverses 10, 22, 23
Egyptverse 10
Enemiesverses 27, 29
All the kingdoms of other countries feared Godverse 29
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Evilverse 9
High places not removedverse 33
People not prepared their hearts verse 33
Wickedlyverse 35
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Proper fearverse 3
Seek the LORDverses 3, 4
Proclaim fasting and prayerverse 3
Ask for helpverse 4
Believe promises of the LORDverse 9
Inheritverse 11
Eyes on the LORDverse 12
Answered prayerverse 15
Fear notverse 17
Be not dismayedverse 17
Deliveranceverse 17
LORD with HIS peopleverse 17
Worship the LORDverse 18
Fell before LORD
Believe the LORDverse 20
Listen to prophetsverse 20
Prosperverse 20
Singverses 21, 22
Praiseverses 21, 22
Mercyverse 21
Blessedverse 26
Joy/Rejoiceverse 27
Quietverse 30
Walkverse 32
Do rightverse 32
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Jehoshaphat – king of Judahverse 1
Moab and Ammon coming to war with Judah
Feared and seek LORD
Stood before Judah and
Said BELIEVE
Enemy is smitten
Took away spoils
Assembled the people to bless
the LORD in valley of
Berachah
Realm was quiet
Reigned 25 years
Mother’s name: Azubah
Walked in the way of Asa
Doing right in the sight of LORD
Acts written in book of Jehu
Joined with king of Judah to make ships
Judahverses 3, 13, 17, 24, 27
Ask for help of the LORD
Stood before the LORD
Jerusalemverses 5, 17, 27
Seed of Abrahamverse 7
Ahaziah – king of Israelverses 35-37
Did wickedly
Eliezer – son of Dodavah
Prophesied against Jehoshaphatverse 37
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
Dead bodies of enemies of Judahverse 24
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QUOTES regarding passage
20:10–12 Developing his plea, Jehoshaphat used the common introduction “But now.” There was the predicament. Invaders from the other side of the Dead Sea were at the door, people Israel formerly had spared when they were traveling to the promised land (Num 20:14–21; Deut 2:1–19; Judg 11:14–17). The behavior of these nations toward Israel was reprehensible. Jehoshaphat turned to God to judge them, recognizing that without him he was powerless. (Thompson, J. A. (1994). 1, 2 Chronicles (Vol. 9, p. 294). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
20:3–12. This situation prompted the king to proclaim a national fast (perhaps to show the people’s sincerity; cf. 1 Sam. 7:6) and to seek God. He then addressed the Lord in prayer before the temple … courtyard (cf. 2 Chron. 4:9). Jehoshaphat first extolled God for His sovereign power (20:6) and then recalled God’s grace in giving them, Abraham’s descendants, the land (v. 7; cf. Gen. 15:18–21) and temple (sanctuary, 2 Chron. 20:8). (Abraham was also called God’s friend in Isa. 41:8 and James 2:23.)
Next Jehoshaphat reminded the Lord of His promise to deliver them if they would only seek Him before His temple (2 Chron. 20:9; cf. 6:28–31). The prayer closed by referring to the immediate need—Judah was being assaulted by the same nations they had spared en route to Canaan from Egypt. They now needed the Lord’s help (we have no power to face this vast army and we do not know what to do) to deliver them from their ungrateful attackers (20:10–12). (Merrill, E. H. (1985). 2 Chronicles. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 634). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
20:5–12 Jehoshaphat stood in the redecorated center court praying for the nation, appealing to the promises, the glory, and the reputation of God which were at stake since He was identified with Judah. In his prayer he acknowledged God’s sovereignty (v. 6), God’s covenant (v. 7), God’s presence (vv. 8, 9), God’s goodness (v. 10), God’s possession (v. 11), and their utter dependence on Him (v. 12). (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (2 Ch 20:5–12). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
Ver. 12. O our God, wilt thou not judge them? &c.] Bring them to thy bar, examine these facts alleged against them, convict them of injustice, and condemn and punish them for it: for we have no might against the great company that cometh against us; for though the militia of the kingdom of Judah was very numerous, as described ch. 17. yet on a sudden it might not be easy to gather it together; besides, it was nothing to put trust and confidence in; and if the Lord was not with them, their strength would be weakness, and they not able to withstand this numerous army: neither Know we what to do; whether to attempt to muster the militia, and go out to meet them, or to shut up themselves in Jerusalem, and make the best defence they could: but our eyes are upon thee; for advice and direction, for help and protection; the eyes of their bodies were lifted up in prayer to him, and the eyes of their souls, of faith, hope, expectation, and desire, were fastened on him. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 3, pp. 68–69). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
5–13. This is a beautiful prayer, and both the manner of address, with the appearance of the king and his people make it striking. All Judah it is said, with their little ones, and wives and children, stood before the Lord, as if to join in the entreaty. Surely it must have had a most interesting effect. And observe the argument of the prayer. First, Jehoshaphat pleads God’s sovereignty; next, God’s relationship in the covenant engagements he had condescended to put himself into, as Abraham’s God, and to his seed in Israel; next, the dedication of the people to God according to Solomon’s address; with an eye to the temple, by which they had a claim to God’s favour. After stating these things as the foundation of an assurance in God’s protection, Jehoshaphat brings forward the present affliction as the time for the Lord to work in their rescue. He then shews the baseness of Moab and the confederate army, in that the Lord would not suffer his people to molest them when they came out of Egypt. And, lastly, Jehoshaphat concludes with throwing himself and his people upon the sovereignty of their God, as those that could not but be certain of success in the divine favour. There is a vast degree of sound faith and confidence, with fervent piety, in this prayer, and it is not difficult to trace the leadings of grace through the several parts of it. But, methinks, if the Reader considers it spiritually, and with an eye to the gospel, it ariseth to an infinitely higher point of sublimity. Salvation by Jesus is founded in the sovereignty of Jehovah. Here we discover the everlasting love and wisdom of God in the ordination. Here also God hath put himself in the closest covenant-relationship, in the person of his dear Son; for God in Christ is truly the God of our fathers. And as Jehoshaphat pointed to the temple as the sanctuary of defence, to which the distressed Israelite was to look; was not this typical of Jesus? How beautiful then is it to behold gospel mercies in the finished redemption of Jesus, thus shadowed forth in an age so remote from the time of the gospel, when the open display of mercy was to be made known in the Lord Jesus Christ! (Hawker, R. (2013). Poor Man’s Old Testament Commentary: 1 Kings–Esther (Vol. 3, p. 502). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.)
FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
God’s dealings with Pharaoh reveal His longsuffering attitude toward such rebellion. The plagues start out fairly minor, thus giving Pharaoh a chance to change his mind before utter calamity strikes. With each successive act of rebellion, the subsequent plague intensifies. Beginning with the unpleasant but fairly harmless plague of frogs, the process ends with the death of the firstborn of every household in Egypt. At any point, had Pharaoh repented, the plagues would have been stopped.
We need to analyze your own life. If you’ve entered into conflict with God, abandon the fight before it escalates. (Quiet Walk)
Need Machines BY BARBARA RAINEY
Over our doors are all choice fruits, both new and old, which I have saved up for you, my beloved. SONG OF SOLOMON 7:13
Without question, the biggest deterrent to romance for moms is children. These sweet, precious, innocent little ones given to us by God are also self-centered, untrained, unending “need machines” who can suck the life out of our marriage. They often leave us feeling like the mother who said, “It’s ironic. Romance gave us our children, and children ended our romance.” But motherhood can simply be a tempting excuse for giving up sex. Caught up in her day-in-day-out responsibilities, a mother can experience a slow shift in loyalty from husband to children. She thinks the needs of her children, since they are so helpless and formative, are more important than the needs of her husband. After all, he’s an adult.
True. And yet one reason why this reasoning is faulty—one reason why it’s easy for us to have little sympathy for our husband’s sexual needs—is that we as women are able to experience our femaleness simply by nurturing our children. We feel fully alive as women when we’re caring for them (that is, when we’re not totally exhausted!). We feel a deep, innate sense of well-being and fulfillment; it is an indescribable privilege that brings us profound satisfaction. It’s what we were made to do.
But it’s only part of being a woman. God didn’t create you with the capacity and compulsion to nurture just for the sake of your children. He also meant for you to nurture life in your husband. Maintaining this balance is one of the biggest challenges of the parenting years; your children need to see Dad and Mom in love. Nurturing life in your husband may not be as automatic as it is with your children, but it is no less important. God will help you balance the needs of both husband and children when you depend upon Him.
The Prayer That Turns the World Upside Down by Al Mohler
This article is an excerpt from my new book, The Prayer that Turns the World Upside Down: The Lord’s Prayer as a Manifesto for Revolution, which releases today.
We long for revolution. Something within us cries out that the world is horribly broken and must be fixed. For centuries, the word revolution was scarcely heard, buried under ages of oppression. The word itself was feared and speaking it was treason. And then, revolutions seemed to appear almost everywhere.
Some historians have gone so far as to identify our modern epoch as “The Age of Revolution.” Is it? Perhaps it is more accurate to refer to our times as “The Age of Failed Revolution.” Looking across the landscape it becomes clear that very few revolutions produce what they promise. Arguably, most revolutions lead to a worse set of conditions than they replaced.
And yet, we still yearn for radical change, for things to be made right. We rightly long to see righteousness and truth and justice prevail. We are actually desperate for what no earthly revolution can produce. We long for the Kingdom of God, and for Jesus as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We are looking for a kingdom that will never end and a King whose rule is perfect.
This is why Christian’s pray the Lord’s Prayer. This is the very prayer that Jesus taught his own disciples to pray. So Christians pray this prayer as a way of learning how to pray and what to pray – as Jesus teaches us to pray.
The Lord’s Prayer is the prayer that turns the world upside down. Are you looking for revolution? There is no clearer call to revolution than when we pray “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” But this is a revolution only God can bring … and He will.
This short prayer turns the world upside down. Principalities and powers hear their fall. Dictators are told their time is up. Might will indeed be made right and truth and justice will prevail. The kingdoms of this world will all pass, giving way to the Kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ.
It all comes down to one of the shortest prayers found in the Bible. The Lord’s Prayer takes less than 20 seconds to read aloud, but it takes a lifetime to learn. Sadly, most Christians rush through the prayer without learning it – but that is to miss the point completely.
Perhaps this is part of a larger problem. Gary Millar, who has written some enormously helpful resources on prayer, goes so far as to argue that “the evangelical church is slowly but surely giving up on prayer.”[i] The statement is shocking, but the truth of his assessment is even more shocking. Why are evangelicals giving up on prayer?
Millar suggests that life is easy for most evangelicals – perhaps too easy. Some of us lack the desperation that most Christians have experienced throughout church history. Desperation leads to prayer. We are also incredibly distracted and busy. Both are enemies of prayer. But giving up on prayer is not only a sign of evangelical weakness. It is disobedience.
Jesus did not only teach his disciples to pray – he commanded us to pray.
I think there is another big reason behind the fact that so many Christians do not pray. Many Christians simply do not know how to pray.
In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus teaches us how to pray.
We remember Martin Luther as the great Reformer, nailing his famous 95 theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany in 1517 and leading the Reformation of the church. What we do not so often remember is that Martin Luther was also a man who regularly needed a haircut. We should be very glad that he did.
Luther’s barber, Peter Beskendorf once asked Luther for advice on how to pray. Luther responded by writing instructions on prayer he called “A Simple Way to Pray, for Master Peter the Barber.”
Luther pointed his barber to the Lord’s Prayer, and he offered this incredibly helpful advice:
“So, as a diligent and good barber, you must keep your thoughts, senses, and eyes precisely on the hair and scissors or razor and not forget where you trimmed or shaved, for, if you want to talk a lot or become distracted thinking about something else, you might well cut someone’s nose or mouth or even his throat.”[ii]
We get Luther’s point immediately. We must learn to pray, and to resist distractions in prayer. Advice about cutting hair or shaving is easy to understand. A distracted barber is a dangerous barber. Luther applied the lesson well: “How much more does a prayer need to have the undivided attention of the whole heart alone, if it is to be a good prayer!”[iii]
We have much to learn about prayer, and the Lord’s Prayer is the right place to start. This is no tame prayer for safe times. This is the prayer that turns the world upside down.
So, let’s learn to pray, taught by Jesus.
Chuck Colson would often say that the greatest gift Christianity gave the world other than the message of salvation is the idea of the image of God.
It is important for Christians to know and understand the image of God for three distinct reasons. First, the image of God has been among the most consequential ideas in all of human history. Even atheists like Friedrich Nietzsche or the modern-day philosopher Luc Ferry, have acknowledged that our ideas about human dignity, human equality and human value were not present across cultures and civilizations, but were introduced to the world in Christianity. Why? Because of its core belief that humans were made in the image and likeness of God.
Second, the image of God is central to a truly Christian worldview. Scripture has been given to us in a grand, sweeping narrative: the story of creation to new creation, from the heavens and earth to the new heavens and new earth. And one of the central characters in the Christian story is the image of God. We see this right away in Genesis 1, in which God creates the heavens and the earth; then He creates His image-bearers to rule over them in His place and for His glory.
Finally, the image of God is critical if we are going to understand the issues and challenges of our day. The most significant challenges we face in our culture are not fundamentally moral ones. We do face moral challenges but the ones we face are the fruit of the problems, not the root. It’s the effect, not the cause. At the root of the issues of our culture has been a dramatic shift in how we think about the nature and value of the human person.
At the recent Wilberforce Weekend, Rebecca McLaughlin talked about the significance of the image of God. This idea is in all of human history. She referenced the Declaration of Independence, went on to highlight how the image of God directs our hearts to freedom, and how the greatest freedom ever won is the freedom we find in Christ. Here is an edited excerpt of Rebecca’s talk:
I am going to bring us back again to the Declaration of Independence. We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal. Now, people often talk about the New Testament as if it condones and justifies slavery, and I can understand why they do. Slaves are addressed in the New Testament because they were part of the early Church.
In fact, from very early on, Christianity was mocked as being a religion of slaves and women and little children. Slaves are given instructions about how to live for Jesus in the condition that they find themselves. We look at Paul’s letter to Philemon and think, okay, the Apostle Paul wrote a letter sending an enslaved person back to his master. Of course, that means the Bible condones slavery. Right? Not if you read the letter. (Break Point)
The original decree is found, and permission is given to complete the temple restoration.
INSIGHT
It is often darkest before the dawn. Just as it looks as if the work on the temple is going to be stopped, the Lord turns the situation around. Not only is permission given to complete the temple, but those who had tried to stop the work are required to finance the remainder of the restoration! Worrying does little to further the work of God; He is quite capable of accomplishing His work. Our work is trust, obedience, and faithfulness to our responsibilities. (Quiet Walk)
AN ALTOGETHER DIFFERENT TEACHING
Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?” Matthew 6:31
The gospel seems to come as a challenge to us and as a condemnation of what we have habitually believed. Our Lord puts it like this. He says in Matthew 6:31, “Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?” And then in verse 32, “For after all these things do the Gentiles seek.” Now we must remember that He was preaching to Jews, to people who had received their Old Testament Scriptures, who regarded themselves as the people of God, and who were concerned about God and about righteousness. And the division of the ancient world to them, was, of course, Jews and Gentiles–those who had received this religion and those who had not.
And that is an equally appropriate classification in our day and age and generation. “The Gentiles” are those who do not know the revelation; they are people who trust to their own thoughts and their own ideas, who live as if God has never been pleased to reveal anything at all concerning Himself. So the division is as appropriate now as it ever has been; and the point I am making is that our Lord emphasizes the great fact that what He teaches is altogether different from everything that has ever been thought by man or conjured up in man’s mind or imagination.
This, again, is a very important preliminary point that we must never lose sight of. The Christian position, the Christian way of life, is not only slightly different from every other…it is essentially different; it is something that stands out alone and unique and apart.
A Thought to Ponder: The Christian position stands out alone and unique and apart.
(From The Kingdom of God, pp. 28-29, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
The Word of Life
“Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.” (Philippians 2:16)
The Bible is always the best commentary on itself—especially when the word or phrase is not frequent. In this case, “the word of life” is only used twice and might be interpreted in various ways without this qualifier: “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life” (1 John 1:1).
In the context of Philippians 2, the emphasis is obviously on the person and work of our Lord Jesus. We who bear His name are His “sons” and are charged with the responsibility of being “lights” (Philippians 2:15) to a world that is steeped in darkness. The light that we shine is the word of life—and that is, according to the Scriptures, the person and work of Jesus Christ.
Thus, the word of life must certainly involve who Christ is (Creator, Lord, incarnate Word, King) as well as the “glorious gospel” of salvation by grace (2 Corinthians 4:4). Charged with the responsibility of “holding forth the word of life,” we are to be “the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God” (1 Corinthians 4:1). Thus, we should be well-versed in the written Word, since Jesus specifically said: “Search the scriptures…they are they which testify of me” (John 5:39).
Ultimately, of course, our “light” comes from “the Light.” Since we have been delivered “from the power of darkness” (Colossians 1:13) by our Lord’s substitutionary atonement, we who “were sometimes darkness” are now “light in the Lord: walk as children of light” (Ephesians 5:8). (HMM III, The Institute for Creation Research)
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