Stand Firm, Hold Your Position, and See the Salvation of the LORD

After this the Moabites and Ammonites, and with them some of the Meunites, came against Jehoshaphat for battle. Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, "A great multitude is coming against you from Edom, from beyond the sea; and, behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar" (that is, Engedi). Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. And Judah assembled to seek help from the LORD; from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD. (2 Chron. 20:1-4)

Jehoshaphat, king of Israel at that time, responded to trouble with prayer and fasting.  Not only did he seek the LORD, but enlisted the entire nation to do the same.  Did Jehoshaphat seek the LORD with a repetition of religious words and chants, or did his words reflect a genuine knowledge of the LORD and an honest petition for help and mercy?  Let's read on.

And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court, and said, "O LORD, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you. Did you not, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? And they have lived in it and have built for you in it a sanctuary for your name, saying, 'If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before you--for your name is in this house--and cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save.' And now behold, the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, and whom they avoided and did not destroy-- behold, they reward us by coming to drive us out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit. O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you." (2 Chron. 20:5-12)

Notice that Jehoshaphat remembered the works of the LORD in the past and is appealing to God's faithfulness in keeping His promises.  He acknowledges God's might and sovereignty and ability to do all things.  After leaving Egypt, the LORD commanded Israel to leave Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir alone (Deut. 2:8-9, 19) and now it is precisely those nations that are becoming a threat to Israel's peace.  How many times have we trusted God in something, only later to doubt Him because the very thing that we trusted Him in the first place seems to be falling apart?  Could it be that the LORD is allowing those nations to be a threat in order to teach His children something greater, to experience something more than simply peace and prosperity?  Let's continue.

Meanwhile all Judah stood before the LORD, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. And the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. And he said, "Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the LORD to you, 'Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God's. Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the valley, east of the wilderness of Jeruel. You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.' Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the LORD will be with you." (2 Chron. 20:13-17)

The first thing I noticed, the most striking thing about the word that came from the LORD is "You will not need to fight in this battle.  Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem."  This goes against conventional wisdom because anyone in that situation would either attack or retreat.  Instead, God tells His people to stand firm and hold their position.  How in the world can anyone expect victory this way?  Indeed, there can be no earthly victory, but only victory that comes from the heavenly realm.  "See the salvation of the LORD on your behalf."  True salvation comes from the LORD.

Then Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the LORD, worshiping the LORD. And the Levites, of the Kohathites and the Korahites, stood up to praise the LORD, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice. And they rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. And when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the LORD your God, and you will be established; believe his prophets, and you will succeed." And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the LORD and praise him in holy attire, as they went before the army, and say, "Give thanks to the LORD, for his steadfast love endures forever." (2 Chron. 20:18-21)

Adoration, praise, and worship is a natural response when one receives a direct word from the LORD.  There is also a real sense of fear and trembling when one comes in contact with the Creator of heaven and earth.  After he was convinced that the LORD has responded, Jehoshaphat encourages the people to believe and be established in the LORD.

And when they began to sing and praise, the LORD set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed. For the men of Ammon and Moab rose against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, devoting them to destruction, and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they all helped to destroy one another. When Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness, they looked toward the horde, and behold, there were dead bodies lying on the ground; none had escaped. (2 Chron. 20:22-24)

As we keep our eyes on the LORD, we see Him working out His promises.  We see Him work all things out for good to those who love Him.  In this case, the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir ended up destroying each other.  The sovereign LORD allowed the sinfulness of their hearts to run its course, uninhibited and without restraint.  One thing to keep in mind -- though the wicked may prosper, even their ends will bring glory to God.  At the end, the victory belongs to the LORD.  Who can hinder His will?  How we need to plead that God will continue to restrain and ultimately destroy the sin that lives in us now, the flesh that we will battle until that glorious Day.  How we need the renewing work of the Spirit of God to help us in seeking Him and His kingdom.

God Justifies the Unrighteous

In the resurrection, instead of vindicating the self-righteous, God justifies the unrighteous.

God is holy. The Israelite Hannah prayed, "There is no one holy like the LORD; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God" (1 Samuel 2:2). And Moses proclaimed, "Who among the gods is like you, O LORD? Who is like you—majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?" (Exodus 15:11).

Because God is holy, he requires holiness and perfection from us: Just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy" (1 Peter 1:15-16).

To use other words, God requires us to be righteous—i.e., perfect and having no fault. However, none of us can possibly be righteous by our own strength or effort. There is no one righteous, not even one (Romans 3:10).

Instead of expecting us to become righteous on our own strength, God accomplishes our righteousness for us—he justifies us—by taking our sins upon himself in Christ's death and resurrection and by giving to us Christ's righteousness. In Christ's death, God justifies the unrighteous: Just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men (Romans 5:18; also see 2 Corinthians 5:21 and Romans 4:25).

 [Weekly Wisdom - ChristNotes.org]

Gospel

If there is a God, why do little children suffer?

Scott Simon interviewed the Jesuit priest James Martin on NPR Saturday morning, March 6. Martin just published The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything: A Spirituality for Real Life (Harper One, 2010). The last question Simon asked was this: “If there is a God, why do little children suffer?” 

Martin answered, “That is the hardest question, and I think the answer is, we don’t know.” To his credit, Martin did go on to say that, for the Christian, Christ has entered into our suffering and gives consolation. He also asks wisely, “Can we believe in a God whose ways we don’t understand?” He answers Yes. 

I am glad that Martin pointed to Christ’s sufferings. And I am glad he affirmed that we can believe in a God whose ways may be inscrutable to us. But the Bible does not want us to say “We don’t know,” when the overarching Why questions are asked about suffering and death. It is true, we may not know for sure why any particular child suffers in this particular way. But the Bible wants us to speak what it says about death and suffering.

Why do little children suffer and die? We ask it with the awareness that it is happening this very moment by the hundreds, and we ask it through tears of personal experience and empathy. Here is one biblical answer: “Just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—” (Romans 5:12).

Death came into the world through sin. 

That is the fundamental biblical answer for where all suffering and death came from. Or to use the words of Romans 8:20, “The creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope.” 

In other words, because of sin, God subjected the entire creation to the futility of mortality with all its suffering and death. The whole creation groans under the judgment. 

If the interviewer says, “That seems a bit harsh, to bring the whole creation under the judgment of suffering and death, including little children, because of one man’s sin?” we answer,

“That is how outrageous sin against an infinitely wise and good and holy God is. We don’t measure the outrage of our suffering by how insignificant we think sin is; we measure the outrage of sin by the scope of suffering. The really amazing thing is that you and I, as sinners, are sitting here talking, when we deserve to be in hell. God is remarkably patient. And he gave his Son to die in our place so that everyone who believes may escape from this judgment and have eternal life.”

Answering Radio Interviewers on Why Suffering

March 9, 2010  |  By: John Piper  |  Category: Commentary
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