THE BATTLE BELONGS TO THE LORD

“He said, ‘Listen, all Judah, you who live in Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: here is what Adonai is saying to you: “Don’t be afraid or distressed by this great horde; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.”’”
II Chronicles 20:15

How have you been this week? I know, it seems strange for me to open a devotional asking how you are doing, but I really am concerned. This has been a humbling week for me personally. In coming to the realization of how much chametz I still have in my own life, and that I have a mountain before me that I physically do not have the strength to move, I have been humbled. But I have also become determined this week. With both these obstacles staring at me, I have decided that I will look to Adonai for my help. Only He can take His feather and flashlight and dust out all the remnants of chametz in my life, much like the game Jewish children play as they help remove the physical chametz in their home this season. And only He can move this mountain that I spoke of two days back. So then, I have become determined this week in understanding that no matter what I am facing, whether the removal of pride or of a problem, the battle belongs to the LORD.
King Jehoshaphat ran into this same issue as I understand it. In reading II Chronicles 20, the king was facing his own band of opposition of which he too had to make a determined stand. The vast collective army of Moabites, Ammonites, and Meunites had all joined forces to oppose King Jehoshaphat. The king’s first reaction to this news was prayer and fasting (II Chr 20:3). People all throughout Judah came together as the king had requested, and sought their next steps of the LORD’s leading through prayer and fasting. It was following this time that the Spirit of the LORD fell upon Jahaziel the Levite, who stood before the assembly gathered together and spoke, “Listen, all Judah, you who live in Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: here is what Adonai is saying to you: ‘Don’t be afraid or distressed by this great horde; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.’” The instruction given as the Spirit continued to speak through this man was that the next day, Judah would go down and meet the vast army. It was there that Judah would not have to fight, but rather stand. In their stance they would find victory.
Early the next morning, as instructed by Adonai through His Spirit, the men of Judah left for the Desert of Tekoa. On the way, the king continued to remind his men to have faith in the LORD as He would be the one to uphold them. He then appointed worshippers to sing unto the LORD, praising Adonai for His splendor of holiness, singing the words of Psalm 136, “Give thanks to the LORD, for His love endures forever.” As they sang, Adonai set ambushes against the enemy armies. The forces turned on one another, with the men of Ammon and Moab fighting against the Meunites. Then, once the Meunites were finished off, they turned on each other, with the Ammonites waging war against the Moabites, until finally not a man was left alive. As Jehoshaphat and the men of Judah stood their ground, lifting their voices unto Adonai instead of a finger against their enemy, Adonai opposed the enemy. Judah then retrieved the plunder of the three armies, taking four days to collect the wealth. The promise given by Adonai to stand their ground and see the deliverance of the LORD was true.
It is with this thought that I want to challenge us all today. I know in my life I have enemies that even now are opposing me. I would imagine you do as well. We may not both be battling issues of pride or mountains related to personal issues, but I guarantee that there is some form of an army that has your demise in its view. To you and I, I say, the battle belongs to the LORD. There will be times when Adonai requires that we fight, and in those times He will give us the strategy and the power to overcome. But there will be other times when He will require of us that we stand our ground and watch as He places ambushes in the paths of those opposing us. It is in those times that we wage war in the Spirit, worshiping our Father for His splendor. “Give thanks to the LORD, for His love endures forever!”