2 Chronicles 20:14-19
The Word of God in Answer to Prayer
Pastor Albert N. Martin expounds 2 Chronicles 20:14-19, detailing God's response to Judah's corporate prayer during a national crisis. He emphasizes that God first sends His Word to His people, upon which their faith is to be riveted, before performing His delivering deed. Martin applies this principle to the contemporary church, urging believers to wait for God's Word, trust in His sovereign presence, and respond with humble worship and praise, even when the specific 'how' of God's deliverance is unclear.
Primary Texts
Topics
Outline 8 sections · 60 min
- Introduction: God's Word Precedes His Work 0:08
- The Author of the Word: Jehovah Himself 6:45
- The Bearer of the Word: Jehaziel, 'Beheld of God' 15:42
- The Recipients of the Word: All Who Waited 22:31
- The Essence of the Word: Prohibition, Explanation, Direction 25:45
- The Explanation: 'The Battle is God's, His Presence is Yours' 29:52
- The Direction: 'Go Out, Stand Still, See Salvation' 40:50
- The Response: Whole-Souled Worship and Full-Voice Praise 53:54
Key Quotes
“The first thing he did was to send his word to his people. And then his delivering deed followed this definitive word concerning how he would bring about the deliverance.”
“That God works in the context of the faith of his people. And because faith is always riveted to the word of God. God must give the word to which faith is riveted.”
“Walk ye in the flame of your fire. And among the brands that ye have kindled. This ye shall have of my hand. Ye shall lie down in sorrow.”
“It doesn't mean sinless. It means a heart. That renounces all creature confidence. And relies wholly upon the living God. To do his work. His way to his glory.”
“The cause is mine, but my presence is yours.”
“And every promise given to the people who are in that chain is ours in Christ.”
“Ye shall not need to fight in this battle. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.”
“that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel and that all this assembly may know that Jehovah saveth not with sword and spear for the battle is Jehovah's and he will give you into our hand”
Applications
Believers
- When direction comes to us as a church, recognize it as the word of the living God, even if the manner is less spectacular than ancient prophecy.
- Understand that a corporate crisis calls for corporate seeking, and only those who heed the call will know the blessedness of hearing God's answer.
- Do not allow yourselves to come under the spirit of crippling fear and paralyzing dismay in the face of crisis.
- Continue to pursue the present course, confront obstacles with believing, persistent prayer, and do not retrench or turn tail.
- Pray and ask the Lord if His word to us at this time is to believe Him for a debt-free building, manifesting His power in an unusual way.
- Respond to God's word with whole-souled humble worship and full-voice praise, trusting that He will perform His word.
All listeners
- Wait until you have a word from God, rather than creating your own guidance out of impatience.
- Recognize that God's word comes to us today through the indwelling Spirit and the written Word, even if not through direct prophetic utterance.
- Do not long for God to speak a new word about His cause and presence in your crisis, for He has already said it in His written Word; it awaits your belief.
A full transcript is available on the tab. 220 paragraphs, roughly 60 minutes.
Introduction: God's Word Precedes His Work
Thus far in our study of this chapter, so full of practical perspectives for our present situation, we've considered something of the situation in which the crisis of this chapter arose, we've looked at the unfolding of the crisis in verses 1 and 2, the summary statement of the response to the crisis in verses 4 and 5, and then last night we considered verses 5 through 13 which contain the details as to how the people of Judah and Jehoshaphat their leader sought the face of the living God, and we noted in those verses that they engaged in corporate prayer in the appointed place, verse 5, it was in the assembly and in the house of Jehovah that prayer was offered. They engaged in intelligence. Expectant, earnest, biblical prayer, prayer that began with the remembrance of who God was, the remembrance of what he had done, and then the very rational spreading out before this great God the present situation and its need, and then thirdly they engaged in believing
expectant prayer because they said that their eyes were upon him and they stood before the living God in that prayer. Now, it should not surprise us to read in the very next verses that God came to such a people and spoke in answer to their prayers, and the very next day worked mightily according to the word that he had given in answer to their prayers, and it's verses 14 through 19 that will occupy our attention this evening. I shall read the passage, make one or two general observations. I shall read the passage, make one or two general observations about the passage, and then we shall examine it in detail.
Then, there's the adverb of time, from the posture of the entire nation standing before God, then, upon Jehaziel, the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mataniah the Levite, of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the Lord in the midst of the assembly. And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, thus saith the Lord unto you, fear not ye, neither be dismayed by reason of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God's. Tomorrow go ye down against them. Behold, they shall come up by the ascent of Ziz, and ye shall find them at the end of the valley. For the wilderness of Jeruel, 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 is with you. And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem came. And Jehoshaphat fell down before the Lord, worshipping the Lord.
And the Levites of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with an exceeding loud voice.
Now this portion, and then that which follows, verses 20 through 30, which completes the narrative of this particular crisis, can roughly be divided into two basic, categories of concern. In verses 14 to 19, we have the word of God, which came in answer to the prayer of verses 5 through 13. And then in verses 15 to 30, we have the work of God, which was performed in answer to prayer. So you have, in response to the prayers of God's people, God coming with his word, and then God's word.
And then God's word. And then God's word. And then God's word. And then God's word.
And then God's word. And then God's word. And then God's word. And then God's word.
And then God's word. And then God's word. And then God's word. And then God's word.
Now this pattern is illustrative of a very fundamental principle in the word of God. God could have come directly with his mighty saving and delivering deed. But he didn't do that. God could have confounded those armies that were 15 miles from Jerusalem.
He could have sent hail upon them. He could have sent an angel to drive them back. He could have sent an angel to drive them back. He could have brought news of battles in their own lands and turned them aside.
All of these things he had done in previous or did do in subsequent military situations in the history of Israel. But God did not do that. The first thing he did was to send his word to his people. And then his delivering deed followed this definitive word concerning how he would bring about the deliverance.
And the basic principle involved in this is simply this. That God works in the context of the faith of his people. And because faith is always riveted to the word of God. God must give the word to which faith is riveted.
And then God works on behalf of his believing people.
Without faith it is impossible to please God. For he that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of those that diligently seek him. And so we see that great principle illustrated here as in many places in scripture. When God first of all gives his word.
So that as the people of God faithful. Face their dilemma. All they have between themselves and their dilemma is a word from the living God. And on that word they are to act even before they see the deed come to pass.
The Author of the Word: Jehovah Himself
You remember we underscored this in teaching concerning the life of Elijah the prophet. There's that widow. And all she's got is a little bit of a meal and a few sticks. And she's going to bake a cake and die.
He says give to me first. And God will. Meet your need. So she got rid of every last thing she had.
And all she had between herself and her and her son's starvation was a word from God. And upon that word she was to act. And when she acted upon that word. God performed the miracle.
And we see that principle all the way through the scriptures. And here it stands of the very face of the narrative. The people are standing in the presence of God. And the first thing God does.
Is. Not to come with delivering deed. But with a definitive word. Concerning the purposes of his heart.
All right. Let us then examine tonight. And I'm not certain. Probably Sunday morning.
I'm not sure. I just can't stop in midstream. So we may carry right on to Lord's day morning. To consider his delivering deed.
But tonight the word which came in answer to prayer. And the first thing we must notice about this word. Is it's author. The author of the word that came.
Verse 14. Then upon Jehaziel. Came the spirit of the Lord. In the midst of the assembly.
And when Jehaziel stands to speak. We read. In verse 15. That he says.
Thus saith Jehovah unto you. The two little phrases. The spirit of Jehovah. Came thus saith Jehovah.
So that the great characteristic of the God who was addressed. In the prayer of verses 5 through 8. That which distinguishes the true and the living God. The God of Abraham and of the fathers.
The God who is in heaven. The God who sits upon his throne. The God of absolute sovereignty and omnipotence. That which distinguishes.
That which distinguishes him from all that is called a God. Is that he is the God who has ears. Who can hear. And who has a mouth.
And can speak. You remember the psalmist celebrate this. When they say who is like our God. Our God is not like the God of the nations.
Who have eyes but see not. Ears and hear not. Mouths and speak not. But that God before whom they stood.
The invisible Jehovah God. Before. Whom they stood in that special place. Crying with one voice.
That God shows that he has ears to hear. And the mouth to speak. As his spirit comes upon this unknown insignificant person. Who is introduced here and never referred to again in the scriptures.
But the important thing is that the living God came. In the person of the spirit. And spoke the living word to that real significant. Situation.
Now it's notice it should be underscored. Or we should notice that the people did not become impatient. And create their own guidance.
Put the two verses together. And all Judah stood before the Lord. How long did they stand? We don't know.
All we know is that they did not budge. Until the spirit came. And Jehovah spoke. And that's the great principle.
They waited until they had a word. From God. And I could not help but think of that. Very frightening warning in Isaiah chapter 50.
Verses 10 and 11. Who is among you that feareth the Lord. And obeyeth the voice of his servant. Isaiah 50 verse 10.
He that walketh in darkness. And hath no light. We know not what to do. Lord there's no light upon the pathway.
Therefore we cannot move. We simply. We simply stand. And we wait.
Our eyes are upon you. Until you have mercy. Until you shed light upon the path of duty. Here's the people of God.
Fearing the Lord. Obeying the voice of his servant. But they have no light. What are they to do?
Let him trust in the name of the Lord. And rely upon his God. But you see we become impatient. Don't we?
It's difficult. To be between a rock and a hard place. The enemy is 15 miles away. And to stay ourselves upon the Lord.
And to stand before him. We grow impatient. And when there is no light from heaven upon the path. What is the temptation?
Look at the next verse. Behold. All ye that kindle a fire. That gird yourselves about with firebrands.
Walk ye in the flame of your fire. And among the brands that ye have kindled. This ye shall have of my hand. Ye shall lie down in sorrow.
In other words. If we get impatient with God. And we begin to create our own word from God. God says.
We will live to rue the day. We ever engaged in such spiritual folly. And so the living God himself. Speaks in his own time.
Speaks to his people. Who wait upon us. And surely that is a word for us. Though we do not expect anyone in our midst to rise and say.
Thus saith Jehovah. If anyone did it. We would rebuke you. And we demand in the name of Christ.
That you desist and sit down.
We are not waiting for such. And if anyone in a spirit of fanaticism. Felt that he had the spirit come upon him. And he was going to speak a prophetic word of utterance.
We who are elders would denounce such fanaticism. Openly and publicly and unashamedly. But the principle is still the same. The same spirit who came upon this man.
In the midst of the assembly. Is the author of this book. Who as the indwelling spirit. Who has constituted all of the people of God.
Prophets, priests and king. For we have what? An anointing from the Holy One. And we know all things.
And we need not that any man teach us. We can trust that same spirit. In a less spectacular. Way to bring home.
To the corporate consciousness of his people. That which is the word of the living God. For us in this crisis. And we have seen God do that for us.
As a people time and time again. In our brief history of ten years. When we have faced crisis situations. And we have waited upon God.
And the constraint of certain principles. And precepts of the word. Has come home. Generally first of all.
To the elders and the appointed leaders. And then as they have spread before the congregation. That which they believe to be the word of God. For that situation.
The spirit of God indwelling the people of God. Has given that sense of hearty consent. And with one heart. We have walked in the path.
That God has marked out for us. And though the manner of God's giving his word to us. Is less spectacular. Don't you see that it's even in a sense.
More amazing and miraculous. For the spirit of God to come upon one man. For a momentary afflatus. And take that man and speak through him.
Is an amazing thing. But for God to take a whole assembly. Of people with diverse backgrounds. And temperaments and inclinations.
And dispositions and different ways of viewing problems. Different ways of to think. That God will take such a people. And make them of one mind and heart.
In submission to the common court of authority. The written word of God to me. Is even a more marvelous demonstration. Of the might and the power of our great God.
And so when the word of direction comes to us. Let us recognize from whence it comes. It is the word of the living God. Coming to us in a different manner.
But the word. Is the word of the living God. Nonetheless. Now then secondly notice what the passage tells us.
The Bearer of the Word: Jehaziel, 'Beheld of God'
Concerning the bearer. Or the vehicle of that word. Verse 14. Then upon Jehaziel.
And then we're given his pedigree. Back for five generations.
Now why I don't know. Nor do any of the commentators I've consulted know. Why all this fastidiousness. About who this Jehaziel was.
Well one thing or two things are quite plain to me. Number one is. That this was a no name. In Israel.
And God comes to speak to his people in this crisis. Through a no name. Someone who as far as we know. Was never notorious in Israel.
This may have been the only time. That he ever prophesied. Could it be that God did this. Because again he wanted to underscore.
That what he is saying. Is all of himself. For the human heart being what it is. When one individual.
Has become identified. With being the mouthpiece of God. As was Isaiah for. Several decades.
And Hosea and some of the other prophets. It would be very easy. To begin to somehow identify. Something special.
With the human instrument. But in this crisis. It's as though God is determined to manifest. That he takes the things that are of no account.
And of no reputation. And he makes them the vehicle. Of bringing his word to his people. But I think more importantly.
Is probably the significance of this man's name. There are five characters in the Old Testament. Who bore this name. And the name means.
It's a compound word. From two Hebrew words. And it means beheld of God. Now do you see.
The significance.
And all Judah stands before the Lord. Utterly helpless. And yet. In expectation and faith.
They refuse to run. To carnal methods. They refuse to sit down. And scheme and connive.
And plan. And as it were go down into Egypt. That principle of carnal. And creaturely help.
And it's as though God says. I'll speak through. Jehaziel. I behold you my people.
In this posture of waiting. And I speak to such a people. And what I speak. Will bring great comfort.
And great consolation. Turn back please. To chapter 16 of 2nd Chronicles. It is Jehaziel.
Beheld of God. Upon whom the spirit comes.
Could it be. That here is the principle.
2nd Chronicles. 2nd Chronicles 16.7 And at that time Hanani the seer. Came to Asa king of Judah.
And said unto him. Because thou hast relied. On the king of Syria. And hast not relied on the Lord thy God.
Therefore is the host of the king of Syria. Escaped out of thy hand. God says. You didn't win the battle.
Because you sought to do my work your way. In a way of carnal strength. Were not the Ethiopians. And the Lubim.
A huge. With chariots and horsemen. Exceedingly many. Yet because thou didst rely on the Lord.
He delivered them into thy hand. For. Now what was the difference. Defeat in one case.
Victory in the other. What was the difference. Here is the explanation. For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro.
Throughout the whole earth. To show himself strong. In the behalf of those. Who have great respect.
In the behalf of those who have great cunning in battle. No. In behalf of those or them. Whose heart.
Is perfect towards him.
Do you see this vigorous anthropomorphism.
That is. Taking human characteristics. And likening them to God. He says.
The seer says to this king. Here is the great difference. In the one battle you went away. Defeated in the other.
You went away with great triumph. Because. God's eye was looking throughout the earth. And you know what he was looking for.
He was looking for someone. Whose heart was perfect towards him. And in the context. What does that mean.
It doesn't mean sinless. It means a heart. That renounces all creature confidence. And relies wholly upon the living God.
To do his work. His way to his glory. And God. Says if only I can find some people.
Who are simple enough. To trust only in me. There I will come with power. And manifest that power.
To what end. That men may know what a great God I am. See the emphasis in the text. To show himself strong.
So if you're strong. With what you can do. If you're strong with your own resources. Asa.
If you're strong with your own. And sought out allies. Then I can't work mightily on your behalf. Because you and others will think.
That's the result of your wisdom. And your might. And your cunning. But when you were simple enough to acknowledge.
That if I did not come with my might. To give the victory. There'd be no victory. God says I fixed my eye upon you.
And I granted you the victory. So that I could show myself strong.
The bearer of this word. Is a man or was a man. Whose name was befitting the situation.
His name means beheld of God. And at this time. The children of Judah and Jehoshaphat. Are not only beheld of God.
In his general omniscience. But the eye of God stopped. As it was running to and fro. Throughout the earth.
When he saw them standing in that great court. The eye of God was fixed upon them. Why? Because their posture was.
The posture of expectancy. Of waiting. Of dependence. And to such a people.
May I say God must come. To fulfill his own word of promise.
The Recipients of the Word: All Who Waited
Well then we hurry on to consider thirdly. The recipients of that word. The author of the word Jehovah. The bearer of that word.
Jehaziel. Beheld of God. And now the recipients of that word. The first part of verse 15.
And he said. He said hearken ye all Judah. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And thou king Jehoshaphat.
You see the detail. He didn't say the whole bunch. He listened to me. He lines them up.
All the inhabitants of Judah. And in particular those at the capital city. Jerusalem the place of the temple. And Jehoshaphat thou man of God.
King in Judah. Leader of God. The people of God. It came to all the people.
Who were standing before the living God. In verse 13. Since it was a corporate crisis. The whole nation was called to seek God.
And all who were seeking were heard. And therefore all who were heard. Are addressed with the answer.
You see the connection. The corporate crisis led to corporate seeking. Which led to a corporate. Answer of the living God.
This is why. As elders we were so anxious. To make so plain on the Lord's day. That this was not just a suggestion.
To the membership of this assembly. That we come together. This crisis is the crisis. Of the entire congregation.
And the entire congregation. Is to be found in the place. And posture of seeking. And it's only such.
Who heeded the call. And it's sought. That will know the blessedness of hearing. The word of the living God.
And I tell you. I wouldn't miss that for anything.
I wouldn't miss that for anything. And there'll be some of our dear people. Left high and dry. Not because they could not be here.
Through providential hindrance. And there have been such. And we stand to judge. No man or no woman.
But think of what would happen. To that dweller in Judah. Who when the call. Went out to seek Jehovah.
Call went out to fast. Said well I'd like to. My heart's with you. But he was not found.
Standing in the court of God. Before Jehovah. Therefore when the man of God. Stood up with the word of God.
He did not hear that welcome word. Oh dear people. For many of you I'm sure. It's meant the buffeting of your body.
To come the setting aside. Of other plans. And purposes to come. But may I encourage you.
That when the word of God comes to us. You'll say it's been worth. All the buffeting. And ten times more.
To know that God himself. Has responded to our cry. As we've prayed. In the appointed place.
The Essence of the Word: Prohibition, Explanation, Direction
As his corporate people. And stood. Before the living God. Well then let's come to the heart.
Of our study tonight. The essence. Of the word God brought. The author of that word.
Is God. The bearer. Jehaziel. The recipients.
All who were gathered. In the appointed place. Now what was the essence. Of the word that God gave.
Well first of all. It was a word of prohibition.
God came telling them certain things. They were not to do. Then it was a word. Of explanation.
And thirdly. It was a word of direction. First of all then. It was a word of prohibition.
Verse 15. And he said hearken ye. All Judah and ye inhabitants. Of Jerusalem and thou.
King Jehoshaphat. Thus saith the Lord unto you. And he starts with the prohibition. Fear not ye.
Neither be. Dismayed by reason. Of this great. Multitude.
God says my word to you. Whatever it is. In a positive direction is this. Don't freeze.
Don't be gripped with paralyzing fear. Don't be. Dismayed. Now this conjunction of fear.
And dismay. Is relatively common in the scriptures. I'll give you one specimen example. In Deuteronomy 31.
In verse 8. It's a very significant. Parallel. Passage.
Moses is charging Joshua. Encouraging him. In the light of the great task. That lies before him.
In conquering. The nations of Canaan. And verse 8. And the Lord.
Deuteronomy 31. 8. And the Lord. He it is.
That doth go before thee. He will be with thee. He will not fail thee. Neither forsake thee.
Fear not. Neither be dismayed. Now it could be that these are just synonyms. And the man of God is emphasizing the same truth.
Using a different word as we often do. But there is a shade of difference. In the emphasis between fear and dismay. Fear is basically.
That emotion of dread. In the face. Of an impending danger. Or disaster.
Fear is deep anxiety. In the presence of danger. And dismay. Is the loss of courage.
Or confidence. In the prospect of that danger. Fear. Is the dread.
Dismay seems to go out of fear. In which we say. Well there is nothing I can do then. Now God says.
You must do neither. Fear not. Neither be dismayed. Now.
this is one thing I do know. I have no question in my mind that the word of God to us in this situation is this word, letter by letter, phrase by phrase, with no alteration. What is God saying to Trinity Church in this crisis? Well, whatever he's saying, he's saying this, fear not, neither be dismayed. Whatever we do, we must not allow ourselves to come under the spirit of a crippling fear and a paralyzing dismay. But now there is a reason for this prohibition, and God gives then the word of explanation. Let's look at it. Fear not ye, neither be dismayed by reason of this great multitude. So the Lord says, I know all about them. I know you aren't fooling. You haven't
The Explanation: 'The Battle is God's, His Presence is Yours'
dreamed up your crisis. You're not being paranoid. It's there. That great multitude is there. What you see, I see. Your eyeballs are not playing tricks on you. Your crisis is real. But don't be afraid nor dismayed for, now the word of explanation, for the battle is not yours but God's. That's the first part of the explanation. The battle is not yours but God's. And the second part of the explanation comes down at the end of verse 17. Tomorrow go out against them for the Lord is with you.
Now you put the two things together and what do you have? God says, don't be afraid, and here's my explanation. The cause is mine, but my presence is yours. That's it. The cause is mine, and my presence is yours. And he says on that basis, don't be afraid, don't be dismayed. The cause is mine, the presence yours. Now why? We come back again to that fundamental principle with which we began three nights ago. This is redemptive history. This event is a link in the chain of events by which God will bring his beloved son into the world. And the seed of the woman shall bruise the head of the serpent. And a multitude whom no man can number out of
victory. From the driving tongue and nation. From the driving tongue and nation. From the laughing will be redeemed with everlasting redemption.
This is an incident, a link in that chain. If those heathen hordes could conquer Judah and drive out the people of God and disband the theocracy and shut down the prophetic line, shut down the line of David's throne, there would be no Messiah.
The cause is mine. Why? It is a redemptive issue. I'm committed to bruising the head of the serpent.
And they are but the seed of the serpent. And as they come in His name, as it were, to swallow up the seed of a woman, don't be afraid. Don't be dismayed. This kind of battle is not yours.
This is mine. The cause is mine. Then He says, as you go forth, My presence is with you. Well, what comfort does that bring?
Well, God's saying, if you're defeated, I'll be defeated. I'm with you. So if this crowd comes to get you, and they get you, they got me too. Now, you've just prayed to me and called me the living God of heaven and earth.
You've called me the God of the fathers. Can I be defeated? I'm with you. So when you're in their presence, I'm with you.
What happens to you happens to me. Now, He says, that ought to drive out your fear. They're not about to drive me out of business, God says. Well, in fact, I'm not going to drive you out of business either.
The cause is mine. My presence is yours. And oh, dear people, by way of application,
let me say that I'm sure some of us would say, oh, that God would come and speak as He spoke through that prophet and tell us in this particular instance that the cause is His, the cause of obtaining a new dwelling place for this congregation. And oh, that He would come and tell us that in this particular cause, in this particular link in the chain of redemptive purposes for this assembly, the Lord is with us with His special presence and power. My friend, don't long for something that already is. God has already said that.
It awaits for you and for me to believe it. You say, where does God say that? Well, I want to show you something that just opened up a hole and a whole new dimension of thought to me. I just wish we could have put the meeting off for a while so I could have tracked it down a little bit more.
And the great principle again lies in this matter of God is doing something in the history of redemption. We read in 2 Corinthians 1.20 this precious word, 2 Corinthians 1 and verse 20,
For how many soever be the promises of God, in Him is the yea, wherefore also through Him is the, amen, unto the glory of God through us. How many soever be the promises of God, in Him is the yea, and wherefore through Him is the amen.
As I was meditating upon this, and I don't fully understand what it's saying, my mind began to work over this matter of how much of this promise can we lay hold of for ourselves. Is God saying that to us through the written word as much as He said it in that direction? Spoken word to that people. Hold that passage in mind and turn over to Hebrews 13.
The writer to the Hebrews writing thousands of years or hundreds of years after God's words to His ancient people is giving practical instructions for first century Christians. And he says in verse 5 of Hebrews 13, Be free from the love of money, content with, such things as you have. Why? Because he says you have a word from God that ought to lead to that.
And what is the word that he says they have from God? For Himself hath said, said to who? He said God has spoken to you people a word that ought to keep you free from covetousness and keep you in holy contentment. And what is that word?
I will in no wise fail thee, neither will I in any wise forsake thee. Now you know where the, where those words are taken from. If you've got a 1901 edition, one is taken from Deuteronomy 31.6, the very passage from which I quoted earlier when Moses is speaking to Joshua about going in to take the promised land.
And the other is taken from Joshua 1 in verse 5 where God is speaking to Joshua about conquering the promised land. What right does the writer to the Hebrews have to take a promise from the lips of Moses and the lips of God given to Joshua about conquering a promised land and take it from him? Tell first century Christians these are the word of God to you. I'll tell you why.
They were words given in pursuit of redemptive history. Joshua's going into the land was not a little real estate excursion.
It was another link in the chain. And every promise given to the people who are in that chain is ours in Christ. And that's the truth that I'd like to blow my fuses at to study this morning, this afternoon.
So when God says to His people in a moment of crisis that pertains to the work that He's doing in bringing His Son, don't be afraid. Don't be dismayed. The cause is mine. My presence is yours.
Oh, fellow believers, He's saying that to us because this crisis is another link in the history of redemption. And I can prove that from the New Testament. The cause is Christ's for He said I will build my church. Now what's brought the crisis?
Christ fulfilling His word. That's it. He's been building His church. He's been taking dead stones and making them living stones and putting them in His living temple which has caused us to outgrow present facilities which has put us in the place where we need something in which to carry on the tasks of worship and ministry and teaching and preaching and evangelizing and instructing our children and all the assets of the man that says the battle is not yours but mine he's speaking to us i will build my church and is his presence ours in that cause the last words of matthew's gospel make disciples of all the nations baptize them teach them lo i am with you always even to the consummation of the age with you in what in the fulfillment of that task that's what's brought our crisis making disciples and baptized trying to and now we're between a rock and a heart
but we have the promise of his presence oh dear people this made all the sweat and agony over the passage precious to see that and i don't know if it distills with the same freshness upon your own spirit as it has upon mine you put yourself in my place and realize that from the human standpoint much of this mess is my problem i'm the fault i'm the cause of it just standing behind this place for years trying to just open up the scriptures and be honest to the book and god's taken a crooked stick and with it he's begun to thresh and he's begun to reap oh what blessedness to know lord this is not my problem it's yours the cause is yours lord and your presence is ours and has not that been our great joy these past nights if i were to go around and pull every one of you and say now if you can cut through all the fat and all the excess and say what has it been above all else that has made these nights and mornings glorious i believe everyone who has any discernment with me will be able to see the same answer the felt presence of our savior that's it well you see where his presence is
The Direction: 'Go Out, Stand Still, See Salvation'
this is the affirmation that the cause is his well there was not only the word of prohibition the word of explanation but then there was a word of direction that's in verses 16 and 17
tomorrow now that's where you see it's not a one-to-one thing that's where fanaticism would enter i'd love to say lord since we can take the other word for word and this is the way i used to read the bible i went to a school where everybody read the bible that way waiting for god someone's praying about where to go and if in their devotions the next day they read somewhere in the prophet go thou into egypt then they say the lord's called me to be a missionary to the muslims in egypt and they give you chapter and verse no serious i know a youth organization the director of which encourages the people in that organization to get guidance this way they say the lord's leading them what chapter and verse always this kind of using the bible like a ouija board and it's in the same ballpark and you're open to the same foul spirits although god may sometimes overrule the ignorance of an earnest child of god he does that but it's not justifiable so we do not say all right then the word of direction means tomorrow saturday in august of 1977 god's no no no no no no but There are some principles. The word of direction to them was this. Tomorrow go ye down against them. Behold they are come up by the ascent of Ziz and ye shall find them at the end of the valley before the wilderness of Jeruel.
Ye shall not need to fight in this battle. Set yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of God with you. The word of direction had two things. What you're not to do and what you are to do.
He first of all tells them in verse 16 what they are to do. Tomorrow go ye down against them.
In the latter part of verse 17 he tells them tomorrow go out against them.
Now wait a minute. He had just told them the battle is not yours but mine. Now he says go ye out against them. Well again it's that great principle that God in working with his people puts them in the way of duty.
Puts them in the way of performance and as we shall see in the subsequent study probably Lord's Day morning he had them go down not so much to fight with their own swords but to reap the spoils of God's mighty activity in confounding the enemies. But he told them you must not run and turn tail. You must go down to meet them. But then he says what you're not to do is this.
Verse 17 You're not to engage in normal military warfare. Ye shall not need to fight in this battle. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. Now in most battles in which God gave the victory he gave it by means of their wielding a sword.
And it's not just that. As you read through the history of Israel again and again God gives the victory through the sword and the spear and the bow of his people as sword and spear and bow are consecrated to God and wielded in confidence in God. That's why the psalmist can say my bow shall not save me. But trusting in the living God his bow was the instrument of his deliverance again and again.
But God said in this situation though and as you read through the history of Israel you will notice that there were critical times in the history of Israel when God suspended the normal means of giving victory and called his people to military conquest in a way that was so unmilitary that his people and the world might know that behind all the normal conquests was the mighty efficient work of God. But if all he did was to give victory to God through normal military procedures people would begin to think the might and the strength was in the people themselves in their instruments of war. So once in a while God says put your instruments down and I'll still give you victory that you get the lesson. And that's the first military victory he gave when he got them across into the promised land. What was the first city they confronted? Mighty Jericho with its walled cities.
And how did God give the victory? He says march around it with your priest and the ark and then shout.
That's it. I mean really nobody who's been to West Point even six months comes up with a battle plan like that. Now why did God do that? The first military conquest because God was saying look in all the others you'll win by your sword but remember it's not your sword that wins the victory it's my power working by and with your sword and if you don't think that's so remember Ai the very next encounter when they grieved God by disobedience and God didn't go out with their sword they turned tail before the sword of their enemies.
Now you find the same thing in this passage. God is saying there's going to be a suspension of the normal means to make it known that I am giving this victory and this was no new thing this very promise was given in Exodus when they came down to the shores of the Red Sea language very similar Exodus 14 verses 13. Exodus 14 verses 13. 13 and 14 Exodus chapter 14 verses 13 and 14 Moses says to the people of God who are ready to go back who are full of fear and dismay he says to the people fear ye not stand still and see the salvation of the Lord which he will work for you today for the Egyptians whom you've seen today you shall see them again no more forever the Lord will fight for you ye shall hold your peace not the Lord will fight with you and by you but for you as your representative and then of course David whose heart was imbued with this vision of God when he goes out in the most unmilitary way to face the giant what is his vision what is his spiritual concept of this whole battle 1 Samuel chapter 17 verses 46 and 47 1 Samuel chapter 17 verses 46 and 47 1 Samuel chapter 17 verses 46 and 47 look at the language of David
this day will Jehovah deliver thee into my hand and I will smite thee you see God will deliver you then I will smite take your head give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of heaven to the wild beasts of the earth that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel and that all this assembly may know that Jehovah saveth not with sword and spear for the battle is Jehovah's and he will give you into our hand here you see are these critical periods when God would make known that he is God and it's at this point that I've wrestled with this issue before the Lord and I've cried to God literally with tears this afternoon saying Lord I dread I fear lest I should raise false hopes in the hearts of your people I fear the unbelief of my own heart being projected upon your people and frankly I don't know what the proper application of this passage is to us I do know that God is saying no retreat go out to meet them at this stage your elders are of one mind that we must continue to pursue the present course upon which we believe
we've been set in the providence of God we've directed our architect to complete his plans we've directed the architect to continue to press for a building permit we must not retrench we must not back forth go ye forth to meet them the enemy is there the enemy is formidable God says I know this multitude that is against you he's pledged that the cause is his that his presence is ours and he says to us is to them at this juncture we must not turn tail we must go down to meet them we must continue to confront these great obstacles with believing persistent prayer pleading with God to deal with our adversaries and then could God be saying and that's all I can say could God be saying that at this strategic time in the history of Trinity Church I will not win I will not win this battle as in other times when we faced the obstacle of obtaining this building and we had depleted our resources to buy a parsonage for the pastor and his family and have a place for prayer meeting and I believe at the time there were just what four thousand dollars in the savings account forty three thousand dollars seemed like a terrible obstacle what did we do we sought the face of God
not with special prayer meetings as this but earnestly in our regular prayer meetings and in our families and then the call went out any who are willing to commit themselves to a loan with no interest to be paid back whenever we can pay it back and others willing to give pray that God will move your heart and God did a wonderful thing and we came up with some twenty some odd thousand dollars cash so all we had to get was a twenty thousand dollar mortgage and still had money to buy the pews and refurnish the whole building and then the mortgage was paid off in three or four years God did that He worked in that case by the more normal means could it be that at this stage of our life and history as a church God has a peculiar lesson to teach us and to teach the world in which He's saying in a very special way the battle is not yours stand still ye shall not fight in this battle ye shall not dip into your savings ye shall not mortgage and put your own house on the line this in a peculiar way is my battle and I'm going to fight for you now I'm not saying that that is what God is saying but could it be and I only ask you as the people of God to bring it before the Lord in prayer
Lord is that your word to us would you at this time draw us out to believe you that this building would be constructed debt free from funds that come without us there will still be many tasks to be supported by us just the operating expenses taking on Mr. Letham's salary next year God willing taking on a man as a part time janitor and full time worker in the church for other needs those things alone can gobble up that $35,000 that Mr. Spence spoke about the other night that we felt was a working margin in our budget and then the remaining payments on the land or such there will be plenty of opportunity to send out the appeal to the people of God pray what God would have you give on the next building fund offering we've got a $40,000 land payment due to Mr. Sisko there will be plenty of opportunity for God to still win you over and still win you over and still win you over and still win you over by our sword and our bow but could it be that this is God's hour to manifest that he is committed to work in an unusual way in such a way as to make us know that the battle is not ours
The Response: Whole-Souled Worship and Full-Voice Praise
but his and ours at this time is to stand still not to fight and to behold the salvation of God with us now will you listen carefully I am not saying that that is what God is saying I am only saying could it be that the Lord is saying this to us but in any case whatever God's word is to us on that score certainly his word to us is sure with respect to assuring us that the cause is his his presence is ours and we conclude our study tonight by looking back briefly at the response to that word that God brought we've seen the author of the word is God himself the bearer of that word Jehaziel the recipients all the people of God the essence of that word a prohibition an explanation a word of direction now what response did the people of God give to that word verses 18 and 19 and Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before Jehovah worshipping Jehovah and the Levites
of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites stood up to praise Jehovah the God of Israel with an exceeding loud voice two things are marked in their response on the part of the entire nation there was what we could call whole souled humble worship they are so awed by the fact that God has come and pledged his presence and assured them that it's his cause and then he's gone further and said I'm taking even the manner of the victory out of your hands and into my own they're so overwhelmed that God would manifest such grace and mercy and speak so clearly that they want to show that humility they want to show that recognition of the worthiness of God this strange phrase I've examined it check the commentators still have no further light Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face well wherever my head is my face is so I don't understand it may be an unusual Hebraism he bowed his head with his face to the ground could be something in the grammatical construction that I don't understand but one thing is clear it was not just the bowed head you see but he literally prostrated himself
before the Lord and when he did all Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all who were standing before the Lord had heard the word of God they all went down like someone had shot them with one big machine gun down they went prostrated themselves seeking to express outwardly what was the inward disposition of the heart lost in wonder love and awe and then out of the group suddenly a certain segment stood up and they were an identifiable segment they were these of the tribe of the Levites and they began to praise Jehovah and praised him with such volume that it says with an exceeding loud voice and when a Hebrew calls something exceeding loud it's loud so this whole soul worship was followed by full voice praise to God in the confidence that he would perform his word you see when you've been prostrated before that great God and you know what he has said you can afford the luxury of blessing him that it is as good as done ere it even comes to pass and so they worshipped and so they praised and I
trust that God by his spirit will bring us as a people tonight to that two-fold response to his word that we shall worship as we have in these past nights ascribing worth to God that he would deal in mercy with the likes of us that he should draw near to us that he would bless us that he would grant us such seals of his presence as to create the very crisis that has drawn us together oh may our hearts run out in worship and then may God raise up amongst us the Kohathites and the Korahites that we may praise him with an exceeding loud voice as I'm sure the spirit of God touched our brother Pastor Clark to suggest that we sing a mighty fortress is our God I couldn't help but think of that when I was studying this passage today how we moved so naturally from worship and supplication into the abandonment of praise it's a wonderful thing to know that God is not locked up in this history he reveals himself in this history that we may know what he is to us in our history oh may God fill our hearts with worship and draw us out
in praise
This transcript was generated by automated speech recognition and may contain errors. It is provided for study and reference only; the audio recording is the authoritative source.
Passages Expounded
This passage describes God's direct prophetic word to Judah through Jehaziel, providing prohibition, explanation, and direction in response to their corporate prayer.
Texts Expounded
Also Referenced
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