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Winter Quarter 2023-2024: Faith That Pleases God
Unit 2: Learning About Faith
Sunday School Lesson for the week of January 21, 2024
By Jay Harris
Lesson Scripture: 2 Chronicles 20.13-20
Key Verse: “Believe in the Lord your God and you will be established; believe his prophets and you will succeed.” (2 Chronicles 20:20b)
Lesson Aims
- To introduce our theme which pairs faith with encouragement
- To gain an understanding of King Jehoshaphat and his reign
- To learn the lessons Jehoshaphat learned from his mistakes and how he set out to improve
- To debrief the present crisis that our scripture addresses
- To show how Jehoshaphat led his people in a time of prayer and fasting in response to the crisis
- To get our mind around a battle that belongs to God so that God’s people do not have to fear
- To learn what our role is when God says to us, “I’ve got this!”
- To ponder how celebration encourages us and our faith
- To reflect on the message God’s people were to take away from this experience
- To marvel at the spectacular way that God won the battle
Faith and Encouragement
The lessons in the January unit of our Winter Quarter study have been pairing faith with another subject each week. We first looked at faith and righteousness together. Then, we looked at faith and trust together. Today’s lesson pairs faith with encouragement. We will set out to learn about faith through the lens of encouragement. How do faith and encouragement interrelate?
Sometimes our faith needs encouragement. Other times our encouragement needs our faith. Wouldn’t you agree? Our lesson is about a time in the life of God’s people, Judah, when they needed both faith and encouragement.
We want to set the stage for this lesson by understanding what has led up to the moment in which God’s people found themselves. We also want to understand the particular king of Judah who was being called to lead his people in this particular moment. That leader was King Jehoshaphat.
He will be the one in the story who both needs encouragement for himself and needs to give encouragement to others. Often, before we can encourage others, we ourselves need to be encouraged. The Chronicler gives us a good bit of background to help us understand Jehoshaphat.
How have you seen faith and encouragement working together in your life?
An Introduction to King Jehoshaphat and his Early Reign
Jehoshaphat was the king of the southern kingdom of Judah. The Chronicler first introduces Jehoshaphat by saying that he followed the
earlier ways of his father, Asa. Jehoshaphat’s father started out acting faithfully, but in the latter part of his father’s reign his father acted unfaithfully.
This is also what we see Jehoshaphat do. In the beginning of Jehoshaphat’s reign, he did well by choosing not to follow the Baals and actively sought to remove the high places, which allowed the influence of Baal worship. Jehoshaphat also deployed Levites throughout the kingdom to teach the book of the law of the Lord among the people.
After this good beginning, however, Jehoshaphat chose to enter into a marriage alliance with the family of Ahab and Jezebel in the northern kingdom of Israel. A little later, Ahab asked Jehoshaphat to join him in a war against the Arameans in Ramoth-Gilead. Jehoshaphat said he would be willing to join Ahab in war, but he said that they should really inquire of the Lord if this was the right course.
When all of Ahab’s prophets too quickly said “yes,” it was Jehoshaphat who was uneasy with the fact that there was not even one dissenting opinion. When this was questioned, Ahab admitted that there was one other prophet, Micaiah, but Ahab hated him because Micaiah always gave a dissenting opinion. Jehoshaphat wanted to hear from Micaiah.
The thing is, Micaiah did not enjoy being a dissenter, so he first told King Ahab what he wanted to hear, but Ahab knew Micaiah was holding back. So, Micaiah told Ahab and Jehoshaphat that their two armies were going to meet certain disaster, which was not what the king wanted to hear. The other prophets naturally defended their own opinion, and to this end they discredited Micaiah even to the point of being physically abusive toward him.
Ahab then accused Micaiah of treason, which landed Micaiah in prison with reduced rations. In this way, Ahab silenced the one dissenting opinion and lost the ability to look critically at the situation before him. Did Ahab not know that the other prophets were more likely to say “yes” to the king to serve their own self-interest? Did Ahab not know, furthermore, that they would vote together to find safety in numbers?
The ability of Micaiah to stand alone and say “no” to the king was very courageous. Neither Ahab nor Jehoshaphat chose to recognize Micaiah’s courage or take it into account as they measured the opinions being given to them. Their combined armies were defeated, and Jehoshaphat was just as much as responsible for the defeat as Ahab was. Fortunately for Jehoshaphat, he lived to see another day, while Ahab was killed on the battlefield. This was Jehoshaphat’s low point.
What evaluations would you give King Ahab, then Micaiah the prophet, and then Jehoshaphat, King of Judah, in the disaster that just unfolded in the lesson?
Jehoshaphat’s Opportunity to Get on the Right Path
After his humiliating defeat, Jehoshaphat received a visit from Jehu who happened to be the son of the seer, Hanani, who had served Jehoshaphat’s father, Asa. Jehu went over with Jehoshaphat what he had done wrong in allying himself with Ahab. Despite his failings, Jehu encouraged Jehoshaphat by saying that there was still good to be found in him.
Jehoshaphat went out again among the people, and appointed Levites as judges to instill in the people the values in God’s laws. He told them to deal with the people courageously and for the good. This was a good thing, because it just so happens that the next challenge came to Jehoshaphat.
Three armies of Judah’s enemies were gathering to go to war against Judah. The scripture says that “Jehoshaphat was afraid.” That was a natural response. It is what Jehoshaphat did next that deserves attention. The scripture says that Jehoshaphat “set himself to seek the Lord and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.” (2 Chronicles 20:3-12) Jehoshaphat was afraid, to be sure, but he did not let his fear paralyze him into complete inaction. He took action by doing the really good thing he knew he could do. He started a movement of prayer and fasting.
The scripture says that “Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord; from all the towns of Judah they came to seek the Lord.” Jehoshaphat stood in this great gathering and led them in prayer: “O Lord, God of our ancestors, are you not God in heaven? Do you not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? In your hand are power and might, so that no one is able to withstand you.” Jehoshaphat went on in his prayer to talk about all that God had brought God’s people through in the past.
Then Jehoshaphat brought up the present crisis they were facing. He prayed, “We are powerless against this great multitude that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” (2 Chronicles 20:12) Think about the three things being said in the last part of this prayer: 1) we are powerless, 2) we do not know what to do, and 3) our eyes are on you. After saying “we are powerless” and “we do not know what to do,” many would have concluded “we are doomed.” They were not giving up though. They just knew that their survival depended on God. They were therefore looking to the Lord for what the Lord could do in this situation.
What signs would you point to that would confirm the good path that King Jehoshaphat seems to be on? How was he prepared to meet the crisis that came up? How was he preparing the people to meet the crisis at hand? Was King Jehoshaphat’s prayer better for having admitted that they were powerless and did not know what to do? What is good about praying a prayer like this?
The Word of Encouragement that was the Answer to their Prayer
Wouldn’t you agree that it was important to look at the back story to our scripture passage? We have gained insight into how Jehoshaphat has evolved as a leader of God’s people. We can even understand his state of mind better when the events in our scripture begin to unfold. We can also understand better the situation of God’s people.
13 Meanwhile, all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.
We know that all Judah was gathered because they had been called to prayer. They were also gathered because they shared a common experience of being in peril together. Did they all feel that sense of being powerless against the great multitude that was coming against them? Were they all united in that feeling of not knowing what to do? Were their eyes on God? Were they all looking to God as their only hope? We are even told that all Judah stood before the Lord. The scripture goes so far as getting us to picture the wives, the children, and the little ones who were present. What a powerful and poignant reminder of all that was at stake! What was God going to do? What could God possibly do?
14 Then the spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the middle of the assembly.
So, it was upon Jahaziel that the spirit of the Lord came. We’re told about his pedigree which locates him spiritually in the life of God’s people as a “Levite of the sons of Asaph,” which was one of the lines of Levi that had been organized long before these people were born to help connect people to God in worship. God had already organized something for just such a time as this. Jahaziel was in a position of some authority when the spirit of the Lord came upon him in the middle of this gathering of men, women, and children. What would God say through Jahaziel?
15 He said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you: Do not fear or be dismayed at this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s.
This was an astounding word that God had given for Jahaziel to say. If the battle was not theirs, but God’s battle instead, God was saying, “I’ve got this!” That’s the phraseology we would use today. Furthermore, God was telling them that they did not need to fear or be dismayed since the battle belonged to God.
How would you paraphrase the news that the battle would belong to the Lord and not them? Can you think of a time when God might have said that to you? What was going on that allowed that message to come through? Do you find it easy to let go and let God fight the battle, or is there something in you that resists letting go? Why might we have a hard time letting go?
God’s Got This—Unpacking the Meaning
If you were there, do you think that you would have had questions? Jahaziel, are you sure this is what you heard? To what degree are we to let God win the battle? If God is going to win the battle, what are we to do, if anything? What is this going to look like?
16 Tomorrow go down against them; they will come up by the ascent of Ziz; you will find them at the end of the valley, before the wilderness of Jeruel. 17 This battle is not for you to fight; take your position, stand still, and see the victory of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.”
God, through Jahaziel, gave the people something to visualize. The three groups of enemies were going to come up a certain ascent and eventually position themselves at the end of a valley bordered by the wilderness. These details would let the people know that God anticipated the enemy’s movements. Surely, they would be given further instructions.
They were not given much to go on, however, beyond the enemy’s movements. They were told that the battle was not for them to fight. They were to take their position, as if they were going to fight. When they took their position, however, they were told to simply stand still and watch the victory that was to unfold before them on their behalf. They were told again that they were not to fear or be dismayed. When they went out the next day to go against the enemy, the Lord would be with them. Based on all that they were being told and not being told, the Lord would definitely need to be with them. They were being assured of a victory that was to be entirely of the Lord’s doing. The only thing they were to do was watch.
I have heard people say that God told them not to worry about the thing they were worrying about because God’s got this.” How did they come to this realization? Perhaps it’s because they found themselves to be in the same situation that King Jehoshaphat described when he said that he and his people were powerless, and they did not know what to do. In the midst of a situation like that, God somehow gives a peace.
Sometimes it is about what God takes away. Has God ever taken away your expectation that you needed to be in control? When “worry” too often becomes our “go-to” response, it may be that worry has become our way of making us feel that we are in control. What did Jesus say about worry? Jesus told us not to worry about tomorrow. He asked “Which of you by worrying can add a single hour to your span of life? (Matthew 6:27) The answer, of course, is that none of us can add a single hour to our span of life. Have you ever known people who put a lot of time, effort, and intensity in their worrying? It’s almost as if they decided that if they tried harder in the act of worrying, it might produce results.
When God takes away this inclination to worry, it is often accompanied by God somehow speaking into our spirits and saying that God’s got this. The difference between worrying with such intensity and letting go of that worry can represent a profound blessing. Not only are letting go of the worry and its effects, we also feel as if our relationship with God has advanced a long way in a short time.
Sometimes, the word from God tells us that we are to stand and watch how God is going to act in our situation, and sometimes, the word from God says that God is going to work with us, and we are going to work with God to address our situation. In other words, we are often to do more than watch what God is going to do. God is saying in effect, “You and I
together got this.”
What accounts for the difference when God says this battle is not for you to fight and when God desires our participation in fighting the battle with God? In what circumstances is it more fitting for us to be involved? What are the effects in each instance upon our relationship with God?
Watching and Celebrating
Even when God involves us in the solution to our problems, we should not overlook the call to
watch what God does. Our ability to notice what God is doing should always take front and center stage. I believe that our ability to notice what God does
can grow over time, and in fact,
should grow! It is the growth in our ability to notice God’s action in our lives that is one of the main points in all this.
Two actions that go together are noticing and naming. It is important when we notice God’s actions that we also name them and call attention to them. I have heard this referred to as “glory sightings.” Glory sightings deserve to be celebrated. Celebration leads to worship.
18 Then Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. 19 And the Levites of the Kohathites and the Korahites stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.
Imagine the king bowing down with his face to the ground. Imagine the chain reaction as all of the inhabitants of Judah who had gathered following suit. Imagine God looking down and seeing this outpouring of worship.
Let’s note the fact that although God at this point has promised to act, God has not acted yet. The enemy was still approaching. It is the
day before God is to act. Yet, God’s people offered their worship in anticipation of God acting in their situation. Their worship in this instance is focused not on continuing to ask God for help. They had already received the word that God was indeed going to act. Their worship was focused on praising God in thankful response to God’s
promise of future action.
The branch of Levites referenced in our scripture had been given a special role in the worship life of God’s people. They were the singers. That was their job, and we get to see the prominence given to this role. They led God’s people with a very loud voice. Imagine the singing as God’s people joined their voices with these singers.
Celebrating what God was going to do the next day expressed collectively their
faith and trust in what God had promised in his word of encouragement to them. Celebration elevates the spirits of people like nothing else. Celebration releases tremendous amounts of positive energy. Imagine fear, despair, and dread melting in this bold and enthusiastic expression of faith.
How do you think this corporate act of worship would affect their ability for God’s people to watch and notice what God would do? How would their celebration affect their sensitivity and ability to notice God’s activity? How would celebrating help them enter the emotions of a “glory sighting” before and after the sighting happened?
Believing God the Next Morning
Sometimes, we say about a decision or a feeling that we want “to sleep on it.” At the same token, sleeping on it may allow enthusiasm to dissipate or grow cold. If it was just about the emotion of the moment, sleeping on it would be a bad thing. This was not however about the emotion of the moment. The people had prayed and fasted. They had received an encouraging word from the Lord that the Lord had this! They were to watch the Lord fight the battle for them. They had expressed their faith collectively through worship, celebration, and singing. So, sleeping on it was not a detriment for them. They were able to awake refreshed and hopeful.
20 They rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa, and as they went out Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God and you will be established; believe his prophets and you will succeed.”
Jehoshaphat encouraged the people to believe. This is more than believing in belief. This is more than having faith in faith. Have you ever heard the phrase, “It doesn’t matter what you believe, as long as you believe it strongly”? Hogwash! Jehoshaphat encouraged people to “believe in the Lord your God.”
Believe in the Lord and you will be established. What does it mean to be established? It means to have a strong footing. It means to stand on a strong foundation, not standing on shaky ground or shifting sand. When you are established it means that your faith rests on unshakable truth, eternal wisdom, the sure plans of the Lord, and the steadfast love of the Lord.
Jehoshaphat said, “Believe his prophets and you will succeed.” Let’s not forget the prayer and fasting that preceded all this. Remember back to the earlier phase of Jehoshaphat’s reign when he went into an ill-advised war at the side of King Ahab. Jehoshaphat knew it was not a good idea, because Ahab had already made the decision. He knew that Ahab’s so-called prophets were merely “yes” men who told Ahab only what he wanted to hear. Jehoshaphat knew the difference between false prophets and the real thing. When Jehoshaphat and the people prayed and fasted, they were truly relying upon the Lord, because they knew they were powerless without God and they did not know what to do. Unlike Ahab, just before Ahab met his demise, Jehoshaphat was not on an ego trip.
Success was God’s people receiving encouragement from the Lord, having faith in what God promised, and relishing the opportunity to give witness to their faith. Furthermore, this was an instance in which the battle belonged totally to God. This meant God would get all the credit! Their faith was in God and not in themselves. God’s people were thrilled with this arrangement.
So, what happened? The people of Judah stood where God told them to stand and watch his handiwork. They witnessed the armies of the three nations, which were aligned against them, enter the battlefield. In an amazing turn of events, the three armies got thrown into confusion. They began fighting each other. One army destroyed another, and then the little that was left of that army fought the third army until all the combatants destroyed each other. All Judah had to do was go in among the corpses and collect the booty. The valley where Judah’s enemies fought with one another and defeated one another was then called the Valley of Beracah, or Valley of Blessing.
The fear of God came upon Judah’s neighbors because they had heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of God’s people. Sometimes God is waiting for us to act and then joins in our action, and other times, God wants us simply to wait and watch God take action on our behalf. The Lord wants us to hear, “I’ve got this!”
How does believing in the Lord establish you and your faith? How do you test the word of a prophet? How often do you picture what succeeding in a certain situation looks like? If your church became more vision-driven than memory-driven, what would have to happen? What do you think the consequences would be? How hopeful would the members of your church feel? How would that energize your community of faith?
Prayer
Lord God | You used Your servant Jehoshaphat to call Your people to fasting and prayer and then told them to wait | Call us to prayer and help us to know when to act and when to wait for You to act | That we may avoid harm by acting rashly, and that we may encounter You more by waiting on You | Through Christ our Lord, Amen.
Dr. Jay Harris serves as the Superintendent of Clergy and District Services for the South Georgia Conference. Email him at jharris@sgaumc.com. Find his plot-driven guide to reading the Bible, the “Layered Bible Journey,” at www.layeredbiblejourney.com.
