Contemplative Bible Reading

2 Chronicles 20:20-21 (New International Version 2011)

²⁰ Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the LORD your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.” ²¹ After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the LORD and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying:

“Give thanks to the LORD,
for his love endures forever.”

Jehoshaphat, King of Judah, is about to lead his army into a desperate battle. The armies of three kingdoms (Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir or Edom) have joined together to fight Judah. This does not look good for Jehoshaphat and his army.

What does Jehoshaphat do? He appoints men to sing to the LORD and he puts the singers at the head of the army. That doesn’t seem very bright. I wouldn’t want to have been one of the singers. I mean, I am a singer, why am I at the front of the army? It seems that those in the front will be the first to be killed.

The result of the battle is more bizarre than formation used by Jehoshaphat.

²² As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. ²³ The Ammonites and Moabites rose up against the men from Mount Seir to destroy and annihilate them. After they finished slaughtering the men from Seir, they helped to destroy one another.

²⁴ When the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks the desert and looked toward the vast army, they saw only dead bodies lying on the ground; no one had escaped.

The LORD caused the three enemy armies to turn against one another. The three armies killed each other. When the men of Judah arrived, with the singers in the front, they found dead bodies. No one was left alive to fight against them.

Perhaps putting singers in the front is a good military formation. I tend to doubt that. I don’t doubt the effectiveness of trusting in the LORD.

This was a big crisis facing Jehoshaphat, and he trusted in the LORD. Do I trust in the LORD when I face a big crisis? How about when I face a little problem? Do I know the difference between big and little problems? Perhaps trusting in the LORD at all times is the best approach. I strive for that approach, but maybe don’t always reach it.