The Battle Belongs to God!
Mike Bonner
“In heavenly armor we’ll enter the land, the battle belongs to the LORD.” This is a familiar song we sing often to our God with one another. It is true that the battle is His and we simply need to show up for the fight as the apostle Paul states in Ephesians 6:12-14. One of the blessings of knowing the battle is the LORD is that we can have assurance in knowing the end will turn out according to His blessed will. As James said about Job, “you have heard of the patience of Job, and seen the end of the Lord, that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy” (5:11). Jehovah can be trusted, and we must lean upon Him and not our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5).
Jehoshaphat was truly a man of God, in that he did have a great example before him as a father. His father was named Asa and did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God (2 Chronicles 14:2-6). At the end of Asa’s life, however, he did not consult the LORD concerning his disease and died because of it (2 Chronicles 16:11-14). Jehoshaphat reigned in his place and did wonders before the LORD and strengthened the people of God to their betterment. The LORD was with him, established his kingdom, gave him riches and he taught the fear of the LORD in all the land (2 Chronicles 17:1-11). He exhibited “the battle belongs to the LORD.”
After the death of Ahab, king of Israel, Jehoshaphat had the people of Moab, Ammon and others come against him and Judah for battle. The king became fearful and immediately sought help from the LORD (2 Chronicles 20:1-4). He proclaimed a fast and he and Judah sought after the LORD together and this is what was said, “O LORD God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms and nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You?” (2 Chronicles 20:6). The confidence he displayed as king to show his trust and faith in the God of heaven who had the power and wisdom to help them defeat their battle. Christians today must learn from this as well.
Jehoshaphat knew a few things about the God of heaven. He knew His identity. He knew His name was in the temple and took great comfort in knowing God was with Abraham of old (2 Chronicles 20:7-9). He knew his enemies. The very ones who were spared by Israel came to invade them, and he felt afflicted and wanted God to come through for them (2 Chronicles 20:10-11). He knew his focus. He told the LORD, “our eyes are upon You”, even though they did not know what to do and realized their power was nothing in comparison to the nations upon them. He knew the battle belonged to the LORD. They were encouraged to not be dismayed because the battle was not theirs but God’s (2 Chronicles 20:15). It was at that time they would receive instructions to figure out how God wanted the nation of Judah to proceed with the task.
The LORD ensured them of the victory and told them these things, “you will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the LORD, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem! Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the LORD is with you” (2 Chronicles 20:17). Notice the New Testament passages we could correlate to these sayings from the LORD our God. Paul told the church at Ephesus to stand. He also told the Corinthians to “quit ye like men, be strong” (1 Corinthians 16:13). He told Timothy, “God has not given us the spirit of fear…” (2 Timothy 1:7). Finally, he told the church at Rome, “what shall we say to these things, if God is for us, who can be against us” (Romans 8:31). Friends, we can say the same things as Jehoshaphat and the apostle Paul; we win if we stay with the Lord. Greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world (1 John 4:4).
The LORD told Jehoshaphat to have the people to worship Him and the people stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with voices loud and high (2 Chronicles 20:18-19). King Jehoshaphat told the people to believe in the LORD their God and His prophets and you shall prosper (2 Chronicles 20:20). So, they praised the LORD and He wrought a great defeat upon the Ammonites, Moabites and Mount Seir. The people of God did not lift a finger in the battle and were enriched by the spoils from the nations. God gave them rest all around, and the people were victorious (2 Chronicles 20:30). Let us learn from these lessons that the God of heaven is still fighting our battles—if we would allow Him! Friends, let us have confidence in knowing that whatever we are going through, the LORD will provide for us. Let God be true.