God helps us

 2 Chronicles 18

• Summary

We now read of King Jehoshaphat becoming friends with King Ahab of Israel after his son married Ahab's daughter.  King Ahab asks Jehoshaphat if he will help him fight Ramoth-gilead.  Jehoshaphat agrees but requests they first ask God about it.  Ahab accordingly calls all the 400 false prophets of Israel together. They prophecy a good outcome, but on further bringing a prophet of the LORD, he foretells Ahab's death.  

Ahab is angry and has the prophet put in prison, but when he goes out to battle wears a disguise.  During the battle the Syrian forces surround Jehoshaphat thinking he is the king of Israel, but when Jehoshaphat cries to God, God made them realise he wasn't Ahab and they left off chasing him.  However, a random arrow hits Ahab between the joinings of his armour.  He props himself up in his chariot and continues fighting, but by evening he succumbs to his wound and dies.

• Thoughts

I initially thought I was going to write about Jehoshaphat's desire to enquire of the LORD before they went to war, but on reading verse 31, my heart softened....

"...they (Syrians) compassed about him (Jehoshaphat) to fight: but Jehoshaphat cried out, and the LORD helped him; and God moved them to depart from him"

Doesn't this speak of a Father's love to his child?  God hears his son, Jehoshaphat, cry to him in his danger and need for help.  He is totally surrounded by the Syrians, who have been instructed to specifically fight with the King of Israel.  Ahab, having disguised himself has put Jehoshaphat in greater danger, because he was the only one dressed as a king.  

Jehoshaphat is faced with certain death, he is outnumbered and overwhelmed by the forces surrounding him.  But, God is watching over him.  He immediately responds to his cry.  The God of heaven and earth 'helped' him!  How gracious and kind - how merciful!  God didn't say, 'you've got yourself into this trouble by making an alliance with an ungodly king, so I'm abandoning you', No, he hears him and helps him.  (In the next chapter we do see though that God doesn't pass over this wrong and Jehoshaphat is reproved).  

We then clearly see that his life is saved through God's power - God 'moved them to depart'.  The next verse tells us that God did this by making them realise he wasn't the king of Israel, and then leaving him - they could have killed him anyway, but no, God moves them to turn back from him.  

God can influence hearts and minds to help his children.  We read in the Proverbs, 'The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will' (Proverbs 21:1).

This encourages us to tell the Lord all our troubles.  Especially when we are feeling surrounded, overpowered and overwhelmed by circumstances in our lives - or even the thoughts of our heart and mind.  Maybe we feel guilty for having got ourselves into a fix - we know it is our own fault - the result of our own actions and maybe we even feel that we don't have the right to ask for help as we are getting what we deserve, but the Lord knows it all, and hears our cries and will help us. 

He says, ' Call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me' (Psalm 50:15).  We may not know what he is doing, and how he is influencing people and circumstances around us, but we can rest in his love, knowing that he does all things well.

Israel Photo by Robert Bye on Unsplash with thanks

Israel flowers Photo by Vered Caspi on Unsplash with thanks