2 Chronicles 20:1-4 - Homilies By T. Whitelaw

An alarm of war-an invasion from the East.

I. A STARTLING REPORT . The safety of Jehoshaphat's empire was threatened by a formidable foe.

1 . The composition of the enemy. ( 2 Chronicles 20:1 .)

2 . The number of their army. "A great multitude" (verse 2) had often before assailed Israel ( 2 Chronicles 14:11 ; 6:5 ; Joshua 11:4 ), and afterwards did assail Judah ( 2 Chronicles 32:7 ). When Solomon spoke of Israel as a people like the dust for multitude ( 2 Chronicles 1:9 ), it was rhetoric.

3 . The place of their entrapment. Hazazon-tamar, or "the pruning of the palm tree" ( Genesis 14:7 )—"a name probably preserved in that of the tract called Hasasah , 'pebbles' near 'Ain-Jidy"—otherwise Engedi, or "fountain of the kid," the modern ' Ain-Jidy—was situated on the west coast of the Dead Sea, about the middle and directly opposite the mountains of Moab. "Few landscapes are more impressive than the sudden unfolding of the Dead Sea basin and its eastern wall from the top of the pass of Engedi" (Tristram, in 'Picturesque Palestine,' 3.191). The allied forces had probably not crossed the lake (Josephus), but rounded its southern extremity.

II. AN UNEASY APPREHENSION . The fear felt by Jehoshaphat was justified by a variety of circumstances.

1 . The character of the invasion . It was the first time Jehoshaphat's kingdom had been exposed to the horrors of war within its own borders. Heretofore Judah's campaigns had been beyond the limits of her own territory, as at Ramoth-Gilead ( 2 Chronicles 18:28 ). Foreign wars are apt to be invested with a spurious glory; war at home discovers its repulsive features to all. When a land becomes a battle-field, then—

"All her husbandry doth lie on heaps,

Corrupting in its own fertility.

Her vine, the merry cheerer of the heart,

Unpruned dies," etc.

('King Henry V.,' act 5. sc. 2.)

2. The combination of powers . It was three against one; yet Jehoshaphat had no scruples in combining formerly with Ahab against Benhadad, or afterwards with Israel and Edom against Moab ( 2 Kings 3:7 ). "With what measure ye mete," etc. ( Matthew 7:7 ), applies to kingdoms and kings no less than to private individuals.

3 . The pre diction of Jehu. Hanani's son had spoken of wrath upon Jehoshaphat for helping Ahab: was this invasion a fulfilment of that threatening? Jehoshaphat might well tremble as he turned his thoughts southward to Engedi.

III. A PRUDENT RESOLVE . In the sudden and dangerous emergency Jehoshaphat concluded to do three things.

1 . To set himself to seek the Lord. So David had commanded Israel ( 1 Chronicles 16:10 : Psalms 105:3 ) and Solomon ( 1 Chronicles 22:19 ), if they would prosper as people and sovereign. So had Oded's son, Azariah, directed Asa and his subjects if they would protect themselves against all future assailants ( 2 Chronicles 15:2 ). So Asa and his subjects did; and the Lord gave them rest round about. Jehoshaphat, perhaps recalling these details of national history, possibly also remembering how disastrously he had fared by going up against Benhadad without Jehovah's help, decided that the first thing to do was to draw more closely together the alliance between himself and Jehovah, by a more diligent observance of worship and a more faithful performance of duty. Like all sincere reformers, whether in Church or state, Jehoshaphat began with himself ( Luke 4:23 ; Romans 2:21-23 ), and began in earnest, setting his heart in it as a work he delighted in and intended to carry through.

2 . To proclaim a fast throughout all Judah. Fasting a usual accompaniment of religious exercises in Israel, especially in times of anxiety and distress, whether individual or national. Witness the cases of David ( 2 Samuel 12:16 , 2 Samuel 12:21 ), Esther ( Esther 4:16 ), Nehemiah ( Nehemiah 1:4 ), Daniel ( Daniel 9:3 ), Darius ( Daniel 6:18 ), and of the Jews at Mizpeh ( 20:26 ; 1 Samuel 7:6 ), the returning exiles at Ahava ( Ezra 8:21 ), and the Ninevites ( Jonah 3:5 ). It was intended as a sign of self-humiliation, an expression of sorrow, and a confession of guilt.

3 . To hold a national convention at Jerusalem. Whether he actually summoned the heads and representatives of the people, as Asa previously did ( 2 Chronicles 15:9 ), is not stated; but the princes, chiefs of the fathers' houses, and principal men out of all the cities of Judah hastened to the capital to ask help of Jehovah in the crisis that had arisen.

LESSONS .

1 . The hostility of the world-powers to the Church of God, exemplified in this combination against Judah.

2 . The distinction between fear and cowardice in front of danger, illustrated by the behaviour of Jehoshaphat.

3 . The place and value of fasting in religion.

4 . The best defence for a nation in the time of peril—prayer and piety.

5 . The duty and advantage of kings and peoples standing shoulder to shoulder when their safety is threatened.—W.