Then in the midst of the assembly the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, the Levite of the sons of Asaph; and he said, “Listen, all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: thus says the LORD to you, ‘Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s . . . You need not fight in this battle; station yourselves, stand and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out to face them, for the Lord is with you.” (2 Chronicles 20:14-15, 17, NASB)
In the verses above, King Jehoshaphat of Judah had been told there was an invading army to the east of Jerusalem, by the Dead Sea. The army was composed of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, all from the east of the Dead Sea and the Jordan River, and all natural enemies of Israel. The invaders are described as “a great multitude.” King Jehoshaphat calls an assembly of all Judah to Jerusalem to call upon the Lord to rescue Judah. He delivers a great prayer to invoke God’s help, and says, “We are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You.” (2 Chronicles 20:12)
This is exactly where God wants Judah: Totally reliant on Him! He had delivered Israel before in battles they had no business winning. God had cleared out the Promised Land, as He said, of the evil people who inhabited the land so Israel could take their place. He had punished Israel and Judah when they hadn’t trusted Him, like when they made alliances with evil nations, imported chariots and horses from Egypt, or taken a census of able-bodied men without God’s permission. God wanted Israel and Judah to be reliant on Him, and Him alone.
We join the text above. After the king’s prayer, Jehaziel, a descendant of prominent Levites, delivers a word from God: “Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s.” The battle is the Lord’s! Perfect! Further, “You need not fight in this battle; station yourselves, stand and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.” Judah would not even need to fight. What?
Sure enough, Judah went out the next day to join the battle. King Jehoshaphat delivered a speech: “Listen to me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, put your trust in the Lord your God and you will be established. Put your trust in His prophets and succeed.” (2 Chronicles 20:20) The king appointed singers to give praise to God, and placed them in front of the army. What they witnessed next was astounding: God threw the great invading multitude into confusion, so that they turned against each other, and slaughtered themselves! The battle was indeed God’s that day! As promised, Judah did not have to fight.
God wants us to have the same reliance on Him. He wants our total, unconditional surrender to Him so that we don’t count on anything or anyone else but the Creator of the universe. It’s awesome when we take time to consider: God fights our battles for us, if we only would let Him. “The battle is not yours but God’s!”