Morning

August 12

2 Chronicles 20:21-22 ²¹After 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." ²²As 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.

Yesterday we read about the people waiting upon God and getting His instructions on how to face the vast army coming against them. They believed and began to obey God. Jehoshaphat consulted with the people to see if they had the faith to put singers out front. Apparently, they liked the idea. Since they truly believed that God was going to fight the battle and deliver them, they thought they might as well sing praise for the splendor of His holiness on the way there. This huge men's choir sang the same chorus that was sung at the dedication of the temple. It must have been the national anthem of Judah.

If you ever attended a Promise Keeper event and heard tens of thousands of men sing praises to God, you have a taste of what this must have been like. The praise was not a part of the LORD's instruction, but it was a natural response when they believed He was delivering them from their enemy. As they sang, the LORD turned the enemy upon one another. There was not one enemy soldier left alive. Judah took three days to gather all the spoils of war. There was more than they could carry away. On the fourth day they held a great praise festival in the Valley of Praise.

The people's response to God's word in the face of a major threat upon their lives is an example to us. They didn't mope around or complain and whine; instead they sang their thanks to God for who He is.

Consider: It is often during an expression of faith that the LORD delivers us from that which we fear.