LET THE LORD FIGHT YOUR BATTLE!!!

King Jehoshaphat walked upright before the Lord and did right in HIS SIGHT!!!  And God blessed King Jehoshaphat!!! 


2 Chronicles 17:1-6 (NKJV)

17 Then Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place, and strengthened himself against Israel.

² And he placed troops in all the fortified cities of Judah, and set garrisons in the land of Judah and in the cities of Ephraim which Asa his father had taken.

³ Now the Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the former ways of his father David; he did not seek the Baals,

⁴ but sought the God of his father, and walked in His commandments and not according to the acts of Israel.

⁵ Therefore the Lord established the kingdom in his hand; and all Judah gave presents to Jehoshaphat, and he had riches and honor in abundance.

⁶ And his heart took delight in the ways of the Lord; moreover he removed the high places and wooden images from Judah.



Jehoshaphat made sure that the ways of The Lord and God’s Law were taught to the people throughout his kingdom!!!  His kingdom flourished and the people prospered!!!


2 Chronicles 17:9-13 (NKJV)

⁹ So they taught in Judah, and had the Book of the Law of the Lord with them; they went throughout all the cities of Judah and taught the people.

¹⁰ And the fear of the Lord fell on all the kingdoms of the lands that were around Judah, so that they did not make war against Jehoshaphat.

¹¹ Also some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat presents and silver as tribute; and the Arabians brought him flocks, seven thousand seven hundred rams and seven thousand seven hundred male goats.

¹² So Jehoshaphat became increasingly powerful, and he built fortresses and storage cities in Judah.

¹³ He had much property in the cities of Judah; and the men of war, mighty men of valor, were in Jerusalem.



Jehoshaphat pursued The Lord and he turned the people back to GOD!!!


2 Chronicles 19:4 (NKJV) So Jehoshaphat dwelt at Jerusalem; and he went out again among the people from Beersheba to the mountains of Ephraim, and brought them back to the Lord God of their fathers.



When a great army came out against King Jehoshaphat, he turned to THE LORD!!!  He was faithful to seek the Lord and rely on HIM.  He gathered the people together to seek THE LORD’S HELP!!! 


2 Chronicles 20 (CEB)

20 Some time later, the Moabites and the Ammonites, along with some of the Meunites, attacked Jehoshaphat.

² Jehoshaphat was told, “A large army from beyond the sea, from Edom, is coming to attack you. They are already at Hazazon-tamar!” (that is, En-gedi).

³ Frightened, Jehoshaphat decided to seek the Lord’s help and proclaimed a fast for all Judah.

⁴ People from all of Judah’s cities came to ask the Lord for help.

⁵ Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem in the Lord’s temple in front of the new courtyard.

⁶ “Lord, the God of our ancestors, you alone are God in heaven. You rule all the kingdoms of the nations. You are so powerful that no one can oppose you.

⁷ You, our God, drove out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and gave this land to the descendants of your friend Abraham forever.

⁸ They have lived in it and have built a sanctuary in honor of your name in it, saying,

⁹ ‘If calamity, sword, flood, plague, or famine comes upon us, we will stand before this temple, before you, because your name is in this temple. We will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.’

¹⁰ So look here! The Ammonites, the Moabites, and those from Mount Seir—the people you wouldn’t let Israel invade when they came out of Egypt’s land, so Israel avoided them and didn’t destroy them—

¹¹ here they are, returning the favor by coming to drive us out of your possession that you gave to us!

¹² Our God, won’t you punish them? We are powerless against this mighty army that is about to attack us. We don’t know what to do, and so we are looking to you for help.”

¹³ All Judah was standing before the Lord, even their little ones, wives, and children.

¹⁴ Then the Lord’s spirit came upon Jahaziel son of Zechariah son of Benaiah son of Jeiel son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the line of Asaph, as he stood in the middle of the assembly.

¹⁵ “Pay attention, all of Judah, every inhabitant of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat,” Jahaziel said. “This is what the Lord says to you: Don’t be afraid or discouraged by this great army because the battle isn’t yours. It belongs to God!



King Jehoshaphat and ALL the people trusted in God and obeyed the word that THE LORD had spoken to them.  They watched as God fought their battle and defeated their enemies before them!!! 


2 Chronicles 20:16-23  (NKJV)

¹⁶ Tomorrow go down against them. They will surely come up by the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the brook before the Wilderness of Jeruel.

¹⁷ 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.”

¹⁸ And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the Lord, worshiping the Lord.

¹⁹ Then the Levites of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with voices loud and high.

²⁰ So they rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.”

²¹ And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the Lord, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying:

“Praise the Lord,
For His mercy endures forever.”

²² Now when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated.

²³ For the people of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy them. And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.



King Jehoshaphat and the people went out as THE LORD had commanded them and they praised HIM before their enemies!!!  They didn’t have to fight against the enemy!!!  Because of their trust in THE LORD, they saw the SALVATION OF THE  LORD that day!!!


2 Chronicles 20:24-30 (NKJV)

²⁴ So when Judah came to a place overlooking the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude; and there were their dead bodies, fallen on the earth. No one had escaped.

²⁵ When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away their spoil, they found among them an abundance of valuables on the dead bodies, and precious jewelry, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away; and they were three days gathering the spoil because there was so much.

²⁶ And on the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Berachah, for there they blessed the Lord; therefore the name of that place was called The Valley of Berachah until this day.

²⁷ Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat in front of them, to go back to Jerusalem with joy, for the Lord had made them rejoice over their enemies.

²⁸ So they came to Jerusalem, with stringed instruments and harps and trumpets, to the house of the Lord.

²⁹ And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel.

³⁰ Then the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest all around.

GOD ONLY has to blow softly into the wind and mighty kingdoms fall!!!  HE whispers and HIS EVERY COMMAND IS OBEYED!!!!

When THE LORD IS ON YOUR SIDE, No One Can Defeat You!!!

God’s Word tells us, If God is for us, who can be against us!!!  When GOD IS ON OUR SIDE, HE is ALL we need!!!!


Romans 8:31 (CEV) What can we say about all this? If God is on our side, can anyone be against us?



When we follow God and allow HIM to lead us, we can’t lose!!! 


2 Kings 6:8-12 (NKJV)

⁸ Now the king of Syria was making war against Israel; and he consulted with his servants, saying, “My camp will be in such and such a place.”

⁹ And the man of God sent to the king of Israel, saying, “Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Syrians are coming down there.”

¹⁰ Then the king of Israel sent someone to the place of which the man of God had told him. Thus he warned him, and he was watchful there, not just once or twice.

¹¹ Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was greatly troubled by this thing; and he called his servants and said to them, “Will you not show me which of us is for the king of Israel?”

¹² And one of his servants said, “None, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.”



GOD sees and knows ALL things!!!  If we could ONLY see the things that God sees and know what HE knows, we would truly understand that THOSE WHO ARE FOR US ARE MORE THAN THOSE WHO ARE AGAINST US!!!!


2 Kings 6:13-23 (NKJV)

¹³ So he said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send and get him.”

And it was told him, saying, “Surely he is in Dothan.”

¹⁴ Therefore he sent horses and chariots and a great army there, and they came by night and surrounded the city.

¹⁵  And when the servant of the man of God arose early and went out, there was an army, surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?”

¹⁶ So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”

¹⁷ And Elisha prayed, and said, “Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

¹⁸ So when the Syrians came down to him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, and said, “Strike this people, I pray, with blindness.” And He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.

¹⁹  Now Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, nor is this the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.” But he led them to Samaria.

²⁰  So it was, when they had come to Samaria, that Elisha said, “Lord, open the eyes of these men, that they may see.” And the Lord opened their eyes, and they saw; and there they were, inside Samaria!

²¹ Now when the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, “My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?”

²²  But he answered, “You shall not kill them. Would you kill those whom you have taken captive with your sword and your bow? Set food and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their master.”

²³  Then he prepared a great feast for them; and after they ate and drank, he sent them away and they went to their master. So the bands of Syrian raiders came no more into the land of Israel.



We may be surrounded on every side by the enemy, but GOD WILL MAKE A WAY FOR US!!!  HE WILL FIGHT OUR ENEMIES FOR US!!! 


2 Chronicles 13:1-2 (CEV)

¹ Abijah became king of Judah in Jeroboam’s eighteenth year as king of Israel,

² and he ruled from Jerusalem for three years. His mother was Micaiah the daughter of Uriel from Gibeah.

Some time later, Abijah and King Jeroboam of Israel went to war against each other.



When we are faithful to God and we heed His commands, GOD IS ON OUR SIDE!!!  NO ONE CAN STAND AGAINST OUR GOD!!!  And no one can stand against us when we rely on HIM!!! 


2 Chronicles 13:3-4 (NKJV)

³ Abijah set the battle in order with an army of valiant warriors, four hundred thousand choice men. Jeroboam also drew up in battle formation against him with eight hundred thousand choice men, mighty men of valor.

⁴ Then Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim, which is in the mountains of Ephraim, and said, “Hear me, Jeroboam and all Israel:

2 Chronicles 13:5 (CEB) Surely you know that the Lord, Israel’s God, made an unbreakable covenant with David and his descendants that they would rule Israel forever.

We can rest assured that every promise that GOD makes us will be fulfilled!!!!  When God makes a covenant, no one can break it!!!  God’s covenant with David was from everlasting to everlasting!!! 


2 Chronicles 13:6-11 (NKJV)

⁶ Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up and rebelled against his lord.

⁷ Then worthless rogues gathered to him, and strengthened themselves against Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and inexperienced and could not withstand them.

⁸ And now you think to withstand the kingdom of the Lord, which is in the hand of the sons of David; and you are a great multitude, and with you are the gold calves which Jeroboam made for you as gods.

⁹ Have you not cast out the priests of the Lord, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and made for yourselves priests, like the peoples of other lands, so that whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams may be a priest of things that are not gods?

¹⁰ But as for us, the Lord is our God, and we have not forsaken Him; and the priests who minister to the Lord are the sons of Aaron, and the Levites attend to their duties.

¹¹ And they burn to the Lord every morning and every evening burnt sacrifices and sweet incense; they also set the showbread in order on the pure gold table, and the lampstand of gold with its lamps to burn every evening; for we keep the command of the Lord our God, but you have forsaken Him.



When trust in the LORD, we can rely on HIM and know that HE will always come through for us!!! 

    

2 Chronicles 13:12-13 (NCV)

¹² God himself is with us as our ruler. His priests blow the trumpet to call us to war against you. Men of Israel, don't fight against the Lord, the God of your ancestors, because you won't succeed."

¹³ But Jeroboam had sent some troops to sneak behind Judah's army. So while Jeroboam was in front of Judah's army, Jeroboam's soldiers were behind them.



No matter what the enemy plans, God is always victorious!!!  If we listen carefully to The Lord, HE will show us every ditch that the enemy has dug for us!!  When we call upon The Lord, HE will make sure that our enemy falls into the ditch that he dug!!!


2 Chronicles 13:14-18 (NKJV)

¹⁴ And when Judah looked around, to their surprise the battle line was at both front and rear; and they cried out to the Lord, and the priests sounded the trumpets.

¹⁵ Then the men of Judah gave a shout; and as the men of Judah shouted, it happened that God struck Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.

¹⁶ And the children of Israel fled before Judah, and God delivered them into their hand.

¹⁷ Then Abijah and his people struck them with a great slaughter; so five hundred thousand choice men of Israel fell slain.

¹⁸ Thus the children of Israel were subdued at that time; and the children of Judah prevailed, because they relied on the Lord God of their fathers.



WHEN WE CHOOSE TO LISTEN AND OBEY GOD, WE WILL FOLLOW IN HIS WAYS!!!  WE WILL SUCCEED!!!  AND WE WILL PROSPER!!!


2 Chronicles 13:19-21 (NKJV)

¹⁹ And Abijah pursued Jeroboam and took cities from him: Bethel with its villages, Jeshanah with its villages, and Ephrain with its villages.

²⁰ So Jeroboam did not recover strength again in the days of Abijah; and the Lord struck him, and he died.

²¹ But Abijah grew mighty, married fourteen wives, and begot twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters.



Those that serve the Lord can rest in times of trouble!!!  God will give them PEACE ON ALL SIDES!!!


2 Chronicles 14:1-8 (NKJV)

¹ So Abijah rested with his fathers, and they buried him in the City of David. Then Asa his son reigned in his place. In his days the land was quiet for ten years.

² Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God,

³ for he removed the altars of the foreign gods and the high places, and broke down the sacred pillars and cut down the wooden images.

⁴ He commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers, and to observe the law and the commandment.

⁵ He also removed the high places and the incense altars from all the cities of Judah, and the kingdom was quiet under him.

⁶ And he built fortified cities in Judah, for the land had rest; he had no war in those years, because the Lord had given him rest.

⁷ Therefore he said to Judah, “Let us build these cities and make walls around them, and towers, gates, and bars, while the land is yet before us, because we have sought the Lord our God; we have sought Him, and He has given us rest on every side.” So they built and prospered.

⁸ And Asa had an army of three hundred thousand from Judah who carried shields and spears, and from Benjamin two hundred and eighty thousand men who carried shields and drew bows; all these were mighty men of valor.



GOD WILL MAKE OUR ENEMIES FLEE BEFORE US!!!! 


2 Chronicles 14:9-13 (NKJV)

⁹ Then Zerah the Ethiopian came out against them with an army of a million men and three hundred chariots, and he came to Mareshah.

¹⁰ So Asa went out against him, and they set the troops in battle array in the Valley of Zephathah at Mareshah.

¹¹ And Asa cried out to the Lord his God, and said, “Lord, it is nothing for You to help, whether with many or with those who have no power; help us, O Lord our God, for we rest on You, and in Your name we go against this multitude. O Lord, You are our God; do not let man prevail against You!”

¹² So the Lord struck the Ethiopians before Asa and Judah, and the Ethiopians fled.

¹³ And Asa and the people who were with him pursued them to Gerar. So the Ethiopians were overthrown, and they could not recover, for they were broken before the Lord and His army…

GOD GIVES VICTORY TO THOSE WHO ARE FAITHFUL TO TRUST AND RELY ON HIM!!! 

GOD LOVES A MAN AFTER HIS OWN HEART!!!!

 

When he was young, DAVID LEARNED TO TRUST THE LORD!!!  Because David trusted in THE LORD in ALL things, God was always on his side!!!



1 Samuel 17:34-35 (NKJV)

³⁴ But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock,

³⁵ I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it.




Father God had given David victory over both the bear and the lion!!!  David knew who HIS GOD was and he knew that HIS GOD was well able to help him defeat any foe!!!  



1 Samuel 17:45-51 (NKJV)

⁴⁵ Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.

⁴⁶ This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.

⁴⁷ Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.”

⁴⁸ So it was, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hurried and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.

⁴⁹ Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth.

⁵⁰ So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. But there was no sword in the hand of David.

⁵¹ Therefore David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it.
And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.

Becoming King did NOT change who David was or what he believed!!!!  He continued to believe and trust in God!!!  Because David chose to seek The Lord and depend on HIM, God honored David and helped him fight his enemies!!!!



1 Chronicles 14:8-11 (CEV)

⁸ When the Philistines heard that David had become king of Israel, they came to capture him. But David heard about their plan and marched out to meet them in battle.

⁹ The Philistines had already camped in Rephaim Valley and were raiding the nearby villages.

¹⁰ David asked God, “Should I attack the Philistines? Will you help me win?”
The Lord told David, “Yes, attack them! I will give you victory.”

¹¹ David and his army marched to Baal-Perazim, where they attacked and defeated the Philistines. He said, “I defeated my enemies because God broke through them like a mighty flood.” So he named the place “The Lord Broke Through.”




It has been said that Alexander the Great is one of the greatest examples of strength and leadership.  Even today, people talk about his leadership skills and strategies, but without God’s help this man would have been nothing!!!  His abilities do NOT even compare to our GOD!!!!  He certainly did NOT have the favor that King David had with God!!!  God called David, A Man after His Own Heart!!!



1 Chronicles 14:13-17 (NKJV)

¹³ Then the Philistines once again made a raid on the valley.

¹⁴ Therefore David inquired again of God, and God said to him, “You shall not go up after them; circle around them, and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees.

¹⁵ And it shall be, when you hear a sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall go out to battle, for God has gone out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.”

¹⁶ So David did as God commanded him, and they drove back the army of the Philistines from Gibeon as far as Gezer.

¹⁷ Then the fame of David went out into all lands, and the Lord brought the fear of him upon all nations.

David writes a song of praise so that he may sing of God's greatness and worship the Lord for ALL the many times that GOD delivered him out of the hands of his enemies!!!

2 Samuel 22:1-20 (NKJV)

¹ Then David spoke to the Lord the words of this song, on the day when the Lord had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul.

² And he said:

“The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;

³ The God of my strength, in whom I will trust;
My shield and the horn of my salvation,
My stronghold and my refuge;
My Savior, You save me from violence.

⁴ I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised;
So shall I be saved from my enemies.

⁵ “When the waves of death surrounded me,
The floods of ungodliness made me afraid.

⁶ The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.

⁷ In my distress I called upon the Lord,
And cried out to my God;
He heard my voice from His temple,
And my cry entered His ears.

⁸ “Then the earth shook and trembled;
The foundations of heaven quaked and were shaken,
Because He was angry.

⁹ Smoke went up from His nostrils,
And devouring fire from His mouth;
Coals were kindled by it.

¹⁰ He bowed the heavens also, and came down
With darkness under His feet.

¹¹ He rode upon a cherub, and flew;
And He was seen upon the wings of the wind.

¹² He made darkness canopies around Him,
Dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.

¹³ From the brightness before Him
Coals of fire were kindled.

¹⁴ “The Lord thundered from heaven,
And the Most High uttered His voice.

¹⁵ He sent out arrows and scattered them;
Lightning bolts, and He vanquished them.

¹⁶ Then the channels of the sea were seen,
The foundations of the world were uncovered,
At the rebuke of the Lord,
At the blast of the breath of His nostrils.

¹⁷ “He sent from above, He took me,
He drew me out of many waters.

¹⁸ He delivered me from my strong enemy,
From those who hated me;
For they were too strong for me.

¹⁹ They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
But the Lord was my support.

²⁰ He also brought me out into a broad place;
He delivered me because He delighted in me.

THOSE THAT CALL UPON THE LORD SHALL BE SAVED!!!

Father God continually watches over His Children, as a Shepherd watches over his flock!!! 


2 Kings 18:1-8 (NCV)

¹ Hezekiah son of Ahaz king of Judah became king during the third year Hoshea son of Elah was king of Israel.

² Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he ruled twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Abijah daughter of Zechariah.

³ Hezekiah did what the Lord said was right, just as his ancestor David had done.

⁴ He removed the places where gods were worshiped. He smashed the stone pillars and cut down the Asherah idols. Also the Israelites had been burning incense to Nehushtan, the bronze snake Moses had made. But Hezekiah broke it into pieces.

⁵ Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him.

⁶ Hezekiah was loyal to the Lord and did not stop following him; he obeyed the commands the Lord had given Moses.

⁷ And the Lord was with Hezekiah, so he had success in everything he did. He turned against the king of Assyria and stopped serving him.

⁸ Hezekiah defeated the Philistines all the way to Gaza and its borders, including the watchtowers and the strong, walled cities.



The King of Assyria was enraged that Hezekiah dared to refuse to serve him, so he sent his chief commander to try to scare King Hezekiah and the people with insults!!!  This man deliberately insulted both the King and THE GOD OF ISRAEL!!! 



This man lied on God and said that God had sent them to destroy Jerusalem and take the people captive!!!  God is NOT deaf and HE ISN’T SCARED OF MEN!!!  The Lord heard every word and every insult!!!



2 Kings 18:22, 28-32 (NCV)

²² You might say, "We are depending on the Lord our God," but Hezekiah destroyed the Lord's altars and the places of worship. Hezekiah told Judah and Jerusalem, "You must worship only at this one altar in Jerusalem."

²⁸ Then the commander stood and shouted loudly in the Hebrew language, "Listen to what the great king, the king of Assyria, says!

²⁹ The king says you should not let Hezekiah fool you, because he can't save you from my power.

³⁰ Don't let Hezekiah talk you into trusting the Lord by saying, 'The Lord will surely save us. This city won't be handed over to the king of Assyria.'

³¹ "Don't listen to Hezekiah. The king of Assyria says, 'Make peace with me, and come out of the city to me. Then everyone will be free to eat the fruit from his own grapevine and fig tree and to drink water from his own well.

³² After that I will come and take you to a land like your own—a land with grain and new wine, bread and vineyards, olives, and honey. Choose to live and not to die!'

   "Don't listen to Hezekiah. He is fooling you when he says, 'The Lord will save us.'



When King Hezekiah sought God for help, God told him NOT to worry about the King of Assyria and his insults!!!!
 

2 Kings 19:5-8 (NCV)

⁵ When King Hezekiah’s servants got to Isaiah,

⁶ Isaiah said to them, “Say this to your master: ‘This is what the Lord says: Don’t be afraid at the words you heard, which the officers of Assyria’s king have used to insult me.

⁷ I’m about to put a spirit in him, so when he hears a rumor, he’ll go back to his own country. Then I’ll have him cut down by the sword in his own land.’”

⁸ The field commander heard that the Assyrian king had left Lachish. So he went back to the king and found him attacking Libnah.



God always hears the cries of HIS PEOPLE!!!  HE WILL COME AND SAVE THEM from their enemies!!!


2 Kings 19:9-11 (CEB)

⁹ Then the Assyrian king learned that Cush’s King Tirhakah was on his way to fight against him. So he sent messengers to Hezekiah again, saying,

¹⁰ “Say this to Judah’s King Hezekiah: Don’t let the God you trust in persuade you by saying, ‘Jerusalem won’t be handed over to the Assyrian king.’

¹¹ You yourself have heard what Assyrian kings do to other countries, wiping them out. Is it likely that you will be saved?



Hezekiah went to the temple to pray to The Lord!!!  He petitioned and worshipped the Lord for deliverance for himself, the people and Jerusalem!!!!  God heard his cries and honored his prayers!!!


2 Kings 19:14-24 (CEB)
 
¹⁴ Hezekiah took the letters from the messengers and read them. Then he went to the temple and spread them out before the Lord.

¹⁵ Hezekiah prayed to the Lord, saying, “Lord God of Israel, you sit enthroned on the winged creatures. You alone are God over all the earth’s kingdoms. You made both heaven and earth.

¹⁶ Lord, turn your ear this way and hear! Lord, open your eyes and see! Listen to Sennacherib’s words. He sent them to insult the living God!

¹⁷ It’s true, Lord, that the Assyrian kings have destroyed many nations and their lands.

¹⁸ The Assyrians burned the gods of those nations with fire because they aren’t real gods. They are only man-made creations of wood and stone. That’s how the Assyrians could destroy them.

¹⁹ So now, Lord our God, please save us from Sennacherib’s power! Then all the earth’s kingdoms will know that you, Lord, are the only true God.”

²⁰ Then Isaiah, Amoz’s son, sent a message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord, Israel’s God, says: I have heard your prayer about Assyria’s King Sennacherib.

²¹ This is the message that the Lord has spoken against him:

The young woman, Daughter Zion, despises you and mocks you;
    Daughter Jerusalem shakes her head behind your back.

²² Whom did you insult and ridicule?
    Against whom did you raise your voice
        and pridefully lift your eyes?
    It was against the holy one of Israel!

²³ You’ve insulted the Lord with your messengers;
    you said, ‘I, with my many chariots,
        have gone up to the highest mountains,
        to the farthest reaches of Lebanon.
I have cut down its tallest cedars,
    the best of its pine trees.
I have reached its most remote lodging place,
    its best forest.

²⁴ I have dug wells,
    have drunk waters in foreign lands.
With my own feet, I dried up
        all of Egypt’s streams.’”



It is God who allows man to be great and NOT man himself!!!  Without God man can NOT accomplish any great thing!!! 
 

2 Kings 19:25-28 (NCV)

 ²⁵ “ ‘King of Assyria, surely you have heard.
       Long ago I, the Lord, planned these things.
    Long ago I designed them,
       and now I have made them happen.
    I allowed you to turn those strong, walled cities
       into piles of rocks.

 ²⁶ The people in those cities were weak;
       they were frightened and put to shame.
    They were like grass in the field,
       like tender, young grass,
    like grass on the housetop
       that is burned by the wind before it can grow.

 ²⁷ “ ‘I know when you rest,
       when you come and go,
       and how you rage against me.

 ²⁸ Because you rage against me,
       and because I have heard your proud words,
    I will put my hook in your nose
       and my bit in your mouth.
    Then I will force you to leave my country
       the same way you came.’




TO ALL OF THOSE THAT RANT AND RAVE AGAINST THE LORD GOD ALMIGHTY, I say, “Beware!!!”  “Look at what God did to The King of Assyria and remember God is NOT DEAD!!!” 



2 Kings 19:32-34 (CEB)

³² “Therefore, this is what the Lord says about Assyria’s king: He won’t enter this city. He won’t shoot a single arrow there. He won’t come near the city with a shield. He won’t build a ramp to besiege it.

³³ He will go back by the same way he came. He won’t enter this city, declares the Lord.

³⁴ I will defend this city and save it for my sake and for the sake of my servant David.”

It is God that has power over ALL, to speak LIFE or to speak DEATH!!!


2 Kings 19:35-37 (NCV)

³⁵ That night the angel of the Lord went out and killed one hundred eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up early the next morning, they saw all the dead bodies.

³⁶ So Sennacherib king of Assyria left and went back to Nineveh and stayed there.

³⁷ One day as Sennacherib was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with a sword. Then they escaped to the land of Ararat. So Sennacherib's son Esarhaddon became king of Assyria.

“Take Heed Lest You Fall!!!!”



1 Corinthians 10:12 (NCV) If you think you are strong, you should be careful not to fall.




FOR WHEN GOD’S PEOPLE CRY OUT TO HIM, HE SHALL COME QUICKLY AND MIGHTLY TO SAVE THEM!!!

GOD ALWAYS FIGHTS for HIS CHILDREN!!!!!!!

I talk to a lot of folks when I go places, and sometimes we talk about God, and sometimes we don’t!!!



Of course, I can’t say much without talking about God and most people who know me understand that!!!!



The one subject that I hear more and more about lately is the end of the world!!!   Most folks know that we are truly in the last days!!!!



And most folks know exactly who the Children of Israel are!!!!  

As a matter of fact over the years, I have never been asked who I was talking about when I have spoken of the Children of Israel!!!



More likely than NOT folks will say, “Those folks are the Jews aren’t they?”  Or someone will say, “They are God's chosen people!!!” 




Of course, there are always those that say, “If we have to go to war, I want to be on their side because I know that God is going to fight for HIS people!!!”




And you know, those people are absolutely correct!!!




WHEN GOD’S CHILDREN CRY OUT TO HIM, HE IS COMING TO FIGHT FOR THEM!!!!!!!




Do you know that in one battle God threw hailstones down from Heaven on the enemies of The Children of Israel???



Through trickery and deceit the men of Gibeon (the Hivites) made peace with the Children of Israel and when a great army came to attack them they sent for Joshua and the Children of Israel.

Joshua 10:1-6 (CEV)

¹ King Adonizedek of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had captured and destroyed the town of Ai, and then killed its king as he had done at Jericho. He also learned that the Gibeonites had signed a peace treaty with Israel.

² This frightened Adonizedek and his people. They knew that Gibeon was a large town, as big as the towns that had kings, and even bigger than the town of Ai had been. And all of the men of Gibeon were warriors.

³ So Adonizedek sent messages to the kings of four other towns: King Hoham of Hebron, King Piram of Jarmuth, King Japhia of Lachish, and King Debir of Eglon. The messages said,

⁴ “The Gibeonites have signed a peace treaty with Joshua and the Israelites. Come and help me attack Gibeon!”

⁵ When these five Amorite kings called their armies together and attacked Gibeon,

⁶ the Gibeonites sent a message to the Israelite camp at Gilgal: “Joshua, please come and rescue us! The Amorite kings from the hill country have joined together and are attacking us. We are your servants, so don’t let us down. Please hurry!”

Joshua 10:7-11 (NKJV)

⁷ So Joshua ascended from Gilgal, he and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valor.

⁸ And the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not fear them, for I have delivered them into your hand; not a man of them shall stand before you.”

⁹ Joshua therefore came upon them suddenly, having marched all night from Gilgal.

¹⁰ So the Lord routed them before Israel, killed them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, chased them along the road that goes to Beth Horon, and struck them down as far as Azekah and Makkedah.

¹¹ And it happened, as they fled before Israel and were on the descent of Beth Horon, that the Lord cast down large hailstones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died. There were more who died from the hailstones than the children of Israel killed with the sword.

Did you know that God made the sun stand still that same day???



Joshua 10:12-14 (NKJV)

¹² Then Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel:

“Sun, stand still over Gibeon;
And Moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.”

¹³ So the sun stood still,
And the moon stopped,
Till the people had revenge
Upon their enemies.

Is this not written in the Book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day.

¹⁴ And there has been no day like that, before it or after it, that the Lord heeded the voice of a man; for the Lord fought for Israel.

Have you ever read about the time that The Philistines gathered together to fight Israel and God thundered down out of Heaven against them???


1 Samuel 7:7-13 (NKJV)

⁷ Now when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel had gathered together at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard of it, they were afraid of the Philistines.

⁸ So the children of Israel said to Samuel, “Do not cease to cry out to the Lord our God for us, that He may save us from the hand of the Philistines.”

⁹ And Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. Then Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord answered him.

¹⁰ Now as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. But the Lord thundered with a loud thunder upon the Philistines that day, and so confused them that they were overcome before Israel.

¹¹ And the men of Israel went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, and drove them back as far as below Beth Car.

¹² Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.”

¹³ So the Philistines were subdued, and they did not come anymore into the territory of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.

When Ben-Hadad’s siege against Samaria caused a great famine in the land, the Lord caused the Syrians to hear the sound of a great army and run away in terror!!!  They were so scared that they left ALL their belongings behind them!!! 



2 Kings 7:3-12 (NKJV)

³ Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate; and they said to one another, “Why are we sitting here until we die?

⁴  If we say, ‘We will enter the city,’ the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also. Now therefore, come, let us surrender to the army of the Syrians. If they keep us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall only die.”

⁵  And they rose at twilight to go to the camp of the Syrians; and when they had come to the outskirts of the Syrian camp, to their surprise no one was there.

⁶ For the Lord had caused the army of the Syrians to hear the noise of chariots and the noise of horses—the noise of a great army; so they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians to attack us!”

⁷ Therefore they arose and fled at twilight, and left the camp intact—their tents, their horses, and their donkeys—and they fled for their lives.

⁸  And when these lepers came to the outskirts of the camp, they went into one tent and ate and drank, and carried from it silver and gold and clothing, and went and hid them; then they came back and entered another tent, and carried some from there also, and went and hid it.

⁹ Then they said to one another, “We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, and we remain silent. If we wait until morning light, some punishment will come upon us. Now therefore, come, let us go and tell the king’s household.”

¹⁰ So they went and called to the gatekeepers of the city, and told them, saying, “We went to the Syrian camp, and surprisingly no one was there, not a human sound—only horses and donkeys tied, and the tents intact.”

¹¹ And the gatekeepers called out, and they told it to the king’s household inside.

¹²  So the king arose in the night and said to his servants, “Let me now tell you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we are hungry; therefore they have gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, ‘When they come out of the city, we shall catch them alive, and get into the city.’”



2 Kings 7:13-15 (CEV)

¹³ One of his officers replied, “We have a few horses left—why don’t we let some men take five of them and go to the Syrian camp and see what’s happening? We’re going to die anyway like those who have already died.”

¹⁴ They found two chariots, and the king commanded the men to find out what had happened to the Syrian troops.

¹⁵ The men rode as far as the Jordan River. All along the way they saw clothes and equipment that the Syrians had thrown away as they escaped. Then they went back to the king and told him what they had seen.



2 Kings 7:16 (NKJV) Then the people went out and plundered the tents of the Syrians. So a seah of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, according to the word of the Lord.




We can see that THE LORD GOD ALMIGHTY is always watching over HIS CHILDREN, especially HIS CHOSEN ONES, The Children of Israel!!!  They did NOT even have to fight this enemy!!!! 



They ONLY had to wait upon THE LORD in order to see HIS SALVATION AND DELIVERANCE!!!



GOD ALWAYS TAKES CARES OF HIS KIDS!!!! 



Hide and watch!!!! 


If you dare!!!

PRAY FOR ISRAEL!!!

Most of us understand that the Israelites are God’s chosen people!!! They are the nation that God chose for HIMSELF!!!




But I wonder how many folks understand or have been taught that we are supposed to be praying for Israel???




Romans 10:1-21 (CEB)

10 Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire is for Israel’s salvation. That’s my prayer to God for them.

² I can vouch for them: they are enthusiastic about God. However, it isn’t informed by knowledge.

³ They don’t submit to God’s righteousness because they don’t understand his righteousness, and they try to establish their own righteousness.

⁴ Christ is the goal of the Law, which leads to righteousness for all who have faith in God.

⁵ Moses writes about the righteousness that comes from the Law: The person who does these things will live by them.

⁶ But the righteousness that comes from faith talks like this: Don’t say in your heart, “Who will go up into heaven?” (that is, to bring Christ down)

⁷ or “Who will go down into the region below?” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).

⁸ But what does it say? The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart (that is, the message of faith that we preach).

⁹ Because if you confess with your mouth “Jesus is Lord” and in your heart you have faith that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

¹⁰ Trusting with the heart leads to righteousness, and confessing with the mouth leads to salvation.

¹¹ The scripture says, All who have faith in him won’t be put to shame.

¹² There is no distinction between Jew and Greek, because the same Lord is Lord of all, who gives richly to all who call on him.

¹³ All who call on the Lord’s name will be saved.

¹⁴ So how can they call on someone they don’t have faith in? And how can they have faith in someone they haven’t heard of? And how can they hear without a preacher?

¹⁵ And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of those who announce the good news.

¹⁶ But everyone hasn’t obeyed the good news. As Isaiah says, Lord, who has had faith in our message?

¹⁷ So, faith comes from listening, but it’s listening by means of Christ’s message.

¹⁸ But I ask you, didn’t they hear it? Definitely! Their voice has gone out into the entire earth, and their message has gone out to the corners of the inhabited world.

¹⁹ But I ask you again, didn’t Israel understand? First, Moses says, I will make you jealous of those who aren’t a people, of a people without understanding.

²⁰ And Isaiah even dares to say, I was found by those who didn’t look for me; I revealed myself to those who didn’t ask for me.

²¹ But he says about Israel, All day long I stretched out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.

Because Israel didn’t accept Jesus as THE MESSIAH; The Christ, God sent The Good News of HIS SON to the Gentiles (all those that are NOT Jewish!!!) 




And THANK GOD, HE did!!!!




But it is important that we understand that God has NOT given up on Israel!!!! 




God says in HIS WORD that we are to pray for the Peace of Jerusalem!!!



Psalm 122 (NKJV) 

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

122 I was glad when they said to me,
“Let us go into the house of the Lord.”

² Our feet have been standing
Within your gates, O Jerusalem!

³ Jerusalem is built
As a city that is compact together,

⁴ Where the tribes go up,
The tribes of the Lord,
To the Testimony of Israel,
To give thanks to the name of the Lord.

⁵ For thrones are set there for judgment,
The thrones of the house of David.

⁶ Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May they prosper who love you.

⁷ Peace be within your walls,
Prosperity within your palaces.”

⁸ For the sake of my brethren and companions,
I will now say, “Peace be within you.”

⁹ Because of the house of the Lord our God
I will seek your good.

Still GOD TELLS us to pray for HIS CHOSEN PEOPLE!!!!




We need to be teaching everyone in our churches to pray for Israel and for the Peace of Jerusalem because God tells us that it is important that we do this!!!!



And because God has said that HE WILL NOT FORGET what Israel’s enemies have done to her. 




Everyone needs to know and understand that when the nation of Israel begins to seek GOD, GOD WILL COME TO SAVE THEM!!!!




Psalm 83:1-18 (CEB)

A song. A psalm of Asaph.

¹ God, don’t be silent!
    Don’t be quiet or sit still, God,

²  because—look!—your enemies are growling;
    those who hate you are acting arrogantly.

³  They concoct crafty plans against your own people;
    they plot against the people you favor.

⁴  “Come on,” they say, “let’s wipe them out as a nation!
    Let the name Israel be remembered no more!”

⁵  They plot with a single-minded heart;
    they make a covenant against you.

⁶  They are the clans of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
    Moab and the Hagrites,

⁷  Gebal, Ammon, Amalek,
    Philistia along with the citizens of Tyre.

⁸  Assyria too has joined them—
    they are the strong arm for Lot’s children. Selah

⁹  Do to them what you did to Midian,
    to Sisera, and to Jabin at the Kishon River.

¹⁰  They were destroyed at Endor;
    they become fertilizer for the ground.

¹¹  Make their officials like Oreb and Zeeb,
    all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna—

¹²  those who said, “Let’s take God’s pastures for ourselves.”

¹³  My God, make them like tumbleweeds,
    like chaff blown by wind.

¹⁴  Just like a fire consumes a forest,
    just like flames set mountains ablaze,

¹⁵  pursue them with your storm,
        terrify them with your hurricane.

¹⁶  Cover their faces with shame, Lord, so that they might seek your name.

¹⁷  Let them be shamed and terrified forever.
    Let them die in disgrace.

¹⁸  Let them know that you—
        your name is the Lord!—
    you alone are Most High over all the earth.