I'm going to tell you the story of one of the greatest miracles described in the Bible and how it applies to us today. This miracle came about through the prayers of an entire nation, was seen by them as they gathered together in obedience to God's word and everyone shared in the added blessings resulting from the miracle.
But first - We need to look at the back story.
After the death of King Solomon the Jewish nation was split in two. The Northern kingdom included the territories of 10 of the 12 tribes and was called Israel. They forsook the worship of the true God, established their own priesthood and all of their kings were described as being wicked in the Biblical accounts.
The Southern kingdom consisted of the tribes of Benjamin and Judah and was called Judah. God had promised that his Kingdom would come through the lineage of the House of David which came from the tribe of Judah. The inhabitants of Judah were not just from 2 tribes however. There were many Levites (the priestly tribe) and people from all of the other tribes who, desiring to worship the true God, settled in the territory of the Southern kingdom.
Most of the kings in the history of the Southern kingdom were also described as being wicked but every now and they got one who was considered righteous. The main problem God had with Judah throughout it's history was that most of the people, even if they worshiped the true God, also worshiped the local deities. There were household idols, altars and shrines, sacred poles that the people worshiped called the Asheroth, and sacred high places. People who dealt in various occult activities were also commonplace.
The righteous kings would do away with some or most of these, trust in the Lord God Almighty and their nation would have peace and prosperity during those times. But then the good king would die, his son comes to power who doesn't fear or trust in God, marries women from outside the nation to form alliances, these women bring with them their household idols and everything goes back to square one. The nation has wars and famine and is worse off than before the reign of the last righteous king.
In the year 873 BC Jehoshaphat becomes king. His father King Asa had established some earlier reforms and although he screwed up big time by not trusting God when push came to shove he was way better than the earlier kings of Judah. King Jehoshaphat extends the reforms of his father and he also sends out officials and priests throughout the kingdom to teach the people from the book of the law. The dread of the Lord was on all the kingdoms around Judah.
But then Jehoshaphat makes a treaty with the wicked king Ahab of the Northern kingdom of Israel. Ahab wants to go to war against Ramoth-gilead and asks Jehoshaphat to help which he agrees to do on the condition that Ahab inquire first on the word of the Lord for it. Ahab has 400 prophets which are yes men and one that he hates (Micaiah) because his word is always opposite. The yes prophets say go go go but Micaiah predicts that the affair will be a disaster.
We get an amazing little side view here into something that happened in heaven. Micaiah relates:
I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing on His right and on His left. The Lord said, "Who will entice Ahab king of Israel to go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?" And one said this while another said that. Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord and said, "I will entice him." And the Lord said to him, "How?"
He said, "I will go and be a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all his prophets." Then He said, "You are to entice him and prevail also. Go and do so." ( Chron: 18: 19-21)
Ahab and Jehoshaphat listen to the word of the 400 yes prophets. Disaster does come costing Ahab his life and Jehoshaphat escapes back to Judah with his, A true prophet chides him after he returns and then we read of all that Jehoshaphat does to reform the nation, including the establishment of righteous judges and priests to settle disputes.
The thing here I want you to notice is that the nation had been prepared for what was to come by the removal of the false gods and their symbols and by the setting up of honest and fair governance based on the fear of the Lord. He said to the judges, "Consider what you are doing, for you do not judge for man but for the Lord who is with you when you render judgment. Now let the fear of the Lord be upon you; be very careful what you do, for the Lord our God will have no part in unrighteousness or partiality or the taking of a bribe." (2 Cor: 19: 6-7)
Then arrives the time when 3 nations come to make war against Judah. These were Moab, Ammon and Edom, or the Meunites. (I always thought, who better to war against the people of God than the Me Unites?.) Jehoshaphat was afraid and he proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. The nation gathers together in Jerusalem (All Judah was standing before the Lord, with their infants, their wives and their children) and Jehoshaphat prays for deliverance, acknowledging God's power, sovereignty and purpose for the nation.
Then the Spirit of the Lord comes upon one of the Levites and he proclaims to the assembly these specific instructions from God:
Thus says the Lord to you, Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours by God's. Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the valley in front of the wilderness of Jeruel. 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 Chron. 20: 15-17)
The people and the king are in awe of this word and they fall down to worship. The next morning they rise early and go to where God directed them. Jehoshaphat sends out people ahead of his army to sing, to worship and to thank the Lord, and when they began to worship God started to do His thing. For what ever reason, we are not told but think of the deceiving spirit sent to the 400 yes prophets earlier, the armies of two of the nations ambush the third nations army, destroying them completely. They then turn on themselves and wipe each other out. All this in view of the people of Judah.
There is so much loot available that it takes the people of Judah 3 days to carry it back with them. Needless to say the dread of God was on all the kingdoms of the lands when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies.
How does this apply to us today as a nation? If the Lord is to come back soon, and He may, than this discussion is moot. But if He delays then ask yourself:
How long can we as a nation survive without the fear of the Lord as our guide? We have churches that look the other way or even endorse all sorts of sexual sins because of their own yes prophets. Fifty million unborn (or mistakenly born) infants have been slaughtered since 1973. The occult and all of it's side branches are alive and thriving through popular books and other entertainment avenues. We have our own high places which no one (just like in Judah) dares to challenge. And the people we elect cannot take any serious steps to make sound financial decisions because they love money and power and fear the loss of their positions.
I don't know how to change the big picture. However I am charged with fearing the Lord on what I can control. Perhaps it starts there. Pray for revival. For yourself. For your family. For your city. Start there. See what God can do.
Here is a great song about Jehoshaphat sung by Don Francisco. Years ago he came to town for a concert and we were able to meet him and his band over at Ceci's apartment. Ceci's charge was to provide dinner for the group. I'll never forget what he said; "Great Lasagna!"
http://youtu.be/psfMp46GDs8
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