A REASON TO BE EXCITED

It is easy to praise God after the fact, but that is not the key that is given here. Immediately after they had received the Word of the Lord from the Prophet Jahaziel, Jehoshaphat bowed his head until his face touched the ground. Jehoshaphat was not just going through a form. He was putting his heart and soul into his worship of God.

When the king set the example (verse 18), the Bible tells us that all of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem followed suit. What a picture! We may look at this as a group of primitive people, but let me tell you they had as much protocol as we could ever imagine.

Let your imagination take hold of you for a moment and picture this in mind. Can you conceive the spiritual explosion that would take place in this nation if next Sunday morning every minister would face the congregation right at the opening moment of the service and declare that the order was going to be different, the printed program would not be followed, and the entire congregation were going to bow their heads and hearts before the Lord in worship and praise?

Do you know why that won’t happen? Because of two things. The first six steps we have learned have not taken place because the church does not really feel it is in crisis. It has not been given the news that the enemy has amassed its strength and is about to attack. In many cases the message has come through, but has been disregarded. Remember what the Holy Spirit said to the Church that said, “I am rich and increased with goods, and have need of nothing?” (Revelation 3:17). Their real spiritual picture was that they were naked and blind.

Jehoshaphat and all the people bowed and worshiped the Lord, thanking Him for the Word He had given. They did not complain that they had to leave their homes and go out to meet the enemy, that they might miss a meal or a day’s pay on the job. They began to thank Him for the victory when they were being asked to do what seemed to be an impossible task.

God has asked them to go forth to meet the enemy without all of the regular preparation for war! God had asked them not only to go forth to meet the enemy, but told them to “stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord.” They were to go out and confront the enemy, but the Lord said the battle was not theirs, but His.

As the king and all of Judah were on their faces praising and worshiping God, the priests rose up to “praise the Lord God of Israel with a loud voice on high” (verse 19). It sounds to me that they were getting a little emotional. When you know that the answer has come from the Lord, there is a good reason to get excited!