At the very moment they began to sing and give praise, the LORD caused the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir to start fighting among themselves. [2 Chronicles 20.22]
There has been no short supply of teachings and sermons on this verse in its context in 2 Chronicles.
Today, I am going to suggest, not another emotional reflection upon what happened, but rather a concise observation of why it happened as it did. I believe it is a revelation from God.
First, let's be sure we understand what happened in an objective look without emotion.
Judah came under attack by the armies of the Moabites, Ammonites, and some of the Meunites, all from Edom (2 Chronicles 20.1). This army was described as "vast" so there is little doubt that the number of soldiers was high in comparison to Judah's army.
As King of Judah,, Jehoshaphat set upon some decisive actions.
Jehoshaphat was terrified by this news and begged the LORD for guidance. He also ordered everyone in Judah to begin fasting. So people from all the towns of Judah came to Jerusalem to seek the LORD’s help. [2 Chronicles 20.3-4]
As simple as it gets, Jehoshaphat began praying (he was really afraid and so he prayed in faith) and he instructed Judah to begin fasting (in other words, stop eating - stop thinking of yourselves for a time and instead think about what God is doing). In response, the people of Judah came to Jerusalem to join Jehoshaphat in seeking help from God.
The last sentence in the paragraph above should not be passed over without pause and meditation. Judah came together in Jerusalem to fast and pray for God's help. They all came together with their King in singleness of purpose.
After an emotional and passionate prayer by Jehoshaphat before all the people, a man, Jahaziel, spoke up as the Spirit of God came upon him:
He said, “Listen, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Listen, King Jehoshaphat! This is what the LORD says: Do not be afraid! Don’t be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. [2 Chronicles 20.15]
Judah's unity in prayer and fasting yielded a word from God declaring that any fear was unfounded. The impending battle was God's alone, not Judah's in any way.
What happened the next day was remarkable. In solidarity with what Jahaziel had said the day before, and completely out of character for standard battle preparation, Jehoshaphat put singers out to walk in front of the army (very much likened to Elijah's drenching the sacrifice and wood with water in anticipation of God causing it to burn - from yesterday's OYCB reading). Jehoshaphat's actions would have been inadvisable - even suicidal - by any standard of war (then or now). But, let's not get all emotional about this fact...
While Jehoshaphat's faith was exemplary in putting the singers out front, what is even more noteworthy is that his army complied without hesitation. They put themselves in total solidarity of faith with Jahaziel and Jehoshaphat. They were in total agreement that God would not lose the battle before them - and they were equally in agreement that it would be nothing of their own effort to bring about that victory. Judah was united.
So, if you put singers out in front of the army, the natural thing to do is not to fight, but to sing! I can imagine a powerful chorus of men's voices singing this anthem in rhythm to the sound of their marching feet, “Give thanks to the LORD; his faithful love endures forever!” So loud was this marching anthem that their opponents from Edom all undoubtedly heard it. And, here is where we begin to understand "why" Judah's enemy fell completely apart...
Imagine, if you will, that the opponent you are about to engage in battle puts singers out front and they begin singing and marching in perfect and powerful unity. What do you do?
From the context of what 2 Chronicles reveals, the subject passage of this writing comes into focus:
At the very moment they began to sing and give praise, the LORD caused the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir to start fighting among themselves. [2 Chronicles 20.22]
What Judah demonstrated, that the vast army from Edom did not have, was unity. So severe was the disunity between the Moabites, Ammonites, and Meunites that they turned on each other and effectively wiped themselves out. It is not ironic that their disunity surfaced the very moment Judah's unity went on display!
God has spoken to His people over and again that He will fight their battles. How can God's people be in unity with Him then if they are not even in unity with each other? And yet we wonder why the Church today struggles so much with any miracle, let alone a huge military victory!
It remains paramount to this story however that Judah's faith was in perfect unity. They were not divided about how God would give the victory - whether God would use their efforts and the knowledge of their cumulative war strategy. No, they put singers out front. They effectively said, "God said it's His battle, so we are not going to presume to fight but instead, we are just going to sing."
For my developing stance on God being my Healer, Supplier, and Peace, I am seeing and aligning myself with the Biblical logic of dousing the wood with fire and putting the singers out front in total disregard for human logic so that only God gets the glory for the victory. In so doing, there is no possible misinterpretation about the victories I experience -that they are God's doing all by Himself. Sadly, there is little to no unity in the Church today to do likewise...
In Jesus' famous prayer in John 17, His outstanding and repeated request for His followers was simple:
Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, you have given me your name; now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are. [John 17.11]
I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. [John 17.20-21]
I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me. [John 17.23]
We should not think it ironic that the theme of Jesus' prayer for us is unity.
It is impossible to achieve unity in knowledge because knowledge changes.
It is impossible to achieve unity in medicine because medicine changes.
It is impossible to achieve unity in technology because technology changes.
We will ONLY achieve unity when we rely on God and God alone BECAUSE GOD NEVER CHANGES (Malachi 3.6)!
God's people today experience defeat after defeat for the exact same reason the armies of Edom experienced defeat: DISUNITY.
Father, as You continue to speak to me each day, I understand today that unity is absolutely necessary among Your people. This makes me understand why You have been revealing so much to me about forgiveness... I see that unforgiveness makes us turn on each other like the armies of Edom in today's story of Jehoshaphat. May Your people (myself included) strive for what Jesus prayed for us in John 17 so that we might experience Your victories like Jehoshaphat experienced in 2 Chronicles 20. May we all understand that our battles are to be fought in unity as that unity is undiluted with the logic of man!
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