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Chapter 20 records an invasion of Judah by the combined forces of the Moabites and the Ammonites. They came by surprise but Jehoshaphat, by fasting and prayer, sought the Lords help. God responded by sending a Prophet, a "singer", one of the sons of Asaph, who conveyed this message to Jehoshaphat, "Be not afraid, the battle is not yours, the battle is God's. You shall not do one thing; the work will be done for you. You will not be instruments, you will be spectators."
Now, how was this accomplished? God put confusion into their hearts. They attacked and destroyed each other. None escaped. Then the People of Judah phrased God and gave thanks for His mercy.
Now Jehoshaphat still had an alliance with Israel because one of his sons had married the daughter of Ahab even though now, Ahab was dead and a new King, Ahaziah, was King of Israel. So because of this alliance, God sent His displeasure upon him in two ways. First, by a Prophet and then by a storm and it seems that he took these warnings seriously.
Jehoshaphat became King of Judah when he was 35 years old. He reigned 35 years in Jerusalem. He was considered a "good king" just as his father Asa was. He continually tried to follow the Lord, but the people themselves did not follow the God of their ancestors. At the close of his life, he went into partnership with Ahaziah, King of Israel, who was a very wicked man. Together they assembled a fleet of ships but because the Lord considered this a wicked alliance, all the ships met with disaster and never returned.
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