The LORD Helped Him

2 Chronicles 18:28-29

Then the king of Israel and Judah’s King Jehoshaphat went up to Ramoth-gilead. But the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you wear your royal attire.” So the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went into battle.

Oh, the foolishness depicted in just two verses! After inquiring of the LORD through Micaiah the prophet, Ahab received word that he would not survive if he tried to take Ramoth-gilead from the king of Aram. Ahab tried to avoid Yaweh’s warning by disguising himself. He must have feared Micaiah’s prophetic word was true, but he thought he could outsmart God. I feel like I’m reading a biblical version of Dumb and Dumber because what Jehoshaphat did was, perhaps more foolish than what Ahab tried to do. After inquiring of the LORD and hearing the prophetic word of defeat in battle, Jehoshaphat marched right into battle with Ahab, making himself the prime target for attack by wearing his kingly robe. Can you sense trouble brewing? Let’s look further.

Verses 30-32

Now the king of Aram had ordered his chariot commanders, “Do not fight with anyone, small or great, except the king of Israel.” When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they shouted, “He must be the king of Israel!” So they turned to attack him, but Jehoshaphat cried out and the LORD helped him. God drew them away from him. When the chariot commanders saw that he was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him.

Aram’s army had been ordered to attack only the king. The strategy was to kill the king, and the soldiers would flee in fear. Jehoshaphat in his kingly robe had a big bullseye on his back, so the enemy went after him. Fortunately, Jehoshaphat reverted back to his old custom of crying out to God for help.

Take a moment to fully grasp what happened here. After having inquired of the LORD, Jehoshaphat deliberately ignored God’s warning and went into battle with Ahab. He took up an offense that was not his and sided with the wrong party. He even agreed to make himself a target for attack by wearing his kingly attire and allowing Ahab to disguise himself. Jehoshaphat was asking for trouble, and he got it! Even though he deserved the consequences of the attack, he still had enough sense to cry out to God for help. The absolutely amazing and mind-boggling part of this incident is that God helped him!

Underline that sentence in your Bible: Jehoshaphat cried out and the LORD helped him. If someone had ignored my warning and did the exact opposite of what I had instructed, my belief system would say that he got what he deserved. He got himself into this mess, so he can get himself out. I would fail to consider the hundreds of times I didn’t listen to godly counsel, myself, and did the exact opposite of what I knew to be was right.

Many times in my life I have followed the leading of a friend because I didn’t want to cause conflict between us. I’ve gone places I shouldn’t, said things I should not have said, and done things I knew were wrong. To make matters worse, I’ve even persuaded friends to do the wrong things with me. Having desperately needed grace, my first inclination would be to let Jehoshaphat squirm in his own mess. Our great and loving God, however, is not like me. When Jehoshaphat cried out to Him, He rushed to his rescue. Even when our attack is of our own making, we can still cry out to God for help and trust Him to help us!

Note to self: God’s love for me is greater than His aggravation with me. Hallelujah!

Have a blessed day!