Jehoshaphat was king of Judah. After the days of David and Solomon’s rule, Israel was divided into two kingdoms. The north area was called Israel and the southern area was Judah. Jehoshaphat began his rule over Judah about 58 or so years after Solomon’s death. The Word tells 
us, for at least most of his reign, Jehoshaphat was a good king (although he DID screw up a few times). He destroyed the “high places” in the kingdom, which were places of idol worship and prostitution, and he fortified the military. He also sent teams of priests and Levites (people from the tribe of Levi, the family from whom the priests came) out into the countryside to teach the people the law. This was something that was supposed to happen every 7 years, but wasn’t always done.
The Bible tells us (2 Chronicles 20) that for a long time the surrounding kingdoms were afraid of Judah, and even sent expensive gifts in an effort to stay in good favor. However, at some point, three kingdoms, the Moabites, Ammonites and some of the Meunites decided to make war on Judah. The king got a report that they were not only coming, but that they were close. They would arrive the next day. He called a nationwide fast, and he and all the people came together and cried out to God. Jehaziel, a Levite, gave a prophecy from God that not only would Judah win the battle, but they wouldn’t even have to fight. He told them to take up their positions, stand firm and watch what the Lord was going to do.
In those days, King Jehoshaphat would have taken a banner with him to battle. A “banner” was the flag that you enlisted under. It was where the people rallied. It was carried into battle and it was raised high when the victory was realized. It motivated the soldiers and was designed to bring fear and trepidation to the enemy. In Exodus, we are told that our God is Jehovah Nissi, our banner. King Jehoshaphat knew that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was his banner too. He gathered up his troops, consulted with the people and put together a choir. With less than a day until the battle, when conventional wisdom says that a king should be fortifying his troops, gathering up weapons and planning battle strategies, he was holding Glee Club try-outs, y’all! THAT is what you call FAITH! He was preparing a praise choir to go out ahead of the army and sing, “Give thanks to the Lord, for His love endures forever!”
How often in our lives do we prepare to go into battle, spend all kinds of time fortifying ourselves (according to what the world tells us is wise), but we don’t take the time to do the things that The Most High says are important? We don’t fall on our face and cry out to God. We don’t seek His wisdom and counsel. We don’t praise Him in the midst of our situation. We don’t carry His banner with us into the battle. We just show up in our worldly armor (and since the Word says that we don’t battle against flesh and blood – Ephesians 6:12 – that is a little like taking a knife to a gunfight) with curses and slander as our battle cry (“You’re ugly and your Mama dresses you funny!”), a few tricks up our sleeve, and we expect things to go well.
What if, when attack was imminent, we did what Jehoshaphat did? What if we called a fast, cried out, sought the Lord, and praised our way 
through? What if we put on the full armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-19)? What if our battle cry was, “Give thanks to the Lord! His love endures forever!” Can you imagine? Do you think that would change the outcome of our fight?
Well, let me tell you how it turned out for Jehoshaphat. When the praise and worship choir started, the Word says (2 Chronicles 20:22) that God set ambushes against the enemy. Then God caused his enemies to be confused. They fought EACH OTHER, and not just a little bit. They fought each other until every last one of them was dead. When Judah’s army came to the place that overlooks the battleground, all they saw were dead bodies. And there was so much plunder left from the battle that it took them 3 days to get it all home. All of this without Judah lifting a finger in battle. I’d call that a win ANY DAY. They all went back to Jerusalem and 2 Chronicles 20:28 says they “entered the Temple with harps and lyres and trumpets.” In other words, they hauled out the praise and worship team and they had CHURCH, y’all. Furthermore, when word got out what the Lord had done on Judah’s behalf, it scared the surrounding nations, (vs 30) and caused them to be at peace with Judah and God gave Jehoshaphat “rest on every side.”
Personally, I can tell you, there are many times in my life where I could use some rest on every side. What about you? Maybe we should raise our banner and rethink our battle strategies.
Please feel free to share our posts and our blog site, and leave comments below! We are so glad you are here!