2 Chronicles 20

I've been preaching through the life of Elijah lately. Here is a bit of a preview of what I'm doing for this coming Sunday.
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The kings that ruled in Elijah's day
Did evil in Israel:
Ahab the idol worshiper
And wicked Jezebel;

Ahaziah was the next,
He was Ahab's son,
Asked advice from the Lord of the Flies:
An idol at Ekron!

He was followed by his brother,
Jehoram was his name.
His ancestors did evil
And Jehoram did the same.

In the sourthern kingdom, Judah,
There was a good king that
Is associated with jumping:
He was Jeshoshaphat!

1 Kings tells us little
About the way he ruled,
But the Bible tells us more,
In 2 Chronicles--don't be fooled!

Jehoshaphat was a good king,
He, mostly, honored God--
Except that time he helped Ahab
Fight at Ramoth-Gilead.

He removed the idols from Judah,
Sought God with all his heart,
Appointed godly judges
Who were righteous, wise, and smart.

And, like most kings, Jehoshaphat
Had trouble from enemies
But he knew You can stand tall
When you start upon your knees.

"From the east and south they come--
"The Moabites and Ammonites--
"They've gathered by the Dead Sea
"And they mean to start a fight!"

"And other folks have joined them,
"The people from Mt Seir--
"They're rugged, dirty fighters!"
And the king was filled with fear.

Then Jehoshaphat did something
Before making a battle plan.
He proclaimed a day of fasting
For all the people in the land!

From very town in Judah
The people came that day.
And they stood before the temple
In Jerusalem -- to pray.

Jehoshaphat the king stood up
And led the prayers that day
And he stood tall when he took that stand
For he took that stand -- to pray!

"God of our fathers, God of heaven,
"All power is in your hand!
"When you choose to do something,
"No one against you can stand."

"You chased the nations from this land
"To give it to the kin
"And children of ol' Abraham
"The one you called your friend!"

"And here we built the temple
"Where we call on you in praise
"Or to ask for help when
"There is trouble in our days."

"This army is too big to fight
"If it's left up to us;
"We surely don't know what to do,
"And so in you we trust!"

All the men & all the women,
And the kids were standing there,
And they waited for God's answer
As they all stood up in prayer.

Then God gave them an answer
Through Jahaziel the Levite,
"Don't worry, it's God's battle!
"You won't even need to fight!"

"Tomorrow, on the battlefield
"You'll stand without a care.
"For YAHWEH will be with you
"In answer to your prayer."

King J knelt down prostrate.
The people worshiped on their face,
While Levite singers stood and lifted
Loud their voice in praise!

The king said, the next morning,
"Trust God and you will stand!
"Instead of leading off with infantry
"We're leading off with the band!"

It's a very odd idea,
And it doesn't quite seem clever,
To put singers on the frontlines, saying,
"God's love endures forever!"

But this is what they did,
And it turned out to be wise,
For God caused the invading hordes
To kill their own allies!

When Judah reached the battlefield,
This is what they found:
A valley full of foes --
Lying dead upon the ground!

Three days they spent in plundering
Their vanquished enemies!
It just goes to show how tall we can stand,
If we'll begin upon our knees!