“WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO”
2 CHRONICLES 20:12
INTRO: Have you ever faced a very trying situation in your life in which you
seemed to struggle for the answer on what you should do? Many
times we face perplexing situations in this life. It is when we face
these times of uncertainty that we must know where to focus our
attention. Let us make certain that we focus our attention, not on
ourselves, nor on our circumstances, but on God. The story is told of
a lady who was well known for her prayers. She had the reputation of
praying about matters and then seeing God perform the impossible. A
certain minister heard about this lady, and went to visit her. He said
to her, “I understand you are a woman of great faith.” Her reply was,
“Oh no, I am a woman of little faith in a Great God.”
There is the key. It is knowing where to focus our attention. In our
text, Jehosphat faced a perplexing situation, but he knew where his
help must come from. Notice what he says in v12, “O our God, wilt
thou not judge them? For we have no might against this great company
that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are
upon you.” “Our eyes are upon thee..,”for advice and direction, for
help and protection; the eyes of their bodies were lifted up in prayer to
him, and the eyes of their souls, of faith, hope, expectation, and
desire, were fastened on him (John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible).
We have in this chapter one of the greatest examples of God’s
intervention on the behalf of His people. What a wondrous thought to
know Almighty God comes to our aid when circumstances are
seemingly overwhelming! But please note why He comes to our aid:
“..neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.” Let us
consider today this subject, “What To Do When You Don’t Know What
To Do.”
NOTE:
(1) THE PROBLEM HE FACED
2 CHRONICLES 20:1-2—“It came to pass after this also, that the
children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them
other besides the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to
battle. Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying,
There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the
sea on this side of Syria; and behold, they be in Hazazon-
tamar, which is Engedi.”
A. HE WAS FACED WITH A MIGHTY PROBLEM. It has been said when
God is going to do a might work He begins with a problem; in most
cases an impossibility. Such was the case here. After Jehoshaphat's
return from Ramothgilead, and putting the civil and religious affairs of
his people on a better footing, when he might have expected much
peace and prosperity, he is met by invading armies. Is that so true of
us so many times? After the great victories, then the battles come!
Some came to Jehoshaphat and told him, “There cometh a great
multitude against thee..” (v2).
B. HE WAS FACED WITH MANY ENEMIES. God’s people have always
faced problems. And many of our problems come because of our
enemies. Jehoshaphat found himself faced by a combined army of the
Moabites and the Ammonites, two ancient enemies of Israel. And
besides them, “others besides the Ammonites..” as v1 tells us. This
truly was a great multitude. This confederate horde was composed of
the different tribes that inhabited the far distant regions bordering on
the northern and eastern coasts of the Red Sea. Their progress was
apparently by the southern point of the Dead Sea, as far as En-gedi,
which, more anciently, was called Hazezon-tamar (Jamieson, Fausett &
Brown Commentary). God’s people today face many enemies also:
1. The Devil is our arch-enemy. Ephesians 6:12 says, “For we
wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against
powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against
spiritual wickedness in high places.” 1 Peter 5:8 reminds us to, “Be
sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring
lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” He has demons
positioned in every nook and cranny of the world. His angels are up
in the heavens to try and stop our prayers from being answered.
But one of his greatest tools is deception. As John 8:44 tells us,
“…he is a liar, and the father of it.”
ILLUS: There are two big lies that Satan has been perpetrating ever
since the Garden of Eden. The first is that God is mean,
vindictive, a spoilsport whose main role in life is to keep us
from being fulfilled and happy--when we step out of
bounds, he takes delight in making us pay. The second lie
is that God really doesn't care what we do--probably doesn't
know. And if he does, his business is to forgive us. He'll
always forgive no matter what, so it really doesn't make
much difference how we live and what we believe. -- B.
Clayton Bell, "Many Happy Returns," Preaching Today,
Tape No. 135.
2. The World is our enemy. By this I mean everything in this world
that is opposed to God and goodliness. Jesus said in John 15:18-
19—“If the world hate you; ye know that it hated me before it hated
you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own; but
because ye are not of this world, but I have chosen you out of this
world, therefore the world hateth you.” This world is anti-God. It
stands in opposition to everything our Faith teaches us.
ILLUS: A culture obsessed with technology will come to value
personal convenience above almost all else, and ours does.
Among the consequences is impatience with anything that
interferes with personal convenience. Religion, morality,
and law do that, which accounts for the tendency of
modern religion to eschew proscriptions and
commandments and turn to counseling and therapeutic
sermons; of morality to be relativized; and of law,
particularly criminal law, to become soft and uncertain.
-- Robert H. Bork in Slouching Towards Gomorrah.
Christianity Today, Vol. 41, no. 11.
- The Flesh is our enemy. Paul said in Romans 7:18—“for I know
that in me (that is, in my flesh,) there dwelleth no good thing: for to
will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find
not.” The flesh desires our attention and affection. The flesh wants
us to feed its lusts and desires. It is the flesh that keeps us from
attempting and doing great things for God. It is the flesh that causes us to walk contrary to the will of God. Many times we are our own worst enemy.
ILLUS: The flesh is a built-in law of failure, making it impossible for
the natural man to please or serve God. It is a compulsive
inner force inherited from man's fall, which expresses itself
in general and specific rebellion against God and His
righteousness. The flesh can never be reformed or improved.
The only hope for escape from the law of the flesh is its total
execution and replacement by a new life in the Lord Jesus
Christ.--Mark Bubeck, The Adversary, Moody Press, p. 28.
We face MIGHTY PROBLEMS and MANY ENEMIES thus we must know where to turn when trouble comes. Notice…
(2) THE PRAYER HE PRAYED
2 CHRONICLES 20:3-13
*Samuel Shoemaker said, “Don’t pray to escape trouble. Don’t pray to be
comfortable in your emotions. Pray to do the will of God in every situation.
Nothing else is worth praying for.” (1)
*NOTICE HOW THIS PRAYER WAS OFFERED:
A. HE WAS AFRAID (V3a). It tells us, “And Jehoshaphat feared..” Some
times God’s people get scared. Alarmed by the intelligence and
conscious of his total inability to repel this host of invaders,
Jehoshaphat felt his only refuge was at the horns of the altar (Jamieson,
Fausett & Brown Commentary). Some of our super spiritual brothers and
sisters tell us we ought not to fear anything of anyone. That is true but-
most weaken in times of great trouble.
B. HE SET APART HIMSELF AND SET A TIME TO SEEK GOD (V3b). He
realized that if there was an answer it must come from God. With
prayer and supplication and with all fervency and constancy, he sought
God.
ILLUS: If we yearned after God even as much as a cow yearns for her
calf, we would be the worshiping and effective believers God
wants us to be. If we longed for God as a bride looks forward to
the return of her husband, we would be a far greater force for
God than we are now. -- A. W. Tozer in Men Who Met God.
Christianity Today, Vol. 30, no. 15.
I truly believe that Jehoshaphat sought God with all his heart. He was
determined to receive God’s direction and guidance. Friend, are you
determined to seek God’s will for you in all things?
C. HE GOT SERIOUS WITH GOD (V3c). He led the way. He fasted
himself and then proclaimed a fast for all the people. General fasts had
been previously observed by the Israelites (e. g. Jdg_20:26; 1Sa_7:6);
but we do not hear of any fast having been “proclaimed” by authority
before this. (Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible). We need men today who
will lead the way. Those who will lead the way in seeking God and
serving Him. This was to be [a day of humiliation and mourning for sin
before the Lord; when they were ordered to abstain from bodily food and
labour, that they might be fit and more at leisure for spiritual exercises.]
(John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible). OH how much we need that
today! That God’s people might get serious with God and seek His face!
We must be as Daniel in Dan 9:3 “And I set myface toward the Lord
God, to seek by prayer and holy desires, with fasting, and sackcloth,
and ashes.”
D. HE REVERENCED GOD AND REQUESTED HIS ASSISTANCE (VV. 4-
13). Notice 4 things in this prayer:
1. He recognized that God is Sovereign (v6). He proclaimed that
God and God alone is God and does whatever pleases Him. He
acknowledged God supreme rule over all things: all kingdoms. He
recognized his power being infinite, unlimited, and uncontrollable,
and so not resistible by finite creatures, at least not so as to be
stopped and overcome. He is Sovereign. He can do as He wills when
He wills how He wills!
ILLUS: Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980), the movie director, told a
parable in Guideposts (1959) about the unknown. There
once was a king who was granted two wishes. His first was
to see the future. But when he saw all that lay ahead -- the
beauty and the pain -- he immediately asked for his second
wish; that the future be hidden. "I thank Heaven," the
master of suspense proclaimed, "that tomorrow does not
belong to any man. It belongs to God."
2. He reminded God of His past Miracles (vv. 7-8). I am so happy
today to serve a miracle-working God. He still can and does stump
and astound the wisest of men. Miracles can occur without special
effects. It takes more doing for a holy God to forgive an errant person
than it does to part the waters of a sea. -- Martin Marty in Places
Along the Way. Christianity Today, Vol. 40, no. 5. Too many times we
miss so much because we live on the low level of the natural, the
ordinary, the explainable. We leave no room for God to do the
exceeding abundant thing above all that we can ask or think. –
Vance Havner in the Vance Havner Quote Book. Christianity Today,
Vol. 36, no. 14. God had worked miracles on His people’s behalf in
the past and Jehoshaphat knew He could work a miracle for His
people now.
3. He reminded God of His Promises (v9). THANK GOD, for a God
who is true to His promises!
ILLUS: A true man has a regard for his word. A father had been six
months on the Pacific coast. Returning home by way of
Chicago, he met a friend who said, "Stay with me a week; we
may never meet again." The father answered, "I should enjoy
your hospitality, but I have sent word home that I shall be
there Saturday night. Wife will be expecting me, I must go. I
can not disappoint the hopes I have awakened in that loving
heart." The Holy Spirit will never disappoint any hope
awakened by any promise of God.
In Romans 4:21 Abraham believed, “..what He had promised, He
was able also to perform.” We have the same assurance! Esther
Guyot wrote:
God has a thousand ways
Where I can not see one;
When all my means have reached their end
Then His have just begun. (2)
4. He related the problem in a very Specific Way (vv. 10-12). I truly
believe when we pray we need to be specific. God is concerned with
the minute details and He wants to help us if we will only take all to
Him. Jehoshaphat prayed, “Wilt thou not judge them?..”Bring them
to thy bar, examine these facts alleged against them, convict them of
injustice, and condemn and punish them for it (John Gill’s Exposition
of the Entire Bible). “We have no might against this great company
that cometh against us..” Lord, If you are not with us, our strength
shall be weakness and we shall not be able to withstand this great
army. “Neither know we what to do..” Lord, you have the answer.
Though he had a great army, he said, We have no might without
thee; we rely upon thee. (Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary).
Notice v13—“And all Judah stood before the LORD..” Looking
towards the most holy place, where the ark of his presence was, in
an humble and submissive posture; waiting what would be the issue
of things, what answer they should have from the Lord. (John Gill’s
Exposition of the Entire Bible).
We have seen THE PROBLEM HE FACED and THE PRAYER HE PRAYED, but also note:
(3) THE PROPHET HE HEARD
2 CHRONICLES 20:14-17
*Out of the crowd God put it on the heart of Jahaziel to give the people a
message. Note two things:
A. THIS WAS A MESSAGE OF INSPIRATION (V14). “Then upon Jahaziel
…came the Spirit of the LORD in the midst of the congregation.” The Spirit
of prophecy came upon a Levite in the midst of the congregation. The
Spirit, like the wind, blows where and on whom He listeth. He
encouraged them to trust in God. (Matthew Henry’s Concise
Commentary). Some times when we don’t know what to do God sends
someone in our life who has a Word from the Lord.
ILLUS: A Pastor related this experience: “As I was about to dismiss the
service, in one Church I pastored, a dear deacon stood up and
said he felt we ought to call an altar meeting and pray about a
problem. We did, and the power of God fell.”
A moment's insight is sometimes worth a life's experience. -- Oliver
Wendell Holmes. Leadership, Vol. 15, no. 3.
B. THIS WAS A MESSAGE OF INSTRUCTION (VV. 15-17). They did not
know what to do so God sent them instruction. Notice the encouraging
message Jehoshaphat and the people received:
1. Be Courageous (v15a). “Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of
this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.” This was
God’s cause. He would fight the battle for them and maintain their
cause, so they had nothing to fear. God would bring deliverance.
Let the Christian soldier go out against his spiritual enemies, and
the God of peace will make him more than a conqueror. (Matthew
Henry’s Concise Commentary). Someone has said, “Courage is fear
that has said its prayers” (3).
2. Be Compliant (v16). God told them exactly what they must do.
This was the fast day, and so not proper to march out in, but on the
morrow they might go out with great confidence and intrepidity; and
as Jerusalem was situated on an eminence, they are directed to go
down. (John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible). They were to
follow God’s instructions completely. If they would the battle would
be won.
3. Be Confident (v17). All they had to do was trust and obey. God
would do the fighting for them. He would protect them and give
them the victory. Charles Spurgeon said, “If we cannot believe God
when circumstances seem to be against us, we do not believe Him
at all.” (4)
(4) THE PRAISE THEY OFFERED
2 CHRONICLES 20:18-21
*When we rest in God’s promises, they can we offer praise! Notice how this
praise was offered:
A. THEY BOWED THEIR HEADS IN THANKSGIVING (V18). This was an
act of declaring their faith and obedience to the Word of the Lord and
giving thanks for God’s promised deliverance.
B. THEY STOOD AND SHOUTED WITH A LOUD VOICE (V19). This was
to show that they believed the victory was already won. They were