In life how we respond to our times of sin and failure is very important. Previously Jehoshaphat’s father, King Asa had responded badly when he had been chastised by the seer Hanani (16 v7-10). Now Jehoshaphat responds with humility when chastised by Hanani’s son Jehu for joining with the wicked king Ahab (19 v1-3). Instead of having a hard heart like his father, Jehoshaphat devotes himself to further reform that built up his people (19 v4-11). When threatened by an alliance of many nations (20 v1-4), Jehoshaphat does not enter into an unholy alliance with a godless king, but instead leads the people in prayer to seek God’s deliverance (20 v5-19).

The result is that before they even reach their enemies, as they’re joining in praise to the Lord, their enemies have been destroyed by others (20 v22-24). What an amazing God we have and what wonderful things happen when we step out in faith!

It would be great if this had been the final note on Jehoshaphat’s life, but despite such an amazing deliverance from the Lord, Jehoshaphat repeats his previous mistake an enters into an unholy alliance with the king of Israel (20 v35-37). Let us learn from this, that despite previous great moments of victory and times acting in faith, at any moment we can easily fall when we trust in ourselves and others rather than on the Lord. Keep your eyes on Jesus always, and watch and pray that you do not fall into temptation.