Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Sunday, June 7, 2026

Jehoshaphat’s Prayer of Faith in Crisis (2 Chronicles 20:6–12)

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Sunday, June 7, 2026

When I was sixteen, I was out with people from the church youth group. I had recently received my driver’s license, but I didn’t have my own car yet. Instead, I drove my mom’s Astro minivan. My dad told me to be home at 11:30 pm. We were having a bonfire at the back of the church. I was with good people. It wasn’t a church event, but the pastor’s son and a few college students from the church were there. They were responsible young adults studying for the mission field. In just a few years, at least one of them would be on the mission field in Africa. Still, I was to be home at 11:30 pm. I got home about 11:40 pm. I thought my dad wouldn’t notice, but he was sitting on the steps, waiting for me. This was a different day; we didn’t have cell phones. My dad couldn’t track my location, nor could he call me. He had to trust that I was safe. I don’t think I was punished beyond a lecture, which I deserved. But you know why my dad was there? He was waiting because he cared. Many of you have been in that position. We wait, we watch, we discipline, we instruct, and so much more because we care. 

When I walked through the door, I was afraid to see my dad on the steps. There were other times when I felt safe seeing my dad on the steps. There were countless times I felt safe seeing my dad. That is the way it should be. For example, when I was in preschool, I once saw my dad walk into the building. Having just come from work, he was walking quickly, wearing a suit and tie. I was excited to see my dad coming to pick me up from school. When I was that age, there was a sense of safety in seeing my dad. There was also a sense of safety in seeing my mom, though it was different. 

We are going to look at a passage in which the leader of Judah prays for God’s protection. He appeals to the Lord. He can do that because Judah was God’s people.

My theme: Learn to pray like Jehoshaphat.

My application: Be encouraged, if you are in Christ, God is your dad.

1. Context:
   1. At this point, Israel is a divided kingdom.
   2. We have the kingdom of Israel in the north and Judah in the south.
   3. Jehoshaphat is the fourth king of Judah, and son of Asa. His mother was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. He was thirty-five years of age at his accession, and reigned twenty-five years, ca 873–849 b.c.^[1]
   4. Verse 1 (of 2 Chronicles 20) shares that three people groups are coming to battle against Jehoshaphat.
   5. This invasion followed religious reforms that were made in 2 Chronicles 20.
   6. The people that invaded were the Moabites, Ammonites, and Meunites.
   7. The Moabites and Ammonites lived east of the Dead Sea. The Meunites are equated with the people of Mount Seir (20:10, 22, 23), on the southern border of Judah (see Deut. 2:1; 2 Chron. 26:7). Engedi lies on the midpoint of the Dead Sea’s western shore.^[2]
   8. Verse 3 (of 2 Chronicles 20) shares that Jehoshaphat was afraid.
   9. What did he do? He set his face to seek the Lord.
   10. 2 Chronicles 20:3 shares that Jehoshaphat proclaims a fast throughout all of Judah.
   11. 2 Chronicles 20:4 shares that all the people of Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord.
   12. 2 Chronicles 20:5 shares that Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the house of the Lord and said…
   13. We will begin his prayer in a minute.
   14. First, let’s notice what they did.
   15. They all came together.
   16. They were willing to fast for this need.
   17. Generally, this means they would abstain from food for a period of time.
   18. What do we do when we have a need?
   19. Do we go to the Lord?
   20. CSB:
   21. With the northern kingdom of Israel occupied in war against the Arameans, the countries east of the Jordan River and the Dead Sea decided to invade Judah. The Meunites were also referred to as the Edomites.^[3]
   22. By the time the word of this invasion got to Jehoshaphat, the army had come as far as En-gedi, about fifty miles from Jerusalem on the west shore of the Dead Sea.^[4]
2. Jehoshaphat reviews the Lord’s faithfulness (2 Chronicles 20:5-9).
   1. 2 Chronicles 20:5–9 (ESV)
   2. ⁵ And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, ⁶ and said, “O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you. ⁷ Did you not, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? ⁸ And they have lived in it and have built for you in it a sanctuary for your name, saying, ⁹ ‘If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before you—for your name is in this house—and cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save.’
   3. In verse 6, he begins acknowledging Who the Lord is.
   4. He begins with this.
   5. He says, “God of our fathers.” He is saying the Lord is the covenant-keeping God of Israel.
   6. He is saying that they are the Lord’s people.
   7. He is the God of Abraham, Moses, and all those of Israel’s past.
   8. He says, “Are You not God in heaven?” Of course, we know that He is God. He is God in heaven.
   9. He says, “You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations…”
   10. He is saying that the Lord is the ruler. These nations invading Judah are not really a threat.
   11. The Lord is the ruler.
   12. The Lord is ruling behind the scenes.
   13. He says, “In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you.”
   14. In other words, he is appealing to the Lord’s sovereignty.
   15. The Lord is in control.
   16. Then in verses 7-8, he begins to review God’s protection over Israel’s past.
   17. God drove out the inhabitants of the land and gave the land to the Israelites.
   18. At the end of verse 8 and throughout verse 9, he says that the Israelites have said that if disaster comes, they will stand before the Lord because His Name is connected with them.
   19. He says the Lord will hear and save.
   20. He is saying that they represent the Lord; therefore, they will stand their ground.
3. Jehoshaphat requests the Lord to protect His people again (2 Chronicles 20:10-12).
   1. 2 Chronicles 20:10–12 (ESV)
   2. ¹⁰ And now behold, the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, and whom they avoided and did not destroy— ¹¹ behold, they reward us by coming to drive us out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit. ¹² O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”
   3. In verse 10, he names the threats.
   4. He is still writing about history.
   5. When they left Egypt, the Lord did not let them invade Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir.
   6. He says they did not destroy these people groups.
   7. Why does this matter? When they left Egypt, there were certain peoples whom they were supposed to destroy.
   8. Why? This is because the Lord knew that if these groups of people remained, they would corrupt Israel. These people groups practiced temple prostitution, child sacrifice, and other deplorable practices.
   9. Jehoshaphat continues, saying that they reward them by trying to drive them out of their inheritance.
   10. In verse 12, he says that they are powerless. Why? This is because multiple groups are coming at them at once.
   11. Jehoshaphat says that their eyes are on the Lord.
   12. Later, starting in 2 Chronicles 20:24, we see that the Lord delivered them.
   13. Regarding this passage, one source shares:
   14. Jehoshaphat’s response was nearly as surprising as the invasion itself—but it showed him as an ideal Davidic King, a man of committed faith, and an exemplary leader of the nation whose God is the Lord.^[5]
4.  Applications:
   1. Let’s make some applications.
   2. This was great humility on Jehoshaphat’s part. Do we humbly go before the Lord?
   3. When we pray, do we worship?
   4. When we pray, do we acknowledge that the Lord is in control?
   5. When we pray, do we pray as needy people?
   6. When we pray, do we remember the Lord’s faithfulness?
   7. When we pray, do we recognize that we are one of His (1 John 3:1)? Jehoshaphat recognized that they were the Lord’s people. If we are in Christ, we are one of His. We are the Lord’s people.

I began this sermon by talking about my dad waiting up for me when I got home late. Some 14 years later, I became a dad. Since then, there hasn’t been a night I haven’t checked on my daughters before bed. Even when I am away, I do my best to call home. Why does this matter? If we love our children, we protect them. We protect them physically. This starts before they are born. We protect them emotionally. We protect them spiritually. We do that because we love them.

I love my daughters. I will always do what I can to protect them. I expect they can come to me as a loving father, and I will do what I can to support them.

God loves you. His expectations are because He loves you. The people of Judah went to Him in prayer as their God. They were God’s people. If you are in Christ, so are you.

You can go to him in prayer like a dad.

Prayer

ca circa, about

^[1] S. K. Mosiman and D. F. Payne, “Jehoshaphat,” in The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised, ed. Geoffrey W Bromiley (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1979–1988), 978.

^[2] Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 767–768.

^[3] Winfried Corduan, “2 Chronicles,” in CSB Study Bible: Notes, ed. Edwin A. Blum and Trevin Wax (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), 670.

^[4] Winfried Corduan, “2 Chronicles,” in CSB Study Bible: Notes, ed. Edwin A. Blum and Trevin Wax (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), 670.

^[5] Kevin D. Zuber, “2 Chronicles,” in The Moody Bible Commentary, ed. Michael A. Rydelnik and Michael Vanlaningham (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2014), 612.