Valley of Berachah
1.
God
did the fighting for them.
2.
They
went into battle without weapons, singing of the beauty of holiness and praising
the Lord for his mercy endureth forever.
3.
The
abundance of riches and jewels; it took them three days to collect it all.
2 Chronicles 20:1-28 KJV
[1] It came to pass after this also, that the
children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them other beside the
Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle. [2] Then there came some that
told Jehoshaphat, saying, there cometh a great multitude against thee from
beyond the sea on this side Syria; and, behold, they be in Hazazon-tamar, which
is En-gedi. [3] And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and
proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah… Then upon Jahaziel the son of
Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite
of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the Lord in the midst of the
congregation; [15] And he said… Thus, saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid
nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours,
but God's. [16] Tomorrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the
cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the
wilderness of Jeruel. [17] Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set
yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah
and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them: for the
Lord will be with you… [20] And they rose early in the morning and went forth
into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and
said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the Lord
your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.
[21] And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers
unto the Lord, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out
before the army, and to say, Praise the Lord; for His mercy endureth forever.
[22] And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments
against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against
Judah; and they were smitten. [23] For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up
against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and
when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy
another. [24] And when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness,
they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to
the earth, and none escaped. [25] And when Jehoshaphat and his people
came to take away the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both
riches with the dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for
themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in
gathering of the spoil, it was so much. [26] And on the fourth day they
assembled themselves in the valley of Berachah; for there they blessed the Lord:
therefore, the name of the same place was called, The valley of Berachah,
unto this day. [27] Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat
in the forefront of them, to go again to Jerusalem with joy; for the Lord had
made them to rejoice over their enemies. [28]
The Beast destroys Babylon Revelation 17-18
Another thing I want to focus on is that Jehoshaphat
was in Jerusalem dwelling in the sanctuary the house of the Lord. Verses 8-9
mention that thy name is in this house.
In Revelation 14 we see the 144,000 having the Father’s name
written in their foreheads. They are singing
a “new song” before the throne.
The chorus to this song is probably what they were singing in the
valley of Berachah, “Fear God and give glory to Him.” The three new verses to this song are
the three angels’ message. The first verse is “the hour of His judgement
has come. Worship Him, who made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the
fountains of water.” The second verse is about Babylon falling.
So, my theses is this: in the valley of
Berachah, God’s people were marching to war singing praises to God and He
fought the battle by having enemies destroy themselves. Now in the final hours of Earth’s history, we
the 144,000, are singing a new song verse about judgement and giving glory to
God for destroying Babylon by having the Beast turn on her (Revelation 17,18).
Another thing I want to reference is the enormous
wealth that they recovered in the first story.
The true wealth we receive is the salvation and kingship we receive with
the judgment of Babylon. But to truly
glorify God we will also prosper. This is also mentioned in Mark 10:30, how when we forsake everything for God we shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, and in the world to come eternal life.
The third verse of the new song is about the Beast. We are warned not to worship the beast and
his image even though he has brought down Babylon. It is natural to worship the beast and his
image for destroying all the evil that Babylon has exhibited but it is really
God that has destroyed Babylon and we are to worship Him and praise him alone.
One possible scenario is that political
leaders and the military is “the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.” (Revelation
17:8) No matter who he is, the Beast is going to his destruction as recounted
in Revelation 19, by the Rider on the white horse who hath on his vesture and
on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
We can see what our job is: To sing the “New Song”, giving glory to God
and praising Him for finally bringing justice. I think of the Hallelujah chorus
that Handel wrote. God gave that song to
Handel for an example of the new song we are to sing while the Beast brings
down Babylon and God destroys the Beast.
Handel composed Messiah without
getting much sleep or even eating much food. When his assistants brought him
his meals, they were often left uneaten. His servants would often find him in
tears as he composed. When he completed “Hallelujah,” he reportedly told his
servant, “I did think I did see all Heaven before me, and the great God Himself
seated on His throne, with His company of Angels.”
The text is based on: Revelation 19:6: “Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.” Revelation 19:16: “And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.” Revelation 11:15 reads, “And he shall reign for ever and ever.”
Sing unto the Lord a New Song
There are 9 verses in the bible that refer to the “New Song”. Six of the verses are in the Psalms, one in Isaiah, 2 in Revelation. The six chapters in Psalms 33, 40, 96, 98, 144, and 149, sing about praise to God and thanking Him for judgement. The same thing in Isaiah chapter 42. Then in Revelation 5:9 we see the group before the lamb sing a new song and say He is worthy to take the book and open the seals. One of the important parts of this book is judgement.Besides all of the adjectives describing the glory of God which was in the old song, we now have thanksgiving and praise for the final acts of God’s judgement on the wicked and the devil. We need to start thinking of all the adjectives that are listed in these verses and start singing them because we are there right now.
Sing along with king David, sing along with Isaiah, sing along with John the revelator, sing along with the group before the lamb, sing along with the 144,000 before the throne, and sing the Alleluia for we now have a King we can follow that will reign forever and forever.
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah,
hallelujah
For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth
The Kingdom of this world Is become of our Lord
And of His Christ, And of His Christ
And He shall reign forever and ever
King of Kings (Forever and ever hallelujah, hallelujah)
And Lord of Lords(Forever and ever hallelujah, hallelujah)
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