In this message you are going to learn how vital praise and thanksgiving are to your victory in times of fear and crisis. Our text is 2 Chronicles 20. This is one of the greatest chapters in the Bible on the cure for fear when facing the enemy. King Jeoshaphat and the children of Israel overcame their enemies in the Valley of Berachah. The valley is usually typified as a hard, pressing place, but God wants to make your valley a valley of blessings, of deliverance and victory, and supplying of your need. They called that valley Berachah, because baruch is the Hebrew word for blessing. Whenever the Jewish people pray and give thanks for something, they always bless God who gave it. For instance, when they say, grace, they don t bless their food, they bless God that gave it. They say, Baruch ata adonai elohainu melech ha olam ha-motzi lehem min ha-aretz. The first part is, Blessed art thou, Lord our God, King of the universe. Then they bless and thank Him for the food: Who brings forth bread from the earth. They always bless God first. This is good advice for Christians as well. When we learn to bless God in all things, we cause His blessings to overtake us even in the valley! Jehoshaphat was one of the good kings of Judah. He destroyed the high places of idolatry and broke down their images. He also established righteous judges in the land and set in order the priests and Levites. Judah was only one tribe, because Israel had split up under the reign of Rehoboam, Solomon s son. Ten tribes had left them, and they had one tribe for David s sake. And now three nations had come up against them: Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir. The news came to Jehoshaphat that a mighty army, a great multitude, was coming against him to destroy him. The first thing that happens when you receive a bad report, is fear. Whenever the devil masses his forces against you, the first thing he tries to bring, which he did bring to Jehoshaphat, is fear. FAITH OVERCOMES FEAR The enemy wants you to fear. Do you know why? Fear is the opposite of faith, and faith is what brings you the victory: And this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith (1 Jn. 5:5). He wants you to Blessings In The V alley BY R.G. HARDY 2 "Will The Real God Please Stand Up!" By Sharon Hardy Knotts This teaching on the Islamic God, Allah, versus the God of the Bible, Jehovah, will inform you of the true nature of the warfare we are presently engaged in. Not only are we in a war against terrorism, but we are contending for the true faith of the Gospel against those who deny the ONLY LORD GOD and Jesus Christ His Son! Receive A Bonus Cassette By Sister Sharon Knotts: "Understanding the Times" Chronicles the events of Bible prophecy to the time of the first coming of Jesus Christ and His Second Coming. It is both informative and inspirational and a critical prophetic word for those who are called to "discern the times." Both Messages on Two Audio Cassettes: - Will The Real God Please Stand Up! $10.00 Postpaid (US Funds) (offer SK-102) - Understanding The Times
fear rather than believe. If you fear, you re not believing. If you believe, you re not fearing. We are going to see how we can overcome fear so that our faith will overcome our circumstances. The Bible states that it was a great multitude, three nations coming against one little tribe, and Jehoshaphat looked at the circumstances and knew, numerically speaking, they were so out-numbered, there was no way they could win the battle. It was kind of like when Gideon was attacked by the Midianites whose numbers were like grasshoppers! Gideon had 32,000 that came out, and they had multitudes. Then God said to Gideon, It s too many on your side, and God weeded it down from 32,000 to 300 men to go out against thousands of the enemy! (Judges 7). But you see, God has declared: Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord (Zech. 4:6). And When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord (the invisibleness of Jehovah, because Spirit means the invisible force),...shall lift up a standard against him (Isa. 59:19). Let s see God s same invisible operation in this account: 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 Hazazontamar, which is Engedi. And Jehoshaphat feared... (vv 2-3). He feared because he looked with sense knowledge instead of spiritual knowledge. If God be for you, and you are only one, you and God are the majority, and you will come out the winner. In fact, God doesn t even need you, but He will wait for you to ask Him to move. What is the answer to fear? And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. Jehoshaphat faced fear, but he had the right answer! And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the LORD: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD (vv 3-4). This is what you must do when the enemy comes in and amasses himself against you. Don t get shook up and fear, but seek the Lord because God said that He will make a way where there seemeth to be no way. He promised, There is no temptation, no test taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will make a way to escape... (1 Cor. 10:13), and He s got a way out! He s got a fail-safe escape for your victory. He s got the way out, and what we must do is seek the Lord. We don t know whether one day we are going to break through the troop, or maybe we are going to leap over the wall. What are we going to do this time, Lord? March around the walls and shout? Because you can t put God in a box. He knows how He is going to move, and He doesn t always move the same way in every situation. Nor did He promise there would be 10 ways or 5 ways, but He will make a way to escape! THEVICTORY S INGOD S HOUSE We need to understand also that we are the Body of Christ, and members in particular, and members one of another. If one member suffers, we all suffer (1 Cor. 12:26-27). When an attack comes on your brother or your sister, it s an attack against you, whether you know it 3
or not. When the devil comes against the pastor of a church or the leaders, he s come against you. What we must do is Blessings In say like The ValleyV Jehoshaphat, Let s come into the house of the Lord and seek the Lord for help. Victory starts at the house of the Lord! Many Christians, when they are in their tests, stay home from church. If you happen to meet them and say, Where have you been? They say, I m in a test, so I stayed home. That s the wrong thing to do when you re in a test. That s what the devil wants you to do, so he can further discourage you. That s not the Word of God. The Word is, Come, and seek the Lord in His house, because : Where two or three are gathered together in my name, Jesus said, I am in the midst (Matt. 18:20). One saint will put a thousand to flight, and two saints will put 10 thousand to flight (Deut. 32:30). If you keep multiplying that, the number becomes exponential and astronomical. We need to be in every service possible, because we are a corporate people, the Body of Christ. If one of our members is wounded, it s going to come back on us and affect us. We are out brother s keeper. Also, the devil wants you to stay home, lest God s Word build you up, and your faith that comes by hearing the Word of God (Rom. 10:17), should bring you the victory! So the king sent the news to all the cities of Judah, and they came from the cities of Judah to the house of the Lord. Jehoshaphat feared, but in the face of that fear, he set himself to seek the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. He proclaimed that all of God s people would come together in unity, and to lay aside everything else to seek God s help for the nation. This is the weapon of corporate prayer, but many today don t worry about praying until it comes home to them. That s why David said, I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord (Ps. 122:1). Because in unity there is strength. When one person is down, the strength of the Faith Is Action (USPS 184720) The official voice of R.G. Hardy Ministries. Published monthly by Faith Tabernacle, Inc. 2422 W. Patapsco Ave., Baltimore, MD 21230. (410) 525-0969. Periodicals: Postage Paid at Baltimore, MD. No Paid Advertising Accepted. Subscription $5.00 per year. Postmaster: Please send address changes to Faith Is Action, P.O. Box 1744, Baltimore, MD 21203. 4
other will pick him up. Why do you think we have services? Why do we have preaching and teaching? To build the Church up. Where do the nine gifts of the Spirit work? In the church. The believer s gifts work in the church for the edifying, for the building up of the Church (Eph. 4:11-12). The word edify means to spiritually uplift and advance. The Church is not just one individual, but many members. That s why Paul told those who spoke in tongues to not only build themselves up, but don t be selfish, get more get interpretation of tongues so you can build the Church up (1 Cor. 14:12-13). The Church is only strong as the sum total of its members. It s only as strong as its weakest link in the chain. Why do you think the devil fights you from coming to church? He knows that not only will you be built up, but you could be someone that God will use to build up somebody else:...we have blessed you out of the house of the LORD (Ps. 118:26). And Judah gathered themselves together to ask help of the Lord... The cure for faith is to seek the Lord. The cure for lack of strength is to rally together with Christians of like precious faith, to seek the Lord and ask Him for help. They knew they couldn t do it in themselves. There were three nations, multiplied enemies coming, and they hadn t prepared for war. They hadn t practiced war strategies. They were in their cities enjoying the blessings of the Lord, and the devil got mad at that, but They gathered together, even out of all the cities of Judah, and they came to seek the Lord. That s what you must do when things come that disrupt your life. You don t fear! You set your heart to seek the Lord. They sought the Lord, and to show that they were really serious, they even fasted; which means you set aside all the natural. When the enemy has come against you hard, you don t go on as usual. You have to set aside everything and get ahold of God. Moses had to turn aside to see the burning bush and hear from the angel of God in it. He could have passed by it and went on with his usual routine. When we sanctify a fast, we are feeding the spirit man and our faith, because fear belongs to carnality, and faith belongs to the Spirit. They had to cure their fear by getting into the Spirit. Your faith doesn t work when you are carnal. Fear and doubt work through the carnal mind. When we feed our faith, we starve our doubts to death! And they came to seek the Lord. And Jehoshaphat stood up in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord before the new court (v. 5). They went into the house of the Lord. What house was it? It wasn t the temple, because in the temple they only came with an offering. But it was David s tabernacle where they were to come in with singing and rejoicing, and to hear God speak. David s tabernacle was like the New Testament Church, where the Saints came to the hear the preaching. They didn t go to the temple to hear the preaching; they went to the temple to offer up sacrifices for their sins. But God ordained a New Testament church through the tabernacle of David. There was no singing and rejoicing in the temple. There was mourning for sins and sin offerings. The 5
rejoicing was in David s tabernacle with all of the instruments and singers. He had scores of singers that worked Blessings In in shifts so The ValleyV that they could sing and worship and praise God all day and all night. They prayed, Lord, What shall we do? We have to hear from You. Jehoshaphat was the shepherd of that flock, and he needed his faith to be built up. He prayed to God, and His prayer was really talking to himself and to Israel of what God had done for them in the past, and what He had promised to continue to do. Faith comes by hearing, so you don t stay home when you re in the battle. You should come to every church service that you can. You should be saying, I was glad when they said unto me, Come to the house of the Lord. YOU ARE GOD OUR GOD Jehoshaphat was really rehearsing the Word of God to himself and to Israel to build up their faith: And he said, O Lord God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven?... (Aren t You the real God?) And rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? (Aren t You even the king of Moab, and Ammon, and Mt. Seir who are coming against us?) And in thy hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee? (V. 6). He was building his 6 faith up to get rid of his fear! Our God is the God of the universe, and He s got all power, and nobody can withstand Him! There is nothing too hard for Him. He is El Shaddai, the God that is enough! Jehoshaphat was reminding himself, Aren t You God? Don t You have all power? Don t You rule all these heathens that are coming up here? Are not Thou our God? (Do you know that God is your God? If He is your God, then you are under a covenant with Him.) Are not thou our God, who did drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel? (And He has driven out the demons from our houses, our families, and out of our lives!)... and gave it to the seed of Abraham thy friend forever? (V. 7). If you are Christ s, then you are Abraham s seed and heirs of the promise (Gal. 3:29). God drove out the devil, and He isn t going to let him back in, if you will believe and trust Him. And they dwelt therein, and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name... (V. 8). The house of God is for His presence and power to be manifested, where His children can come and hear from God, and be healed, and delivered, and blessed, and where He will save our loved ones. Saying, If, when evil comes upon us, as the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and in thy presence, (for thy name is in this house,) and cry unto thee in our affliction, then thou wilt hear and help (v. 9). Essentially, they said, When all these things come against us, let us come to church. Let us not stay home, because that s the devil s trick to weak-
en and divide us. Our faith will get smaller, and our fears will get greater, and our troubles are going to be multiplied. Instead, let us come into the church and stand before God, and let us seek His face, so that He can tell us what to do; for we need His help. They began to rehearse God s Word in prayer: The devil has attacked our families, and You said that You would bless our children, the seed of our body. The devil has attacked our money, and You said that You would bless our basket and our store. You said that You would bless us in the city, in the country, our sitting down and our rising up, our coming in and our going out. We shall be blessed, and our enemy shall come against us one way, and You shall cause him to scatter seven ways. As they prayed God s Word, their faith became stronger! And now, behold, the children of Ammon, and Moab, and Mt. Seir whom thou wouldst not let Israel invade, when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them, and destroyed them not. Behold, I say, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of thy possession which thou hast given us to inherit (vv. 10-11). I am not going to let the devil steal anything that God s given to me! Not my joy, my peace, my blessings, my gifts, anointing, calling to the ministry, no! When the enemy suggests something lustful, tell him, Get out! I m consecrated to God! They weren t supposed to go into the sanctuary, or into God s presence, unless they were consecrated. Remember God commanded Moses when He was going to speak to them from Mount Sinai. He said, Moses, tell the people to clean up and to clean the camp up, because I m going to walk amongst them. If God walked amongst them and saw something unclean, He would destroy it. God said, I m giving you three days to prepare. Moses told everybody, and they went to their tents and started casting their idols out. (Ex. 19:14-15). It was like when Paul preached at Ephesus, and the people brought all their idols and books of witchcraft, voodoo, and burned them. (Acts 19:18-19). Some Christians need to go home and clean up what they read, what they watch on TV, and what they listen to! I m not filling myself with a bunch of carnal junk and lies. I m not going to sit in front of the television and fill my spirit with a bunch of carnal jokesters telling lies, and most of the time, filthy communications, and laugh. I don t sit and watch the late night talk shows I don t want that to be the last thing on my mind before I go to sleep. I want it to be the Word of God! OUREYESAREON THEE O our God, wilt thou not judge them? (Yes, He is going to 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 thee (v. 12). This is the key to defeating fear and winning the victory! Keep your eyes on God! Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith (Heb. 12:2). When you don t know what to do: In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct thy paths (Prov. 3:5-6). They prayed, Everything is coming against us, God, and we don t know what to do, but our eyes are upon Thee. And all Judah stood before the LORD, with all 7 Continued on page 10
their little ones, their wives and their children (v. 13). Now here is something you can t get at h o m e : Then the Blessings In The ValleyV Spirit of the Lord came upon one of the singers in the midst of the congregation (v. 14). He was of the sons of Asaph, and Asaph was the head of the singing branch of the Levites. Often you will read at the beginning of the Psalms that it was given to Asaph so he could give it to the singers. No wonder the Spirit came on him, because he was always singing and praising God. 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; It didn t happen at home in his tent, but in the midst of the congregation in the assembly in church! When you and I come to church with the prayerful attitude, God, the enemy has come in and, I m too weak to fight him alone. I don t know what to do. I m looking to You. When you come into God s house and start to praise Him, I tell you what, God is going to answer you! He is going to use the preachers to rehearse the Word like Jehoshaphat did, that He s still God, and He s the God of all your enemies, and He drove them out before, and He will drive them out again! He ll use the Spirit-filled singers 10 to usher in His presence and His power. Do you come to church looking for God to bring a prophecy or a tongue of interpretation when you are in trouble? Well, you should. This is a New Testament church of David s tabernacle, because it has music, singers, prayer, worship, and God answers with revelation and instruction when we come to seek Him. God has promised in the last days to build again the tabernacle of David that is broken down, that the residue of men might seek after the Lord and all of Israel, and all the Gentiles, upon whom His name is called shall flow into it and praise Him (Ref. Acts 15:16-17). Because there are singing and dancing, rejoicing, praises, victory, healing, deliverance, and salvation in God s house when it s sanctified, and His people come to hear the Word of God and say, God, we re looking to You. I don t believe in man s program. I want the Holy Spirit s program. I don t open my church pulpit to unsanctified singers and preachers. I m looking for sanctified people like the sons of Asaph that the Lord can use to speak to His people. This is a sanctuary where God is, and I m coming to hear God. Then upon Jahaziel... came the Spirit of the Lord in the midst of the congregation; And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jeoshaphat, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God s (v. 15). Many people don t understand this, The battle is not yours, but God s. He is talking about that particular battle. Sometimes you have to fight, and other times God keeps the victory
from you until you get where the enemy is to find them all dead. Then all you have to do is pick up the spoils. Jahaziel said, This is God s battle. You don t have to do anything, but just have your armor on, be in your rank, and stand firm. Don t doubt and desert and run. For this battle is not yours, but God s. Then He told them what to do: Tomorrow go ye down against them... They had armor on, and they were going against the foe. I never take my armor off, because in the middle of my sleep, the enemy might come. Has the devil ever tried to attack you in your sleep, and you came out of your sleep saying, I rebuke you, Satan? He tries to find you with your armor off and catch you relaxed with your guard down. You don t relax, because then you are giving place to the devil. Peter commanded: Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion... (He s not a roaring lion. He is trying to imitate Jesus. He is a defeated foe.)...walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. Whom resist steadfast in the faith... (1 Pet. 5:8-9). Somebody who has the armor on, and knows how to use it, and is waiting for him, he can t devour! 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 (v. 16). He told them exactly where they were going to be and where they would find the enemy, but He didn t tell them how they were going to fight them! Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still,... This is another misunderstood verse: Some sing, If I hold my peace and let the Lord fight my battles, victory 11 shall be mine. This doesn t mean to do nothing and say nothing. It means set yourselves in array, stay with your flank, and then stand firm. Paul commanded in Ephesians 6: 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 the heavenlies, Wherefore take unto you the whole (entire) armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand, Stand therefore... (Eph. 6:12-14). With the armor, on stand at your post; stand ready for whatever the captain says to do. That is what he meant. They came down in their armor, and he told them to stand in their flanks, don t fear and run, but stand there waiting for God s directions. Stand firm, stand steadfast. It doesn t mean not to do anything, to just be at ease and let God fight your battles, saying, Well, I got a battle on and here s my battle armor, and I m going ahead on and do my thing. No, it doesn t say that! It says that they are to go up against the enemy, march towards them, stand in their flanks, be firm, be steadfast, and don t run. I know the devil was preaching to them, saying, Yeah, and when you get around the edge of that cliff, they are going to be waiting there, and you are going to be destroyed. THE SALVATION OF THE LORD God s servant said, You shall not need to fight in this battle, but set yourselves in your flanks and be firm, don t move. And see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear, nor be dismayed,
tomorrow go out against them: for the Lord shall be with you (v. 17). And Jehoshaphat bowed his Blessings In head with The ValleyV his face to the ground, and all of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the Lord, worshipping the Lord (v. 18). Oh, the need for worship! The importance of worship! Why do you think that the prophecy came through Jahaziel? Because they were still fearful, or he wouldn t have said, Don t be afraid Be not dismayed; just go up against them. They didn t know what they were going to find at the end of the wilderness. They knew they were going to find the enemy, but they didn t know what condition or position they would be in. But the Lord said, Don t be dismayed, for the Lord is with you. If the Lord is with me, I don t need anybody else. They worshiped the Lord, and what happened? And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites, and of the children of the Korhites, stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with a loud voice on high (v. 19). Do you see how important it is for anointed singers to be prayed and praised up? When you get on the platform, you will be able to shout, and like David, play the organ and drive the demons out! The people worshiped the Lord, and the singers and musicians praised God. They were claiming the victory already. For faith always see the victory in advance. So what happened when they praised God, showing that they really believed the prophetic Word? 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... (so shall ye be firm. The Hebrew says unmoveable);...believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper (v. 20). You shall stand firm if you believe God, and you won t back up. Believe the Lord your God and you shall be firm Believe his prophets and you will be unmoveable! And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD... He went to Asaph s family and to some of the special singers in the choir, and...he appointed singers unto the LORD, that they should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth forever (v. 21). I can just imagine the enemies guys of reconnaissance go to their generals saying, Don t worry, we won t have to fight. These Israelites are crazy. They are praising their God and singing! They are coming to surrender. But when we praise God, God will move against our foes! And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against them... Israel did not fight God s angels fought. The victory came when they began to sing and praise the Lord, because that showed that they 12
believed what God had said to Jeoshaphat and to them through the prophecy. They began to praise the Lord, and the Lord sent an ambush. Who did He use? He didn t use any of the Israelites, but He used His heavenly host. He used His army of angels just like when the enemy had surrounded Elisah at Dothan, and his servant Gehazi couldn t see the angels of God. Elisah prayed, Open up his eyes that he might see. All Gehazi could see were the armies of the enemy surrounding them, but when his spiritual eyes were opened, he saw God s army with the chariots of fire and the horsemen around them. Elisah said, Fear not, for they that be with us are more than they that be with them ( 2 Kings 6:16). God promised us in His Word: For the angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them (Ps. 34:7). The word fear here doesn t mean to be in terror, but to be in awe. When you are in awe of God, you say, God, You are awesome. What a mighty God I serve! God sent the angels to attack them, and Moab and Ammon thought Mount Seir was attacking them, and their two armies killed the army of Mount Seir. Then the angels attacked both of them, and they killed one another! God sent an ambush of angels: There is no mention of any other army around there. It was God s battle and He sent His host. Just like Jesus said to Pilate, If it was my time to set up my kingdom, I could call over twelve legions of angels to fight (Matt. 26:53). His time is coming when He will descend out of Heaven with all of the glorified Saints and the faithful angels, and will put His feet on Mt. Olivet, and it will split in half and divide east and west and form a slaughtering trough, a valley two miles long. He will destroy the army of the AntiChrist, and their blood will fill that valley til it reaches the horses bridles. And when they began to sing and to praise, (blessings in the Valley, of Berachah), the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, and Moab, and Mount Seir, which were come against Judah, and they were smitten. 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, everyone helped to destroy another (vv. 22-23). They killed one another! Judah didn t know what was going to happen, but they were watching in faith. God s doesn t always let us know all His ways. Sometimes we have to watch in faith. He had encouraged them with His prophetic Word before they marched. Jeoshaphat told them to believe God and His prophets. He called the singers up, and they start singing, and God moved and gave the victory! And when Judah came to warn the watchtower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped (v. 24). Then everybody who had maintained their faith, got treasures, blessings, and gifts. THE SPOILS OF VICTORY And when Jeoshaphat 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 13
off for themselves, more than they could c a r r y away: and they were three days in gathering of the spoil, it Blessings In was so much (v. The ValleyV 25). All they had to do was get the blessings! Remember, it all started out in the house of God when Jeoshaphat called all the Saints to meet in the house of God, so that they could seek the Lord, hear the preacher preach, and give the Spirit of God time to prophesy to boost their faith. When they got to the battlefield, the battle was over! Many times God goes before you. He sends the angels to deliver, and when you get there, there is nothing to do but pick up the gold and the silver. See, sometimes when God wants to give you a blessing, He lets the enemy get stirred up against you, so that you can strip them. That was always the reward of the victors, the spoils of the battle. It took them three days to gather it all, because it was so much. And on the fourth day, they assembled themselves (after they had gathered the spoils) in the valley of Berachah, for there they blessed the LORD; therefore the name of the same place is called, The valley of Berachah (of blessing) unto this day (v. 26). They blessed God there before they started out, and God blessed them with riches there in the same valley. The enemy was defeated, but they didn t run back to their homes. What did they do? Then they returned every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat in the forefront of them, to go again to Jerusalem with joy; (to the house of the Lord with joy) for the Lord made them to rejoice over their enemies. And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps, and trumpets unto the house of the LORD (vv. 27-28). It started in the house of the Lord, and it finished in the house of the Lord! If you start out in the house of God, God will go with you, and encourage you and go ahead to scatter your enemies, and give blessings in the very place where you are supposed to die. But instead, the enemy died, and then they gathered all the gold and silver and the blessings. Neither did they forget God after they got the victory. No one ran off to his own house. They weren t like Achan who stole the cursed things and hid it in his tent (Ref. Joshua 7). On the fourth day after the victory, they worshiped God. They said, Let us go back into the house of God with singing, with rejoicing, with praises and with our spoils. I believe they paid their tithes and gave God a love offering, and then they went home and rejoiced in the God of their salvation who had done great things for them. God had turned their valley of weeping into the Valley of Berachah Blessings! And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries, when they heard that the LORD fought against the enemies of Israel (v. 29). 14