A Sword and a Bible Then Jehoshaphat, Asa's son, became the next king. 2 Chron 17:1
After reading about Rehoboam yesterday, it was refreshing to read the account of Jehoshaphat this morning! Jehoshaphat was one of the few "good kings" to reign in Israel (Southern Kingdom 873 – 849 BC), and two things stand out from his reign;
One, Jehoshaphat strengthened the Southern Kingdom's defenses...
He strengthened Judah to stand against any attack from Israel. He stationed troops in all the fortified towns of Judah, and he assigned additional garrisons to the land of Judah and to the towns of Ephraim that his father, Asa, had captured. 2 Chron 17:2
And two, he sent out preachers to teach the word of God to the people...
In the third year of his reign Jehoshaphat sent his officials to teach in all the towns of Judah.
…They took copies of the Book of the Law of the Lord and traveled around through all the towns of Judah, teaching the people. 2 Chron 17:7, 9
While Jehoshaphat wasn't perfect, these two acts served to fortify the Southern Kingdom from enemies, both physical and spiritual! It's also a model for our own lives, as we face an enemy that is spiritual in nature (Eph 6:12), and one who uses the physical realm to tempt us into sin(1 John 2:16). Therefore our defenses must also be build up both in the spiritual, and the physical realm.
Spiritual Defenses: Just like eating well and exercising, our spiritual defenses require daily attention; time spent reading God's word, meditating on it, acting on it, along with prayer. When reading your bible, ask these questions: - What is God saying to me?
- What am I going to do about it?
- Then, pray for strength and empowerment by His Spirit
Physical Defenses: Jehoshaphat put men with weapons around each city, and we too need to guard our cities: - Guarding our eyes from images / videos etc, that would tempt us to sin.
- Guarding our ears from words / music etc that promote sinful actions.
- Guarding our homes, not allowing anything into our home that would corrupt our families.
What was the result?
Then the fear of the Lord fell over all the surrounding kingdoms so that none of them wanted to declare war on Jehoshaphat. 2 Chron 17:10
Take some counsel from Jehoshaphat; Strengthen your nation with the sword, and the bible, and trust me, the enemy will be afraid to declare war on you!
"Lord, help me to stand strong in my land, being fortified by Your word and Your Spirit, and being on guard against any threat to me or my family."
Pastor Clay | 
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