Praise the Lord! Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. (Psalm 106:1)

In the previous devotion, we highlighted the concept that God’s goodness shown to one generation is often the fruition of the goodness bestowed upon a previous generation, hence the statement, “His mercy endures forever.” In that vein of thought, it impresses me that the words above are the same words sung by the people of God as David’s descendant, Jehoshaphat, led his people out to meet an army of invaders.

It’s important to note that those who had gathered against Judah were the Ammonites, the Moabites and the Edomites — people that God refused to allow Israel to war against as they were preparing to enter the land of Canaan. In fact, Jehoshaphat addressed this with the Lord praying, “You would not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them and did not destroy them — here they are, rewarding us by coming to throw us out of Your possession which You have given us to inherit” (2 Chronicles 20:10-11).

Obviously, God didn’t need reminding of this fact but it is telling that this was weighing on Jehoshaphat’s mind as he deliberated about what to do. With that in mind, I would argue that it was no accident that the praisers went before the army of Judah singing, “Praise the Lord. For His mercy endures forever” (2 Chronicles 20:21). In other words, as God’s people went into battle, they acknowledged that the God of Israel would continue to bestow His goodness upon every generation. He had not forgotten the promises made to their ancestors and would demonstrate His faithfulness to their descendants by delivering them from those who wished to destroy them.

The Bible tells us that by the time Jehoshaphat arrived at the battlefield, all those gathered against him had been killed. While Israel sang praises to the Almighty, He caused the Moabites and Ammonites to turn on the Edomites. Those who had come to war against Judah ended up making war on one another. In the end, the people of God saw that the Lord is indeed faithful to keep His covenant and promises to every generation. So once again, we are reminded never to doubt His goodness even when it seems we are surrounded by overwhelming odds. God is faithful, and if He be for us, who can stand against us?

Blessings and Shalom,  

Bill