As I sat to write this post, at first, I could only stare at the words “the outcome” in the title. Having read these scriptures in 2 Chronicles numerous times as I have worked on this series, my mind wasn’t seeing the end of this particular story in the Bible. My mind was looking ahead several hundred years into the future from this battle. My mind and my heart were looking toward Yeshua. However, before I can explain why, we have to look the battle at hand, the battle Jehoshaphat still had to face.
[20] The next morning, they rose early and went out into the T’koa Desert. As they left, Y’hoshafat stood and said, “listen to me, Y’hudah and you inhabitants of Yerushalayim! “Trust in Adonai your God, and you will be safe. Trust in his prophets and you will succeed.” [21] After consulting with the people, he appointed those who would sing to Adonai and praise the splendor of his holiness as they went out ahead of the army, saying, “Give thanks to Adonai, for his grace continues forever.” [22] Then, during the time when they were singing and praising, Adonai brought a surprise attack against the people of ‘Amon, Mo’av and Mount Se’ir who had come to fight Y’hudah; and they were defeated. [23] What happened was that the people of ‘Amon and Mo’av began attacking those people who lived by Mount Se’ir, to kill and destroy them completely; and when they had finished off the people from Se’ir, they set to work slaughtering one another. [24] So when Y’huda reached the watchtower overlooking the dessert, they looked toward the horde; and there in front of them was corpses fallen to the ground; none had escaped. [25] Y’hoshafat and his army came to take the spoil from them and found among them personal property in abundance and corpses with precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves until they couldn’t carry any more. They took three days just to collect the spoil, there was so much. [26] On the fourth day, they assembled in the Valley of B’rakhah (“blessing”), where they blessed Adonai; hence the place is called the Valley of B’rakhah to this day. [27] Then they returned, everyone from Y’hudah and Yerushalayi, with Y’hoshafat leading them joyfully back to Yerushalayim; for Adonai had caused them to rejoice over their enemies. [28] They came to Yerushalayim with lyres, lutes and trumpets and went to the house of Adonai. [29] A panic from God was on all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard that Adonai had fought against the enemies of Isra’el. [30] So Y’hoshafat’s rule was a quiet one, because his God gave him rest all around. 2 Chronicles 20:20-30
Here are a king and a people so confident in their God and the word that He had given to them after they prayed and cried out to Him that when they arose to go face the enemy, the king placed the praise and worship team at the font of the army to sing and praise the Lord.
When I envision this event in my mind, I do not see a group of singers drudging along singing “Onward Christian Soldiers” with an air of “I sure hope this works, because otherwise we are the first to be slaughtered.” I see a group of men who were rejoicing, singing, shouting, leaping, full of praise and worship, love and adoration, and faith that Adonai was going to do exactly what He said He would do, fight the battle for them. True to His word, Adonai caused confusion within the enemy as praise was being lifted to His name, and when the Israelites finally came upon the enemy, they found them destroyed. They then reaped the physical blessing and reward and in turn blessed Adonai, naming the valley B’rakhah.
If the name of this valley sounds familiar, it should as it is the very word for praise that we looked at with the story of Deborah a few posts back. In that post, we looked at barach in the context of worshiping on bended knees. For this post, we are going to look at it in a similar way, but with a bit more focus on the word’s Hebraic definition, “to kneel”.
It is here that I want to look several hundred years into the future from this battle to the ultimate battle for mankind. One of the most beautiful and incredible things about Yeshua is His humility. Here we have the King of the Universe becoming the servant of all, and He showed it over and over throughout the Gospels. However, there is one particular moment found in the book of John that displays His humility and that He Himself was going to barach, to kneel before the very ones He created.
[1] It was just before the festival of Pesach, and Yeshua knew that the time had come for him to pass from this world to the Father. Having loved his own people in the world, he loved them to the end. [2] They were at supper, and the Adversary had already put the desire to betray him into the heart of Y’hudah Ben-Shim’on from K’riot. [3] Yeshua was aware that the Father had put everything in his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God. [4] So he rose from the table, removed his outer garments and wrapped a towel around his waist. [5] Then he poured some water into a basin and began to wash the feet of the talmidim and wipe them off with the towel wrapped around him. [6] He came to Shim’on Kefa, who said to him, “Lord! You are washing my feet?” [7] Yeshua answered him, “You don’t understand yet what I am doing, but in time you will understand.” [8] “No!” said Kefa, “You will never wash my feet!” Yeshua answered him, “If I don’t wash you, you have no share with me.” [9] “Lord,” Shim’on Kefa replied, “Not only my feet, but my hands and head too!” John 13:1-9
As I have reflected on these scriptures, I have fought many tears. Barach, to kneel, is to lower oneself. I have put myself in the place of the disciples and have thought, “How would I have reacted if I had been there and Yeshua had lowered Himself to wash my feet?” The washing of feet was done by a servant of the house, or by the wife. It was a dirty task as walking in sandals, the feet would have been coated in dust, and possibly animal dung. But to clean someone’s feet, a person had to place themselves on the ground before them, and literally put themselves beneath another. Yeshua did this not once, but twelve times, and knowing that one of his inner most circle was about to betray Him, He still washed the feet of Judas, showing the same love and humility to him.
Yet, this was not the only way that Yeshua lowered Himself for us. In The Book of Mysteries by Johnathan Cahn, there is a mystery entitled “The Kneeling God”, which talks about barach in a beautiful way.
“So He descended to this world and humbled Himself in the form of man.”
“Yes, and to kneel is also to submit. And so He submitted Himself to man’s mockery, abuse, and condemnation. He submitted Himself to judgement, to crucifixion, and to death – the ultimate lowering… the cosmic kneeling … the kneeling of God. And yet in the kneeling of God, comes the barach, the blessing, salvation. To bless is to kneel. And He who kneels is He who blesses. And by kneeling … we are blessed. And in the light of such blessing, we can do nothing less than kneel before Him and bow down with our lives.”
He did this for me. He did this for you. At times, I can’t wrap my mind around it. Why? Why would He want to save me? I know how sinful my life has been. I know how often I still mess up and fall short, so why? I don’t deserve salvation. I don’t deserve the blessings of an Almighty God, so why would he submit Himself to death for me? The only answer is love. For God SO loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16 How great a love is that? I know how much I love my children, and that I would give my life for them, and yet that love pales in comparison to the love of the Father. How can I not kneel before such love, such blessing, such glory? It takes my breath away. It makes my chest tight with wonder and gratitude. It makes my spirit humble to know that that ultimate love was for me.
Just as in the Valley of B’rakhah, where blessing flowed down after the battle was won, the battle for all of mankind was won on a tree, and blessings flowed red defeating the adversary for good. Every curse caused by the fall of man has been redeemed. Redeemed by a God who loves so much that He would make Himself the least of all.
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