"...But Our Eyes are Upon You"

This is the end of Jehoshaphat's cry to God after he was told the Edomites were on their towards Jerusalem, ready for battle. It is so amazing that his first reaction is to "inquire of the Lord". He faith and trust in the Lord's sovereignty was truly amazing here. The Lord the responds to his cry through Jahaziel, by sending his spirit down to speak through him. The Lord assures Jehoshaphat of His control, "For the battle is not yours, but God's", says Jahaziel. After the Lord tells him the they will not have to fight this battle, Jehoshapaht appoints people to go out ahead of the army singing and praising God for what He would soon do. The crazy part is that he didn't wait for it to happen to praise God, he praised him right then and there. He was THAT certain that God's word to him was faithful, that God would definitely keep them safe that day. So the promise of it happening was as good as it actually happening! In 2 Chronicles 20:30, it then says, "and the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side."

Why do we not have this peace? This feeling of certainty that God's promises will be fulfilled? What reason have we to doubt? If this king could be so sure of God's faithfulness, what is it that we are missing?

Standing on top of Herodium today (King Herod's mountain fortress), our professor shared this story with us. The battle described in 2 Chronicles 20:1-30 happened right at the place where Herodium stands today. Now this is interesting, right where this incredible display of God's love and faithfulness occured, Herod built a huge complex fortress he could escape to if anyone ever tried to rise up and overthrow him. See, Herod seemed to have lived his life in fear, without rest and peace from the things that could ruin him and take away everything he had lived his life for. But he also was the one that began the building of the Second Temple, which shows an obvious care for the God he worshipped and served. One can only wonder if he chose the site for Herodium because of the great faithfulness and love that had occered there years and years before while King Jehoshaphat reigned. Could it have been not only a place for physical refuge, but spiritual as well?

The things that happened all over this land are amazing. They weave together so beautifully that you can't possibly take it all in at once. In addition to Herodium, we also saw sites on the Mount of Olives: The Church of the Ascension, the Jewish cemetary, the church where Jesus wept for Jerusalem, Gethsemane, and the Chruch of the Nativity in Bethlehem. Gethsaemane was so awesome, the olive orchard doesn't contain any of the original trees dating back to Jesus' time, but it is one the site where the orchard that he prayed in definitely would have been. The Orchard itself is beautiful, with the Church of All Nations right next to it, commemorating Jesus' time in the garden before his arrest. It was also cool to be in Bethlehem, however I find it sad that some of the the most amazing places have had churches built on top of and around them, like Jesus' birthplace here in Bethlehem (and also calvary, at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, is like this). It is very hard to wrap your head around what happened there when it looks nothing like it would have looked back when the events actually happened. I am learning so much that the reality of a place and knowing the history and significance behind it gives it so much more meaning. Knowing the details adds a certain amount of solidity that leads to a deeper understanding of what actually happened. Nevertheless, this place is amazing and it never ceases to amaze me.

We topped off the day with a visit to the Western Wall around sundown, since today begins Shabbot. That was amazing. There were so many people just singing joyful songs and praising the Lord in prayer and laughter that you couldn't stand there with out being awestruck. Even not being Jewish doesn't take away from how awesome this was. The people here were praising God with all their might, you could see it everywhere. It was simply beautiful.

Jehoshaphat's army praised God by singing, "Give thanks to the LORD, for his love endures forever", as they rode out to meet their enemies, with great faith that they wouldn't have to fight. When they finally came to the place where their enemies were, every single one of the opposing army was dead, God had sent other forces to attack before Jehoshaphat and his men could reach them. God fulfilled His promise, kept His word, and protected His people. He is faithful, He is good, His love endures forever and some of His greatest promises have already been fulfilled!

So tomorrow we start day one of our Benajmin field study which takes us to major sites in the area of tribe of Benjamin, one of them being Jericho! All I can think of is the veggie tales version where the peas throw purple slushies at the Israelites as they march. I should probably get this out of my head before tomorrow...

and also i think we get to ride a camel :)