HealingStrong's Around the Word
Join us around the table with friends who love the Lord and want to dig deeper into God's Word. Hosted by Cheryl Collins and joined by friends of HealingStrong, this podcast is sure to peak your interest in learning more about God's Word, as discussions on each podcast are short, bite-sized morsels that help to go deeper and enjoy God's Word. Cheryl and the podcast team will discuss stories that build trust in God through the history of Joseph, Esther, Jehoshaphat, Daniel, Nehemiah, the Disciples, and of course, Jesus! These episodes encourage our faith in overcoming our fear, and who doesn't need strengthened faith?
HealingStrong's Around the Word
Episode 38 - The Jehoshaphat Series: Valley of Praise (2 Chronicles 20:26-30 NIV)
Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah celebrate their miraculous victory by gathering in the Valley of Beracah (Blessing) to praise God after witnessing their enemies destroy themselves while they simply sang praises.
• Three enemy armies came to fight Judah but ended up killing each other while Judah's army sang
• It took three days to collect all the plunder left behind by their enemies
• The people returned to Jerusalem with celebration, bringing harps, lyres and trumpets to the temple
• News of God's miraculous intervention spread to surrounding kingdoms, bringing fear of God upon them
• Jehoshaphat's kingdom enjoyed peace as God gave them rest on every side
• We should consider if we have our own "Valley of Baraka" - places where we celebrate God's victories
Suggested Resources:
BIBLE PLAN - Trusting God's Plan in the Battle: Lessons from the Life of Jehoshaphat
PODCAST - Genesis to Revelation Bible Reading
TOOLS - Refresh Your Spirit through God's Word
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Can you imagine hearing that story? Hey, did you hear what happened over there in Judah? Yeah, three different armies went to fight them and they ended up killing themselves instead, while the army of Judah sang songs.
Speaker 2:Well, hello there. My name is Cheryl and you're listening to Healing Strongs Around the Word. We're friends sitting around a table who love God and we love talking about His Word and digging deep into it. So each day you're going to hear me read a Bible passage and then we'll chat about what we're learning from it. Today, I'll be reading 2 Chronicles 20, verses 26 through 30 from the NIV version of the Bible. So join us Around the Word from the NIV version of the Bible. So join us around the word. 2 Chronicles 20, verses 26 through 30.
Speaker 2:On the fourth day, they assembled in the Valley of Baraka where they praised the Lord. This is why it is called the Valley of Baraka to this day. Then, led by Jehoshaphat, all the men of Judah and Jerusalem returned joyfully to Jerusalem, for the Lord had given them cause to rejoice over their enemies. They entered Jerusalem and went to the temple of the Lord with harps and lyres and trumpets. The fear of God came on all the surrounding kingdoms when they heard how the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel and the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side. And there you have it. That was the Bible reading for today. Now let's listen in on what Susie, angie, jeff and myself were finding about Jehoshaphat around the word On the fourth day. What happened on the fourth day?
Speaker 1:They gathered together to praise the Lord. It was a calm after the storm.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. They headed down to a valley too, the valley of what Blessing, the valley of blessing, yeah, and some says the Valley of Praise, and that's where they praised the Lord. Oh, and there we go. This is why it's called the Valley of Baraka to this day. So, after they were triumphant over their enemies, they went back and praised some more.
Speaker 3:They entered home or coming back praising and rejoicing, because the Lord had turned over their enemies to them. So, for the Lord had made them to rejoice over their enemies, they came back with harps and lyres and trumpets. So they went out praising and now they came back rejoicing and praising.
Speaker 2:And the reason why it's the fourth day. Mind you, in the verse beforehand we didn't mention this, but it took them three days to get all the plunder from the enemy, three days to grab all their uniforms, to cart it all off like three days. You know, the numbers are always important and stuff.
Speaker 3:And the reputation of Israel once again brought the dread of God on all the other kingdoms of the land. So they heard what the Lord had done for the people of Israel and or, I guess, the lower kingdom under Jehoshaphat. So everybody was afraid of them.
Speaker 1:Everybody was afraid of them, everybody was afraid of them Absolutely. Can you imagine hearing that story? Hey, did you hear what happened over there in Judah? Yeah, three different armies went to fight them and they ended up killing themselves instead, while the army of Judah sang songs.
Speaker 2:Think about how the word had to get out back then. It's not like they just put out something on Twitter and then we found out about the end of a battle. They literally word of mouth told everybody, and that had also happened, I believe, in Jericho too. The Rahab had said that she had heard about what God had done for His people.
Speaker 1:Out in the wilderness. Yeah, the people the surrounding areas knew what happened. They knew about the pillar of fire and they knew about the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night, when the children of Israel were out in Egypt. So they've always been a special group of people and a feared group of people, because they knew there was something special about them still today.
Speaker 2:Well, I was wondering if you have a valley of Baraka for yourself, meaning a valley of praise. Do you have a battle that you have come out of and then praise God afterwards? That is what happened in the story today and it's awesome. I hope, if you're in the middle of a battle, that you will soon be walking in that valley of Baraka, which is that valley of praise afterwards, because you're telling everybody about what God did and you're praising him in it. That is what we all hope for. Anyway, thank you so much for joining us for Healing Strong's Around the Word podcast. I hope you were encouraged to dig deeper into God's word. If you want to know more about us, healing Strong, just check out our website healingstrongorg, where you can find out about our community groups and our mission. Until next time, remember, faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.