#66. The Hope of the Christian
But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there no prophet of the LORD here, that we may inquire of the LORD by him?” So one of the servants of the king of Israel answered and said, “Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, who poured water on the hands of Elijah.”
II Kings 3:11 NKJV
There is a famous story from winter of 1944. As Patton’s army was completing one of the greatest military victories in modern history, heavy rain slowed his Third Army’s advance. Patton ordered his chaplain to write a prayer for every one of the 250,000 soldiers and civilian personnel attached to the army to pray. The prayer began, “Almighty and most merciful Father, we humbly beseech Thee, of Thy great goodness to restrain these immoderate rains with which we have had to contend…” The next day the rain stopped and the Third Army moved north, eventually relieving the 101st Airborne surrounded at Bastogne and turning the Battle of the Bulge from a threatened German revival to a massive Allied victory. For his prayer, Patton awarded his chaplain the Bronze Star.
Patton’s moral shortcomings aside (and there were many), in his hour of need in war, Patton in faith or superstitious hope (I do not know which) turned to the Lord, who granted the request of some 250,000 praying soldiers.
Jehoram, the leader of the allies, the supporter of the grand strategy to destroy Moab from the south, was given over to fear and hopelessness, preparing even to be destroyed. But he was not the only king in the wilderness of Edom that day. Jehoshaphat was also there and had a different response to Jehoram’s despair: “Is there no prophet of the LORD here, that we may inquire of the Lord…?”
What faith in the hour of need! It reminds us of the same request before the battle with Syria that cost Ahab his life. When times were tough, Jehoshaphat, for all his shortcomings, went to his only hope for help – the Lord God Almighty!
The Lord had delivered Jehoshaphat from the 32 captains of Syria who mistook him for their target Ahab in battle. The Lord had delivered Jehoshaphat when three nations mightier than Judah aligned themselves against him. The Lord was faithful then and Jehoshaphat believed the Lord would be faithful again – and how faithful would the Lord be?
There was a prophet, Elisha the son of Shaphat! He was not just any of the prophets – this was he who served Elijah and succeeded him on his ascension into Heaven. That same Elisha was with them in the wilderness.
If you are trusting in the Lord God of Jehoshaphat today, you are trusting in Jesus Christ who delivers His people from harm. He sets the prisoner free. He takes those in captivity to sin and makes them captives to righteousness and truth, which alone set free. He paid for your sin. He gave you His righteousness. He presents you to the Father. He is sanctifying you even now. And one day soon, He will bring you to glory where you will be in His presence until He returns with glory to judge the world. The hope of the Christian is in the Lord, and the Lord will never cause His people to be ashamed of that properly placed hope!
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