This verse, 2 Chronicles 20:10, is part of King Jehoshaphat's prayer to God as he faces an overwhelming alliance of the Ammonites, Moabites, and inhabitants of Mount Seir (Edom). Understanding the verse requires a bit of historical context:
"Now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir...": This identifies the current enemies threatening Judah. These were neighboring nations.
"...whom you would not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt...": This refers to a specific event during the Israelite's exodus from Egypt (recorded in Deuteronomy 2:9, 2:19). God commanded the Israelites not to attack or dispossess these groups when they passed through their territories on the way to the Promised Land.
"...but they turned away from them, and didn’t destroy them;": The Israelites obeyed God's command and spared these nations.
Therefore, the meaning of the verse is this:
King Jehoshaphat is reminding God of the historical kindness and mercy shown to the Ammonites, Moabites, and Edomites by the Israelites. He's highlighting the contrast: Israel, acting on God's command, spared these nations from destruction. Now, those same nations are ungratefully attacking Judah.
The significance of this verse in Jehoshaphat's prayer is multi-fold:
1. Appealing to God's Justice: Jehoshaphat implicitly asks God: "How can these nations repay our kindness with aggression? This is unjust."
2. Establishing Israel's Righteousness: He underscores that Israel has been obedient and merciful in the past. This positions Judah as the innocent party.
3. Asking for God's Intervention: By recounting God's previous commands and Israel's obedience, Jehoshaphat seeks to motivate God to act on Judah's behalf now. He is essentially saying, "We obeyed you then, so we trust you will protect us now."
In essence, it is an argument by precedent and by appealing to God's sense of justice and covenant faithfulness. Jehoshaphat reminds God of the past events to plead for God's protection in the present crisis.
This verse, 2 Chronicles 20:10, is part of King Jehoshaphat's prayer to God as he faces an overwhelming alliance of the Ammonites, Moabites, and inhabitants of Mount Seir (Edom). Understanding the verse requires a bit of historical context:
"Now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir...": This identifies the current enemies threatening Judah. These were neighboring nations.
"...whom you would not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt...": This refers to a specific event during the Israelite's exodus from Egypt (recorded in Deuteronomy 2:9, 2:19). God commanded the Israelites not to attack or dispossess these groups when they passed through their territories on the way to the Promised Land.
"...but they turned away from them, and didn’t destroy them;": The Israelites obeyed God's command and spared these nations.
Therefore, the meaning of the verse is this:
King Jehoshaphat is reminding God of the historical kindness and mercy shown to the Ammonites, Moabites, and Edomites by the Israelites. He's highlighting the contrast: Israel, acting on God's command, spared these nations from destruction. Now, those same nations are ungratefully attacking Judah.
The significance of this verse in Jehoshaphat's prayer is multi-fold:
1. Appealing to God's Justice: Jehoshaphat implicitly asks God: "How can these nations repay our kindness with aggression? This is unjust."
2. Establishing Israel's Righteousness: He underscores that Israel has been obedient and merciful in the past. This positions Judah as the innocent party.
3. Asking for God's Intervention: By recounting God's previous commands and Israel's obedience, Jehoshaphat seeks to motivate God to act on Judah's behalf now. He is essentially saying, "We obeyed you then, so we trust you will protect us now."
In essence, it is an argument by precedent and by appealing to God's sense of justice and covenant faithfulness. Jehoshaphat reminds God of the past events to plead for God's protection in the present crisis.
