The God of Deliverance

2 Chronicles 20:1-13

Message No. 0600 | Twitter @GodandUs | www.wisdom-speaks.ca

There's perhaps no better time to understand the need for God’s deliverance than today. We see on our television sets the gradual destruction of one nation by another and the continuous plea of the oppressed to other nations who could come to their aid. Unfortunately, the futility of this plea, notwithstanding how articulate it has been, is stark and frustrating. Yet, it isn’t that the other nations have decided that they would not assist, but they themselves are afraid to assist so it does not lead to a bigger war.

What more can one say, man’s reliance on another man is risky and dangerous, to put it lightly. Should we not better rely on the Almighty God with whom there is no limitation? Does the Bible not say that nothing is too difficult for Him? Did He not make the impossible possible when He led Israel out of Egypt, creating an expressway in the sea for Israel to walk on dry ground, so He might deliver them from their slave masters? Our God is not only the God of salvation and healing (as we saw in the last two episodes), He is also the God of Deliverance.

In 2 Chronicles chapter 20, the Bible records the plan of certain nations to join hands an destroy Judah. Because of the mere size of the combined armies of these nations, Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, was sore afraid, and if the leader is afraid, then the people have no hope. However, the king knew his limitations, but he also knew whose help to ask for. In verses 10 – 13, the Bible says:

And now, here are the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir—whom You would not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them and did not destroy them—here they are, rewarding us by coming to throw us out of Your possession which You have given us to inherit. O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.” Now all Judah, with their little ones, their wives, and their children, stood before the Lord.

Jehoshaphat led his people to God, and God responded by letting them know that they would not need to fight in the battle because the battle was the Lord’s. When Judah began to sing, the Bible says that the Lord set ambushes against the enemies, and they used their own weapons to destroy themselves. What a great deliverance! When Joshua faced the same situation, fighting against Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem and four other kings in Joshua chapter 10, God came to Israel’s rescue with a great deliverance. In verse 11, the Bible says:

And it happened, as they fled before Israel and were on the descent of Beth Horon, that the Lord cast down large hailstones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died. There were more who died from the hailstones than the children of Israel killed with the sword.

Our God is the great deliverer any day. Your problems may not be at the level of nation fighting against nation, yet He is interested in helping you and delivering justice against your enemy. When king Saul mustered the whole military might of Israel to fight against David, not many thought that David would remain alive. In one of the instances when Saul and the army got so close and there was no way of escape for David, God simply ignited Saul’s enemies to wage war against Israel and the news of that made Saul and his army to withdraw to go back home to fight a bigger battle. God is interested in your (individual) case, and He will stop at nothing to set you free.

You may have been waiting for a long time and the enemy may already be saying to you that you are wasting your time. Yet, the Bible says that those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. Do not be discouraged and do not become weary of waiting. The devil tricks people into giving up when they are so close to their deliverance. In Isaiah 49:24-26, the Bible says:

Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, Or the captives of the righteous be delivered? But thus says the Lord: “Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, And the prey of the terrible be delivered; For I will contend with him who contends with you, And I will save your children. I will feed those who oppress you with their own flesh, And they shall be drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine. All flesh shall know That I, the Lord, am your Savior, And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”

Children of God should expect their deliverance and never give up. May your own come quickly, in Jesus’ name. Amen. Have a blessed week!

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