The Anatomy of True Thanksgiving: Text: 2 Chronicles 20:26-30
Introduction: The Aftermath of a Strange Battle
We are a people who have largely forgotten the grammar of gratitude. Our modern thanksgivings are often little more than a polite nod to a vague sense of good fortune, a tip of the hat to a universe that has happened to smile upon us. We are thankful for the turkey, but not the God who provides it. We are grateful for family, but not the God who ordained it. This is a shallow, sentimental gratitude, and it has no root. It cannot survive the first sign of trouble. The moment the good fortune evaporates, the gratitude evaporates with it.
The passage before us this morning presents a starkly different picture. It is the anatomy of a robust, God-centered, battle-tested thanksgiving. The context is crucial. A massive, terrifying coalition of armies, the Moabites, Ammonites, and others, had come against Judah. King Jehoshaphat, to his credit, was terrified. But he did the right thing with his terror, he turned to the Lord in fasting and prayer. He stood before the people and prayed a magnificent prayer, reminding God of His covenant promises and confessing their utter helplessness. "We do not know what to do," he said, "but our eyes are on you."
And God answered. He answered through a prophet, Jahaziel, who told them the most astonishing thing: "You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf." And so, the next day, they marched out to face this overwhelming force, but they did it in a way that must have seemed insane to any military strategist. They put the choir out in front of the army. They led with worship. As they began to sing and praise, "Give thanks to the Lord, for his steadfast love endures forever," the Lord set ambushes against their enemies, and the invading armies turned on each other and completely annihilated themselves.
Judah arrived at the watchtower to see a valley full of corpses and plunder. It took them three full days just to collect the spoil. Our text this morning picks up on the fourth day. This is not a story about how brave men won a battle. This is a story about how a faithful God delivered a helpless people who trusted Him. And their response gives us a blueprint for what true, biblical thanksgiving looks like. It is not a quiet, private feeling. It is a public, corporate, loud, and world-altering reality.
The Text
Then on the fourth day they assembled in the valley of Beracah, for there they blessed Yahweh. Therefore they have named that place “The Valley of Beracah” until today. And every man of Judah and Jerusalem returned with Jehoshaphat at their head, returning to Jerusalem with gladness, for Yahweh had made them glad over their enemies. And they came to Jerusalem with harps, lyres, and trumpets to the house of Yahweh. And the dread of God was on all the kingdoms of the lands when they heard that Yahweh had fought against the enemies of Israel. So the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest all around.
(2 Chronicles 20:26-30 LSB)
The Place of Blessing (v. 26)
We begin with the immediate, corporate response to God's deliverance.
"Then on the fourth day they assembled in the valley of Beracah, for there they blessed Yahweh. Therefore they have named that place 'The Valley of Beracah' until today." (2 Chronicles 20:26)
After three days of gathering the incredible amount of plunder God had provided, their first corporate act is not to head home and count their loot. It is to assemble for worship. Notice the location. They don't wait until they get back to the Temple in Jerusalem. They stop right there, in the valley where God had given them the victory, and they bless Him. The victory was won in the wilderness, and so the praise begins in the wilderness.
They name the place "The Valley of Beracah." Beracah means "blessing." This is a profound theological statement. They are not just feeling blessed; they are actively blessing Yahweh. This is the biblical pattern. God blesses us with salvation, with deliverance, with provision, and our proper response is to bless Him back. Of course, we cannot add to His divine nature. Our blessing Him is not like His blessing us. When God blesses us, He bestows favor and goodness. When we bless God, we are ascribing to Him the honor and glory and praise that are already His. We are publicly acknowledging His worth. They turned a battlefield into a sanctuary. They took a place that was destined to be their graveyard and, by an act of worship, consecrated it as a place of blessing.
This is a permanent memorial. "Until today," the Chronicler writes. This is how we are to remember God's deliverances. We are to build memorials, to name the places, to tell the stories. When God delivers you from a particular sin, you should name that place the Valley of Beracah. When He provides for you in a time of financial crisis, you should remember that place as a Valley of Beracah. Our lives should be mapped out with these memorials of God's faithfulness, so that when we look back, we see a landscape dotted with reminders of His grace.
The Procession of Joy (v. 27-28)
The worship that began in the valley now moves, as a great procession, back to the heart of the nation's life.
"And every man of Judah and Jerusalem returned with Jehoshaphat at their head, returning to Jerusalem with gladness, for Yahweh had made them glad over their enemies. And they came to Jerusalem with harps, lyres, and trumpets to the house of Yahweh." (2 Chronicles 20:27-28)
This is not a somber, quiet return. It is a parade. It is a victory celebration. And notice the source of their joy. They were returning "with gladness, for Yahweh had made them glad." Their joy was not self-generated. It was not the result of positive thinking. It was a direct, logical consequence of what God had done. God acted, and their gladness was the response. This is crucial. Christian joy is not a vague optimism; it is a reasoned response to the mighty acts of God in history, supremely in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The king, Jehoshaphat, is at their head. A godly leader leads his people not only into battle, but into worship. He who led them in fasting and prayer now leads them in feasting and praise. This is the picture of a healthy covenant community. They are united in their dependence on God, and they are united in their joy in God.
And how do they express this joy? With music. "With harps, lyres, and trumpets to the house of Yahweh." This is not a quiet, contemplative, individualistic spirituality. This is loud, corporate, and celebratory. Harps and lyres provide the melody and harmony, the beauty of ordered sound. Trumpets provide the blast, the declaration, the announcement of victory. This is martial music. This is the sound of a conquering army, but their victory was won by their God. They are marching into the house of the Lord as a triumphant choir, to present their praises where they are due.
This is a direct rebuke to the kind of sterile, disembodied worship that is so common in our day. Biblical worship is full-bodied. It involves shouting, singing, instruments, and processions. It is a public spectacle. They are making a statement to the entire city of Jerusalem: Yahweh is the one who has done this, and we have come to give Him the glory.
The Geopolitics of Awe (v. 29)
The effects of this great deliverance and the subsequent worship service ripple out beyond the borders of Judah, affecting the surrounding nations.
"And the dread of God was on all the kingdoms of the lands when they heard that Yahweh had fought against the enemies of Israel." (2 Chronicles 20:29)
This is a fascinating result. The worship of God's people has geopolitical consequences. When the surrounding pagan nations heard the news, they were not impressed with Judah's military. They knew Judah was weak. They were not impressed with Jehoshaphat's strategy. They knew his strategy was insane. No, the report that went out was that "Yahweh had fought against the enemies of Israel."
And the result was "the dread of God." This is more than mere respect. It is fear. It is terror. It is the dawning realization that you are dealing with a nation whose God is the living God, a God who shows up. This is God's intended method of evangelism in the Old Testament, and it continues in the New. The health, vitality, joy, and unity of the Church is meant to be a sign to the watching world. When the world sees a people who love one another, who are full of joy in the midst of trials, who worship with robust confidence, and who see God answer their prayers, the result is awe and dread. They begin to understand that our God is not like their dead idols. He is a consuming fire.
This is what is missing from so much of our modern missiology. We want to make God palatable, friendly, and non-threatening. But the Bible shows that a true manifestation of God's power produces a holy fear. This fear is the beginning of wisdom. It is what drives men to seek terms of peace with this great King.
The Gift of Rest (v. 30)
The final verse summarizes the result of this entire episode for the kingdom of Judah.
"So the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest all around." (2 Chronicles 20:30)
The dread of God on the surrounding nations produced quiet for the people of God. Because their enemies now feared their God, they left them alone. God gave them "rest all around." This is a key covenantal promise. When God's people are faithful to Him, when they trust Him and worship Him rightly, one of the great blessings He bestows is rest. This is not the rest of inactivity or laziness. It is the rest of security. It is the peace that comes from knowing that God is your shield and your defender.
This rest is what allows a culture to flourish. It is in times of peace and security that art, music, literature, and godly dominion can truly prosper. War is a constant disruption. But the peace that God gives is a creative and fruitful peace. It is the goal toward which we strive. We fight, not for the sake of fighting, but for the sake of a just and lasting peace, a true rest.
Conclusion: From Beracah to the Lord's Table
This story is a magnificent picture of the gospel. Like Judah, we were faced with an overwhelming enemy, a coalition of sin, death, and the devil. We were utterly helpless, with no power to save ourselves. We had no might against this great company. And we did not know what to do.
But God, in His mercy, sent a champion. He told us that the battle was not ours, but His. Our King, the Lord Jesus Christ, went out to fight on our behalf. He did not send a choir before Him; He was the choir. He was the worship. He went to the cross, and there God set an ambush. In the moment of satan's seeming triumph, the enemy was utterly defeated. Christ disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in Him (Col. 2:15).
And what is our response? We are called to do exactly what Judah did. First, we gather in our own Valley of Beracah. The place where He saved us becomes a place of blessing. We bless the God who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ. Our testimony is our memorial.
Second, we are to be a people marked by gladness. Our God has made us glad over our enemies. Sin does not have dominion over us. Death has lost its sting. The devil is a defeated foe. Therefore, our lives, and especially our corporate worship, should be a joyful procession. We come to the house of the Lord with the spiritual equivalent of harps and lyres and trumpets, with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in our hearts to the Lord.
Third, this joyful worship is to be a witness to the nations. As the world sees our confidence in God, our love for one another, and our unshakable joy, a dread is supposed to fall on them. They are to see that our God is a living God, and they are to be drawn to Him in fear and faith.
And finally, in Christ, we are given true rest. Jesus says, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). It is a rest for our souls, a quiet confidence in the finished work of our King. This is the peace that passes all understanding. It is the quiet that comes when we know that our God has fought for us and given us the victory.
Every time we come to the Lord's Table, we are re-enacting this story. We are assembling in the Valley of Beracah. We are remembering the great battle that was won for us. We are being made glad by our God. And we are anticipating that final, great procession, when we will enter the heavenly Jerusalem with the sound of trumpets, to the house of the Lord, to enjoy that perfect rest forever.