Part One: God’s Great Goodness

How did Israel react when faced with adversity? Among other things, the people built a golden calf, they murmured when all they had to eat was Manna, and they longed for the leeks and the garlic from Egypt. Though there was always a faithful remnant of prophets and some kings, the nation itself was never satisfied and often complained. God had delivered Israel many times but the people never seemed to trust God enough to declare His great goodness for more than a short while.

How do we react when faced with adversity? Do we praise God for His great goodness or do we murmur and complain? Do we thank Him for His watch care or do we turn from Him and seek other solutions to our problems?

After the battle, they looked and saw that none had escaped (verse 24). God had protected Israel once again. How did Jehoshaphat and Judah fare after that stunning display of trust, thankfulness and praise? "So the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace ... he walked in the way of his father Asa and did not depart from it, doing right in the sight of the LORD" (verses 30, 32). That sounds admirable, but the return to God was not complete: "The high places, however, were not removed; the people had not yet directed their hearts to the God of their fathers" (verse 33 NAS).

Note the language — the high places. Likenesses of Baal and Asherah were placed on poles and set up on the hills for all to see and worship. Judah united, petitioned God for deliverance, God delivered them and they still did not direct their hearts to God!

Now Jehoshaphat, after saying, "praise the LORD, how great is thy goodness," and after witnessing God’s saving grace toward Judah, even he eventually turned his face away for a while. "And after this Jehoshaphat king of Judah allied himself with Ahaziah king of Israel. He acted wickedly in so doing. Then Eliezer ... prophesied against Jehoshaphat saying, ‘Because you have allied yourself with Ahaziah, the LORD has destroyed your works’" (Verses 35, 37). Judah failed to truly recognize God’s great goodness. They praised His name before and after the destruction of their enemies but they did not remove their idols.

This is not what David had in his heart when he proclaimed, "How great is thy goodness." David praised God even in adversity. Israel expressed the sentiments of David only when God specially blessed them and quickly forgot His goodness, returning to their evil ways.

How are the words "How great is thy goodness" reflected in the Church of the Firstborn? Do they radiate from us only when we receive a major blessing like Judah did in 2 Chronicles chapter 20? Or do we express this sentiment willingly and joyously most of the time and then turn from God and pursue our own interests for a while, as Jehoshaphat did?

Israel was in covenant relationship with God. They were God’s chosen people (Amos 3:2). They should have feared and reverenced God. Many times, God blessed them even when their reverence towards Him was temporary, as noted in the previous section.

God promised to bless Israel in many ways if they remained faithful to their covenant with Him. Deuteronomy 28 is very specific about how God would bless them: "The LORD will cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you; they shall come out against you one way and shall flee before you seven ways" (Deuteronomy 28:7 NAS). This is precisely what happened to Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20. Even in that dark hour, Judah shouted in one accord, "Thank you LORD for your everlasting lovingkindness!" Jehovah totally destroyed the three nations who were about to attack Judah. He kept His part of the covenant despite Judah’s unbelief.

Israel agreed to follow God’s commandment, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them" (Exodus 20:3-5 KJV). Yet Judah did not remove the idols in high places (2 Chronicles 20:33 NAS). Those idols stood before, during and after the battle was over.

God hates idol worship but He still delivered Judah. Why? Hebrews 11: 6 KJV) says that, "he [God] is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." That principle, which stands today, stood long before Paul penned the actual words. In our example from 2 Chronicles 20, all the people of Judah came together and called on the LORD for deliverance. He responded favorably. He is such a merciful and gracious God. He did not say to Jehoshaphat and Judah, "no, I’m not going to save you from this imminent attack until you tear down the idols in the high places once and for all." He gave them the opportunity to do so after He delivered them. This is similar to how the world will be delivered from this present evil age even though it has not followed God’s commandments. Then, during the Kingdom, the people will have opportunity to purge their hearts and worship the one and only true God.

There is another lesson contained in this example. Though the prospective Church members do not worry about attacks from the Moabites, the Ammonites, and the Meunites, there are three enemies continually attacking new creatures: the world, the flesh, and the devil. How do we respond to imminent attacks? How do we react during the attack? And how do we react after the attack, whether delivered or not? Do we keep our idols or do the trials motivate us to eliminate worldly desires and ambitions that hinder our growth in Christ?

When David wrote "How great is thy goodness," he was also grieving. What a powerful lesson for us! We have good examples of Christians praising Jehovah, even when their circumstances were far from desirable to the flesh. Consider Paul and Silas singing praises to God while in prison (Acts 16:23-25). Consider the difference between their reaction and Judah’s reaction in 2 Chronicles 20. Judah was told beforehand that God would take care of the situation. However, Paul and Silas had no such confirmation. Likewise, we should sing praises to our Heavenly Father even when we find ourselves in unpleasant circumstances.

There is an important distinction between the word fear in part two and the word trust being considered here. According to Young’s Concordance, fear means "fearing or reverencing" and trust means to take "refuge or trust." In the story of Jehoshaphat, the people of Judah reverenced Jehovah. "On the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Berachah; for there they blessed the LORD" (2 Chronicles 20:26).

The word blessed here means to "kneel, to declare blessed." But did they trust God? "The high places were not taken away: for as yet the people had not prepared [Strong’s, directed] their hearts unto the God of their fathers" (2 Chronicles 20:33). Judah praised God openly, but did not trust Him enough (just in case!) to tear down their idols. Conversely, Paul and Silas had no idea what God would do when they were thrown into prison. However, they had complete trust in God and committed themselves to His providence.

What about us? Do we trust God even when we cannot trace Him? When we are in the midst heavy trials, do we trust that He is aware of our situation and overrules for the best outcome for us? Do we, like Paul and Silas, sing praises to God while bound in the prison of life? We should ask ourselves daily, "Do I praise the LORD, worship the LORD, and love the LORD? Or do I say I trust the Lord but still take refuge in money, family, things, comforts, factions, or non-scriptural ideas that make me feel good or safe?" That latter indicates that our hearts are still directed toward these idols and not the Lord. There are many people that reverence God and call on His name. But there are only a relative few who not only call on His name and have directed their hearts to Him, but trust Him to the uttermost. Might this be a deciding factor in whether we are truly an overcomer?

The phrase "the sons of men" appears 21 times in the Old Testament and in each case it means those who are in the world, mankind. There are two ways of defining the word before, and either one could be correct. The first definition would be chronological. God’s great goodness is available to Jesus’ followers while they are still in the flesh during the Gospel Age.

The followers of Jesus obtain knowledge of God prior to the remainder of mankind. The scriptures are opened up to believers through God’s holy Spirit. "But the Counselor, the holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you" (John 14:26 NIV). This statement to the apostles provided the promise of comfort to Jesus’ followers through the holy Spirit. This is still true. "Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work" (2 Thessalonians 2:16, 17 KJV).

Followers of Jesus are judged before the remainder of mankind. Jesus said, "If any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not" (John 12:47 KJV). If the potential church members are judged before the sons of men, then it follows that God would have wrought for them chronologically before the world in general. The rest of mankind will be resurrected, Satan will be bound for a thousand years, no one will hurt or destroy them, and then they will be taught righteousness, God’s holy Spirit will be poured out on all of them, and they will be judged in righteousness (1 Corinthians 15:22, Revelation 20:2, Isaiah 11:9, Micah 4:1-4, Joel 2:28,29, Isaiah 26:9).

God’s great goodness is laid up for mankind but God will work with them through Christ and his bride at a later time during the Kingdom. What will He do for them? This is answered by the second way the word "before" may be defined in the phrase under consideration: "in front of the sons of men." There are many examples of this in scripture.

Consider Daniel praying by his window daily, without concern for the new edict put forth by the king. Consider Stephen, who under threat of death said to the council, "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God" (Acts 7:56). Consider Paul when he preached to the Greeks in the market square or on Mars Hill.

These devout men, along with many others, trusted God fully. They were not ashamed to openly worship God and preach about His goodness before the sons of men. Can we who have the great privilege of knowing the Lord do the same? Should not we "Let [our] light so shine before men, that they may see [our] good works, and glorify [our] Father which is in heaven," giving no thought about how the world reacts to us (Matthew 5:16)? Let all who are pressing toward the mark for the prize of the high calling (Philippians 3:14) declare each day, "Oh Father, how great is thy goodness!"