Jesus Is the Way to the Father

John 14 Jesus said to his disciples, "Don't be worried! Have faith in God and have faith in me. ²There are many rooms in my Father's house. I wouldn't tell you this, unless it was true. I am going there to prepare a place for each of you. ³After I have done this, I will come back and take you with me. Then we will be together. ⁴You know the way to where I am going."
⁵Thomas said, "Lord, we don't even know where you are going! How can we know the way?"
⁶"I am the way, the truth, and the life!" Jesus answered. "Without me, no one can go to the Father. ⁷If you had known me, you would have known the Father. But from now on, you do know him, and you have seen him."
⁸Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father. That is all we need."
⁹Jesus replied:

Philip, I have been with you for a long time. Don't you know who I am? If you have seen me, you have seen the Father. How can you ask me to show you the Father? ¹⁰Don't you believe that I am one with the Father and that the Father is one with me? What I say isn't said on my own. The Father who lives in me does these things.

¹¹Have faith in me when I say that the Father is one with me and that I am one with the Father. Or else have faith in me simply because of the things I do. ¹²I tell you for certain that if you have faith in me, you will do the same things that I am doing. You will do even greater things, now that I am going back to the Father. ¹³Ask me, and I will do whatever you ask. This way the Son will bring honor to the Father. ¹⁴I will do whatever you ask me to do.

Moab and Ammon Are Defeated

2 Chronicles 20 Some time later, the armies of Moab and Ammon, together with the Meunites, went to war against Jehoshaphat. ²Messengers told Jehoshaphat, "A large army from Edom east of the Dead Sea has invaded our country. They have already reached En-Gedi."
³Jehoshaphat was afraid, so he asked the LORD what to do. He then told the people of Judah to go without eating to show their sorrow. ⁴They immediately left for Jerusalem to ask for the LORD's help.
⁵After everyone from Judah and Jerusalem had come together at the LORD's temple, Jehoshaphat stood in front of the new courtyard ⁶and prayed:

You, LORD, are the God our ancestors worshiped, and from heaven you rule every nation in the world. You are so powerful that no one can defeat you. ⁷Our God, you forced out the nations who lived in this land before your people Israel came here, and you gave it to the descendants of your friend Abraham forever. ⁸Our ancestors lived in this land and built a temple to honor you. ⁹They believed that whenever this land is struck by war or disease or famine, your people can pray to you at the temple, and you will hear their prayer and save them.

¹⁰You can see that the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Edom are attacking us! Those are the nations you would not let our ancestors invade on their way from Egypt, so these nations were not destroyed. ¹¹Now they are coming to take back the land you gave us. ¹²Aren't you going to punish them? We won't stand a chance when this army attacks. We don't know what to do--we are begging for your help.

¹³While every man, woman, and child of Judah was standing there at the temple, ¹⁴the LORD's Spirit suddenly spoke to Jahaziel, a Levite from the Asaph clan. ¹⁵Then Jahaziel said:

Your Majesty and everyone from Judah and Jerusalem, the LORD says that you don't need to be afraid or let this powerful army discourage you. God will fight on your side! ¹⁶So here's what you must do. Tomorrow the enemy armies will march through the desert around the town of Jeruel. March down and meet them at the town of Ziz as they come up the valley. ¹⁷You won't even have to fight. Just take your positions and watch the LORD rescue you from your enemy. Don't be afraid. Just do as you're told. And as you march out tomorrow, the LORD will be there with you.

¹⁸Jehoshaphat bowed low to the ground and everyone worshiped the LORD. ¹⁹Then some Levites from the Kohath and Korah clans stood up and shouted praises to the LORD God of Israel.
²⁰Early the next morning, as everyone got ready to leave for the desert near Tekoa, Jehoshaphat stood up and said, "Listen my friends, if we trust the LORD God and believe what these prophets have told us, the LORD will help us, and we will be successful." ²¹Then he explained his plan and appointed men to march in front of the army and praise the LORD for his holy power by singing:
"Praise the LORD!
His love never ends."
²²As soon as they began singing, the LORD confused the enemy camp, ²³so that the Ammonite and Moabite troops attacked and completely destroyed those from Edom. Then they turned against each other and fought until the entire camp was wiped out!
²⁴When Judah's army reached the tower that overlooked the desert, they saw that every soldier in the enemy's army was lying dead on the ground. ²⁵So Jehoshaphat and his troops went into the camp to carry away everything of value. They found a large herd of livestock, a lot of equipment, clothes, and other valuable things. It took them three days to carry it all away, and there was still some left over.
²⁶Then on the fourth day, everyone came together in Beracah Valley and sang praises to the LORD. That's why that place was called Praise Valley.
^27-28Jehoshaphat led the crowd back to Jerusalem. And as they marched, they played harps and blew trumpets. They were very happy because the LORD had given them victory over their enemies, so when they reached the city, they went straight to the temple.
²⁹When the other nations heard how the LORD had fought against Judah's enemies, they were too afraid ³⁰to invade Judah. The LORD let Jehoshaphat's kingdom be at peace.

Jehoshaphat Dies
(1 Kings 22.41-50)

³¹Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled from Jerusalem for twenty-five years. His mother was Azubah daughter of Shilhi. ³²Jehoshaphat obeyed the LORD, just as his father Asa had done, ³³but he did not destroy the local shrines. So the people still worshiped foreign gods, instead of faithfully serving the God their ancestors had worshiped.
³⁴Everything else Jehoshaphat did while he was king is written in the records of Jehu son of Hanani that are included in The History of the Kings of Israel.
³⁵While Jehoshaphat was king, he signed a peace treaty with Ahaziah the wicked king of Israel. ³⁶They agreed to build several seagoing ships at Ezion-Geber. ³⁷But the prophet Eliezer warned Jehoshaphat, "The LORD will destroy these ships because you have supported Ahaziah." The ships were wrecked and never sailed.
2 Chronicles 21 Jehoshaphat died and was buried beside his ancestors in Jerusalem, and his son Jehoram became king.

Psalm 78

⁵⁶But the people tested God Most High,
and they refused to obey his laws.
⁵⁷They were as unfaithful as their ancestors,
and they were as crooked as a twisted arrow.
⁵⁸God demanded all their love,
but they made him angry by worshiping idols.

⁵⁹So God became furious
and completely rejected the people of Israel.
⁶⁰Then he deserted his home at Shiloh,
where he lived here on earth.
⁶¹He let enemies capture the sacred chest
and let them dishonor him.

⁶²God took out his anger on his chosen ones
and let them be killed by enemy swords.
⁶³Fire destroyed the young men,
and the young women were left with no one to marry.
⁶⁴Priests died violent deaths,
but their widows were not allowed to mourn.

⁶⁵Finally the Lord woke up,
and he shouted like a drunken soldier.
⁶⁶God scattered his enemies
and made them ashamed forever.

⁶⁷Then the Lord decided not to make his home
with Joseph's descendants in Ephraim.
⁶⁸Instead he chose the tribe of Judah,
and he chose Mount Zion, the place he loves.
⁶⁹There he built his temple
as lofty as the mountains and as solid as the earth
that he had made to last forever.

⁷⁰The Lord God chose David to be his servant
and took him from tending sheep
⁷¹and from caring for lambs.
Then God made him the leader of Israel, his own nation.
⁷²David treated the people fairly
and guided them with wisdom.