Faithfulness Illustrated in the Lives of People in the Bible cont'd

Here are more examples of the faithfulness in the lives of Biblical characters:

Elijah - So he said, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your Covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets wit the sword.  I alone am left; and they seek to take my life."

So he said, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your Covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword.  I alone am left; and they seek to take my life" (1 Kings 19:10, 14).

Josiah - Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem.  His mother's name was Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah of Bozhath.  And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in all the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left (2 Kings 22:1,2).

Abijah - Abijah was king of Judah.  There was war between Jeroboam and him.  He stood on Mount Zemaraim which was in the mountains of Ephraim and spoke to Jeroboam and all Israel.  He reminded them that God had given dominion over Israel to David forever, to him and his sons by a covenant of salt.

Jeroboam had rised up and rebelled against his lord.  He was the servant of Solomon and the son of Nebat.  Worthless rogues gathered to Jeroboam and strengthened themselves against Rehoboam, Solomon's son and heir when he was young and inexperienced and unable to withstand them.  And now they thought they could withstand the kingdom of the LORD which was in the hand of the sons of David.  The people were a great multitude and with them were the gold calves which Jeroboam had made for them as gods.

Abijah told Jeroboam and Israel that they had cast out the priests of the LORD, the sons of Aaron and the Levites and made for themselves priests like the peoples of other lands, so that whoever came and consecrated himself with a strong bull and seven rams may be a priest of things that were not gods.  Abijah told Jeroboam and the people of Israel, "But as for us, the LORD is our God, and we have not forsaken Him, and the priests who minister to the LORD are the sons of Aaron, and the Levites attend to their duties.

"And they bur to the LORD every morning and every evening  burnt sacrifices and sweet incense; they also set the show-bread in order on the pure table, and the lampstand of gold with its lamps to burn every evening; for we keep the command of the LORD our God, but you have forsaken Him.

"Now look, God Himself is with us as our Head and His priests with sounding trumpets to sound the alarm against you.  O children of Israel, do not fight against the LORD God of your fathers, for you shall not prosper" (2 Chronicles 13:4-12).

Micaiah - Then the messenger who had gone to call Micaiah spoke to him, saying, "Now listen, the words of the prophets with one accord encourage the king. Therefore please let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak encouragement."

And Micaiah said, "As the LORD lives, whatever my God says, that I will speak" (2 Chronicles 18:12, 13).

Jehoshaphat - The people of Moab with the people of Ammon and others came with them came to battle against Jehoshaphat.  When Jehoshaphat was told that a great multitude was coming against him, he feared and set himself to seek the LORD and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.

He stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem after Judah gathered together to ask help from the LORD.  They came rom all the cities of Judah to see Him.  Jehoshaphat prayed to the LORD in the house of the LORD, before the new court.

In his prayer, he acknowledged that:

• The LORD God of their fathers is the God in heaven who ruled over all the kingdoms of the nations and that there was power and might in His hand so that no one is able to withstand Him.
• He is their God who drove out the inhabitants of the land before His people Israel and gave it to the descendants of Abraham, His friend forever.  They dwell in the land and have built a sanctuary in it for His name saying that if disaster came upon them such as the sword, judgment, pestilence or famine, they stand in the temple where they were at that moment and in His presence for His name is in the temple and cry out to Him in their affliction and He would hear and save.

Jehoshaphat told the LORD that the people of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir whom He would not let Israel invade when they came out of Egypt but turned from them and did not destroy them were rewarding the people of Israel by coming to throw them out of God's possession which He had given to them 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."

All of Judah with their little ones, wives and their children stood before the LORD.

Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel and he said, "Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat!  Thus says the LORD to you:  'Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God's.'"

Jehoshaphat and the people were instructed to go down against them the next day because they were going to come up  by the ascent of Zig and they would find them at the end of the brook before the wilderness of Jeruel.  "'You will not need to fight in this battle.  Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the LORD, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem.'  Don fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them for the LORD is with you."

Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the LORD, worshipping the LORD.  The Levites of the children of the Kohathites and the children of the Korahites stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with loud and high voices.

They rose early in the morning and went into the Wilderness of Tekoa and as they went Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the LORD your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper."

Those whom he appointed to sing and praise the beauty of holiness were saying as they went before the army, "Praise the LORD, for His mercy endures forever."

When they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir who had come against Judah and hey were defeated.  For they turned against each other.  The people of Ammon and Moab turned against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy them.  And after they had done that, they helped to destroy one another.

When Judah came to a place overlooking the wilderness and looked toward the multitude they saw the dead bodies of the fallen on the earth.  No one had escaped.  Jehoshaphat and the people took away the spoil. They spent three days doing that because there was so much spoil.

Jehoshaphat and the people rejoicing as they return to Jerusalem; Image Source:  Bible Art

They returned to Judah and Jerusalem with Jehoshaphat in front of them to go back to Jerusalem with joy, for the LORD had made them rejoice over their enemies.  They came to Jerusalem with stringed instruments, harps and trumpets to the house of the LORD.  The fear of the LORD was on all the kingdoms of those countries when they heard that the LORD had fought against the enemies of Israel.  Then the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest all around (2 Chronicles 20:1-30).

So, we see the faithfulness of God toward those who are faithful to Him. He delivered them from their enemies and gave Jehoshaphat peace.