1Sa 17:45-50, 2Ch 14:9-13, 20:1-30, 32:21, Psa 44:1-4, 46:8-11 | ESV | STEP | Then David said to the Philistine , You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin , but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts , the God of the armies of Israel , whom you have defied .

45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with ^aa javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, ^bwhom you have defied. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. ^cAnd I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day ^dto the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, ^ethat all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47 and that all this assembly may know that ^fthe Lord saves not with sword and spear. ^gFor the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hand.”

48 When the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. 49 And David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone and slung it and struck the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground.

50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. There was no sword in the hand of David.

2 Chronicles 14:9-13

9 Zerah ^hthe Ethiopian came out against them with an army of a million men and 300 chariots, and came as far as ⁱMareshah. 10 And Asa went out to meet him, and ^jthey drew up their lines of battle in the Valley of Zephathah at ^kMareshah. 11 And Asa ^lcried to the Lord his God, “O Lord, there is none like you to help, between the mighty and the weak. Help us, O Lord our God, ^mfor we rely on you, ⁿand in your name we have come against this multitude. O Lord, you are our God; let not man prevail against you.” 12 ^oSo the Lord defeated the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. 13 Asa and the people who were with him pursued them as far as ^pGerar, and the Ethiopians fell until none remained alive, for they were broken before the Lord and his army. The men of Judah ^{▼▼Hebrew They} carried away very much spoil.

2 Chronicles 20:1-30

Jehoshaphat’s Prayer

1 After this ^rthe Moabites and Ammonites, and with them some of the Meunites, ^{▼▼Compare 26:7; Hebrew Ammonites} came against Jehoshaphat for battle. 2 Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, “A great multitude is coming against you from Edom, ^{▼▼One Hebrew manuscript; most Hebrew manuscripts Aram (Syria)} from beyond the sea; and, behold, they are in ^uHazazon-tamar” (that is, ^vEngedi). 3 Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face ^wto seek the Lord, and ^xproclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 4 And Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord; from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.

5 And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, 6 and said, “O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not ^yGod in heaven? You ^zrule over all the kingdoms of the nations. ^aaIn your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you. 7 Did you not, our God, ^abdrive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of ^acAbraham your friend? 8 And they have lived in it and have built for you in it a sanctuary for your name, saying, 9 ^ad‘If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment, ^{▼▼Or the sword of judgment} or pestilence, or famine, ^afwe will stand before this house and before you— ^agfor your name is in this house—and cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save.’ 10 And now behold, the men of ^ahAmmon and Moab and ^aiMount Seir, whom ^ajyou would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, ^akand whom they avoided and did not destroy— 11 behold, they reward us ^alby coming to drive us out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit. 12 O our God, will you not ^amexecute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but ^anour eyes are on you.”

13 Meanwhile all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. 14 And ^aothe Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. 15 And he said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you, ^ap‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, ^aqfor the battle is not yours but God’s. 16 Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz. You will find them at the end of ^arthe valley, east of the wilderness of Jeruel. 17 ^asYou will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ ^atDo not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, ^auand the Lord will be with you.”

18 Then Jehoshaphat ^avbowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. 19 And the Levites, of the ^awKohathites and the ^axKorahites, stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.

20 And they rose early in the morning and went out into ^aythe wilderness of Tekoa. And when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! ^azBelieve in the Lord your God, and you will be established; believe his prophets, and you will succeed.” 21 And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise him ^bain holy attire, as they went before the army, and say,

^bb“Give thanks to the Lord,
for his steadfast love endures forever.”
22 And when they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ^bcan ambush against the men of ^bdAmmon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed. 23 For the men of Ammon and Moab rose against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, devoting them to destruction, and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, ^bethey all helped to destroy one another.

The Lord Delivers Judah

24 When Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness, they looked toward the horde, and behold, there ^{▼▼Hebrew they} were dead bodies lying on the ground; none had escaped. 25 When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take their spoil, they found among them, in great numbers, goods, clothing, and precious things, which they took for themselves until they could carry no more. They were three days in taking the spoil, it was so much. 26 On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Beracah, ^{▼▼ Beracah means blessing} for there they blessed the Lord. Therefore the name of that place has been called the Valley of Beracah to this day. 27 Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat at their head, returning to Jerusalem with joy, ^bhfor the Lord had made them rejoice over their enemies. 28 They came to Jerusalem with harps and lyres and trumpets, to the house of the Lord. 29 ^biAnd the fear of God came on all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. 30 So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, ^bjfor his God gave him rest all around.

2 Chronicles 32:21

21 And the Lord sent an angel, who cut off all the mighty warriors and commanders and officers in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with ^bkshame of face to his own land. And when he came into the house of his god, some of his own sons struck him down there with the sword.

Psalms 44:1-4

Come to Our Help

To the choirmaster. ^blA Maskil ^{▼▼Probably a musical or liturgical term} of the Sons of Korah.

1 O God, we have heard with our ears,
^bnour fathers have told us,
what deeds you performed in their days,
^boin the days of old:
2 you with your own hand ^bpdrove out the nations,
but ^bqthem you planted;
you afflicted the peoples,
but ^brthem you set free;
3 for not ^bsby their own sword did they win the land,
nor did their own arm save them,
but your right hand and your arm,
and ^btthe light of your face,
^bufor you delighted in them.
4 ^bvYou are my King, O God;
^bwordain salvation for Jacob!

Psalms 46:8-11

8 ^bxCome, behold the works of the Lord,
how he has brought desolations on the earth.
9 ^byHe makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he ^bzbreaks the bow and shatters the spear;
^cahe burns the chariots with fire.
10 ^cb“Be still, and know that I am God.
^ccI will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”
11 ^cdThe Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

1 Samuel 17:45-50