When Tragedy Gives Birth to Blessings
Judah gathers the spoils for three days and holds a fourth-day assembly for the single purpose of blessing the Lord. Rev. Dr. Lewis closes the pastoral teaching with the Valley of Berachah — blessings not on the mountaintop but in the valley — and calls the reader into a posterity of remembered provision.
The ultimate goal of our Heavenly Father is to provide for us, His children. He is not an absentee Father, nor are we latch key children. There is a beautiful portrait of the Master in both (Matthew 23:37 and Luke 13:34) that pictures Jesus as a hen gathering her brood under her wings. Like the mother hen, he dots, watches over and cares for His own.
His care and His concern is for every detail of our lives, no matter how minute or seemingly insignificant. Our needs, both tangible and intangible, of the body and of the soul, are of paramount concern to Him. For He is not just a God of the soul-man, but He is a God of the whole-man. Our response then, to Jehovah-Jireh, God the Provider, is to trust Him to provide for our every need. In His teachings about the folly of worry and dismay, Jesus said unto His disciples, "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." (Luke 12:32) So then, why not allow our loving, Heavenly Father have His good pleasure. Begin to trust Him with that very need, that item or issue that you have been holding onto. The one that has caused you so much angst, agony, and anxiety. He has already proven that He is a Provider.
When the king and the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem came to take away the spoils, the valuables those three nations had brought with them; it was more than they could carry away. What a difference a day makes.
The previous day began with despair, but this day ends with delight. Yesterday began with bane, but this day ends with blithe. Yesterday began with tragedy, but this day ends with blessing. It is a testimony to the fact that God is able to deliver blessings from the womb of tragedy.
What a difference a day makes when we trust God to handle our crisis, those great companies coming against us for which we have no might.
There is an old adage that says that, "An army travels on its stomach." If that be the case, then these three nations that had come against Jehoshaphat to battle brought with them, in addition to the precious jewels, herds of cattle, sheep, goats, oxen, precious oil, raiment, tools, weapons, etc.
The ancient chronicler does not indicate how many were assigned to the task of the gathering of the spoils, but he does tell us that it was in such an abundance that it took three days to perform this delightful duty.
The Hebrew word for bless (barak) means to praise, worship abundantly and altogether adore.
On the fourth day, they had a general assembly. There was only item on the agenda. And that was the blessing of the Lord! What a wonderful testimony for believers to gather together, simply for the purpose of blessing the Name of the Lord.
The Hebrew word for bless (barak) means to praise, worship abundantly and altogether adore. For when one considers God's hand of deliverance and His provision in the midst of the tragic circumstance of life, can we do no less? In response to the bountiful way in which the Lord hath dealt with him, the psalmist wonders in what way possible could he show his gratitude. Therefore, he excitedly utters the question that should be on the lips of all saints, "What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me?" (Psalm 116:12)
Note, also the place of the provision and the praise. It was in the valley. Not all blessings are found upon mountaintops. Our Father is able to bless us, even in the valleys of life. Many are exhausting themselves, trying to make it to the mountaintop in search of blessings, thinking that, "If only they could change their location." When all they have to do is look right there in valleys of life. There are blessings in abundance. For Judah it was more than they could carry away.
Maybe you think that this is just an ancient Bible story written to encourage us in our valley experiences and our seasons of barrenness. Well, you would be correct. However, it is much more. Not only is it the telling of an actual historical event of how God provided for His children. That same God who provided for the ancients, provides for His children today. In His words through the Messenger, He changes not. (See Malachi 3:6)
Because of God's miraculous deliverance and provision in this place, they renamed the Tekoan wilderness, the Valley of Berachah. (meaning Valley of Blessings) They marked the place of blessings so that their children and their children's children would know that there their God provided for them and there they blessed the Lord. In fact, at the writing of these events, the chronicler records, ". . therefore the name of the same place was called, The valley of Berachah, unto this day." (2 Chronicles 20:26b)
Over the years, I have had the privilege of reading the souvenir journals of many local congregations across this nation. I have, repeatedly, been intrigued and blessed to read the humble beginnings of each congregation and how God blessed them, increased their territory, and provided for their every need.
On another level, Family Reunions and Family Gatherings are excellent times to record, rehearse and remember the blessings of our Heavenly Father in the lives of our families. With the invention of the internet, the researching and recording of significant events can be greatly reduced. Why not decide today, as a matter of posterity, a matter of leaving your children and your children's children record of the moving of God in the life of your family.
The children of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem with Jehoshaphat in the forefront marched home with the same attitude they marched toward their enemies, an attitude of joy and praise. When we live a life of dependency on our Heavenly Father for His protection and provision, joy and praise are not just the order of the day, but it is a way of life.
Finally, God's deliverance and provisions in the valley was spread abroad to all the kingdoms of those countries. When they had heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel the fear of God was upon them.
Chapter 6 stages a dialectic between two accounts of provision and the biblical account that resolves them.
Thesis: Provision is transactional — a reward for right behavior. Under this reading, Judah's spoils are payment for their obedience.
Antithesis: Provision is incidental — an accidental benefit unrelated to covenant. Under this reading, the spoils are luck.
Synthesis (Lewis's pastoral resolution): Provision is covenantal — the natural consequence of Jehovah-Jireh's fidelity to His people. It is not payment and not accident; it is the character of God expressed as supply. The three days of gathering and the fourth day of blessing (barak) make the point liturgically: the material and the spiritual belong together in a single covenant.
The Valley of Berachah — literally 'Valley of Blessing' — becomes the pastoral center of Rev. Dr. Lewis's closing teaching. Judah does not name a mountaintop; they name a valley. Blessing has a valley address.
The three days of gathering plus the fourth day of assembly is a deliberate liturgical rhythm: work then worship, receive then respond.
'They found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies, and precious jewels' (v. 25) — provision arrives entangled with the aftermath of enemy destruction. Blessing is not always separable from grief; sometimes it is gathered from the field where the enemies fell.
The chapter closes with 'the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet' (v. 30). The final gift is not more spoils but shalom — an active peace, not the mere absence of war.
Blessing has a valley address. Berachah is not on the mountaintop; it is in the wilderness where the enemies fell.
Barak — to bless, to worship abundantly, to altogether adore — is the fourth-day response to the three-day provision. Reception without response is theft; response without reception is performance.
Judah did not merely gather the spoils; they marked the place. Provision that is not remembered is provision that is not stewarded for the next generation.
Provision is not payment and not accident; it is the character of God expressed as supply. God the Provider is the closing name of this pastoral arc.
The final gift is quiet — not the absence of war but the active peace of a realm that has learned to trust.
The Valley of Berachah is traditionally identified with modern Wadi al-Arrub, southwest of Bethlehem. The name persists in local memory — a rare biblical toponym still recognizable on the landscape.
Three-plus-one liturgical rhythms are common in Chronicler theology: three days of preparation followed by a fourth day of assembly and worship. The pattern intentionally echoes creation (six days plus Sabbath).
Barak (Hebrew: to kneel, bless, praise) is the same root behind names like Barak the judge and Barnabas ('son of encouragement'). Blessing is not primarily verbal; it is a posture.
The chapter's closing verse — 'the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest' — echoes the Deuteronomic promise of rest in the land, now enacted in miniature.
For preachers: preach the valley address of blessing. Congregations discipled to expect blessing only on the mountaintop miss the Berachah season.
For leaders: build the fourth day into your rhythm. Three days of gathering without a fourth day of blessing produces exhausted people; four days of the pattern produces worshipful ones.
For families: practice posterity. Mark the places of God's provision so your children and grandchildren know the address of the valley.
For pastors: teach the shalom conclusion. Quiet is not the absence of ministry; it is often the gift of it.
For discipleship: rehearse Jehovah-Jireh in every provision — from a modest paycheck to a miraculous rescue. The name reframes the gift.
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What is our Heavenly Father's ultimate goal?
At what place physically were the blessings and provisions given unto Judah?
Discuss the place of blessings and provisions our Heavenly Father has given you. Both physically and spiritually.
Share with the group your plans for recording the significant events in the life of your family.
Why should joy and praises be a way of life?
Where in your life has blessing had a valley address? What did the valley teach that the mountain could not?
Describe your fourth day — the disciplined response of blessing after the three days of receiving. Does it exist?
What are you doing to mark the places of God's provision for the next generation?
Where is God asking you to name a current supply Jehovah-Jireh — Provider — rather than crediting it to your own competence?
What would quiet look like in your realm this year, and what would you have to relinquish for it to arrive?
Heavenly Father, Finally, Father, we thank you for your provision. We know that you are concerned about every detail of our lives. You are God not just of the soul-man, but the whole-man. Oft times what we view as a tragedy is your way of providing blessings to us. We will be mindful never to instruct you how to care for us but just trust you to provide. For Father, you are indeed, Jehovah-Jireh, God the Provider. In the caring Name of Jesus we pray. AMEN.
Name the valley of blessing publicly. Do not let your people miss the Berachah in your ministry's calendar because no one gave it a name.
Institutionalize the fourth day. Build a rhythm of received-then-responded blessing into your ministry year.
Champion posterity. Every provision is an inheritance if the leader tells the story.
Preach Jehovah-Jireh into every budget conversation, every fundraising appeal, every crisis of supply.
In discipleship, help members catalog their Berachahs — the valleys where blessing arrived. The list itself becomes a means of grace.
In family ministry, teach parents to mark the places of provision with their children.
In stewardship, reframe giving as barak — the fourth-day response to a three-day provision.
In counseling, help members recognize shalom as the closing gift. Restlessness at the end of a battle is often unmarked victory.
Name your Valley of Berachah. Describe the terrain honestly.
Describe your fourth-day discipline — the practiced response of blessing. If it doesn't exist yet, draft it.
What one act of posterity will you undertake this year? Write it down and set a date.
Rename a recent supply Jehovah-Jireh. What changes in your gratitude?
What would you have to relinquish to receive shalom as the closing gift of this season?