" And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Berachah, for there they blessed The Lord: therefore the name of the same place was called, The valley of Berachah, unto thus day. "
2 Chronicles 20 v 26
The word " Berachah" comes from the Hebrew word Barak or blessing. Blessing The Lord with our adoration, praise and thanksgiving for fighting our battles and securing deliverance and victory for us makes us truly blessed. A valley is a metaphor for the low points in our lives. When we exalt The Lord when we hit a low or are feeling despondent, He will lift us up for to be blessed means to be lifted up. Every day in our lives we need to have a valley of Berachah time to focus on The Lord and His Word, to worship and thank Him for all His benefits.
King Jehoshaphat called the battlefield the valley of Berachah. The name Jehoshaphat means "Jehovah is Judge. " He led the people of Judah in kneeling before The Lord, the righteous Judge to seek His intervention and help against a formidable and powerful multitude or array of enemies. The word " Barekh" also means to kneel or to humble oneself before God. When we humble ourselves before God He will turn our battlefields into fields or sources of blessing and great joy and gratitude. Kneeling in prayer precedes victory while kneeling in worship succeeds victory.
After every deliverance or victory we experience due to the grace of God, we need to assemble to praise The Lord. A bended knee can touch and move the heart of God Almighty to act on our behalf rather than a show of religiousity, elaborate rituals or sacrifices. Our homes and the places of conflict in our lives are valleys of Berachah. For three days, the people of Judah engaged in taking the spoils of riches of their dead and defeated enemies, the Moabites and Ammonites. After this event, Judah had rest and peace all around Our peace and blessings are the spoils of victory of Jesus over the eternal and evil enemy of our souls. We can indeed rejoice in these spoils and give glory to God in all our valley of Berachah experiences.
Prateep V Philip
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