2 Chronicles 15:1-19
1 And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded:
2 And he went out to meeta Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The LORD is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.
3 Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law.
4 But when they in their trouble did turn unto the LORD God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them.
5 And in those times there was no peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in, but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the countries.
6 And nation was destroyedb of nation, and city of city: for God did vex them with all adversity.
7 Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded.
8 And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from mount Ephraim, and renewed the altar of the LORD, that was before the porch of the LORD.
9 And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and the strangers with them out of Ephraim and Manasseh, and out of Simeon: for they fell to him out of Israel in abundance, when they saw that the LORD his God was with him.
10 So they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa.
11 And they offered unto the LORD the same time, of the spoil which they had brought, seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep.
12 And they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul;
13 That whosoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman.
14 And they sware unto the LORD with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets.
15 And all Judah rejoiced at the oath: for they had sworn with all their heart, and sought him with their whole desire; and he was found of them: and the LORD gave them rest round about.
16 And also concerning Maachah the motherc of Asa the king, he removed her from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove: and Asa cut down her idol, and stamped it, and burnt it at the brook Kidron.
17 But the high places were not taken away out of Israel: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days.
18 And he brought into the house of God the things that his father had dedicated, and that he himself had dedicated, silver, and gold, and vessels.
19 And there was no more war unto the five and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa.
2 Chronicles: God desires loyal people
The *Kingdom called Judah
2 Chronicles Chapter s 10 to 36
Ian Mackervoy
Chapter 15
Asa obeys the *prophet – 2 Chronicles 15:1-8
v1 The Spirit of God came upon Oded’s son, Azariah. v2 He went to meet Asa. And he said, ‘Listen to me Asa and all of you people in Judah and Benjamin. The *LORD is with you while you are with him. If you obey him, you will find him. But if you leave him, he will leave you. v3 For a long time, *Israel was without the real God. They did not have a priest who taught them. And they did not have the law. v4 But when they were in trouble, they *turned to the *LORD, *Israel’s God. They searched for him and they found him. v5 In those days, it was not safe to travel. There was much trouble in all the nations. v6 One nation destroyed another nation. The people from one city destroyed another city. And God disturbed them with all kinds of trouble. v7 But you be strong. Do not give up, because the *LORD will reward your work.’
v8 Asa heard these words and the message of the *prophecy from Oded’s son, Azariah. His courage increased. And he removed the awful images of false gods from all of Judah and Benjamin. Also, he removed them from the towns that he had *captured in the hills of Ephraim. He repaired the *LORD’s *altar that was in front of the entrance to the *LORD’s *temple.
Verses 1-7 The Spirit of God gave to Oded’s son, Azariah a message for King Asa. This is the only reference to Azariah, so we do not know any more about him. As Asa returned from the battle to Jerusalem, Azariah went to meet him. He spoke to Asa and to all the people that were with him.
The message that Azariah brings is a simple one. The message is as true for us as it was for Judah. If they were loyal to the *LORD, the *LORD would be with them. Those who look for God will find him (Deuteronomy 4:29). But they must obey the *LORD. If they *turn away from him, the *LORD will *turn away from them.
The recent battle was proof that the *LORD was with Asa. His success came from the fact that Asa and Judah had called out to God for his help. And God answered their prayers.
For a long time, *Israel had *turned away from the real God. They had neglected the *worship of their God. During the days of the judges, they did not have the law and the priests did not teach them. But they *turned to *worship other gods. In that state, they had a lot of trouble and many *disasters. But when they *turned again to the *LORD, he helped them.
The end of the message was an appeal for strong trust in God. Asa must continue as he had started. He had to continue in the work. And he had to bring the people back to *worship the *LORD. If he did do this then the *LORD would reward him for his work.
Verse 8 Asa obeyed the message that Azariah had given to him. Already he had done a lot to remove the images of the gods from Judah (14:3-4). Now he was bold and eager to complete the task. He started with Judah and Benjamin. He removed all the images of gods from these territories. Then he removed the images from the towns in Ephraim that he controlled.
Asa had *captured these towns in Ephraim from the northern *kingdom. We do not know when this happened. Probably it was after the battles with Zerah. Asa’s father Abijah had *captured towns in that region when he defeated Jeroboam (13:19).
Asa repaired the *altar that was in front of the entrance to the *LORD’s *temple. This was the *altar for *sacrifices by fire to the *LORD.
Asa’s agreement with God – 2 Chronicles 15:9-19
v9 Then Asa gathered to him all the people from Judah and Benjamin. Also, he gathered those people from other *tribes who lived in Judah. These people were from the *tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon. The *LORD, Asa’s God was with him. Therefore, many people came to him from *Israel.
v10 All these people came together in Jerusalem. It was in the 3rd month of Asa’s 15th year as king. v11 Then they *sacrificed to the *LORD 700 *oxen and 7000 sheep. They had *captured these animals in the battle with Gerar. v12 Then they made an agreement to obey the *LORD, the God of their *ancestors. They would obey him with all their heart and with all their mind. v13 Anyone who refused to obey the *LORD, the God of *Israel, would die. This rule applied to all whether important or not important, man or woman. v14 The people made a sincere promise to the *LORD. They shouted with loud voices and they sounded *trumpets and *horns. v15 All the people in Judah were happy about the promise. They had made it and they meant it with all their heart. They looked for God and they found him. And the *LORD gave to them peace all round their country.
v16 King Asa removed his grandmother from her function as queen mother. That was because she had made an awful image of the false god *Asherah. Asa cut down that image and he broke it to pieces. Then he burned it in the Kidron Valley. v17 He did not remove out of *Israel the high places for *worship to false gods. But Asa was loyal to the *LORD all his life. v18 He brought into God’s *temple the gifts that he and his father had given. These gifts were of gold, silver and other things.
v19 There was no war until the 35th year of Asa’s rule.
Verse 9 Many people from the northern *tribes still *worshipped the *LORD. Some of these people had come to live in Judah. But many more came to Asa from *Israel as he gathered the people together.
The territory of Simeon was in the south but many of that *tribe had gone to the north. Now people from Simeon returned to the south.
Verses 10-15 The third month was May to June. The 15th year of Asa’s rule was about 897 *BC. That was probably the year after Zerah’s attack.
The people came together in Jerusalem. They may have come for the *feast of *Pentecost, which was in the third month.
The people took the animals that they had brought from Gerar (14:14-15). And they *sacrificed 700 *oxen and 7000 sheep to the *LORD.
Then all the people agreed to obey the *LORD. They believed again the promise that the *LORD had made with *Israel. They promised to *worship the God of their *ancestors. And they promised that they would not *worship any other god. The punishment for those who did not obey that promise was death (Deuteronomy 17:2-5). This rule was for every person whether important or not important, male or female.
The people really meant what they agreed. They made their decision public with loud shouts of joy. As they shouted, there was the sound of *trumpets and *horns. The people were so happy as they gave themselves to the *LORD.
As they looked for him, so the *LORD met with them. They knew that the *LORD was with them. And if we look for him with all our heart and with all our mind, we will find him.
Because the nation *turned to the *LORD, he gave to them peace all round their borders.
Verses 16-18 Asa’s grandmother was Rehoboam’s second wife Maacah (11:20). As the queen mother, she had a lot of authority in the country and in the king’s family. But Asa was loyal to the *LORD rather than to his grandmother. He removed her from her function as the queen mother.
Maacah had made an image of *Asherah, which she *worshipped. That is why Asa removed her from her function. Then he broke that image into small pieces. And he burned those pieces in the Kidron Valley.
The Kidron Valley is between the east wall of Jerusalem and the *Mount of Olives.
Asa was loyal to the *LORD all his life. But he was not able to persuade all the people to follow him in this. Some of the people were not as loyal to the *LORD as he was. They continued to *worship at the high places and *altars of false gods.
These high places for *worship were in *Israel. This may mean that they were in the territory of the northern *kingdom. But the name *Israel sometimes means the *kingdom called Judah. Here it probably means Judah as the area that Asa was king over.
It was a custom for a king to give part of what he had won in battle to God. So, Asa probably brought to the *temple valuable things that he took from the battle with Zerah (14:9-15). The gifts from his father Abijah probably included valuable things from his battle with Jeroboam (13:19). Many of these things were silver and gold.
Verse 19 There was no war until the 35th year of Asa’s rule. This means no war with nations other than *Israel. All through his rule, *Israel and Judah had fought each other. Asa and Baasha fought wars all the time that they were kings (1 Kings 15:16). Baasha became king of *Israel in the third year of Asa’s rule (1 Kings 15:33). And Baasha died in the 26th year of Asa’s rule (1 Kings 16:8).
kingdom ~ the place or territory where a king rules; or, the people that a king rules over.
prophet ~ person who speaks on behalf of God. He or she can sometimes say what will happen in the future. Some prophets worshipped false gods. So, not all prophets spoke words from God.
worship ~ to praise God and to give thanks to him; to show honour to God and to say that we love him very much. But some people worship false gods instead of the real God.
LORD ~ ‘LORD’ is the special name that God gave to himself. It means that God has always been.
lord ~ someone with authority such as the king.
turn ~ to decide to support someone. Or, to decide to oppose someone. If a person ‘turns away from God’, that person decides not to be loyal to God. If a person ‘turns to God’, that person decides to be loyal to God.
prophecy ~ a message from God; a gift of the Holy Spirit. But sometimes false prophets tried to speak a prophecy.
prophet ~ person who speaks on behalf of God. He or she can sometimes say what will happen in the future. Some prophets worshipped false gods. So, not all prophets spoke words from God.
worship ~ to praise God and to give thanks to him; to show honour to God and to say that we love him very much. But some people worship false gods instead of the real God.
capture ~ to fight for something and to make it yours as a result; or, to make somebody a prisoner.
altar ~ the special table that someone made out of stone or wood or metal; on it they burnt animals or they offered other gifts to God or to false gods.
temple ~ a special building for the worship of God or of other gods. The Jews had one in Jerusalem for the worship of the real God.
worship ~ to praise God and to give thanks to him; to show honour to God and to say that we love him very much. But some people worship false gods instead of the real God.
Jews ~ another name for the *Israelites.
worship ~ to praise God and to give thanks to him; to show honour to God and to say that we love him very much. But some people worship false gods instead of the real God.
disaster ~ when something very bad happens.
kingdom ~ the place or territory where a king rules; or, the people that a king rules over.
sacrifice ~ something that people give to God. If it was an animal, the priests would burn all or part of it on an altar. That was to say thank you to God, or to ask him to forgive. God made Jesus to be a sacrifice because of our sins. To sacrifice is to give a sacrifice.
altar ~ the special table that someone made out of stone or wood or metal; on it they burnt animals or they offered other gifts to God or to false gods.
sin ~ sin is the wrong things that we do. To sin is to do wrong, bad or evil deeds and not to obey God. Those who sin are sinners.
tribe ~ the *Israelites were divided into the 12 families of the sons of Jacob. These families are the 12 tribes of *Israel.
oxen ~ large and strong animals that farmers used. Another word for oxen is bulls.
bull ~ the male animal that mates with a cow.
ancestors ~ people in history that your family has come from.
trumpet ~ a musical instrument; it makes a sound when a person blows into it.
horn ~ a thing like a pointed stick that grows on an animal’s head; or, a musical instrument.
Asherah ~ a female god.
BC ~ years before Christ was born.
feast ~ a large meal; but in this book a feast is often a special time when the people came together to worship God.
worship ~ to praise God and to give thanks to him; to show honour to God and to say that we love him very much. But some people worship false gods instead of the real God.
Pentecost ~ one of the special feasts to thank God for the harvest of grain.
feast ~ a large meal; but in this book a feast is often a special time when the people came together to worship God.
worship ~ to praise God and to give thanks to him; to show honour to God and to say that we love him very much. But some people worship false gods instead of the real God.
mount ~ a short word for mountain; small mountain.