Study Desk

In the eighteenth year^(a) of Israel's King Jeroboam, Abijah^[a] became king over Judah

and reigned three years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Micaiah^[b](b) daughter of Uriel; she was from Gibeah. There was war between Abijah and Jeroboam.

Abijah set his army of warriors in order with 400,000 choice men. Jeroboam arranged his mighty army of 800,000 choice men in battle formation against him.

Then Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim,^(c) which is in the hill country of Ephraim, and said, "Jeroboam and all Israel, hear me.

Don't you know that the Lord God of Israel gave the kingship over Israel to David and his descendants forever^(d) by a covenant of salt?^(e)

But Jeroboam son of Nebat, a servant of Solomon son of David, rose up and rebelled against his lord.^(f)

Then worthless and wicked men gathered around him to resist Rehoboam son of Solomon when Rehoboam was young, inexperienced, and unable to assert himself against them.

"And now you are saying you can assert yourselves against the Lord 's kingdom, which is in the hand of one of David's sons. You are a vast number and have with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made for you as gods.^[c](g)

Didn't you banish the priests of Yahweh, the descendants of Aaron and the Levites, and make your own priests like the peoples of other lands do?^(h) Whoever comes to ordain himself⁽ⁱ⁾ with a young bull and seven rams may become a priest^(j) of what are not gods.^(k)

"But as for us, Yahweh is our God. We have not abandoned Him; the priests ministering to the Lord are descendants of Aaron, and the Levites serve at their tasks.

They offer a burnt offering and fragrant incense to the Lord every morning and every evening,^(l) and they set the rows of the bread of the Presence on the ceremonially clean table.^(m) They light the lamps of the gold lampstand every evening. We are carrying out the requirements of Yahweh our God, while you have abandoned Him.⁽ⁿ⁾

Look, God and His priests are with us at our head. The trumpets are ready to sound the charge against you. Israelites, don't fight against the Lord God of your ancestors, for you will not succeed."^(o)

Now Jeroboam had sent an ambush^(p) around to advance from behind them. So they were in front of Judah, and the ambush was behind them.

Judah turned and discovered that the battle was in front of them and behind them, so they cried out to the Lord .^(q) Then the priests blew the trumpets,

and the men of Judah raised the battle cry. When the men of Judah raised the battle cry, God routed Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.^(r)

So the Israelites fled before Judah, and God handed them over to them.^(s)

Then Abijah and his people struck them with a mighty blow, and 500,000 choice men of Israel were killed.

The Israelites were subdued at that time. The Judahites succeeded because they depended on the Lord , the God of their ancestors.

Abijah pursued Jeroboam and captured some cities from him: Bethel and its villages, Jeshanah and its villages, and Ephron^[d] and its villages.

Jeroboam no longer retained his power^[e] during Abijah's reign; ultimately, the Lord struck him^(t) and he died.^(u)

However, Abijah grew strong, acquired 14 wives, and fathered 22 sons and 16 daughters.

The rest of the events of Abijah's reign, along with his ways and his sayings, are written in the Writing^(v) of the Prophet Iddo.^(w)

^1[a]Abijah rested with his fathers and was buried in the city of David. His son Asa became king in his place.^(a) During his reign the land experienced peace for 10 years.

^[b]Asa did what was good and right^(b) in the sight of the Lord his God.

He removed the pagan altars and the high places. He shattered their sacred pillars and chopped down their Asherah poles.^(c)

He told the people of Judah to seek the Lord God of their ancestors and to carry out the instruction and the commands.

He also removed the high places and the incense altars from all the cities of Judah,^(d) and the kingdom experienced peace under him.

Because the land experienced peace, Asa built fortified cities in Judah.^(e) No one made war with him in those days because the Lord gave him rest.^(f)

So he said to the people of Judah, "Let's build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, with doors and bars.^(g) The land is still ours because we sought the Lord our God. We sought Him and He gave us rest on every side." So they built and succeeded.

Asa had an army of 300,000 from Judah bearing large shields and spears,^(h) and 280,000 from Benjamin bearing regular shields and drawing the bow. All these were brave warriors.

Then Zerah the Cushite came against them with an army of one million men and 300^[c] chariots. They came as far as Mareshah.

So Asa marched out against him and lined up in battle formation in the Valley of Zephathah at Mareshah.⁽ⁱ⁾

Then Asa cried out to the Lord his God:^(j) " Lord , there is no one besides You to help the mighty and those without strength. Help us, Lord our God, for we depend on You,^(k) and in Your name we have come against this large army. Yahweh, You are our God. Do not let a mere mortal hinder You."

So the Lord routed the Cushites before Asa and before Judah,^(l) and the Cushites fled.

Then Asa and the people who were with him pursued them as far as Gerar.^(m) The Cushites fell until they had no survivors, for they were crushed before Yahweh and His army. So the people of Judah carried off a great supply of loot.

Then they attacked all the cities around Gerar because the terror of the Lord was on them.⁽ⁿ⁾ They also plundered all the cities, since there was a great deal of plunder in them.

They also attacked the tents of the herdsmen and captured many sheep and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.

The Spirit of God came on Azariah son of Oded.^(a)

So he went out to meet Asa and said to him, "Asa and all Judah and Benjamin, hear me. The Lord is with you^(b) when you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you,^(c) but if you abandon Him, He will abandon you.^(d)

For many years Israel has been without the true God,^(e) without a teaching priest, and without instruction,^(f)

but when they turned to the Lord God of Israel in their distress and sought Him, He was found by them.

In those times there was no peace for those who went about their daily activities because the residents of the lands had many conflicts.

Nation was crushed by nation and city by city, for God troubled them with every possible distress.

But as for you, be strong; don't be discouraged,^[a] for your work has a reward."^(g)

When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Azariah son of Oded the prophet, he took courage and removed the detestable idols from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim.^(h) He renovated the altar of the Lord that was in front of the portico of the Lord 's temple.⁽ⁱ⁾

Then he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, as well as those from the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who had settled among them, for they had defected to him from Israel in great numbers when they saw that Yahweh his God was with him.^(j)

They were gathered in Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa's reign.

At that time they sacrificed to the Lord 700 cattle and 7,000 sheep from all the plunder they had brought.^(k)

Then they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord God of their ancestors with all their mind and all their heart.^(l)

Whoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel would be put to death, young or old,^[b] man or woman.^(m)

They took an oath to the Lord in a loud voice, with shouting, with trumpets, and with rams' horns.

All Judah rejoiced over the oath, for they had sworn it with all their mind. They had sought Him with all their heart, and He was found by them.⁽ⁿ⁾ So the Lord gave them rest on every side.^(o)

King Asa^(p) also removed Maacah, his grandmother,^[c](q) from being queen mother because she had made an obscene image of Asherah. Asa chopped down her obscene image, then crushed it and burned it in the Kidron Valley.^(r)

The high places were not taken away from Israel; nevertheless, Asa was wholehearted his entire life.^[d]

He brought his father's consecrated gifts and his own consecrated gifts into God's temple: silver, gold, and utensils.

There was no war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa's reign.

In the thirty-sixth year of Asa,^(a) Israel's King Baasha went to war against Judah. He built Ramah in order to deny access to anyone—going or coming—to Judah's King Asa.

So Asa brought out the silver and gold from the treasuries of the Lord 's temple and the royal palace and sent it to Aram's King Ben-hadad, who lived in Damascus, saying,

"There's a treaty between me and you, between my father and your father. Look, I have sent you silver and gold. Go break your treaty with Israel's King Baasha so that he will withdraw from me."

Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies to the cities of Israel. They attacked Ijon, Dan, Abel-maim,^[a] and all the storage cities^[b] of Naphtali.

When Baasha heard about it, he quit building Ramah and stopped his work.

Then King Asa brought all Judah, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and the timbers Baasha had built it with. Then he built Geba and Mizpah with them.

At that time, Hanani^(b) the seer came to King Asa of Judah and said to him, "Because you depended on the king of Aram and have not depended on the Lord your God,^(c) the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand.

Were not the Cushites and Libyans a vast army with many chariots and horsemen?^(d) When you depended on Yahweh, He handed them over to you.^(e)

For the eyes of Yahweh roam throughout the earth^(f) to show Himself strong for those whose hearts are completely His.^(g) You have been foolish in this matter. Therefore, you will have wars from now on."

Asa was angry with the seer and put him in prison^[c] because of his anger over this. And Asa mistreated some of the people at that time.

Note that the events^(h) of Asa's reign, from beginning to end, are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.

In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa developed a disease in his feet, and his disease became increasingly severe. Yet even in his disease he didn't seek the Lord but only the physicians.

Asa died in the forty-first year of his reign and rested with his fathers.

He was buried in his own tomb that he had made for himself in the city of David. They laid him out in a coffin that was full of spices and various mixtures of prepared ointments;⁽ⁱ⁾ then they made a great fire in his honor.^(j)