Study Desk

^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.