Study Desk

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)

His son Jehoshaphat became king in his place^(a) and strengthened himself against Israel.

He stationed troops in every fortified city of Judah^(b) and set garrisons in the land of Judah and in the cities of Ephraim that his father Asa had captured.^(c)

Now the Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he walked in the former ways of his father David.^[a] He did not seek the Baals

but sought the God of his father and walked by His commands, not according to the practices of Israel.^(d)

So the Lord established the kingdom in his hand. Then all Judah brought him tribute, and he had riches and honor in abundance.^(e)

His mind rejoiced in the Lord 's ways, and he again^(f) removed the high places and Asherah poles from Judah.^(g)

In the third year of his reign, Jehoshaphat sent his officials—Ben-hail,^[b] Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah—to teach in the cities of Judah.^(h)

The Levites with them were Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah,^[c] Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tob-adonijah; the priests, Elishama and Jehoram, were with these Levites.

They taught throughout Judah, having the book of the Lord 's instruction with them.⁽ⁱ⁾ They went throughout the towns of Judah and taught the people.

The terror of the Lord was on all the kingdoms of the lands that surrounded Judah,^(j) so they didn't fight against Jehoshaphat.

Some of the Philistines also brought gifts and silver as tribute to Jehoshaphat, and the Arabs brought him flocks: 7,700 rams and 7,700 male goats.^(k)

Jehoshaphat grew stronger and stronger. He built fortresses^(l) and storage cities in Judah

and carried out great works in the towns of Judah. He had fighting men, brave warriors, in Jerusalem.

These are their numbers according to their ancestral families. For Judah, the commanders of thousands: Adnah the commander and 300,000 brave warriors with him;

next to him, Jehohanan the commander and 280,000 with him;

next to him, Amasiah son of Zichri, the volunteer^(m) of the Lord , and 200,000 brave warriors with him;

from Benjamin, Eliada, a brave warrior, and 200,000 with him armed with bow and shield;

next to him, Jehozabad and 180,000 with him equipped for war.

These were the ones who served the king, besides those he stationed in the fortified cities throughout all Judah.⁽ⁿ⁾