2 Chronicles 15 – 16

Asa’s Reformation

2 Chronicles 15

¹ The Spirit of God came upon Azariah son of Oded. ² He went out to meet Asa and said this to him:

⁸ When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Azariah son of ^[1] Oded the prophet, he took courage. He put away the disgusting idols from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities which he had taken from the hill country of Ephraim. He repaired the altar of the Lord, which was in front of the porch of the Lord’s house.

⁹ He gathered all Judah and Benjamin, as well as those who had settled among them from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon, because people from Israel had gone over to Asa in great numbers since they saw that the Lord his God was with him. ¹⁰ They gathered at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign. ¹¹ On that day they sacrificed to the Lord seven hundred cattle and seven thousand sheep from the plunder they had brought.

¹² They entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and with all their soul. ¹³ Anyone who did not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, was to be put to death, whether young or old, ^[2] man or woman. ¹⁴ They swore an oath to the Lord with a loud voice, with shouting, and with trumpets and ram’s horns. ¹⁵ All Judah rejoiced over the oath, because they had sworn with all their heart, and they very eagerly sought the Lord. He was found by them, and the Lord gave them rest on every side.

(1 Kings 15:13-15)

¹⁶ Asa even removed his grandmother Ma’akah from her position as queen mother, because she had made an obscene image for Asherah. Asa cut down her image and crushed it and burned it in the Kidron Valley.

¹⁷ The high places, however, were not removed from Israel. Nevertheless, Asa’s heart was completely committed throughout all his days. ¹⁸ He brought silver and gold and vessels and utensils to the House of the Lord as dedicated offerings for himself and his father.

Asa’s Treaty With Aram

¹⁹ There was no war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.

2 Chronicles 16

¹ In the thirty-sixth year of the reign of Asa, Ba’asha king of Israel attacked Judah, and he fortified Ramah, in order to keep anyone from going in or coming out from Asa king of Judah. ² So Asa took silver and gold from the treasuries of the House of the Lord and from the palace of the king and sent it to Ben Hadad king of Aram, who ruled in Damascus.

He said, ³ “There should be a treaty between you and me as there was between my father and your father. Look! I have sent you silver and gold. Go, break your treaty with Ba’asha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me.”

⁴ Ben Hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel. They conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel Maim, ^[3] and all the towns for storehouses in Naphtali. ⁵ When Ba’asha heard about it, he stopped building Ramah and put an end to his work on it. ⁶ King Asa then summoned all Judah, and they carried away from Ramah the stones and the timber which Ba’asha had been using to build it. With them he built Geba and Mizpah.

Hanani the Seer Delivers a Message to Asa

⁷ At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, “Because you relied on the king of Aram, and you did not rely on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand. ⁸ Weren’t the Cushites and the Libyans a huge army, with very many chariots and charioteers? When you relied on the Lord, he gave them into your hand. ⁹ The Lord! It is his eyes that go back and forth over all the earth to offer strong support to the hearts of those who are completely committed to ^[4] him. You have acted foolishly in this. From now on you will be at war.”

¹⁰ Asa was angry with the seer, so he put him in prison because he was in a rage against him on account of this. At this time Asa also crushed some of the people.

Asa’s Disease and Death

¹¹ You can find the acts of Asa, from first to last, written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.

¹² Asa’s feet became diseased in the thirty-ninth year of his reign. His disease was very serious, but even when he was sick, he did not seek the Lord, but only his physicians.

¹³ Asa rested with his fathers. He died in the forty-first year of his reign. ¹⁴ They buried him in his tomb, which he had cut out for himself in the City of David. They laid him on a bier ^[5] that was covered with all kinds of fragrant spices and perfumed ointments, skillfully blended by the perfume makers. They burned a very large bonfire in his honor.