2 Chronicles 15

1 God's Spirit came to Azariah, son of Oded.

2 Azariah went to Asa and said to him, "Listen to me, Asa and all you men from Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you when you are with him. If you will dedicate your lives to serving him, he will accept you. But if you abandon him, he will abandon you.

3 For a long time Israel was without the true God, without a priest who taught [correctly], and without Moses' Teachings.

4 But when they were in trouble, they turned to the LORD God of Israel. When they searched for him, he let them find him.

5 At those times no one could come and go in peace, because everyone living in the land had a lot of turmoil.

6 One nation crushed another nation; one city crushed another. God had tormented them with every kind of trouble.

7 But you must remain strong and not become discouraged. Your actions will be rewarded."

8 When Asa heard the prophet Oded's words of prophecy, he was encouraged and put away the detestable idols from all of Judah, Benjamin, and the cities he had captured in the mountains of Ephraim. He also repaired the LORD's altar in front of the LORD's entrance hall.

9 Then Asa gathered all the people from Judah and Benjamin and the foreigners who had come from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon. (Many of them had come to him from Israel when they saw that Asa's God, the LORD, was with him.)

10 In the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa's reign, they gathered in Jerusalem.

11 On that day they sacrificed to the LORD a part of the loot they had brought with them: 700 cattle and 7,000 sheep.

12 They made an agreement with one another to dedicate their lives to serving the LORD God of their ancestors with all their heart and soul.

13 All people (young or old, male or female) who refused to dedicate their lives to the LORD God of Israel were to be killed.

14 Asa and the people swore their oath to the LORD with shouts, singing, and the blowing of trumpets and rams' horns.

15 All the people of Judah were overjoyed because of the oath, since they took the oath wholeheartedly. They took great pleasure in looking for the LORD, and he let them find him. So the LORD surrounded them with peace.

16 King Asa also removed his grandmother Maacah from the position of queen mother because she made a statue of the repulsive goddess Asherah. Asa cut the statue down, crushed it, and burned it in the Kidron Valley.

17 Although the illegal worship sites in Israel were not taken down, Asa remained committed [to the LORD] his entire life.

18 He brought into God's temple the silver, the gold, and the utensils he and his father had set apart as holy.

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

2 Chronicles 15 Commentary

Chapter 15

The people make a solemn covenant with God.

- The work of complete reformation appeared so difficult, that Asa had not courage to attempt it, till assured of Divine assistance and acceptance. He and his people offered sacrifices to God; thanksgiving for the favours they had received, and supplication for further favours. Prayers and praises are now our spiritual sacrifices. The people, of their own will, covenanted to seek the Lord, each for himself, with earnestness. What is religion but seeking God, inquiring after him, applying to him upon all occasions? We make nothing of our religion, if we do not make heart-work of it; God will have all the heart, or none. Our devotedness to God our Saviour, should be avowed and shown in the most solemn and public manner. What is done in hypocrisy is a mere drudgery.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO 2 CHRONICLES 15

Asa returning from the battle, and with the spoil of the enemy, was met by a prophet of the Lord, who encouraged him to go on with the work of reformation, promising the presence and help of God with him, 2Ch 15:1-7, which inspired him with fresh courage, and he went about the work with great alacrity; and having offered sacrifices, he and his people entered into a solemn covenant with the Lord, to serve him, 2Ch 15:8-15 upon which he destroyed his mother's idol, brought the dedicated things into the house of God, and the effect of this was peace for a long time, 2Ch 15:16-19.