Chapter 15
1Now the Spirit of God came upon Azariah son of Oded. 2So he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you when you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you. 3For many years Israel has been without the true God, without a priest to instruct them, and without the law. 4But in their distress they turned to the LORD, the God of Israel, and sought Him, and He was found by them. 5In those days there was no safety for travelers, because the residents of the lands had many conflicts. 6Nation was crushed by nation, and city by city, for God afflicted them with all kinds of adversity. 7But as for you, be strong; do not be discouraged, for your work will be rewarded.” 8When 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. He then restored the altar of the LORD that was in front of the portico of the LORD’s temple. 9And he assembled all Judah and Benjamin, along with those from the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who had settled among them, for great numbers had come over to him from Israel when they saw that the LORD his God was with him. 10So they gathered together in Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign. 11At that time they sacrificed to the LORD seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep from all the plunder they had brought back. 12Then they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and soul. 13And whoever would not seek the LORD, the God of Israel, would be put to death, whether young or old, man or woman. 14They took an oath to the LORD with a loud voice, with shouting, trumpets, and rams’ horns. 15And all Judah rejoiced over the oath, for they had sworn it with all their heart. They had sought Him earnestly, and He was found by them. So the LORD gave them rest on every side. 16King Asa also removed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother because she had made a detestable Asherah pole. Asa chopped down the pole, crushed it, and burned it in the Kidron Valley. 17The high places were not removed from Israel, but Asa’s heart was fully devoted all his days. 18And he brought into the house of God the silver and gold and the articles that he and his father had dedicated. 19And there was no war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.
Chapter 16
1In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign, Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and fortified Ramah to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the territory of Asa king of Judah. 2So Asa withdrew the silver and gold from the treasuries of the house of the LORD and the royal palace, and he sent it with this message to Ben-hadad king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus: 3“Let there be a treaty between me and you as there was between my father and your father. See, I have sent you silver and gold. Now go and break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me.” 4And Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, conquering Ijon, Dan, Abel-maim, and all the store cities of Naphtali. 5When Baasha learned of this, he stopped fortifying Ramah and abandoned his work. 6Then King Asa brought all the men of Judah, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and the timbers Baasha had used for building. And with these materials he built up Geba and Mizpah. 7At that time Hanani the seer came to King Asa of Judah and told him, “Because you have relied on the king of Aram and not on the LORD your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand. 8Were not the Cushites and Libyans a vast army with many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on the LORD, He delivered them into your hand. 9For the eyes of the LORD roam to and fro over all the earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are fully devoted to Him. You have acted foolishly in this matter. From now on, therefore, you will be at war.” 10Asa was angry with the seer and became so enraged over this matter that he put the man in prison. And at the same time Asa oppressed some of the people. 11Now the acts of Asa, from beginning to end, are indeed written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 12In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa became diseased in his feet, and his disease became increasingly severe. Yet even in his illness he did not seek the LORD, but only the physicians. 13So in the forty-first year of his reign, Asa died and rested with his fathers. 14And he was buried in the tomb that he had cut out for himself in the City of David. They laid him on a bier that was full of spices and various blended perfumes; then they made a great fire in his honor.
Chapter 17
1Asa’s son Jehoshaphat reigned in his place, and he strengthened himself against Israel. 2He stationed troops in every fortified city of Judah and put garrisons in the land of Judah and in the cities of Ephraim that his father Asa had captured. 3Now the LORD was with Jehoshaphat because he walked in the earlier ways of his father David. He did not seek the Baals, 4but he sought the God of his father and walked by His commandments rather than the practices of Israel. 5So the LORD established the kingdom in his hand, and all Judah brought him tribute, so that he had an abundance of riches and honor. 6And his heart took delight in the ways of the LORD; furthermore, he removed the high places and Asherah poles from Judah. 7In the third year of his reign, Jehoshaphat sent his officials Ben-hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah to teach in the cities of Judah, 8accompanied by certain Levites—Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tob-adonijah—along with the priests Elishama and Jehoram. 9They taught throughout Judah, taking with them the Book of the Law of the LORD. They went throughout the towns of Judah and taught the people. 10And the dread of the LORD fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that surrounded Judah, so that they did not make war against Jehoshaphat. 11Some Philistines also brought gifts and silver as tribute to Jehoshaphat, and the Arabs brought him 7,700 rams and 7,700 goats from their flocks. 12Jehoshaphat grew stronger and stronger, and he built fortresses and store cities in Judah 13and kept vast supplies in the cities of Judah. He also had warriors in Jerusalem who were mighty men of valor. 14These are their numbers according to the houses of their fathers: From Judah, the commanders of thousands: Adnah the commander, and with him 300,000 mighty men of valor; 15next to him, Jehohanan the commander, and with him 280,000; 16and next to him, Amasiah son of Zichri, the volunteer for the LORD, and with him 200,000 mighty men of valor. 17From Benjamin: Eliada, a mighty man of valor, and with him 200,000 armed with bows and shields; 18and next to him, Jehozabad, and with him 180,000 armed for battle. 19These were the men who served the king, besides those he stationed in the fortified cities throughout Judah.