2 Chronicles 14-17
What I Noticed Today (2 Chronicles 14-17)
2 Chronicles 14-16
The reign of King Asa in Judah.
2 Chronicles 14
In verses 1-2a, Abijah died and his son, Asa, became king in Judah. During his 10-year reign, the land had peace.
In verses 2b-7, Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord for many years, and in that time, the Lord prospered him.
- Asa removed the foreign altars, the high places and commanded Judah to worship the Lord.
- He built up fortified cities and the army and had peace for many years.
In verse 8, Asa’s army included 300,000 soldiers bearing large shields from Judah. There were also 280,000 soldiers from Benjamin with regular shields and bows.
In verses 9-15, Zerah the Cushite (modern-day southern Egypt, Sudan, and northern Ethiopia) came up against Asa with an army twice their size.
- Asa marched out to battle and cried out to the Lord for help. Using Asa, God defeated the Cushites.
- The Cushites fled to Gerar. Asa caught up with the Cushites he plundered Gerar and the surrounding villages and returned to Jerusalem.
2 Chronicles 15
In verses 1-7, Azariah, a prophet, came to Asa to encourage him to remain faithful to the Lord.
- Azariah admonished Asa to seek the Lord (2 Chronicles 15:2), to trust the Lord (2 Chronicles 15:4), and to be courageous because the Lord rewards obedience (2 Chronicles 15:7).
In verses 8-18, upon hearing Azariah’s words, Asa enacted reforms:
- Asa got rid of all the idols in Judah and Benjamin.
- He repaired the altar of the Lord.
- He brought the people together to offer sacrifices.
- He entered into a covenant with the people to seek the Lord with all their heart and soul.
- Asa went so far as to remove Maacah, his own grandmother from the position of queen mother because she had made an idol of Asherah.
- Asa brought consecrated gifts of gold and silver to the Lord’s temple.
In verse 19, there was peace in the land until the 35th year of Asa’s reign (876 B.C.).
2 Chronicles 16
King Asa establishes a treaty with Baasha, King of Damascus.
In verses 1-6, in Asa’s 36th year Baasha, king of Israel came up against Asa.
- Instead of relying on the Lord, Asa bought the support of the pagan king Ben-hadad by sending him silver and gold from the Temple treasury.
- Ben-hadad broke his treaty with Israel and supported Judah.
- While Asa’s strategy worked, God was not pleased that Asa had not turned to Him.
In verses 7-10, Hanani, the seer, came to Asa and told him that because he had relied on the Syrian king instead of God, he would have wars the rest of his days.
- Asa was so angry hearing this that he put Hanani, the seer in prison and punished some of the people.
In verses 11-14, Asa was stricken with a disease in his feet and rather than turning to God, he turned to the physicians.
Note: The sin was not that he used the physicians, but that he stubbornly refused to turn to God.
- Asa died in the 41st year of his reign and was buried in Jerusalem.
2 Chronicles 17-20
The reign of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah.
2 Chronicles 17
In verses 1-6, when Asa died, Jehoshaphat, his son, reigned in his place.
- The Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he walked in the ways of David.
- He sought the Lord, removed the high places and Asherim in Judah, and the Lord was with him.
In verses 7-11, Jehoshaphat mobilized Levites and sent them into the cities with copies of the Law to teach the people about God.
- The terror of the Lord was on the kingdoms that surrounded Judah, so they did not come up against them.
- The Philistines and Arabs even brought gifts of tribute to Jehoshaphat.
In verses 12-19, Jehoshaphat also fortified the cities and increased the size of the army.
- There were 780,000 soldiers from Judah and another 380,000 soldiers from the tribe of Benjamin.
- In addition to these soldiers, Jehoshaphat had soldiers stationed throughout Judah in the fortified cities.
Note: Jehoshaphat sought the ways of the Lord (17:3), he was courageous in his walk with God (17:6), and he led the people into a greater relationship with the Lord (17:7-9).
Some thoughts for additional consideration:
- Asa started out strong, faithful to the Lord, but ended his life stubbornly refusing to turn to God. His example is a reminder to us all as we grow older in the Lord, not to become complacent and think that our faith is solid. We are all susceptible to sins that would turn us away from God.
- Jehoshaphat established a powerful model for us as leaders today: he began with a strong personal relationship with God, he was courageous and steadfast in his faith, and he led the people into a deeper understanding of God. Leaders like that seem to be in short supply today!
What did you notice in your study today? Feel free to visit the website and leave a question or a comment.