2 Chronicles — Chapter 15
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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.
1And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded:
2And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The LORD is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.
3Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law.
4But when they in their trouble did turn unto the LORD God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them.
5And in those times there was no peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in, but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the countries.
6And nation was destroyed of nation, and city of city: for God did vex them with all adversity.
7Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded.
8And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from mount Ephraim, and renewed the altar of the LORD, that was before the porch of the LORD.
9And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and the strangers with them out of Ephraim and Manasseh, and out of Simeon: for they fell to him out of Israel in abundance, when they saw that the LORD his God was with him.
10So they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa.
11And they offered unto the LORD the same time, of the spoil which they had brought, seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep.
12And they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul;
13That whosoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman.
14And they sware unto the LORD with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets.
15And all Judah rejoiced at the oath: for they had sworn with all their heart, and sought him with their whole desire; and he was found of them: and the LORD gave them rest round about.
16And also concerning Maachah the mother of Asa the king, he removed her from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove: and Asa cut down her idol, and stamped it, and burnt it at the brook Kidron.
17But the high places were not taken away out of Israel: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days.
18And he brought into the house of God the things that his father had dedicated, and that he himself had dedicated, silver, and gold, and vessels.
19And there was no more war unto the five and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa.
1And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded:
2and he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: Jehovah is with you, while ye are with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.
3Now for a long season Israel was without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law:
4But when in their distress they turned unto Jehovah, the God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them.
5And in those times there was no peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in; but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the lands.
6And they were broken in pieces, nation against nation, and city against city; for God did vex them with all adversity.
7But be ye strong, and let not your hands be slack; for your work shall be rewarded.
8And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominations out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from the hill-country of Ephraim; and he renewed the altar of Jehovah, that was before the porch of Jehovah.
9And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and them that sojourned with them out of Ephraim and Manasseh, and out of Simeon: for they fell to him out of Israel in abundance, when they saw that Jehovah his God was with him.
10So they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa.
11And they sacrificed unto Jehovah in that day, of the spoil which they had brought, seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep.
12And they entered into the covenant to seek Jehovah, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and with all their soul;
13and that whosoever would not seek Jehovah, the God of Israel, should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman.
14And they sware unto Jehovah with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets.
15And all Judah rejoiced at the oath; for they had sworn with all their heart, and sought him with their whole desire; and he was found of them: and Jehovah gave them rest round about.
16And also Maacah, the mother of Asa the king, he removed from being queen, because she had made an abominable image for an Asherah; and Asa cut down her image, and made dust of it, and burnt it at the brook Kidron.
17But the high places were not taken away out of Israel: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days.
18And he brought into the house of God the things that his father had dedicated, and that he himself had dedicated, silver, and gold, and vessels.
19And there was no more war unto the five and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa.
1God’s Spirit came upon Azariah son of Oded.
2He met Asa and told him, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin! The Lord is with you when you are loyal to him. If you seek him, he will respond to you, but if you reject him, he will reject you.
3For a long time Israel had not sought the one true God, or a priest to instruct them, or the law.
4Because of their distress, they turned back to the Lord God of Israel. They sought him, and he responded to them.
5In those days no one could travel safely, for total chaos had overtaken all the people of the surrounding lands.
6One nation was crushed by another, and one city by another, for God caused them to be in great turmoil.
7But as for you, be strong and don’t get discouraged, for your work will be rewarded.”
8When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he was encouraged. He removed the detestable idols from the entire land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities he had seized in the Ephraimite hill country. He repaired the altar of the Lord in front of the porch of the Lord’s temple.
9He assembled all Judah and Benjamin, as well as the settlers from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who had come to live with them. Many people from Israel had come there to live when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.
10They assembled in Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign.
11At that time they sacrificed to the Lord some of the plunder they had brought back, including 700 head of cattle and 7,000 sheep.
12They solemnly agreed to seek the Lord God of their ancestors with their whole heart and being.
13Anyone who would not seek the Lord God of Israel would be executed, whether they were young or old, male or female.
14They swore their allegiance to the Lord, shouting their approval loudly and sounding trumpets and horns.
15All Judah was happy about the oath because they made the vow with their whole heart. They willingly sought the Lord and he responded to them. He made them secure on every side.
16King Asa also removed Maacah his grandmother from her position as queen mother because she had made a loathsome Asherah pole. Asa cut down her loathsome pole and crushed and burned it in the Kidron Valley.
17The high places were not eliminated from Israel, yet Asa was wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord throughout his lifetime.
18He brought the holy items that his father and he had made into God’s temple, including the silver, gold, and other articles.
19There was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.
1The Spirit of God came on Azariah the son of Oded:
2and he went out to meet Asa, and said to him, “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin! Yahweh is with you, while you are with him; and if you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.
3Now for a long time Israel was without the true God, without a teaching priest, and without law.
4But when in their distress they turned to Yahweh, the God of Israel, and sought him, he was found by them.
5In those times there was no peace to him who went out, nor to him who came in; but great troubles were on all the inhabitants of the lands.
6They were broken in pieces, nation against nation, and city against city; for God troubled them with all adversity.
7But you be strong, and don’t let your hands be slack; for your work will be rewarded.”
8When Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominations out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from the hill country of Ephraim; and he renewed Yahweh’s altar that was before Yahweh’s porch.
9He gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and those who lived with them out of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon; for they came to him out of Israel in abundance when they saw that Yahweh his God was with him.
10So they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign.
11They sacrificed to Yahweh in that day, of the plunder which they had brought, seven hundred head of cattle and seven thousand sheep.
12They entered into the covenant to seek Yahweh, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and with all their soul;
13and that whoever would not seek Yahweh, the God of Israel, should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman.
14They swore to Yahweh with a loud voice, with shouting, with trumpets, and with cornets.
15All Judah rejoiced at the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart, and sought him with their whole desire; and he was found by them. Then Yahweh gave them rest all around.
16Also Maacah, the mother of Asa the king, he removed from being queen, because she had made an abominable image for an Asherah; so Asa cut down her image, ground it into dust, and burned it at the brook Kidron.
17But the high places were not taken away out of Israel; nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days.
18He brought the things that his father had dedicated, and that he himself had dedicated, silver, gold, and vessels into God’s house.
19There was no more war to the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.
Summary
The Spirit of God comes on Azariah son of Oded, who meets Asa and warns that the LORD will be found by Judah only as long as they seek him, recalling the years Israel spent without the true God, a teaching priest, or the law, and the chaos that followed (vv. 1-7). Encouraged, Asa removes the detestable idols from Judah, Benjamin, and the towns he had taken from Ephraim, and repairs the altar of the LORD (v. 8). He gathers Judah, Benjamin, and many who had defected from Israel at Jerusalem, where they sacrifice from the plunder and enter a covenant to seek the LORD wholeheartedly, under penalty of death for refusal, sealing it with oaths, shouting, and trumpets (vv. 9-15). Asa also removes his grandmother Maachah as queen mother for making an idol, which he burns at the Kidron, and though the high places remain, his heart stays fully devoted to the LORD, bringing peace until his thirty-fifth year (vv. 16-19).
Authorship & Background
Map & Geography
- Parallels 1-2 Kings but focuses exclusively on Judah (the southern kingdom). Jerusalem and the Temple are the theological center throughout.
- Key locations include various battle sites, reform locations, and high places destroyed or rebuilt by successive kings.
- The book ends with exile to Babylon (586 BC) and Cyrus's decree permitting return — the geographic arc moves from Jerusalem to Babylon and back.
Places on this map
- JerusalemJerusalemA hill town about 2,500 feet up in the central spine of Judah, roughly 35 miles inland from the Mediterranean and 15 miles west of the Jordan. It sits on no trade route and has no river, which is why it mattered as a fortress and a sanctuary rather than as a market. Wikipedia
- Babylonnear Hillah, IraqOn the Euphrates about 55 miles south of modern Baghdad. Judah's exiles were marched roughly 900 miles to get here, the long way round the Arabian desert, which is why the journey took months and the return was a genuine undertaking rather than a short trip home. Wikipedia
Towns sit on their excavated or traditional site. Regions, rivers and seas are ringed rather than dotted, because for those a single point is only an anchor. Coastlines from Natural Earth.
Commentary
- Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Guzik emphasizes v.2 as the governing thesis of 2 Chronicles and notes that Asa's courage to remove his own grandmother demonstrates that genuine reform requires confronting idolatry at every level, including within one's own family.
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871): blueletterbible.org A critical and explanatory commentary on the whole Bible, more concise than Matthew Henry and closer to the Hebrew and Greek, with attention to historical and geographical detail. Public domain.
- Matthew Henry's Exposition (1710): blueletterbible.org A devotional verse-by-verse commentary in the Puritan tradition, still among the most widely read three centuries on. Public domain.
Videos
Articles
- GotQuestions.org: gotquestions.org On the whole book: an overview of the book of 2 Chronicles -- who wrote it, when, why, and how it fits the rest of Scripture.
Links open on the publisher's own site. Nothing here is reproduced on this page.
Reflection
- God's Nearness Depends on Your Pursuit (v.2) — Azariah tells Asa plainly that the Lord is with him only while he is with the Lord. If you feel distant from God right now, is the honest question "where did He go," or "where did I drift"?
- Faithful Work Doesn't Go Unnoticed (v.7) — Azariah encourages Asa to stay strong because his work will be rewarded. Are you tempted to give up on faithful effort simply because the results haven't shown up yet?
- Public Commitment Strengthens Private Resolve (vv.12-14) — Judah entered into a loud, joyful covenant together to seek God with all their heart and soul. Are you trying to live faithfully in isolation, or making commitments alongside a community that will hold you to them?
- Wholehearted Seeking Always Finds Him (v.15) — The people sought God with their whole desire, and He was found by them. If you haven't found what you're looking for in God, is it possible your seeking has been partial rather than whole?
- Reform Has to Reach Your Own Household (v.16) — Asa removed his own grandmother from her position of influence because of the idol she kept. What compromise close to home have you been unwilling to confront because of who it involves?