And Asa had an army [of men] that bare targets and spears, out of Judah three hundred thousand; and out of Benjamin, that bare shields and drew bows, two hundred and fourscore thousand: all these [were] mighty men of valour. Then Asa went out against him, and they set the battle in array in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. And Asa and the people that [were] with him pursued them unto Gerar: and the Ethiopians were overthrown, that they could not recover themselves; for they were destroyed before the LORD, and before his host; and they carried away very much spoil.
And 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. And 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.
So they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa. And 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. But the high places were not taken away out of Israel: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days.
In the six and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah, and built Ramah, to the intent that he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. Then Asa brought out silver and gold out of the treasures of the house of the LORD and of the king's house, and sent to Benhadad king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying,.
And Benhadad hearkened unto king Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel; and they smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abelmaim, and all the store cities of Naphtali. They laid him on a bier BJ that had been filled with various kinds of spices prepared by the perfumer's art, BK and they made a very great fire in his honor. Get biblically wise and spiritually fit with the easy-to-use Bible Gateway Plus study library.
No software to install. Font Size Font Size. Previous Next. English Standard Version. Asa Reigns in Judah 14 [ a ] A Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David.
Cross references 2 Chronicles : [1 Kgs. It is a living, dynamic principle: "Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you" James James Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.
Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double minded. Asa, for 35 years, endeavored to please God in the way he conducted his own life and the affairs of his kingdom. He was aware of his utter helplessness without God's assistance, and on His part the Eternal was an ever—present help in times of need. Now we arrive at the closing years of Asa's life. Asa's Final Years The Bible account continues after 35 years of a successful and productive reign.
Then an event occurred which had a major impact on the life of the king of Judah. In order to secure his favor and support he delivered to the Syrian king gifts of precious treasures from the house of God. As a result of the extra help from the Syrians, the king of Israel was forced to abandon his militant plans 2 Chronicles 2 Chronicles [1] In the six and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah, and built Ramah, to the intent that he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.
However, Asa's ill-considered and unwise decisions did not please God. As a result a prophet, Hanani, was sent to confront Asa. He strongly condemned the king for relying on the Syrians for protection rather than on God verse 7 , and reminded Asa of the time He intervened for the nation of Judah and defeated the might of the Ethiopian army verse 8.
Hanani the prophet ended his admonition by pointing out to Asa that his conduct had been disloyal to God, and that "in this you have done foolishly" verse 9. Asa's Errors Instead of acknowledging his guilt, Asa's reaction to God's admonition was one of anger and hostility. In a fit of rage he cast Hanani into prison verse This included a shrine to Asherah , a tribute to a Canaanite goddess. In spite of the corrupt seed in his family, Asa stops the wicked reforms set by his family and creates a new legacy.
We can often see this as the case of other good kings in Judah. Jehoshaphat undid many of his wrongs 2 Kings For those unfamiliar with Molech, some rituals to worship this false god involved child sacrifice. Although Asa does start off well, he finishes the race with a fizzle. Instead, he makes an alliance with Syria. Asa gets annoyed and throws this seer into prison.
In return, God gives Asa a foot disease, which he carries into the grave. No doubt, the story of Asa takes a weird turn. But Asa does the opposite. Christians can learn a great deal from this ruler who started with a bang and ended with a foot infirmity. In high school, most of my friends worked extremely hard
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