H j 1,2. Threatening.
k 3. Trouble. The cause.
l 4. Humiliation.
k 5,6. Trouble. The consequences.
j 7. Encouragement.
2 Chronicles 15)
1 And the Spirit (Ruach, put for His spirit of prophecy) of God came upon Azariah (not mentioned elsewhere) the son of Oded: (See 28:9)
2 And he went out to meet Asa, and said to him, "Hear you me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The Lord is with you, while you be with Him; and if you seek Him, He will be found of you;
(See Hebrews 13.)
but if ye forsake Him, He will forsake you.
3 Now for a long season Israel had been without the true God, and without a teaching priest,
(Teaching was the great priestly function. But, as generally with priests, teaching was neglected for ritual. See Deut. 17:11; 33:10. Mal. 2:7)
and without law.
4 But when they in their trouble did turn to the Lord God of Israel, and sought Him, He was found of them.
(This applies to any time, even today.)
5 And in those times there was no peace
(as in the days of Deborah and Gideon [Judg. 5:6; 6:6])
to him that went out, nor to him that came in, but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the countries.
6 And nation was destroyed of nation, and city of city: for God did vex them with all adversity.
(By civil wars. See Matt. 12:12.)
7 Be you strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak:
(I.e. in destoying idols.)
for your work shall be rewarded."
(See Rev. 13:14. 19:8.)
J K 8. Removal of idols.
L m 9-12. Covenant.
n 13-15-. Exception, then. The queen mother's idol. (Destroyed later, v.16).
M -15. Rest.
K 16. Removal of idol.
L n 17. Exception. Israel's high places.
m 18. Dedicated things.
M 19. Rest.
8 And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy [Oded was 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 the hill country Ephraim,
(pPobably by Abijah [13:19])
and renewed the altar of the Lord, that was before the porch of the Lord.
9 And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and the sojourners
(i.e. those not of Judah. See Prov. 5:3)
with them out of Ephraim
(Jeroboam's own tribe.)
and Manasseh, and out of Simeon:
(always more or less reckoned with Judah)
for they fell to him out of Israel in abundance,
(see 1 Kings 12:17)
when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.
845 B.C.
10 So they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem in the third month,
(Feast of Pentecost.)
in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa.
(The dates of vv.9-19 refer to the parenthesis which concur 14:9-15.)
11 And they sacrificed to the Lord the same time, of the spoil which they had brought,
(Taken from the Ethiopians, &c. [14:13-15])
seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep.
12 And they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul;
(See Matt. 7:7.)
13 That whosoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel should be put to death,
(cp. 17:2-6)
whether small or great, whether man or woman.
(If you are not serving God, who are you serving?)
14 And they swore to the Lord with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets.
15 And 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.
16 And also concerning Maachah
(see 13:2)
the queen-mother
(i.e. grand-mother [1 Kings 15:2)
of Asa the king, he removed her from being queen, (I.e. grand-mother.)
because she had made an idol in a grove:
(= a monsterous 'Ashērah for a grove. Cp. 1 Kings 15:12. See Deut. 16:21)
and Asa cut down her idol, and beat it small, and burnt it at the brook Kidron.
17 But the high places were not taken away out of Israel:
(not from Israel, but from Judah. Asa could do nothing in Israel)
nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect (I.e. complete, not perfct. No man is perfect. Only Christ is perfect.)
all his days.
(i.e. so far as idolatry was concerned)
18 And he brought into the house of God the things that his father had dedicated,
(= holy things. See Ex.3:5)
and that he himself had dedicated, silver, and gold, and vessels.
19 And there was no actual campaign
(As in 16:1. There was quiet between the 2 kings [14:1], but there was border fighting [as in 1 Kings 15:16,32. See 14:1)
unto the five and thirtieth year of the kingdom of Asa.
(Cp. Num. 24:7. 1 Sam. 20:31. 1 Kings 2:12. 1 Chron. 11:10; 14:2; 17:14; 22:10; 28:8)