Read 2 Chronicles 14
14 And Abijah rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. Asa his son succeeded him as king, and in his days the country was at peace for ten years.
Asa King of Judah
2 Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. 3 He removed the foreign altars and the high places, smashed the sacred stonesand cut down the Asherah poles. 4 He commanded Judah to seek the Lord,the God of their ancestors, and to obey his laws and commands. 5 He removed the high places and incense altars in every town in Judah, and the kingdom was at peace under him. 6 He built up the fortified cities of Judah, since the land was at peace. No one was at war with him during those years, for the Lord gave him rest.
7 “Let us build up these towns,” he said to Judah, “and put walls around them, with towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours, because we have sought the Lord our God; we sought him and he has given us rest on every side.” So they built and prospered.
8 Asa had an army of three hundred thousand men from Judah, equipped with large shields and with spears, and two hundred and eighty thousand from Benjamin, armed with small shields and with bows. All these were brave fighting men.
9 Zerah the Cushite marched out against them with an army of thousands upon thousands and three hundred chariots, and came as far as Mareshah.10 Asa went out to meet him, and they took up battle positions in the Valley of Zephathah near Mareshah.
11 Then Asa called to the Lord his God and said, “Lord, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army. Lord, you are our God; do not let mere mortals prevail against you.”
12 The Lord struck down the Cushites before Asa and Judah. The Cushites fled, 13 and Asa and his army pursued them as far as Gerar. Such a great number of Cushites fell that they could not recover; they were crushedbefore the Lord and his forces. The men of Judah carried off a large amount of plunder. 14 They destroyed all the villages around Gerar, for the terror of the Lord had fallen on them. They looted all these villages, since there was much plunder there. 15 They also attacked the camps of the herders and carried off droves of sheep and goats and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.
Go Deeper
Following the death of Abijah, who we read about in the previous chapter, Asa (the great-grandson of Solomon and the great-great-grandson of King David) assumed the throne of Judah. Each time we come across a righteous king as we read through 2 Chronicles, it’s a breath of fresh air. So many of the kings of both Judah and Israel turned towards active rebellion against God, so the story of Asa’s reign as king both encourages and inspires us readers.
The Chronicler makes it very clear early on that “Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God” (v. 2). Idolatry and false worship had crept into day-to-day life within Judah, so Asa used his reign and authority to purge the idolatry from the region. The text says that Asa smashed idols and removed idols from the high places, including the Asherah poles. These poles, which are referenced several times throughout the Old Testament, were constructed to honor the pagan goddess Asherah and were a tangible sign of just how prevalent idol worship and influence had become.
Asa’s reign was one of relative peace and stability. We see that Asa intentionally fortified the cities and doubled down on building out their defense system in order to protect their land. Asa instructed Judah to honor God, and ultimately God blessed Asa’s reign. Even when threatened by attackers coming in from the outside, Judah was victorious.
Some days it can be difficult to determine what the application for us as the reader is, but today isn’t one of those days. While we may not have the power and authority that comes along with being king, we do have the ability to purge ourselves and our spheres of influence of the idolatry that has crept in. These idols may not be small (or large) statues that we have constructed and bow down in front of, but instead may be our profession, GPA, money, social status, or anything else we have prioritized over worshiping the one, true God. In order for us to live fully devoted lives and to care for and minister to those outside the faith, we first have to ensure that we are doing what is right in the eyes of the Lord, in the same way that Asa did.
Questions
- What stuck out most to you about Asa’s reign as king? Why?
- If someone were to audit your life, what would they say are the idols preventing you from full devotion to God? These could be inherently sinful things that you need to purge completely, or things that can be good (a spouse, kids, a job, etc.) that need to be re-prioritized.
- Based on the answer to the previous question, what can you do today to start smashing those idols?
A Quote
Pastor and author Tyler Staton, formerly based in Brooklyn, once said, “In order to minister to the people of Brooklyn, I need to rid myself of the idols of Brooklyn.”
God has placed each of us right where He has in order for us to live as faithful witnesses to how the Gospel has transformed our lives. In order for us to effectively minister to the unbelievers God has placed around us, we need to take inventory and see what gods (little g) are taking up space in our hearts and, just like Asa did, purge them.
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8 thoughts on “2 Chronicles 14”
I was encouraged by verses 6 and 7. When Asa was at peace he began to build and strengthen the fortified cities of Judah. It’s a reminder to me that, even when things in life are going well, we must remember to fortify ourselves against the enemy. It may not be physically building a structure, but through faithful acts we can prepare our hearts and minds. Spending time in God’s Word, and learning more about who He is. Learning to trust God in the little things, so that when the big things come, we are ready. Training ourselves by putting on the armor of God (Ephesians 6) daily.
Such good thoughts, Ashley!
Great points, Ashley!
If you havent yet or are sill thinking about getting “The Awe of God ” book, I highly encourage you to do so. It is a game changer or has been for both me and my husband. When we/I do not see God in the magnificents that He is, revere Him in as God who created all things with a HOLY FEAR! our relationship with Him is really superficial. We put all kinds of things before Him which causes us so much harm in the long/short run. But it is not done, God is still after all of us!!! We/I just have to turn around and embrace Him. When I am chasing God with all my might life is good but when just one little thing jumps in the way, some little g god thing, and I chase it for a split second, the world junk seems good. But then my heart starts LONGING. God is so good to put that in us, that longing for Him. I truly want to desire to see every situation as a means to obtain greater knowledge of Jesus Christ but to that end I have to be careful of what the world puts in front of me. 1 Corinthians 10:12(ESV) Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. It all comes back to obedience.
God thank You that I can hear with listening ears to Your Holy Spirit guidance. God thank You for seeing all/every situation as an opportunity to learn more about You, to speak about You, to show in my actions who You are. Thank You that I put Your desires above my desires. I want more holy fear that can empower me for Your service in Jesus name amen.
WOOHOO!!!
Idolatry can mask itself in many forms. For me it’s what I seek comfort in apart from God. The question to be answered is when testing & suffering come, how well do idols serve me? Not well. For the first 10 years of his reign, King Asa obeyed God and there was peace. When the inevitable battle came with Zerah, he was prepared to lead his people against unbelievable odds. Then Asa cried out to the Lord his God, “O, Lord, no one but you can help the powerless against the mighty! Help us, O Lord our God, for we trust in you alone. It is your name that we come against this vast horde. O Lord, you are our God; do not let mere men prevail against you!” (V11) Asa had put in the work of pleasing and doing right in God’s sight. Scripture shows God routed the enemy in profound ways so much so that the “terror from the Lord” came upon surrounding peoples. Our daily rhythms will determine how prepared we are for the battles. As we seek his kingdom and righteousness everyday, he will be found faithful. Will our idols route our enemies? No, we must remove them and replace them with what is pleasing to God.
I found several key takeaways in this chapter:
1. Asa first went to war against the enemies within his own kingdom (verse 3), “[launching] a reform movement that lashed out against both idolatry and officially sanctioned sin” (Guzik).
2. Asa was free from war because the Lord had given him rest (verse 6).
“1 Kings 15:14 tells us that Asa’s heart was loyal to the LORD all his days. Here we see the blessing he and the kingdom of Judah enjoyed from his loyal heart to God” (Guzik).
3. Asa used a season of peace to strengthen his kingdom against future warfare. “Though he had no war, yet he provided for it. So did our Queen Elizabeth; and so must every Christian soldier” (Trapp).
4. When war did come, Asa turned to God and trusted God to deliver his people in the face of overwhelming odds (verse 11).
“Asa cried out to the LORD his God: Asa’s prayer showed that he correctly understood that God’s power was not enhanced or limited by man’s apparent strength or weakness. He recognized that this battle belonged to the LORD and called upon God to defend His honor (do not let man prevail against You!)” (Guzik).
For Further Reflection:
• How seriously am I taking my own battles?
• Before I can go to war without, I must take on the battle within, ridding myself of enemies and traitors within my own camp.
• How much peace and protection there is to be found when I “do what is right and pleasing in the eyes of God!”
• By God’s provision, I can and will enjoy seasons of peace and rest.
• Peacetime is an opportunity to strengthen myself for future battles.
• I can call on God and count on him to deliver me in the face of overwhelming odds.
References: https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/2-chronicles-14/
Pam, I love the line in reflection, ” Before I can go to war without, I must take on the battle within.”
Purge me God of all things unworthy of you!
Thank you for saying so, Diane. I’m grateful it spoke to you. And Amen to your prayer — “purge me, God, of all things unworthy of you!”