2 Chronicles 16

2 Chronicles 16:1 In the thirty-sixth year of Asa, Israel’s King Baasha went to war against Judah. He built Ramah to keep anyone from leaving or coming to King Asa of Judah.

2 Chronicles 16:2 So Asa brought out the silver and gold from the treasuries of Yahveh’s house and the royal house and sent it to Aram’s King Ben-hadad, who lived in Damascus, saying,

2 Chronicles 16:3 “There’s a treaty between me and you, between my father and your father. Notice, I have sent you silver and gold. Go break your treaty with Israel’s King Baasha so that he will withdraw from me.”

2 Chronicles 16:4 Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the captains of his powerful ones to the cities of Israel. They struck down Ijon, Dan, Abel-maim, and all the storage cities of Naphtali.

2 Chronicles 16:5 When Baasha heard about it, he quit building Ramah and stopped[1] his work.

2 Chronicles 16:6 Then King Asa brought all Judah, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and the timbers Baasha had built it with. Then he built Geba and Mizpah with them.

2 Chronicles 16:7 At that time, the seer Hanani came to King Asa of Judah and said to him, “Because you depended on the king of Aram and have not depended on Yahveh your God, the powerful ones of the king of Aram have escaped from you.

2 Chronicles 16:8 Were not the Cushites and Libyans a vast, powerful army with many chariots and horsemen? When you depended on Yahveh, he handed them over to you.

2 Chronicles 16:9 For the eyes of Yahveh roam throughout the land to show himself strong for those who are wholeheartedly devoted to him. You have been foolish in this matter. Therefore, you will have wars from now on.”

2 Chronicles 16:10 Asa was enraged with the seer and put him in the confinement house because of his anger over this. Asa mistreated some of the people at that time.

2 Chronicles 16:11 Notice that the events of Asa’s reign, from beginning to end, are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.

2 Chronicles 16:12 In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa developed a disease in his feet, and his disease became increasingly severe. Yet even in his disease, he didn’t seek Yahveh but only the physicians.

2 Chronicles 16:13 Asa lied down with his fathers; he died in the forty-first year of his reign.

2 Chronicles 16:14 He was buried in his own tomb, which he had made for himself in the city of David. They laid him down in a coffin that was full of spices and various mixtures of prepared ointments, and then they made a great fire in his honor.

[1] שָׁבַת = stop. 2 Chronicles 16:5.

links:

consistent reliance
continuing to trust

The 2 Chronicles shelf in Jeff’s library

2 Chronicles 15

2 Chronicles 15:1 The Breath of God came on Azariah, son of Oded.

2 Chronicles 15:2 So he went to meet Asa and said, “Asa and all Judah and Benjamin, hear me. Yahveh is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, you will find him, but if you abandon him, he will abandon you.

2 Chronicles 15:3 For many years, Israel has been without a reliable God, without a teaching priest, and instruction,

2 Chronicles 15:4 But when they turned to Yahveh, God of Israel, in their distress and sought him, he was found by them.

2 Chronicles 15:5 In those times, there was no peace for those who went about their daily activities because the residents of the lands had many conflicts.

2 Chronicles 15:6 Nation was crushed[1] by nation and city by city, for God troubled them with every possible distress.

2 Chronicles 15:7 But as for you, be strong; don’t give up, because your work has a reward.”

2 Chronicles 15:8 When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Azariah son of Oded the prophet, he became stronger. He removed the abhorrent idols from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. He renovated the altar of Yahveh that was in the face of the portico of Yahveh’s temple.

2 Chronicles 15:9 Then he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, as well as those from the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who were residing[2] among them, because they had defected to him from Israel in great numbers when they saw that Yahveh his God was with him.

2 Chronicles 15:10 They were gathered in Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign.

2 Chronicles 15:11 At that time, they sacrificed to Yahveh seven hundred cattle and seven thousand sheep and goats from all the plunder they had brought.

2 Chronicles 15:12 Then they entered into a covenant to seek Yahveh, the God of their ancestors, with all their heart and all their throat.

2 Chronicles 15:13 Whoever would not seek Yahveh, God of Israel, would be put to death, young or old, man or woman.

2 Chronicles 15:14 They took an oath to Yahveh in a loud voice, with shouting, with trumpets, and with rams’ horns.

2 Chronicles 15:15 All Judah enjoyed the oath, for they had sworn it with all their mind. They had sought him with all their heart, and they found him. So, Yahveh allowed them rest on every side.

2 Chronicles 15:16 King Asa also removed Maacah, his grandmother, from being queen mother because she had made an obscene image of Asherah. Asa cut down her obscene image, then crushed it and burned it in the Kidron Valley.

2 Chronicles 15:17 The high places were not taken away from Israel; nevertheless, Asa was wholeheartedly devoted for his entire life.

2 Chronicles 15:18 He brought his father’s and his own consecrated gifts, silver, gold, and utensils, into God’s house.

2 Chronicles 15:19 There was no war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.

[1] כָּתַת = crush (by beating). 2 Chronicles 15:6; 34:7.

[2] גּוּר = reside as a guest. 2 Chronicles 15:9.

links:

courage without compromise
courageous and uncompromised – Devotions

The 2 Chronicles shelf in Jeff’s library

2 Chronicles 14

2 Chronicles 14:1 Abijah lied down with his fathers and was buried in the city of David. His son Asa became king in his place. During his reign, the land experienced peace for ten years.

2 Chronicles 14:2 Asa did what was good and right in the sight of Yahveh his God.

2 Chronicles 14:3 He removed the pagan altars and high places, shattered their sacred pillars, and chopped down their Asherah poles.

2 Chronicles 14:4 He told the people of Judah to seek Yahveh, the God of their ancestors, and to carry out the instructions and the commands.

2 Chronicles 14:5 He also removed the high places and the shrines from all the cities of Judah, and the kingdom experienced peace under him.

2 Chronicles 14:6 Because the land experienced peace, Asa built fortified cities in Judah. No one made war with him in those days because Yahveh allowed him rest.

2 Chronicles 14:7 So he said to the people of Judah, “Let’s build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, with doors and bars. The land is still ours because we sought Yahveh, our God. We sought him, and he gave us rest on every side.” So, they built and succeeded.

2 Chronicles 14:8 Asa had an army of three hundred thousand from Judah bearing large shields and spears, and two hundred eighty thousand from Benjamin bearing regular shields and drawing the bow. All these were powerful warriors.

2 Chronicles 14:9 Then Zerah the Cushite came against them with one million efficient men and three hundred chariots. They came as far as Mareshah.

2 Chronicles 14:10 So Asa marched out against him and lined up in battle formation in Zephathah Valley at Mareshah.

2 Chronicles 14:11 Then Asa cried out to Yahveh his God: “Lord, there is no one besides you to help the mighty and those without strength. Help us, Lord our God, for we depend on you, and in your name, we have come against this large army. Lord, you are our God. Do not let a mere mortal hinder you.”

2 Chronicles 14:12 So Yahveh routed the Cushites before Asa and before Judah, and the Cushites fled.

2 Chronicles 14:13 Then Asa and the people who were with him chased them as far as Gerar. The Cushites fell until they had no survivors, for they were crushed before Yahveh and his army. So, the people of Judah carried off a plentiful supply of plunder.[1]

2 Chronicles 14:14 Then they struck down all the cities around Gerar because Yahveh’s terror was on them. They also plundered[2] all the cities, as there was a great deal of plunder[3] in them.

2 Chronicles 14:15 They also struck down the tents of the herdsmen and captured many sheep and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.

[1] שָׁלָל = spoil, plunder. 2 Chronicles 14:13; 15:11; 20:25; 24:23; 28:8, 15.

[2] בָּזָז = capture as plunder. 2 Chronicles 14:14; 20:25; 25:13; 28:8.

[3] בָּזָז = plunder. 2 Chronicles 14:14; 25:13.

links:

a million mighty men – Devotions
between the weak and the mighty

The 2 Chronicles shelf in Jeff’s library