The One Year Bible for Men - Flipbook - Page 80
July 25
14 While they were at Gerar, they attacked
all the towns in that area, and terror from
the Lord came upon the people there. As a
result, a vast amount of plunder was taken
from these towns, too. 15 They also attacked
the camps of herdsmen and captured many
sheep, goats, and camels before finally return
ing to Jerusalem.
15:1 Then the Spirit of God came upon Azariah
son of Oded, 2 and he went out to meet King Asa
as he was returning from the battle. “Listen to
me, Asa!” he shouted. “Listen, all you people of
Judah and Benjamin! The Lord will stay with
you as long as you stay with him! Whenever
you seek him, you will find him. But if you
abandon him, he will abandon you. 3 For a long
time Israel was without the true God, without
a priest to teach them, and without the Law
to instruct them. 4 But whenever they were in
trouble and turned to the Lord, the God of Is
rael, and sought him out, they found him.
5 “During those dark times, it was not safe to
travel. Problems troubled the people of e very
land. 6 Nation fought against nation, and city
against city, for God was troubling them with
every kind of problem. 7 But as for you, be
strong and courageous, for your work will be
rewarded.”
8 When Asa heard this message from Az
ariah the prophet,* he took courage and re
moved all the detestable idols from the land of
Judah and Benjamin and in the towns he had
captured in the hill country of Ephraim. And
he repaired the altar of the Lord, which stood
in front of the entry room of the Lord’s Temple.
9 Then Asa called together all the people of
Judah and Benjamin, along with the people
of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who had
settled among them. For many from Israel had
moved to Judah during Asa’s reign when they
saw that the Lord his God was with him. 10 The
people gathered at Jerusalem in late spring,*
during the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign.
11 On that day they sacrificed to the Lord
700 cattle and 7,000 sheep and goats from the
plunder they had taken in the battle. 12 Then
they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord,
the God of their ancestors, with all their heart
and soul. 13 They agreed that anyone who
refused to seek the Lord, the God of Israel,
would be put to d
eath—whether young or
old, man or woman. 14 They shouted out their
oath of loyalty to the Lord with trumpets blar
ing and rams’ horns sounding. 15 All in Judah
were happy about this covenant, for they had
entered into it with all their heart. They ear
nestly sought after God, and they found him.
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And the Lord gave them rest from their en
emies on e very side.
16 King Asa even deposed his grandmother*
Maacah from her position as queen mother
because she had made an obscene Asherah
pole. He cut down her obscene pole, broke it
up, and burned it in the Kidron Valley. 17 Al
though the pagan shrines were not removed
from Israel, Asa’s heart remained completely
faithful throughout his life. 18 He brought into
the Temple of God the silver and gold and
the various items that he and his father had
dedicated.
19 So there was no more war until the thirty-
fifth year of Asa’s reign.
16:1 In the t hirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign, King
Baasha of Israel invaded Judah and fortified
Ramah in order to prevent anyone from en
tering or leaving King Asa’s territory in Judah.
2 Asa responded by removing the silver and
gold from the treasuries of the Temple of the
Lord and the royal palace. He sent it to King
Ben-hadad of Aram, who was ruling in Da
mascus, along with this message:
3 “Let there be a treaty* between you and me
like the one between your father and my
father. See, I am sending you silver and gold.
Break your treaty with King Baasha of Israel
so that he will leave me alone.”
4 Ben-hadad agreed to King Asa’s request
and sent the commanders of his army to at
tack the towns of Israel. They conquered the
towns of Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah,* and
all the store cities in Naphtali. 5 As soon as Ba
asha of Israel heard what was happening, he
abandoned his project of fortifying Ramah
and stopped all work on it. 6 Then King Asa
called out all the men of Judah to carry away
the building stones and timbers that Baasha
had been using to fortify Ramah. Asa used
these materials to fortify the towns of Geba
and Mizpah.
7 At that time Hanani the seer came to King
Asa and told him, “Because you have put your
trust in the king of Aram instead of in the
Lord your God, you missed your chance to de
stroy the army of the king of Aram. 8 Don’t you
remember what happened to the Ethiopians*
and Libyans and their vast army, with all of
their chariots and charioteers?* At that time
you relied on the Lord, and he handed them
over to you. 9 The eyes of the Lord search the
whole earth in order to strengthen those
whose hearts are fully committed to him.
What a fool you have been! From now on you
will be at war.”
5/19/2022 3:47:01 PM
