2 Chronicles 15-17: Asa’s and Jehoshaphat’s Reign

Thoughts

Chronicles 15

The Spirit of God came upon Azariah son of Oded (first and only mention), and he went out to meet King Asa.

• He told Asa: “The Lord is with you when you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.”

He reminded Asa of earlier times when Israel was without the true God, priest, or law, and there was chaos and distress everywhere. But whenever they turned back to the Lord, He gave them rest.

Asa began cleansing the land:

• He removed idols from all Judah and Benjamin and from towns he had captured in Ephraim.
• He repaired the altar of the Lord in front of the temple.

He gathered the people from Judah, Benjamin, and many from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who ‘switched sides’ when they saw God was with him.

In the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign, they held a great assembly in Jerusalem:

• They sacrificed 700 oxen and 7,000 sheep from the plunder they had taken.
• They entered into a covenant to seek the Lord with all their heart and soul.
• Anyone who refused to seek the Lord would be put to death 

The Lord gave them rest on every side because they sought Him wholeheartedly.

Asa even removed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother because she made an idol for Asherah.

• He cut down and burned her idol by the Kidron Valley.

There was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.

Chronicles 16

In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign, Baasha king of Israel invaded Judah and fortified Ramah.

Instead of seeking God (as he did earlier), Asa took silver and gold from the temple and palace treasuries and sent them to Ben-Hadad, king of Aram (Syria), in Damascus, asking for an alliance.Ben-Hadad agreed and attacked Israelite cities in the north, forcing Baasha to stop building Ramah.

• Asa used the materials Baasha had left behind to fortify Geba and Mizpah.

Hanani the seer came to Asa and rebuked him

• Fun tidbit: A seer ( רֹאֶה ro’eh or חֹזֶה chozeh) was someone who literally “saw” what God revealed.  A prophet (נָבִיא navi) speaks God’s message.

Hanani reminded Asa that God had previously delivered him from a far larger army (the Cushites/Ethiopians) because he had relied on Him.

Instead of repenting, Asa became enraged with the prophet and imprisoned him.He also oppressed some of the people at that time.

Later, in the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa developed a severe disease in his feet, but even then he did not seek the Lord, only physicians.

Asa died in the forty-first year of his reign.

Chronicles 17

After Asa’s death, Jehoshaphat his son became king.The Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he followed the ways of his ancestor David, seeking God instead of Baal.

The Lord established the kingdom in his hand, and all Judah brought him gifts, giving him great wealth and honor.

In the third year of his reign, Jehoshaphat sent officials, Levites, and priests throughout Judah to teach the Book of the Law of the Lord 

(סֵפֶר תּוֹרַת־יְהוָה Sefer Torat YHWH), to the people.

Because of Jehoshaphat’s faithfulness, the fear of the Lord fell on all the kingdoms surrounding Judah. None of them made war against him.

Even the Philistines brought tribute and silver, and the Arabs brought flocks (7,700 rams and 7,700 goats).

Jehoshaphat grew increasingly powerful; he built fortresses and store cities in Judah.

• He maintained a large and well-organized army:
  • From Judah: 300,000 led by Adnah, 280,000 by Jehohanan, and 200,000 by Amasiah (who volunteered himself for the Lord).
  • From Benjamin: 200,000 with bows and shields under Eliada, and 180,000 under Jehozabad.

Questions

How did people react when idols were removed? Were some people enraged?

What was the obscene image?

What made Asa lose faithfulness?

Chapter 15 says “Although he did not remove the high places from Israel, Asa’s heart was fully committed (or loyal) to the LORD all his life.” but Chapter 16 contradicts this?

Application

These three chapters show revival, drift, and renewal. Asa sought the Lord, then stopped relying on Him, and Jehoshaphat started fresh by bringing people back to God’s Word. I’m sure every Christian has gone through these phases of life-moments of pursuit, drifting, or rededicating their life to God. The good news is while we may change our rhythms, God is forever unchanging and always ready to restore us.