2 Chronicles 15
By David Petersen
Asa Purges Judah of Idols
15:1 And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded:
We need the Spirit of God to be directing our work. In the New Testament age we don't expect him to speak directly through prophets like Azariah. Now he speaks to us through his written word, the Bible. We need him to guide and direct our church and its work in the Lord. In order for that to happen our work needs to be done in conformity with the scriptural New Testament model.
2 And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The LORD is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.
Hear Ye Me
God's people need to hear the word of the LORD. They need to always pay attention to it. We can't let our ears become dull of hearing to the word of the Lord.
The Lord Was With Them
The victory over the Ethiopians was not because of the might of Asa's army. No it was because "the LORD was with them". They had called upon him and had received his favor.
If Ye Seek Him
"This is no time to rest on your laurels Asa." "Don't get over confident." "If you want the LORD to continue to be with you Asa, then you must stick with him." The LORD will not guide those who will not follow. They stray away from his protection. Things can go deadly wrong if you forsake the LORD. The LORD doesn't doesn't disown his children but he will chastize them as a loving father corrects his own disobedient children.
Then Azariah gives them a little history lesson.
3 Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law.
When God's people aren't taught the word of God, they stray into error. Or worse yet, they are deliberately deceived by false teachers like Jeroboam.
4 But when they in their trouble did turn unto the LORD God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them.
5 And in those times there was no peace 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.
"But in their distress when they did turn to the LORD and sought him, he was found by them. In those days it was not safe to travel about, for all the inhabitants of the lands were in great turmoil. Disturbances afflicted the land. One nation was being crushed by another and one city by another, because God was troubling them with every kind of distress."
When God's people stray away from the Lord they will find no peace. False religion will always lead to confusion and trouble.
7 Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded.
But as for you...
Azariah is telling Judah to look at the history of Israel for an example of what happens when a people reject the LORD. In the New Testament, the apostle Paul explained that the things that happened to Israel are examples for the church as well. But their example provides a warning.
1 Corinthians 10:11-12
11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. 12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
The same thing that happened to the nation of Israel can happen to New Testament churches. We are not above falling into the same traps. The spiritual pitfalls are the same. Take heed.
Let Not Your Hands Be Weak
The phrase "let not your hands be weak" in verse 7 means "do not lose courage and do not give up". So the verse could be translated:
"As for your, be strong, do not lose courage and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded."
Paul gave a parallel teaching to this idea of perseverance in the New Testament: "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." Galatians 6:9.
1. God's work should be done wholeheartedly with courage, resolution, faithfulness and perseverance.
2. The word "reward" appears 36 times in the King James Version of the New Testament.
For example, Jesus told the disciples "Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven." Luke 6:23.
So it's ok to be happy at the thought of receiving a reward.
"By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. 25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. 26 He regarded reproach for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt."
Why? "Because he had respect unto the recompence of the reward." That is, he was looking ahead to his reward. Heb 11:24-27.
Paul told the Ephesian church "Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men,"
Why? "Because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does." Eph 6:7-8.
Clearly reward is an honorable motivation for serving the Lord. Oftimes the work itself is a reward. We should be willing to work, even though we don't know what the reward will be. The Lord will not disappoint us. He is not going to short us.
8 And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded 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 mount Ephraim, and renewed the altar of the LORD, that was before the porch of the LORD.
Azariah told Asa that the LORD was with him. Knowing that he had access to the LORD and that the LORD would protect him made Asa brave. Today we have promises in the word of God that the LORD is with his church. "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Matt 18:20.
John 16:7-8
7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. 8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.
The Lord's promises to be with us should give us courage. Courage should empower us to action. Asa removed the detestable idols and repaired the great bronze altar of the LORD which was in front of the temple. The question is "Do we believe the promises of the Lord or not?". Saying we believe them and acting like we believe them are two different things.
9 And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and the strangers with them out of Ephraim and Manasseh, and out of Simeon: for they fell to him out of Israel in abundance, when they saw that the LORD his God was with him.
10 So they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa.
11 And they offered unto the LORD the same time, of the spoil which they had brought, 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;
They Entered Into A Covenant
This reaffirmation of the covenant increased their sense of obligation and commitment to the LORD. The covenant was with each other just as we have a church covenant today.
All Their Heart And Soul
They encouraged each other through total commitment. They were not planning to seek the LORD half-heartedly. Seeking the LORD is a full-time job. Your heart has to be in it. They didn't just seek the LORD on Sunday morning and on Wednesday night.
13 That whosoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman.
This was not a new law that they made up, but rather was enforement of a previous law received in Deut 17: 2-7. They kept each other accountable. There was to be discipline. This verse sheds a bright floodlight on our own level of commitment. Should we take down our church covenant from the wall of the churchhouse and simply replace it with this? I wonder what that would do for church membership. It would sure weed out anyone who wasn't fully committed to the LORD. Why should New Testament saints be any less devoted than Old Testament saints?
14 And they sware unto the LORD with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets.
With A Loud Voice
This wasn't done in secret. They weren't ashamed of their commitment to the LORD. Intense zeal is expressed with shouting. The confessed with their mouths.
"Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven." Matt 10:32.
"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." Rom 10:9.
"And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Phil 2:11.
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.
Their Whole Desire
This wasn't done reluctantly. They rejoiced at the oath. If you are fully commited to the LORD and seek him diligently you will have joy. They were really into it. It wasn't just peer pressure or psycho-manipulation or threat of harm that motivated them to seek the LORD. Where is your desire?
16 And also concerning Maachah the mother of Asa the king, he removed her from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove: and Asa cut down her idol, and stamped it, and burnt it at the brook Kidron.
17 But the high places were not taken away out of Israel: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days.
18 And he brought into the house of God the things that his father had dedicated, and that he himself had dedicated, silver, and gold, and vessels.
19 And there was no more war unto the five and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa.
If you want to clear the countryside of idols a good place to start is in your own house. Is there a "queen-mother" in your life? Some high places were removed, but not all of them. Dedicated service to God is something less than sinless perfection.
The Book of 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles
Introduction |
1 Kings 1 |
1 Kings 2 |
1 Kings 3 |
1 Kings 4 |
1 Kings 5 |
1 Kings 6-7 |
1 Kings 8 |
1 Kings 9 |
1 Kings 10 |
1 Kings 11 |
1 Kings 12 |
2 Chronicles 13 |
1 Kings 13 |
1 Kings 14 |
1 Kings 15 |
2 Chronicles 15 |
1 Kings 16 |
1 Kings 17 |
1 Kings 18 |
1 Kings 19 |
1 Kings 20 |
1 Kings 21 |
1 Kings 22