Study Desk

And so the people of Judah were victorious over Israel, because they relied on the Lord , the God of their ancestors.

Because he abolished the pagan places of worship and the incense altars from all the cities of Judah, the kingdom was at peace under his rule.

He built fortifications for the cities of Judah during this time, and for several years there was no war, because the Lord gave him peace.

He told the people of Judah, "Let us fortify the cities by building walls and towers, and gates that can be shut and barred. We have control of the land because we have done the will of the Lord our God. He has protected us and given us security on every side." And so they built and prospered.

Asa prayed to the Lord his God, "O Lord , you can help a weak army as easily as a powerful one. Help us now, O Lord our God, because we are relying on you, and in your name we have come out to fight against this huge army. Lord , you are our God; no one can hope to defeat you."

Then they were able to destroy the cities in the area around Gerar, because the people there were terrified of the Lord . The army plundered all those cities and captured large amounts of loot.

In those days no one could come and go in safety, because there was trouble and disorder in every land.

One nation oppressed another nation, and one city oppressed another city, because God was bringing trouble and distress on them.

Many people had come over to Asa's side from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon, and were living in his kingdom, because they had seen that the Lord was with him. Asa summoned all of them and the people of Judah and Benjamin.

All the people of Judah were happy because they had made this covenant with all their heart. They took delight in worshiping the Lord , and he accepted them and gave them peace on every side.

King Asa removed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother, because she had made an obscene idol of the fertility goddess Asherah. Asa cut down the idol, chopped it up, and burned the pieces in Kidron Valley.

At that time the prophet Hanani went to King Asa and said, "Because you relied on the king of Syria instead of relying on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Israel has escaped from you.

Didn't the Ethiopians and the Libyans have large armies with many chariots and cavalry troops? But because you relied on the Lord , he gave you victory over them.

The Lord blessed Jehoshaphat because he followed the example of his father's early life and did not worship Baal.

Ahab answered, "There is one more, Micaiah son of Imlah. But I hate him because he never prophesies anything good for me; it's always something bad." "You shouldn't say that!" Jehoshaphat replied.

Honor the Lord and act carefully, because the Lord our God does not tolerate fraud or partiality or the taking of bribes."

Jehoshaphat led his troops back to Jerusalem in triumph, because the Lord had defeated their enemies.

But Eliezer son of Dodavahu, from the town of Mareshah, warned Jehoshaphat, "Because you have made an alliance with Ahaziah, the Lord will destroy what you have built." And the ships were wrecked and never sailed.

Their father gave them large amounts of gold, silver, and other valuable possessions, and placed each one in charge of one of the fortified cities of Judah. But because Jehoram was the oldest, Jehoshaphat made him his successor.

He followed the wicked example of King Ahab and the other kings of Israel, because he had married one of Ahab's daughters. He sinned against the Lord ,