Study Desk

Rehoboam did evil because he did not want to obey the Lord .

God himself is with us as our ruler. His priests blow the trumpet to call us to war against you. Men of Israel, don't fight against the Lord , the God of your ancestors, because you won't succeed."

So at that time the people of Israel were defeated. And the people of Judah won, because they depended on the Lord , the God of their ancestors.

Asa built strong, walled cities in Judah during the time of peace. He had no war in these years, because the Lord gave him peace.

Asa said to the people of Judah, "Let's build up these towns and put walls around them. Let's make towers, gates, and bars in the gates. This country is ours, because we have obeyed the Lord our God. We have followed him, and he has given us peace all around." So they built and had success.

Asa called out to the Lord his God, saying, " Lord , only you can help weak people against the strong. Help us, Lord our God, because we depend on you. We fight against this enormous army in your name. Lord , you are our God. Don't let anyone win against you."

They destroyed all the towns near Gerar, because the people living in these towns were afraid of the Lord . Since these towns had many valuable things, Asa's army took them away.

One nation would destroy another nation, and one city would destroy another city, because God troubled them with all kinds of distress.

But you should be strong. Don't give up, because you will get a reward for your good work."

Then Asa gathered all the people from Judah and Benjamin and from the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who were living in Judah. Many people came to Asa even from Israel, because they saw that the Lord , Asa's God, was with him.

All the people of Judah were happy about the promise, because they had promised with all their heart. They looked for God and found him. So the Lord gave them peace in all the country.

King Asa also removed Maacah, his grandmother, from being queen mother, because she had made a terrible Asherah idol. Asa cut down that idol, smashed it into pieces, and burned it in the Kidron Valley.

Asa was angry with Hanani the seer because of what he had said; he was so angry that he put Hanani in prison. And Asa was cruel to some of the people at the same time.

The Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he lived as his ancestor David had lived when he first became king. Jehoshaphat did not ask for help from the Baal idols,

So King Ahab called four hundred prophets together and asked them, "Should we go to war against Ramoth in Gilead or not?" They answered, "Go, because God will hand them over to you."

All the other prophets said the same thing, "Attack Ramoth in Gilead and win, because the Lord will hand the Arameans over to you."

By chance, a soldier shot an arrow which hit Ahab king of Israel between the pieces of his armor. King Ahab said to his chariot driver, "Turn around and get me out of the battle, because I am hurt!"

Jehoshaphat said to them, "Watch what you do, because you are not judging for people but for the Lord . He will be with you when you make a decision.

Now let each of you fear the Lord . Watch what you do, because the Lord our God wants people to be fair. He wants all people to be treated the same, and he doesn't want decisions influenced by money."

He said, "Listen to me, King Jehoshaphat and all you people living in Judah and Jerusalem. The Lord says this to you: ‘Don't be afraid or discouraged because of this large army. The battle is not your battle, it is God's.