Study Desk

Rise up now, Lord God, and with the Covenant Box, the symbol of your power, enter the Temple and stay here forever. Bless your priests in all they do, and may all your people be happy because of your goodness to them.

Lord God, do not reject the king you have chosen. Remember the love you had for your servant David."

When the people of Israel saw the fire fall from heaven and the light fill the Temple, they fell face downward on the pavement, worshiping God and praising him for his goodness and his eternal love.

People will answer, ‘It is because they abandoned the Lord their God, who brought their ancestors out of Egypt. They gave their allegiance to other gods and worshiped them. That is why the Lord has brought this disaster on them.'"

Following the rules laid down by his father David, he organized the daily work of the priests and of the Levites who assisted the priests in singing hymns and in doing their work. He also organized the Temple guards in sections for performing their daily duties at each gate, in accordance with the commands of David, the man of God.

Praise the Lord your God! He has shown how pleased he is with you by making you king, to rule in his name. Because he loves his people Israel and wants to preserve them forever, he has made you their king so that you can maintain law and justice."

They all consulted him, to hear the wisdom that God had given him.

It was the will of the Lord God to bring about what he had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through the prophet Ahijah from Shiloh. This is why the king did not pay any attention to the people.

From all the tribes of Israel people who sincerely wanted to worship the Lord , the God of Israel, followed the Levites to Jerusalem, so that they could offer sacrifices to the Lord , the God of their ancestors.

"Don't you know that the Lord , the God of Israel, made an unbreakable covenant with David, giving him and his descendants kingship over Israel forever?

"But we still serve the Lord our God and have not abandoned him. Priests descended from Aaron perform their duties, and Levites assist them.

God himself is our leader and his priests are here with trumpets, ready to blow them and call us to battle against you. People of Israel, don't fight against the Lord , the God of your ancestors! You can't win!"

The Judeans gave a loud shout, and led by Abijah, they attacked; God defeated Jeroboam and the Israelite army.

The Israelites fled from the Judeans, and God let the Judeans overpower them.

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

Asa pleased the Lord , his God, by doing what was right and good.

He commanded the people of Judah to do the will of the Lord , the God of their ancestors, and to obey his teachings and commands.

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."

The spirit of God came upon Azariah son of Oded,