Study Desk

Rehoboam ruled from Jerusalem, and he had several cities in Judah turned into fortresses so he could use them to defend his country. These cities included

But some of the people from Israel wanted to worship the Lord God, just as their ancestors had done. So they followed the priests and Levites to Jerusalem, where they could offer sacrifices to the Lord .

so he chose their oldest son Abijah to be the next king.

So in the fifth year of Rehoboam's rule, the Lord punished them for their unfaithfulness and allowed King Shishak of Egypt to invade Judah.

When the Lord heard this, he told Shemaiah: The people of Judah are truly sorry for their sins, and so I won't let Shishak completely destroy them. But because I am still angry,

Rehoboam turned back to the Lord , and so the Lord did not let Judah be completely destroyed, and Judah was prosperous again.

You don't even have descendants of Aaron on your side, because you forced out the Lord 's priests and Levites. In their place, you appoint ordinary people to be priests, just as the foreign nations do. In fact, anyone who brings a bull and seven rams to the altar can become a priest of your so-called gods.

Judah's army realized they were trapped, and so they prayed to the Lord . The priests blew the signal on the trumpet,

The Lord blessed Judah with peace while Asa was king, and so during that time, Asa fortified many of the towns.

Asa prayed: Lord God, only you can help a powerless army defeat a stronger one. So we depend on you to help us. We will fight against this powerful army to honor your name, and we know that you won't be defeated. You are the Lord our God.

The people who lived in the villages around Gerar learned what had happened and were afraid of the Lord . So Judah's army easily defeated them and carried off everything of value that they wanted from these towns.

There was so much confusion in those days that it wasn't safe to go anywhere in Israel.

So you must be brave. Don't give up! God will honor you for obeying him.

Asa's grandmother Maacah had made a disgusting idol of the goddess Asherah, so he cut it down, crushed it, and burned it in Kidron Valley. Then he removed Maacah from her position as queen mother.

Soon after that happened, Hanani the prophet went to Asa and said: You depended on the king of Syria instead of depending on the Lord your God. And so, you will never defeat the Syrian army.

When Asa heard this, he was so angry that he put Hanani in prison. Asa was also cruel to some of his people.

Earlier, Asa had his own tomb cut out of a rock hill in Jerusalem. So he was buried there, and the tomb was filled with spices and sweet-smelling oils. Then the people built a bonfire in his honor.

When Jehoshaphat's father had first become king of Judah, he was faithful to the Lord and refused to worship the god Baal as the kings of Israel did. Jehoshaphat followed his father's example and obeyed and worshiped the Lord . And so the Lord blessed Jehoshaphat

The nations around Judah were afraid of the Lord 's power, so none of them attacked Jehoshaphat.

So when they saw Jehoshaphat in his robe, they thought he was Ahab and started to attack him. But Jehoshaphat prayed, and the Lord made the Syrian soldiers stop.