Study Desk

^(C1)In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, Abijah became king over Judah.

He reigned in Jerusalem for three years; and his mother's name was ^(F1)Micaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. ^(C1)Now there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam.

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Abijah began the battle with an army of warriors, four hundred thousand chosen men, while Jeroboam drew up in battle formation against him with eight hundred thousand chosen men who were valiant warriors.

Then Abijah stood on Mount ^(C1)Zemaraim, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, and said, "Listen to me, Jeroboam and all Israel:

"Do you not know that ^(C1)the LORD God of Israel gave the rule over Israel forever to David ^(F1)and his sons by ^(C2)a covenant of salt?

"Yet ^(C1)Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up and rebelled against his ^(F1)master,

and worthless men gathered to him, wicked men, who proved too strong for Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, when ^(F1)(C1)he was young and timid and could not hold his own against them.

"So now you intend to assert yourselves against the kingdom of the LORD ^(F1)through the sons of David, ^(F2)being a great multitude and having with you ^(C1)the golden calves which Jeroboam made for you as gods.

"^(C1)Have you not driven out the priests of the LORD, the sons of Aaron and the Levites, and made for yourselves priests like the peoples of other lands? Whoever comes ^(C2)to consecrate himself with a bull and seven rams, even he may become a priest of things that are ^(C3)not gods.

"But as for us, the LORD is our God, and we have not abandoned Him; and the sons of Aaron are ministering to the LORD as priests, and the Levites ^(F1)attend to their work.

"Every morning and evening ^(C1)they ^(F1)burn to the LORD burnt offerings and fragrant incense, and ^(C2)the showbread is set on the clean table, and the golden lampstand with its lamps is ready to light every evening; for we perform our duty to the LORD our God, but you have abandoned Him.

"Now behold, God is with us at our head, and ^(C1)His priests with the signal trumpets to sound the war cry against you. Sons of Israel, do not fight against the LORD God of your fathers, for you will not succeed."

But Jeroboam ^(C1)had set an ambush to come from behind, so that Israel was in front of Judah and the ambush was behind them.

When Judah turned around, behold, ^(F1)they were attacked both from front and rear; so ^(C1)they cried out to the LORD, and the priests blew the trumpets.

Then the men of Judah raised a war cry, and when the men of Judah raised the war cry, God ^(F1)(C1)defeated Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.

When the sons of Israel fled from Judah, ^(C1)God handed them over to them.

Abijah and his people defeated them with a great slaughter, so that five hundred thousand chosen men of Israel fell slain.

The sons of Israel were subdued at that time, and the sons of Judah ^(F1)conquered ^(C1)because they trusted in the LORD, the God of their fathers.

Abijah pursued Jeroboam and captured from him several cities, Bethel with its villages, Jeshanah with its villages, and ^(F1)Ephron with its villages.

Jeroboam did not again recover strength in the days of Abijah; and the ^(C1)LORD struck him and ^(C2)he died.

But Abijah became powerful, and he took fourteen wives for himself, and fathered twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters.

Now the rest of the acts of Abijah, and his ways and his words are written in ^(C1)the ^(F1)treatise of ^(C2)Iddo the prophet.

^(F1)(C1)So Abijah ^(F2)lay down with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David, and his son Asa became king in his place. The land was undisturbed for ten years during his days.

^(F1)And Asa did what was good and right in the sight of the LORD his God,

for he removed ^(C1)the foreign altars and ^(C2)high places, tore down the memorial stones, cut down the ^(F1)(C3)Asherim,

and commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fathers and to ^(F1)comply with the Law and the commandment.

He also removed the high places and the ^(C1)incense altars from all the cities of Judah. And the kingdom was undisturbed under him.

^(C1)He built fortified cities in Judah, since the land was undisturbed, and ^(F1)there was no one at war with him during those years, ^(C2)because the LORD had given him rest.

For he said to Judah, "^(C1)Let's build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, gates and bars. The land is still ^(F1)ours because we have sought the LORD our God; we have sought Him, and He has given us rest on every side." So they built and prospered.

Now Asa had an army of ^(C1)three hundred thousand from Judah, carrying large shields and spears, and 280,000 from Benjamin, carrying shields and wielding bows; all of them were valiant warriors.

Now Zerah the Ethiopian ^(C1)went out against them with an army of a million men and three hundred chariots, and he came to ^(C2)Mareshah.

So Asa went out ^(F1)to meet him, and they drew up in battle formation in the Valley of Zephathah at Mareshah.

Then Asa ^(C1)called to the LORD his God and said, "LORD, there is no one besides You to help in the battle between the powerful and those who have no strength; help us, LORD our God, ^(C2)for we trust in You, and in Your name have come against this multitude. LORD, You are our God; do not let man prevail against You."

So ^(C1)the LORD ^(F1)routed the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled.

Asa and the people who were with him pursued them as far as ^(C1)Gerar; and so many Ethiopians fell that ^(F1)they could not recover, for they were shattered before the LORD and before His army. And they carried away a very large amount of plunder.

They ^(F1)destroyed all the cities around Gerar, ^(C1)for the dread of the LORD had fallen on them; and they pillaged all the cities, for there was much plunder in them.

They also fatally struck ^(F1)those who owned livestock, and they led away large numbers of sheep and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.

Now ^(C1)the Spirit of God came on Azariah the son of Oded,

and he went out ^(F1)to meet Asa and said to him, "Listen to me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: ^(C1)the LORD is with you when you are with Him. And ^(C2)if you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you abandon Him, He will abandon you.

"^(C1)For many days Israel was without the true God and without ^(C2)a teaching priest and without the Law.

"But ^(C1)in their distress they turned to the LORD God of Israel, and they sought Him, and He let them find Him.

"^(C1)In those times there was no peace for him who went out or him who came in, because many disturbances ^(F1)afflicted all the inhabitants of the lands.

"^(C1)Nation was crushed by nation, and city by city, for God troubled them with every kind of distress.

"But you, ^(C1)be strong and do not ^(F1)lose courage, for there is a ^(C2)reward for your work."

Now when Asa heard these words and the ^(F1)prophecy which Azariah the son of Oded the prophet spoke, he took courage and removed the abominable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and from ^(C1)the cities which he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. ^(C2)He then restored the altar of the LORD which was in front of the porch of the LORD.

And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and those from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon ^(C1)who resided with them, for many defected to him from Israel when they saw that the LORD his God was with him.

So they assembled at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa's reign.

^(C1)They sacrificed to the LORD on that day seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep from the spoils they had brought.

^(C1)They entered into the covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and soul;

and whoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel ^(C1)was to be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman.

Moreover, they made an oath to the LORD with a loud voice, with shouting, trumpets, and with horns.

All Judah rejoiced concerning the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and had sought Him ^(F1)earnestly, and He let them find Him. So ^(C1)the LORD gave them rest on every side.

^(C1)He also removed Maacah, the mother of King Asa, from the position of queen mother, because she had made an abominable image ^(F1)as ^(C2)an Asherah, and ^(C3)Asa cut down her abominable image, crushed it, and burned it at the brook Kidron.

But the high places were not removed from Israel; nevertheless Asa's heart was blameless all his days.

He brought into the house of God the dedicated things of his father and his own dedicated things: silver, gold, and utensils.

And there was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa's reign.

In the thirty-sixth year of Asa's reign, ^(C1)Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah and ^(F1)fortified Ramah in order to prevent anyone from going out or coming in to Asa king of Judah.

Then Asa brought out silver and gold from the treasuries of the house of the LORD and the king's house, and sent it to Ben-hadad king of Aram, who lived in Damascus, saying,

"A treaty must be made between ^(F1)you and me, as there was between my father and your father. Behold, I have sent you silver and gold; go, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so that he will withdraw from me."

And Ben-hadad listened to King Asa, and he sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, and they ^(F1)conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel-maim, and all ^(C1)the ^(F2)storage cities of Naphtali.

When Baasha heard about it, he stopped ^(F1)fortifying Ramah and put an end to his work.

Then King Asa brought all Judah, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber with which Baasha had been building, and with it he ^(F1)fortified Geba and Mizpah.

At that time ^(C1)Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, "^(C2)Because you have relied on the king of Aram and have not relied on the LORD your God, for that reason the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand.

"Were not ^(C1)the Ethiopians and the Lubim ^(C2)an immense army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet ^(C3)because you relied on the LORD, He handed them over to you.

"For ^(C1)the eyes of the LORD roam throughout the earth, so that He may strongly support those ^(C2)whose heart is completely His. You have acted foolishly in this. Indeed, from now on you will have wars."

Then Asa was angry with the seer and put him in ^(F1)prison, for he was enraged at him for this. And Asa mistreated some of the people at the same time.

^(C1)Now, the acts of Asa from the first to the last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.

In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa became diseased in his feet. His disease was severe, yet even in his disease he ^(C1)did not seek the LORD, but the physicians.

So Asa ^(F1)lay down with his fathers, and died in the forty-first year of his reign.

They buried him in his own tomb which he had cut out for himself in the city of David, and they laid him in the resting place which he had filled ^(C1)with spices of various kinds blended by the perfumers' art; and ^(C2)they made a very great fire for him.