152 Chronicles 15

Asa's Reforms

1The spirit of God came upon Azariah son of Oded,Select 2 Chronicles 15:1

2and he went to meet King Asa. He called out, “Listen to me, King Asa, and all you people of Judah and Benjamin! The Lord is with you as long as you are with him. If you look for him, he will let you find him, but if you turn away, he will abandon you.Select 2 Chronicles 15:2

3For a long time Israel lived without the true God, without priests to teach them, and without a law.Select 2 Chronicles 15:3

4But when trouble came, they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel. They searched for him and found him.Select 2 Chronicles 15:4

5In those days no one could come and go in safety, because there was trouble and disorder in every land.Select 2 Chronicles 15:5

6One nation oppressed another nation, and one city oppressed another city, because God was bringing trouble and distress on them.Select 2 Chronicles 15:6

7But you must be strong and not be discouraged. The work that you do will be rewarded.”Select 2 Chronicles 15:7

8When Asa heard the prophecy that Azariah son of Oded had spoken, he was encouraged. He did away with all the idols in the land of Judah and Benjamin and all the idols in the cities he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. He also repaired the altar of the Lord that stood in the Temple courtyard.Select 2 Chronicles 15:8

9Many 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.Select 2 Chronicles 15:9

10They assembled in Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year that Asa was king.Select 2 Chronicles 15:10

11On that day they offered sacrifices to the Lord from the loot they had brought back: seven hundred head of cattle and seven thousand sheep.Select 2 Chronicles 15:11

12They made a covenant in which they agreed to worship the Lord, the God of their ancestors, with all their heart and soul.Select 2 Chronicles 15:12

13Anyone, young or old, male or female, who did not worship him was to be put to death.Select 2 Chronicles 15:13

14In a loud voice they took an oath in the Lord's name that they would keep the covenant, and then they shouted and blew trumpets.Select 2 Chronicles 15:14

15All 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.Select 2 Chronicles 15:15

16King 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.Select 2 Chronicles 15:16

17Even though Asa did not destroy all the pagan places of worship in the land, he remained faithful to the Lord all his life.Select 2 Chronicles 15:17

18He placed in the Temple all the objects his father Abijah had dedicated to God, as well as the gold and silver objects that he himself dedicated.Select 2 Chronicles 15:18

19There was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of his reign.Select 2 Chronicles 15:19