2 Chronicles 15

This is the middle chapter of the section of 2 Chronicles (chapters 14–16) that covers the reign of Asa, king of the southern kingdom of Judah. Following 2 Chronicles 14, in which Asa defeats the army of Zerah the Ethiopian, a prophet comes out to meet the returning victor and delivers a message to him.

Outline

• Verses 1–7 The Spirit of God comes upon Azariah son of Oded. Azariah tells Asa and all Judah and Benjamin, "The LORD is with you, while ye be with him." He recalls Israel's past turmoil when it had forsaken the LORD and urges them not to let their hands be weak.
• Verses 8–9 Asa removes the abominable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities he had taken in the hill country of Ephraim, and he renews the altar of the LORD that stood before the porch of the LORD (the entrance hall at the front of the temple). Seeing that the LORD is with Asa, many people from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon come over to him.
• Verses 10–15 In the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa's reign, the people gather at Jerusalem. From the spoil they have taken, they offer seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep in sacrifice. They enter into a covenant to seek the LORD with all their heart and with all their soul, and they swear an oath with trumpets and cornets. The LORD gives them rest round about.
• Verses 16–19 Asa removes his mother Maacah from her position as queen mother because she had made an Asherah idol; he cuts down her idol and burns it at the brook Kidron. Although the high places were not taken away, the text records that Asa's heart was perfect all his days. Asa brings into the temple the silver, gold, and vessels that he and his father had dedicated. From that time there was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa's reign.

Key Verses

• 2 Chronicles 15:2 "The LORD is with you, while ye be with him" – This verse succinctly expresses a principle that runs throughout Chronicles: those who seek God will find Him, and those who forsake Him will be forsaken.
• 2 Chronicles 15:7 "Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak" – This exhortation moved Asa to carry out his reforms.

People and Places

• Asa: The third king of the southern kingdom of Judah.
• Azariah son of Oded: A prophet who appears only in this chapter.
• Maacah: A woman called Asa's "mother" who held the position of queen mother. Because 2 Chronicles 11:20–22 identifies her as the mother of Abijah, many interpreters regard her as Asa's grandmother.
• Hill country of Ephraim: The mountainous region at the heart of the northern kingdom of Israel.
• Jerusalem: The site of the covenant assembly.
• Brook Kidron: A stream flowing through the valley on the east side of Jerusalem.

Points to Consider

• The same events appear briefly in 1 Kings 15 (verses 9–24). Both books record the deposing of Maacah and the failure to remove the high places. By contrast, Azariah's prophecy and the covenant assembly appear only in 2 Chronicles.
• The phrase "the prophecy of Oded the prophet" in verse 8 does not match "Azariah the son of Oded" in verse 1. For this reason, some ancient versions read this passage as "Azariah son of Oded."
• The statement in verse 19 that "there was no more war unto the five and thirtieth year" does not agree with 1 Kings 15:16, which records war "all their days." Together with the chronology of the following chapter, this is counted among the interpretive difficulties of the passage. Proposed explanations include counting the years from the division of the kingdom and a scribal error in transmission.
• The death penalty stipulated in verse 13 is generally read in light of the covenant regulations of the Old Testament theocratic community found in Deuteronomy 13 and elsewhere.
• The wording of verse 2 resembles James 4:8 ("Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you") and 2 Timothy 2:12.