2 CHRONICLES LESSON 15
We will begin this lesson in II Chronicles 15:1 "And the Spirit
of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded:"
Obed was the prophet, who had encouraged Asa in the beginning.
His son, Azariah, covered with the Spirit of God would, now, speak to
him.
II Chronicles 15:2 "And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto
him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The LORD [is] with
you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of
you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you."
Azariah was speaking the Words the LORD had put into his mouth.
These were not the words of Azariah, but of the LORD. A prophet is a
leader of those God has sent him to, for spiritual direction in his
life. The LORD had been with them in the past, and would be with them
in the future, as long as they sought Him. He would bless them, as
long as they were faithful to Him. He would curse them, if they were
unfaithful to Him. The message was simple, but clear.
II Chronicles 15:3 "Now for a long season Israel [hath been]
without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law."
It appeared, that for many years before the time of Asa, there
had not been the teaching of the law by the priests, that God knew was
necessary. They had a form of godliness, but had wandered from the
Truth. That is the same as our society today. Many of our churches
have a form of godliness, but are not teaching the people the Word of
God. That is exactly what this was saying about worship then. To do
the will of God, a person must know what the will of God for his, or
her, life is. The only way to know is to study His Word, the Bible. In
their case, they needed to be taught the law of God.
II Chronicles 15:4 "But when they in their trouble did turn unto
the LORD God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them."
It is the same throughout all ages. If we truly seek God, we will
find Him. Asa certainly found this to be true, when the Ethiopians had
come against him. God is our very present help in trouble. He does
expect us to seek to know His Truth, and live by that Truth. He helped
them, now they must keep His law.
II Chronicles 15:5 "And in those times [there was] no peace to
him that went out, nor to him that came in, but great vexations [were]
upon all the inhabitants of the countries."
Without God, there is danger at every hand. There is no peace,
aside from what God can bring. Those away from God, are constantly
vexed.
II Chronicles 15:6 "And nation was destroyed of nation, and city
of city: for God did vex them with all adversity."
Without the blessings of God, there was war on every side. Vile
men killed each other for what little self-gain there was in it, when
they did not know God.
II Chronicles 15:7 "Be ye strong therefore, and let not your
hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded."
Their strength lay in their faith in God. They were strong
because He made them strong. Everything they put their hands to would
prosper, because of their faith in God.
II Chronicles 15:8 "And when Asa heard these words, and the
prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the
abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of
the cities which he had taken from mount Ephraim, and renewed the
altar of the LORD, that [was] before the porch of the LORD."
This speaks of the prophet Obed telling Asa of these things. We
do know that Asa had done away with the evil in the land at the very
first of his reign. This could be saying, just as Obed, the prophet,
had said before. Obed had warned Asa, and Asa had taken the warning.
Asa would still receive warning from Azariah, as well. Asa made sure
all of the idols were destroyed and he re-established the brasen altar
before the porch of the temple in Jerusalem.
II Chronicles 15:9 "And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and
the strangers with them out of Ephraim and Manasseh, and out of
Simeon: for they fell to him out of Israel in abundance, when they saw
that the LORD his God [was] with him."
Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon had the law, as well as Judah and
Benjamin. Many of them followed Asa, when they saw he was a man
willing to humble himself before God. There was no question that the
LORD was with Asa. They came to Judah, so they could be counted on the
side of the LORD.
II Chronicles 15:10 So they gathered themselves together at
Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of
Asa.
This was during the Feast of Weeks, or Pentecost. This victory
celebration would take place after the war with Zerah. The war began,
probably, about the 11th year, and this was 4 years later. We are not
told why this was so long a period of time.
II Chronicles 15:11 "And they offered unto the LORD the same
time, of the spoil [which] they had brought, seven hundred oxen and
seven thousand sheep."
This was a tremendously large amount of offering. It was,
possibly, a peace offering. It would not be thought of as too much,
however, considering the hundreds of thousands of soldiers involved in
the victory. "Seven" means spiritually complete, and is not unusual to
see in various offerings.
II Chronicles 15:12 "And they entered into a covenant to seek the
LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their
soul;" II Chronicles 15:13 "That whosoever would not seek the LORD God
of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man
or woman."
A "covenant" is an unbreakable agreement between man and his God.
If a person does not seek God, he is in a sense dead already. Life is
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Those who do not accept the Lord as their
Saviour will be thrown into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:15 "And
whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the
lake of fire."
II Chronicles 15:14 "And they sware unto the LORD with a loud
voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets."
This was a time of great rejoicing. This was not just a victory
over Ethiopia, but was a victory over their own lives. They decided to
follow the LORD, and Him only.
II Chronicles 15:15 "And all Judah rejoiced at the oath: for they
had sworn with all their heart, and sought him with their whole
desire; and he was found of them: and the LORD gave them rest round
about."
Judah was not just paying lip service to the LORD. They really
were thrilled in their hearts, that they had made covenant with their
God. It was the desire of their hearts to serve the LORD. There is no
happier person in the world, than the one who is serving the LORD in
his heart as well as in his actions.
II Chronicles 15:16 "And also [concerning] Maachah the mother of
Asa the king, he removed her from [being] queen, because she had made
an idol in a grove: and Asa cut down her idol, and stamped [it], and
burnt [it] at the brook Kidron."
Maachah was really the grand-mother of Asa. She was acting queen,
but Asa did not let that stop him. He removed her as queen because she
had an idol. He, also, burned her idol. Asa had determined there would
be no idols in Judah.
II Chronicles 15:17 "But the high places were not taken away out
of Israel: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days."
These high places had been used, before the temple was built in
Jerusalem, and had never been destroyed. There was no worship of false
gods going on there. Asa loved God, and lived perfect before the LORD.
He tried to see that all of the people he was reigning over did, too.
II Chronicles 15:18 "And he brought into the house of God the
things that his father had dedicated, and that he himself had
dedicated, silver, and gold, and vessels."
So many of the beautiful things had been taken from the temple,
while Rehoboam was king. It appears, that Abijah and Asa had gathered
things of gold and silver, and dedicated them to the LORD. Asa put
them in the temple.
II Chronicles 15:19 "And there was no [more] war unto the five
and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa."
It was on the fifteenth year, Asa and the people had made
covenant with God. The peace from that moment lasted 20 years. Baasha
was a constant threat, but it appears no war actually broke out, until
the 35th year of Asa's reign.
2 Chronicles 15 Questions
1. And the __________ of God came upon Azariah.
2. Who did he go out to meet with a message from God?
3. What was Azariah speaking?
4. How long would God bless them?
5. What terrible thing had gone on in the land, before Asa became
king?
6. Many of our churches today have a form of ___________.
7. What must you do, before you can do the will of God?
8. When they turned to the LORD God of Israel, and sought Him, he was
________ of them.
9. Their strength lay in their __________in God.
10. What did Asa do when he heard these things from Obed and Azariah?
11. What was the altar that was before the porch of the temple?
12. Why did some of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon come to Judah?
13. When did they gather in Jerusalem for the celebration?
14. When is the Feast of Weeks?
15. What did they offer to the LORD of the spoil?
16. What does "seven" mean?
17. What is a "covenant"?
18. What covenant had they made with God?
19. Why was there such rejoicing?
20. Who did Asa remove as queen?
21. Why did he remove her?
22. What did he do with her idol?
23. What wonderful thing was said of Asa in verse 17?
24. What did Asa bring into the temple?
25. How long was there peace after this celebration?
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