The Daily Audio Bible

Asa Succeeds Abijah in Judah

14 ^[a](A)So Abijah slept 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.

^2 [b]Asa did good and right in the sight of the Lord his God, ³ for he removed ^(B)the foreign altars and ^(C)high places, tore down the sacred pillars, cut down the ^[c](D)Asherim, ⁴ and commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers and to observe the law and the commandment. ⁵ He also removed the high places and the ^(E)incense altars from all the cities of Judah. And the kingdom was undisturbed under him. ^6 (F)He built fortified cities in Judah, since the land was undisturbed, and ^[d]there was no one at war with him during those years, ^(G)because the Lord had given him rest. ⁷ For he said to Judah, “^(H)Let us build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, gates and bars. The land is still ^[e]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. ⁸ Now Asa had an army of ^(I)300,000 from Judah, bearing large shields and spears, and 280,000 from Benjamin, bearing shields and wielding bows; all of them were valiant warriors.

⁹ Now Zerah the Ethiopian ^(J)came out against them with an army of a million men and 300 chariots, and he came to ^(K)Mareshah. ¹⁰ So Asa went out ^[f]to meet him, and they drew up in battle formation in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. ¹¹ Then Asa ^(L)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; so help us, O Lord our God, ^(M)for we trust in You, and in Your name have come against this multitude. O Lord, You are our God; let not man prevail against You.” ¹² So ^(N)the Lord ^[g]routed the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. ¹³ Asa and the people who were with him pursued them as far as ^(O)Gerar; and so many Ethiopians fell that ^[h]they could not recover, for they were shattered before the Lord and before His army. And they carried away very much plunder. ¹⁴ They ^[i]destroyed all the cities around Gerar, ^(P)for the dread of the Lord had fallen on them; and they despoiled all the cities, for there was much plunder in them. ¹⁵ They also struck down ^[j]those who owned livestock, and they carried away large numbers of sheep and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.

The Prophet Azariah Warns Asa

15 Now ^(Q)the Spirit of God came on Azariah the son of Oded, ² and he went out ^[k]to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: ^(R)the Lord is with you when you are with Him. And ^(S)if you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you. ^3 (T)For many days Israel was without the true God and without ^(U)a teaching priest and without law. ⁴ But ^(V)in their distress they turned to the Lord God of Israel, and they sought Him, and He let them find Him. ^5 (W)In those times there was no peace to him who went out or to him who came in, for many disturbances ^[l]afflicted all the inhabitants of the lands. ^6 (X)Nation was crushed by nation, and city by city, for God troubled them with every kind of distress. ⁷ But you, ^(Y)be strong and do not ^[m]lose courage, for there is ^(Z)reward for your work.”

Asa’s Reforms

⁸ Now when Asa heard these words and the ^[n]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 ^(AA)the cities which he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. ^(AB)He then restored the altar of the Lord which was in front of the porch of the Lord. ⁹ He gathered all Judah and Benjamin and those from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon ^(AC)who resided with them, for many defected to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him. ¹⁰ So they assembled at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign. ^11 (AD)They sacrificed to the Lord that day 700 oxen and 7,000 sheep from the spoil they had brought. ^12 (AE)They entered into the covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and soul; ¹³ and whoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel ^(AF)should be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman. ¹⁴ Moreover, they made an oath to the Lord with a loud voice, with shouting, with trumpets and with horns. ¹⁵ All Judah rejoiced concerning the oath, for they had sworn with their whole heart and had sought Him ^[o]earnestly, and He let them find Him. So ^(AG)the Lord gave them rest on every side.

^16 (AH)He also removed Maacah, the mother of King Asa, from the position of queen mother, because she had made a horrid image ^[p]as ^(AI)an Asherah, and ^(AJ)Asa cut down her horrid image, crushed it and burned it at the brook Kidron. ¹⁷ But the high places were not removed from Israel; nevertheless Asa’s heart was blameless all his days. ¹⁸ He brought into the house of God the dedicated things of his father and his own dedicated things: silver and gold and utensils. ¹⁹ And there was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.

Asa Wars against Baasha

16 In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign ^(AK)Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah and ^[q]fortified Ramah in order to prevent anyone from going out or coming in to Asa king of Judah. ² Then Asa brought out silver and gold from the treasuries of the house of the Lord and the king’s house, and sent them to Ben-hadad king of Aram, who lived in Damascus, saying, ³ “Let there be a treaty between ^[r]you and me, as 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.” ⁴ So Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, and they ^[s]conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel-maim and all ^(AL)the ^[t]store cities of Naphtali. ⁵ When Baasha heard of it, he ceased ^[u]fortifying Ramah and stopped his work. ⁶ 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 them he ^[v]fortified Geba and Mizpah.

Asa Imprisons the Prophet

⁷ At that time ^(AM)Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, “^(AN)Because you have relied on the king of Aram and have not relied on the Lord your God, therefore the army of the king of Aram has escaped out of your hand. ⁸ Were not ^(AO)the Ethiopians and the Lubim ^(AP)an immense army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet ^(AQ)because you relied on the Lord, He delivered them into your hand. ⁹ For ^(AR)the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those ^(AS)whose heart is completely His. You have acted foolishly in this. Indeed, from now on you will surely have wars.” ¹⁰ Then Asa was angry with the seer and put him in ^[w]prison, for he was enraged at him for this. And Asa oppressed some of the people at the same time.

^11 (AT)Now, the acts of Asa from first to last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. ¹² In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa became diseased in his feet. His disease was severe, yet even in his disease he ^(AU)did not seek the Lord, but the physicians. ¹³ So Asa slept with his fathers, ^[x]having died in the forty-first year of his reign. ¹⁴ 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 ^(AV)with spices of various kinds blended by the perfumers’ art; and ^(AW)they made a very great fire for him.

Solicitude for Israel

9 ^(A)I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, ² that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. ³ For ^(B)I could ^[a]wish that I myself were ^(C)accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen ^(D)according to the flesh, ⁴ who are ^(E)Israelites, to whom belongs ^(F)the adoption as sons, and ^(G)the glory and ^(H)the covenants and ^(I)the giving of the Law and ^(J)the temple service and ^(K)the promises, ⁵ whose are ^(L)the fathers, and ^(M)from whom is ^[b]the Christ according to the flesh, ^(N)who is over all, ^(O)God ^(P)blessed ^[c]forever. Amen.

⁶ But it is not as though ^(Q)the word of God has failed. ^(R)For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; ⁷ nor are they all children ^(S)because they are Abraham’s ^[d]descendants, but: “^[e](T)through Isaac your ^[f]descendants will be named.” ⁸ That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are ^(U)children of God, but the ^(V)children of the promise are regarded as ^[g]descendants. ⁹ For this is the word of promise: “^(W)At this time I will come, and Sarah shall have a son.” ^10 (X)And not only this, but there was ^(Y)Rebekah also, when she had conceived twins by one man, our father Isaac; ¹¹ for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that ^(Z)God’s purpose according to His choice would ^[h]stand, not ^[i]because of works but ^[j]because of Him who calls, ¹² it was said to her, “^(AA)The older will serve the younger.” ¹³ Just as it is written, “^(AB)Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

^14 (AC)What shall we say then? ^(AD)There is no injustice with God, is there? ^(AE)May it never be! ¹⁵ For He says to Moses, “^(AF)I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” ¹⁶ So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who ^(AG)runs, but on ^(AH)God who has mercy. ¹⁷ For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “^(AI)For this very purpose I raised you up, to demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed ^[k]throughout the whole earth.” ¹⁸ So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He ^(AJ)hardens whom He desires.

^19 (AK)You will say to me then, “^(AL)Why does He still find fault? For ^(AM)who resists His will?” ²⁰ On the contrary, who are you, ^(AN)O man, who ^(AO)answers back to God? ^(AP)The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it? ²¹ Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel ^[l]for honorable use and another ^[m]for common use? ^22 [n]What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much ^(AQ)patience vessels of wrath ^(AR)prepared for destruction? ²³ And He did so to make known ^(AS)the riches of His glory upon ^(AT)vessels of mercy, which He ^(AU)prepared beforehand for glory, ²⁴ even us, whom He also ^(AV)called, ^(AW)not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles.

The Works and the Word of God.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

On Life and Conduct