The Daily Audio Bible

King Asa Rules in Judah

14 Abijah died and they buried him in the city of David. His son Asa became king in his place. In his days the land had peace ten years.

² Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. ³ For he put away the strange altars and high places. He tore down the pillars used in worship of false gods. And he cut down the false goddesses, the Asherim. ⁴ He told Judah to follow the Lord God of their fathers, and to obey the Laws. ⁵ He put the high places and the altars of special perfume away from all the cities of Judah. And the nation had rest under his rule. ⁶ He built strong cities in Judah, since the land had rest. No one fought a war with him during those years, because the Lord had given him rest. ⁷ So he said to the people of Judah, “Let us build these cities. And let us build walls and towers around them, with iron gates. The land is still ours, because we have followed the Lord our God. We have followed Him, and He has given us rest on every side.” So they built and did well. ⁸ Asa had an army of 300,000 men from Judah, with large battle-coverings and spears. And he had 280,000 men from Benjamin, with battle-coverings and bows. All of them were powerful soldiers.

⁹ Zerah the Ethiopian came out to fight against them with an army of 1,000,000 men and 300 war-wagons. He came as far as Mareshah. ¹⁰ So Asa went out to meet him. They made themselves ready for battle in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. ¹¹ Then Asa called to the Lord his God and said, “Lord, there is no one but You to help in the battle between the powerful and the weak. So help us, O Lord God. For we trust in You. In Your name we have come against these many people. O Lord, You are our God. Do not let any man win the fight against You.” ¹² So the Lord began to destroy the Ethiopians in front of Asa and the people of Judah, and the Ethiopians ran away. ¹³ Asa and the people with him went after them as far as Gerar. The Ethiopians were killed until none were left alive. They were destroyed before the Lord and His army. And they carried away many things that had belonged to the Ethiopians. ¹⁴ Then they destroyed all the cities around Gerar, for the fear of the Lord had come upon them. And they took everything of worth that was in the cities, for there was much left. ¹⁵ They destroyed the tents of the animals. And they took away many sheep and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.

Asa Makes Changes

15 The Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded. ² Azariah went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you when you are with Him. If you look for Him, He will let you find Him. But if you leave Him, He will leave you. ³ For a long time Israel was without the true God, without a teaching religious leader, and without law. ⁴ But in their trouble they turned to the Lord God of Israel. They looked for Him, and He let them find Him. ⁵ In those times there was no peace for him who went out, or for him who came in. For much trouble came to all the people of the lands. ⁶ Nation was crushed by nation, and city by city, for God sent every kind of trouble upon them. ⁷ But you be strong. Do not lose strength of heart. For you will be paid for your work.”

⁸ When Asa heard these words and the words of Azariah the son of Oded, his heart became strong. He put away the sinful false gods from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities he had taken in the hill country of Ephraim. He built again the altar of the Lord which was in front of the porch of the Lord’s house. ⁹ Then he gathered all Judah and Benjamin and those from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon, who lived with them. For many had left Israel to come to him when they saw that the Lord his God was with him. ¹⁰ So they gathered together at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa’s rule. ¹¹ They killed animals on the altar in worship to the Lord that day. They killed and gave 700 cattle and 7,000 sheep from the animals they had taken in battle. ¹² And they agreed to follow the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and soul. ¹³ Whoever would not follow the Lord God of Israel should be put to death, young or old, man or woman. ¹⁴ They made a promise to the Lord with a loud voice, calling out and blowing horns. ¹⁵ All Judah was filled with joy because of the promise. For they had promised with their whole heart. They had looked for the Lord with a pure heart. And He let them find Him. So the Lord gave them rest on every side.

¹⁶ King Asa even stopped his mother from being queen mother. Because she had made a sinful object of the false goddess Asherah. Asa cut down her sinful object. He crushed it and burned it at the Kidron River. ¹⁷ But the high places were not taken away from Israel. Yet Asa’s heart was without blame all his days. ¹⁸ He brought into the house of God the holy things of his father and his own holy things. He brought in silver and gold and the things used for the worship. ¹⁹ And there was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s rule.

Asa’s Agreement with Syria

16 In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s rule, King Baasha of Israel came to fight against Judah. He began building a wall around Ramah to stop anyone from going out or coming in to King Asa of Judah. ² Then Asa took silver and gold from the store-rooms of the house of the Lord and the king’s house. He sent them to King Ben-hadad of Syria, who lived in Damascus, saying, ³ “Let there be an agreement between you and me, as between my father and your father. See, I have sent you silver and gold. Go and break your agreement with King Baasha of Israel so that he will leave me.” ⁴ Ben-hadad listened to King Asa. He sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel. They destroyed Ijon, Dan, Abelmaim, and all the store-cities of Naphtali. ⁵ When Baasha heard about it, he stopped building the wall around Ramah. ⁶ Then King Asa brought all the people of Judah. And they carried away the stones and wood of the wall which Baasha had been building around Ramah. Asa used them to build Geba and Mizpah.

Hanani’s Words to Asa

⁷ At that time Hanani the man of God came to King Asa of Judah and said to him, “You have put your trust in the king of Syria and not in the Lord your God. So the army of the king of Syria got away from you. ⁸ Were not the Ethiopians and the Libyans a very large army with war-wagons? But because you trusted in the Lord, He gave them into your hand. ⁹ For the eyes of the Lord move over all the earth so that He may give strength to those whose whole heart is given to Him. You have done a foolish thing. So from now on you will have wars.” ¹⁰ Then Asa was angry with the man of God. He put him in prison because he was angry at him for this. And Asa made it hard for some of the people at the same time.

The End of Asa’s Rule

¹¹ Now the acts of Asa, from first to last, are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. ¹² A disease came into Asa’s feet in the thirty-ninth year of his rule. His disease was bad. But even in his disease, he did not trust in the Lord, but in the doctors. ¹³ So Asa slept with his fathers. He died in the forty-first year of his rule. ¹⁴ They buried him in his own grave which he had cut out for himself in the city of David. They laid him in the place of rest which he had filled with different kinds of spices mixed by those who work with perfumes. And they made a very big fire in his honor.

9 I am telling the truth because I belong to Christ. The Holy Spirit tells my heart that I am not lying. ² I have much sorrow. The pain in my heart never leaves. ³ I could even wish that I might be kept from being with Christ if that would help my people to be saved from the punishment of sin. They are of my own flesh and blood. ⁴ They are Jews and are the people God chose for Himself. He shared His shining-greatness with them and gave them His Law and a way to worship. They have His promises. ⁵ The early preachers came from this family. Christ Himself was born of flesh from this family and He is over all things. May God be honored and thanked forever. Let it be so.

⁶ I am not saying that God did not keep His promises. Not all the Jews are people God chose for Himself. ⁷ Not all of Abraham’s family are children of God. God told Abraham, “Only the family of Isaac will be called your family.”^{(A) 8} This means that children born to Abraham are not all children of God. Only those that are born because of God’s promise to Abraham are His children. ⁹ This was the promise God made: “About this time next year I will come, and Sarah will have a son.” ^{(B) 10} Not only this, but there was Rebecca also. Rebecca gave birth to two sons at the same time. Both of them were sons of Isaac. ¹¹ Even before the two sons were born, we see God’s plan of choosing. God could choose whom He wanted. It could not be changed because of anything the older son tried to do about it. It was before either one had done anything good or bad. ¹² Rebecca was told, “The older son will work for the younger son.” ¹³ The Holy Writings say, “I loved Jacob, but hated Esau.” ^(C)

¹⁴ What about it then? Can we say that God is not fair? No, not at all! ¹⁵ God said to Moses, “I will have loving-kindness and loving-pity for anyone I want to.” ^{(D) 16} These good things from God are not given to someone because he wants them or works to get them. They are given because of His loving-kindness. ¹⁷ The Holy Writings say to Pharaoh, “I made you leader for this reason: I used you to show My power. I used you to make My name known over all the world.” ^{(E) 18} So God has loving-kindness for those He wants to. He makes some have hard hearts if He wants to.

¹⁹ But you will ask me, “Why does God blame men for what they do? Who can go against what God wants?” ²⁰ Who are you to talk back to God? A pot being made from clay does not talk to the man making it and say, “Why did you make me like this?” ²¹ The man making the pots has the right to use the clay as he wants to. He can make two pots from the same piece of clay. One can have an important use. The other one can be of little use. ²² It may be that God wants to show His power and His anger against sin. He waits a long time on some men who are ready to be destroyed. ²³ God also wanted to show His shining-greatness to those He has given His loving-kindness. He made them ready for His shining-greatness from the beginning. ²⁴ We are the ones He chose. He did not only choose Jews. He also chose some from among the people who are not Jews.

The Works and the Word of God

19 The heavens are telling of the greatness of God and the great open spaces above show the work of His hands. ² Day to day they speak. And night to night they show much learning. ³ There is no speaking and no words where their voice is not heard. ⁴ Their sound has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them He has placed a tent for the sun. ⁵ It is as a man soon to be married coming out of his room and as a strong man who is happy to run his race. ⁶ Its rising is from one end of the heavens, and it makes its way to the other end. Nothing is hidden from its heat.

⁷ The Law of the Lord is perfect, giving new strength to the soul. The Law He has made known is sure, making the child-like wise. ⁸ The Laws of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The Word of the Lord is pure, giving light to the eyes. ⁹ The fear of the Lord is pure, lasting forever. The Lord is always true and right in how He judges. ¹⁰ The Word of the Lord is worth more than gold, even more than much fine gold. They are sweeter than honey, even honey straight from the comb. ¹¹ And by them Your servant is told to be careful. In obeying them there is great reward.

¹² Who can see his own mistakes? Forgive my sins that I do not see. ¹³ And keep Your servant from sinning by going my own way. Do not let these sins rule over me. Then I will be without blame. And I will not be found guilty of big sins. ¹⁴ Let the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart be pleasing in Your eyes, O Lord, my Rock and the One Who saves me.

20 Wine makes people act in a foolish way. Strong drink starts fights. Whoever is fooled by it is not wise.