The Daily Audio Bible
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14 1 [a]Then Abijah died, as had his ancestors, and he was buried in the City of David. Abijah’s[b] son Asa reigned in his place, and during his lifetime the land enjoyed rest for ten years.
Asa Chooses to do What is Right(A)
2 [c]Asa practiced what the Lord his God considered to be right 3 by removing the foreign altars and high places, tearing down the sacred pillars, cutting down the Asherim,[d] and 4 commanding Judah to seek the Lord God of their ancestors and to keep the Law and the commandments. 5 He also removed the high places and incense altars from all of the cities of Judah. As a result, the kingdom enjoyed rest under Asa’s leadership.[e]
6 Asa[f] built fortified cities throughout Judah while the land lay undisturbed, because the Lord had given him peace so that no one went to war against him during those years. 7 He had told Judah, “Let’s build up these cities, surrounding them with walls, towers, gates, and bars. The land still belongs to us, because we have kept on seeking the Lord our God. We have sought him out, and he has given us rest all around us.” So the people built and prospered. 8 Asa kept a standing army of 300,000 soldiers from Judah equipped with large shields and spears, as well as 280,000 soldiers from Benjamin, also bearing shields and wielding bows. All of them were valiant soldiers.
Ethiopia Invades and is Repulsed
9 Sometime later, Zerah the Ethiopian went to war against him at Mareshah with an army of one million troops and 300 chariots. 10 Asa went out to engage him in battle, and they drew up their battle lines at Mareshah in the Zephathah Valley. 11 Asa cried out to the Lord his God, telling him, “Lord, there is no one except for you to help between the powerful and the weak. So help us, Lord God, because we’re depending on you and have come against this vast group in your name. Lord, you are our God. Let no mere mortal man defeat you!”
12 So the Lord defeated the Ethiopians right in front of Asa and Judah, and the Ethiopians ran away. 13 Asa and his army pursued the Ethiopians[g] as far as Gerar. So many Ethiopians died that their army could not recover, because it had been shattered in the Lord’s presence and in the presence of his army. The Israelis[h] carried off a lot of plunder, too. 14 They attacked all the cities that surrounded Gerar, because fear of the Lord had overwhelmed them. The Israelis spoiled all the cities, because there was a lot to plunder in them. 15 They also attacked the tents of those who owned livestock and carried off lots of sheep and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.
Azariah the Prophet Encourages Asa
15 After this, the Spirit of God came to rest on Oded’s son Azariah, 2 so he went out to meet Asa and rebuked him:
“Listen to me, Asa, Judah, and Benjamin! The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will allow you to find him, but if you abandon him, he will abandon you. 3 Israel lived for years without the true God, priests to teach them, and the Law, 4 but they turned to the Lord God of Israel in their distress. When they sought him, he let them become reacquainted with him.
5 “During those days, it wasn’t safe for anyone to come and go, because many civil[i] disturbances afflicted everyone who lived in the territories. 6 Nation battled nation, and city fought city, because God was afflicting them all with every kind of distress. 7 Now as for you,[j] be strong[k] and never be discouraged,[l] because there will be reward for your[m] work.”
Asa Institutes Reforms
8 Encouraged by what Oded’s son Azariah the prophet had said in his prophecy, Asa[n] removed the detestable idols from throughout the entire territories of Judah and Benjamin, and from the cities that he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. He repaired the Lord’s altar that stood in front of the vestibule of the Lord’s Temple. 9 Then he gathered together all of Judah, Benjamin, and people from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who were living among them, since many people had defected to him from Israel when they learned that the Lord his God was with him. 10 They all assembled in Jerusalem during the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign. 11 They sacrificed to the Lord that day 700 oxen and 7,000 sheep from the spoil that they had brought with them. 12 They also entered into a covenant to seek the Lord God of their ancestors with all their heart and soul, 13 and they further agreed that[o] whoever would refuse to seek the Lord God of Israel was to be executed, whether important or unimportant, man or woman. 14 They also made a vow to the Lord with loud voices, shouting, trumpets, and horns. 15 Everybody in Judah was very glad to make their oath, because they had made their vow with all their heart and had sought him with all of their might,[p] and they found him! The Lord also gave them rest in their surrounding lands.
16 King Asa removed his mother Maacah from her position as Queen Mother because she had made a detestable image dedicated to Asherah.[q] He cut down his mother’s idol, crushed it, and burned it at the Kidron Brook. 17 Nevertheless, the high places were not removed from Israel, even though Asa’s heart was blameless all of his life. 18 Asa brought into God’s Temple the things that his father had dedicated, as well as his own dedicated gifts such as silver, gold, and temple service[r] implements. 19 Asa experienced no more war until the end of the[s] thirty-fifth year of his reign.
Asa Attacks Baasha(B)
16 During the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign, King Baasha of Israel invaded Judah and interdicted Ramah by building fortifications around it so no one could enter or leave to join King Asa of Judah. 2 But Asa removed some silver and gold from the treasuries of the Lord’s Temple and from his royal palace and sent them to King Ben-hadad of Aram, who lived in Damascus. 3 “Let’s make a treaty between you and me,” he said, “just like the one between my father and your father. Notice that I’ve sent you silver and gold to break your treaty with King Baasha of Israel, so he’ll retreat from his attack[t] on me.”
4 So King Ben-hadad did just what King Asa had asked: he sent his commanding officers to attack the cities of Israel. They conquered Ijon, Dan, Bel-maim, and all of the storage centers in Naphtali. 5 When Baasha learned of the attack, he withdrew from Ramah and stopped his interdiction. 6 Then King Asa brought his entire army of Judah to carry away the building stones and the timber that Baasha had been using to surround Ramah, and he used those materials to fortify Geba and Mizpah.
Asa is Rebuked by Hanani the Seer(C)
7 Right about then, Hanani the seer came to King Asa of Judah and rebuked him. “Because you have put your trust in the king of Aram and have not relied on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your control. 8 Weren’t the Ethiopians and the Libyans a vast army with many chariots and cavalry? Yet because you relied on the Lord, he gave them into your control! 9 The Lord’s eyes keep on roaming throughout the earth, looking for those whose hearts completely belong to him, so that he may strongly support them. But because you have acted foolishly in this, from now on you will have wars.” 10 In response, Asa flew into a rage and locked up the seer in stocks in the palace prison[u] because of what Hanani[v] had told him. Asa also tortured some of the people of Israel[w] at that time.
Asa’s Illness and Death(D)
11 Now the accomplishments of Asa from first to last are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah. 12 In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa suffered from a foot disease. Even though he suffered greatly, he never sought the Lord, but instead looked to doctors. 13 As a result, in the forty-first year of his reign, Asa died, as had his ancestors, 14 and he was buried in his own tomb that he had prepared[x] for himself in the City of David. He was laid out on a bier that had been filled with various spices prepared by morticians,[y] and the mourners[z] built a massive bonfire to honor his memory.
Paul’s Concern for the Jewish People
9 I am telling the truth because I belong to[a] the Messiah[b]—I am not lying, and my conscience confirms it by means of the Holy Spirit. 2 I have deep sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart, 3 for I could wish that I myself were condemned[c] and cut off from the Messiah[d] for the sake of my brothers, my own people,[e] 4 who are Israelis. To them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants,[f] the giving of the Law, the worship, and the promises. 5 To the Israelis[g] belong the patriarchs, and from them, the Messiah[h] descended,[i] who is God over all, the one who is forever blessed. Amen.
6 Now it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all Israelis truly belong to Israel, 7 and not all of Abraham’s descendants are his true descendants. On the contrary, “It is through Isaac that descendants will be named for you.”[j] 8 That is, it is not merely the children born through natural descent who were regarded as God’s children, but it is the children born through the promise who were regarded as descendants. 9 For this is the language of the promise: “At this time I will return, and Sarah will have a son.”[k] 10 Not only that, but Rebecca became pregnant by our ancestor Isaac. 11 Yet before their children[l] had been born or had done anything good or bad (so that God’s plan of election might continue to operate 12 according to his calling and not by actions), Rebecca[m] was told, “The older child will serve the younger one.”[n] 13 So it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”[o]
14 What can we say, then? God is not unrighteous, is he? Of course not! 15 For he says to Moses, “I will be merciful to the person I want to be merciful to, and I will be kind to the person I want to be kind to.”[p] 16 Therefore, God’s choice[q] does not depend on a person’s will or effort, but on God himself, who shows mercy. 17 For the Scripture says about Pharaoh,
“I have raised you up for this very purpose,
to demonstrate my power through you
and that my name might be proclaimed
in all the earth.”[r]
18 Therefore, God[s] has mercy on whomever he chooses, and he hardens the heart of whomever he chooses.
God Chose People who are Not Jewish
19 You may ask me, “Then why does God[t] still find fault with anybody?[u] For who can resist his will?” 20 On the contrary, who are you—mere man that you are—to talk back to God? Can an object that was molded say to the one who molded it, “Why did you make me like this?” 21 A potter has the right to do what he wants to with his clay, doesn’t he? He can make something for a special occasion or something for ordinary use from the same lump of clay.
22 Now if God wants to demonstrate his wrath and reveal his power, can’t he be extremely patient with the objects of his wrath that are made for destruction? 23 Can’t he also reveal his glorious riches to the objects of his mercy that he has prepared ahead of time for glory— 24 including us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but from the gentiles as well?
To the Director: A Davidic Psalm.
God’s Revelation in the Heavens
19 The heavens are declaring the glory of God,
and their expanse shows the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech,
night after night they reveal knowledge.
3 There is no speech nor are there words—
their voice is not heard—
4 yet their message[a] goes out into all the world,
and their words to the ends of the earth.
He has set up a tent for the sun in the heavens,[b]
5 which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
or like a champion who rejoices at the beginning of a race.
6 Its circuit is from one end of the sky to the other,
and nothing is hidden from its heat.
God’s Revelation in the Law
7 The Law of the Lord is perfect,
restoring life.
The testimony of the Lord is steadfast,
making foolish people wise.
8 The precepts of the Lord are upright,
making the heart rejoice.
The commandment of the Lord is pure,
giving light to the eyes.
9 The fear of the Lord is clean,
standing forever.
The judgments of the Lord are true;
they are altogether righteous.
10 They are more desirable than gold,
even much fine gold.
They are sweeter than honey,
even the drippings from a honeycomb.
11 Moreover your servant is warned by them;
and there is great reward in keeping them.
12 Who can detect his own[c] mistake?
Cleanse me from hidden sin.
13 Preserve your servant from arrogant people;[d]
do not let them rule over me.
Then I will be upright[e]
and acquitted of great wickedness.
14 May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart
be acceptable in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Advice on How to Live
20 Wine causes mocking, and beer causes fights;
everyone led astray by them lacks wisdom.
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