2 Chronicles
Chapter 15
The spirit of God came on Azariah, son of Obed.
He went out to meet Asa and said:“Listen to me, Asa, and all you of Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you so long as you are with him. When you look for him, he lets you find him. When you turn away, he will abandon you.
For a long time, Israel will be without the true God and a priest to teach the law,
but when trouble comes, they will turn to the Lord, the God of Israel. They will look for him and find him.
When that time comes, there will be no peace for anyone, for many troubles will come upon all the earth’s inhabitants.
One nation will oppress another nation, and one city another city, because God will bring trouble and distress on them.
But for your part, take courage, and be strong, for your deeds will be rewarded.”
When Asa heard these words and this prophecy, he was encouraged to do away with all the idols throughout the land of Judah and Benjamin and in the towns, he had captured in the highlands of Ephraim; he then repaired the altar of the Lord that stood in front of the Hall of the Lord.
He gathered all Judah and Benjamin together, and also the Ephraimites, Manassites, and Simeonites who had settled with them since significant numbers of Israelites had gone over to Asa’s side when they saw that the Lord was with him.
In the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa, they assembled in Jerusalem;
and they sacrificed to the Lord that day seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep out of the spoil they had brought back.
They made a Covenant in which they agreed to seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, with all their heart and soul;
anyone who would not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, was to be put to death, young or old, man or woman.
They pledged their oath to the Lord aloud, with shouts to the sound of trumpet and horn.
All Judah rejoiced at the oath they had wholeheartedly taken. They sought the Lord so earnestly that he let them find him and granted them peace.
King Asa took from his mother Maacah her title of the queen mother because she had made a hideous idol for Asherah. Asa cut down the idol and burned it at the Wadi Kidron.
Though the high places were not abolished in Israel, the heart of Asa was blameless all his life.
He deposited the offerings dedicated by his father and his offerings in the house of God, silver and gold, and furnishings.
There was no war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.
Commentaries
The Kings of Judah Until the Exile.
The final section of the Chronicler’s work focuses on the history of the kingdom of Judah, covering from Solomon to the exile, with little mention of the Northern Kingdom. For the Chronicler, the kingdom of Judah represents the entire nation of Israel. The primary standard for judging each king is their loyalty to God. Four notable figures stand out as models of this loyalty: Asa, Jehoshaphat, Josiah, and especially Hezekiah. The prophets are also depicted alongside the kings, delivering messages that include warnings and sincere calls to stay loyal to the Lord. Ultimately, the Chronicler encourages the post-exilic community to seek God and remain faithful to the One who has remained true to his people despite their difficulties.
Positive Phase.
The reign begins by presenting Rehoboam as obedient to the Word of the Lord, who instructs him not to fight against Jeroboam. The list of cities (5-12) is likely authentic, although it is probable that they were only fortified after the invasion of Shishak, Pharaoh of Egypt (12:1-12). Through the removal of priests and Levites (13-17), the author emphasizes that the center of worship is in Jerusalem and that the Levites have been loyal to the Temple from the start.
Negative Phase.
Through a pattern of sin, humiliation, and forgiveness, the Chronicler applies the doctrine of retribution to Rehoboam’s case. In response to the abandonment of his Law, the Lord demands humiliation from both the king and the people through the prophet Shemaiah (6:7, 12). As the people humble themselves, the Lord spares Judah from destruction (12). The chapter concludes by characterizing Rehoboam as one who “did evil because he did not set his heart to serve the Lord” (14).
The Faithfulness of Abijah.
Building on the account in 1 Kings 15:1-8, the Chronicler revises the story from a new perspective. Although he only reigned for three years, the Chronicler presents the king as faithful to God, a worthy successor to David and Solomon. The war against Jeroboam (3) is probably real and offers a chance to include a speech by Abijah to the northern tribes (4-12): those in the north (8.11) are not part of the Lord’s kingdom; they do not have a legitimate dynasty, only a usurper king; they worship idols instead of the true God, and they lack priests or proper worship. To fight against Judah (10) is to fight against the Lord (12). The logical result is Jeroboam’s defeat (13-18).
Asa of Judah.
These three chapters about Asa’s reign update the details found in 1 Kings 15:9-24. In the Book of Kings, Asa’s character is unclear. The Chronicler clears up these inconsistencies by dividing the story into two parts. The first part (14 and the following chapters) focuses on religious reforms and ends with a great victory. Then, two sins happen: seeking help from a foreign nation (16:1-6), which shows disloyalty by not trusting the Lord; and persecuting a prophet who tells him to repent and seek God (16:7-10). As a result, ongoing wars and an illness follow, eventually leading to his death (16:11-14). By trusting only human cures, the king shows he hasn’t truly understood his illness and makes his sin worse. This makes his reign a clear example of the principle of retribution.