The Daily Audio Bible
14 (13:23)[a] Abijah passed away[b] and was buried in the City of David.[c] His son Asa replaced him as king. During his reign[d] the land had rest for ten years.
Asa’s Religious and Military Accomplishments
2 (14:1) Asa did what the Lord his God desired and approved.[e] 3 He removed the pagan altars[f] and the high places, smashed the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles.[g] 4 He ordered Judah to seek the Lord God of their ancestors[h] and to observe his law and commands.[i] 5 He removed the high places and the incense altars from all the towns of Judah. The kingdom had rest under his rule.[j]
6 He built fortified cities throughout Judah, for the land was at rest and there was no war during those years; the Lord gave him peace. 7 He said to the people of Judah:[k] “Let’s build these cities and fortify them with walls, towers, and barred gates.[l] The land remains ours because we have followed[m] the Lord our God; we have followed him, and he has made us secure on all sides.”[n] So they built the cities[o] and prospered.
8 Asa had an army of 300,000 men from Judah, equipped with large shields and spears. He also had 280,000 men from Benjamin who carried small shields and were adept archers; they were all skilled warriors. 9 Zerah the Cushite marched against them with an army of 1,000,000 men[p] and 300 chariots . He arrived at Mareshah, 10 and Asa went out to oppose him. They deployed for battle in the Valley of Zephathah near Mareshah.
11 Asa prayed[q] to the Lord his God: “O Lord, there is no one but you who can help the weak when they are vastly outnumbered.[r] Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you and have marched on your behalf against this huge army.[s] O Lord, you are our God; don’t let men prevail against you!”[t] 12 The Lord struck down the Cushites before Asa and Judah. The Cushites fled, 13 and Asa and his army chased them as far as Gerar. The Cushites were wiped out;[u] they were shattered before the Lord and his army. The men of Judah[v] carried off a huge amount of plunder. 14 They defeated all the towns surrounding Gerar, for the Lord caused them to panic.[w] The men of Judah[x] looted all the towns, for they contained a huge amount of goods.[y] 15 They also attacked the tents of the herdsmen in charge of the livestock.[z] They carried off many sheep and camels and then returned to Jerusalem.
15 God’s Spirit came upon Azariah son of Oded. 2 He met[aa] Asa and told him, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin! The Lord is with you when you are loyal to him.[ab] If you seek him, he will respond to you,[ac] but if you reject him, he will reject you. 3 For a long time[ad] Israel had not sought the one true God, or a priest to instruct them, or the law. 4 Because of their distress, they turned back to the Lord God of Israel. They sought him and he responded to them.[ae] 5 In those days[af] no one could travel safely,[ag] for total chaos had overtaken all the people of the surrounding lands.[ah] 6 One nation was crushed by another, and one city by another, for God caused them to be in great turmoil.[ai] 7 But as for you, be strong and don’t get discouraged,[aj] for your work will be rewarded.”[ak]
8 When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he was encouraged.[al] He removed the detestable idols from the entire land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities he had seized in the Ephraimite hill country. He repaired the altar of the Lord in front of the porch of the Lord’s temple.[am]
9 He assembled all Judah and Benjamin, as well as the settlers[an] from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who had come to live with them. Many people from Israel had come there to live[ao] when they saw that the Lord his God was with him. 10 They assembled in Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign. 11 At that time[ap] they sacrificed to the Lord some of the plunder they had brought back, including 700 head of cattle and 7,000 sheep.[aq] 12 They solemnly agreed[ar] to seek the Lord God of their ancestors[as] with their whole heart and being. 13 Anyone who would not seek the Lord God of Israel would be executed, whether they were young or old,[at] male or female. 14 They swore their allegiance to the Lord, shouting their approval loudly and sounding trumpets and horns.[au] 15 All Judah was happy about the oath, because they made the vow with their whole heart. They willingly sought the Lord and he responded to them.[av] He made them secure on every side.[aw]
16 King Asa also removed Maacah his grandmother[ax] from her position as queen mother[ay] because she had made a loathsome Asherah pole. Asa cut down her loathsome pole and crushed and burned it in the Kidron Valley. 17 The high places were not eliminated from Israel, yet Asa was wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord throughout his lifetime.[az] 18 He brought the holy items that his father and he had made into God’s temple, including the silver, gold, and other articles.[ba]
Asa’s Failures
19 There was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign. 16 1 In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign, King Baasha of Israel attacked Judah, and he established Ramah as a military outpost to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the land of King Asa of Judah.[bb] 2 Asa took all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and of the royal palace and sent it to King Ben Hadad of Syria, ruler in Damascus, along with this message: 3 “I want to make a treaty with you, like the one our fathers made.[bc] See, I have sent you silver and gold. Break your treaty with King Baasha of Israel, so he will retreat from my land.”[bd] 4 Ben Hadad accepted King Asa’s offer and ordered his army commanders to attack the cities of Israel.[be] They conquered[bf] Ijon, Dan, Abel Maim,[bg] and all the storage cities of Naphtali. 5 When Baasha heard the news, he stopped fortifying[bh] Ramah and abandoned the project.[bi] 6 King Asa ordered all the men of Judah to carry away the stones and wood that Baasha had used to build Ramah.[bj] He used the materials to build up[bk] Geba and Mizpah.
7 At that time Hanani the prophet[bl] visited King Asa of Judah and said to him: “Because you relied on the king of Syria and did not rely on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Syria has escaped from your hand. 8 Did not the Cushites and Libyans have a huge army with chariots and a very large number of horsemen? But when you relied on the Lord, he handed them over to you! 9 Certainly[bm] the Lord watches the whole earth carefully[bn] and is ready to strengthen those who are devoted to him.[bo] You have acted foolishly in this matter; from now on you will have war.” 10 Asa was so angry at the prophet, he put him in jail.[bp] Asa also oppressed some of the people at that time.
Asa’s Reign Ends
11 The events of Asa’s reign, from start to finish, are recorded in the Scroll of the Kings of Judah and Israel.[bq] 12 In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa developed a foot disease and his disease became severe. Yet even in his disease, he did not seek the Lord, but only the doctors. 13 Asa passed away[br] in the forty-first year of his reign. 14 He was buried in the tomb he had carved out in the City of David.[bs] They laid him to rest on a platform[bt] covered with spices and assorted mixtures of ointments. They made a huge bonfire to honor him.[bu]
Israel’s Rejection Considered
9 [a] I am telling the truth in Christ (I am not lying!), for my conscience assures me[b] in the Holy Spirit— 2 I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.[c] 3 For I could wish[d] that I myself were accursed—cut off from Christ—for the sake of my people,[e] my fellow countrymen,[f] 4 who are Israelites. To them belong[g] the adoption as sons,[h] the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the temple worship,[i] and the promises. 5 To them belong the patriarchs,[j] and from them,[k] by human descent,[l] came the Christ,[m] who is God over all, blessed forever![n] Amen.
6 It is not as though the word of God had failed. For not all those who are descended from Israel are truly Israel,[o] 7 nor are all the children Abraham’s true descendants; rather “through Isaac will your descendants be counted.”[p] 8 This means[q] it is not the children of the flesh[r] who are the children of God; rather, the children of promise are counted as descendants. 9 For this is what the promise declared:[s] “About a year from now[t] I will return and Sarah will have a son.”[u] 10 Not only that, but when Rebekah had conceived children by one man,[v] our ancestor Isaac— 11 even before they were born or had done anything good or bad (so that God’s purpose in election[w] would stand, not by works but by[x] his calling)[y]— 12 [z] it was said to her, “The older will serve the younger,”[aa] 13 just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”[ab]
14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice with God? Absolutely not! 15 For he says to Moses: “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”[ac] 16 So then,[ad] it does not depend on human desire or exertion,[ae] but on God who shows mercy. 17 For the scripture says to Pharaoh:[af] “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may demonstrate my power in you, and that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.”[ag] 18 So then,[ah] God[ai] has mercy on whom he chooses to have mercy, and he hardens whom he chooses to harden.[aj]
19 You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who has ever resisted his will?” 20 But who indeed are you—a mere human being[ak]—to talk back to God?[al] Does what is molded say to the molder, “Why have you made me like this?”[am] 21 Has the potter no right to make from the same lump of clay[an] one vessel for special use and another for ordinary use?[ao] 22 But what if God, willing to demonstrate his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience the objects[ap] of wrath[aq] prepared for destruction?[ar] 23 And what if he is willing to make known the wealth of his glory on the objects[as] of mercy that he has prepared beforehand for glory— 24 even us, whom he has called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?
Psalm 19[a]
For the music director, a psalm of David.
19 The heavens declare the glory of God;[b]
the sky displays his handiwork.[c]
2 Day after day it speaks out;[d]
night after night it reveals his greatness.[e]
3 There is no actual speech or word,
nor is its[f] voice literally heard.
4 Yet its voice[g] echoes[h] throughout the earth;
its[i] words carry[j] to the distant horizon.[k]
In the sky[l] he has pitched a tent for the sun.[m]
5 Like a bridegroom it emerges[n] from its chamber;[o]
like a strong man it enjoys[p] running its course.[q]
6 It emerges from the distant horizon,[r]
and goes from one end of the sky to the other;[s]
nothing can escape[t] its heat.
7 The law of the Lord is perfect
and preserves one’s life.[u]
The rules set down by the Lord[v] are reliable[w]
and impart wisdom to the inexperienced.[x]
8 The Lord’s precepts are fair[y]
and make one joyful.[z]
The Lord’s commands[aa] are pure[ab]
and give insight for life.[ac]
9 The commands to fear the Lord are right[ad]
and endure forever.[ae]
The judgments given by the Lord are trustworthy
and absolutely just.[af]
10 They are of greater value[ag] than gold,
than even a great amount of pure gold;
they bring greater delight[ah] than honey,
than even the sweetest honey from a honeycomb.
11 Yes, your servant finds moral guidance there;[ai]
those who obey them receive a rich reward.[aj]
12 Who can know all his errors?[ak]
Please do not punish me for sins I am unaware of.[al]
13 Moreover, keep me from committing flagrant sins;[am]
do not allow such sins to control me.[an]
Then I will be blameless,
and innocent of blatant[ao] rebellion.
14 May my words and my thoughts
be acceptable in your sight,[ap]
O Lord, my sheltering rock[aq] and my redeemer.[ar]
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