Read 2 Chronicles 15
Asa’s Religious Reforms
15 The Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded, 2 and he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: The Lord is with you while you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you. 3 For a long time Israel was without the true God, and without a teaching priest and without law,4 but when in their distress they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him, he was found by them. 5 In those times there was no peace to him who went out or to him who came in, for great disturbances afflicted all the inhabitants of the lands. 6 They were broken in pieces. Nation was crushed by nation and city by city, for God troubled them with every sort of distress. 7 But you, take courage! Do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded.”
8 As soon as Asa heard these words, the prophecy of Azariah the son of Oded, he took courage and put away the detestable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities that he had taken in the hill country of Ephraim, and he repaired the altar of the Lord that was in front of the vestibule of the house of the Lord. 9 And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and those from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who were residing with them, for great numbers had deserted to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him. 10 They were gathered at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa. 11 They sacrificed to the Lord on that day from the spoil that they had brought 700 oxen and 7,000 sheep. 12 And they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and with all their soul, 13 but that whoever would not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, should be put to death, whether young or old, man or woman. 14 They swore an oath to the Lordwith a loud voice and with shouting and with trumpets and with horns.15 And all Judah rejoiced over the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and had sought him with their whole desire, and he was found by them, and the Lord gave them rest all around.
16 Even Maacah, his mother, King Asa removed from being queen mother because she had made a detestable image for Asherah. Asa cut down her image, crushed it, and burned it at the brook Kidron. 17 But the high places were not taken out of Israel. Nevertheless, the heart of Asa was wholly true all his days. 18 And he brought into the house of God the sacred gifts of his father and his own sacred gifts, silver, and gold, and vessels. 19 And there was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of the reign of Asa.
Go Deeper
In this chapter, Azariah gives us a wonderful reminder of God’s desire for us: obedience. More specifically, He desires complete obedience. We can see how important this is to God in Azariah’s statement in verse 2: “The Lord is with you when you are with Him…but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.” In Matthew 7:21, we see Jesus emphasize a similar point stating, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” God desires a closeness with us. As our Creator, He knows how this benefits us, and He wants to bless us as stated in verse 7 with “your work will be rewarded.” He knows that through obedience, this closeness can be achieved. However, obedience has many challenges. In the book The Awe of God by John Bevere, he discusses a few of these challenges with one of them being pain.
Sometimes, being obedient can be challenging when it’s painful. In Asa’s situation, he was even warned that it would be difficult when Azariah said in verse 7, “…be strong and do not give up.” You don’t need words of encouragement before something easy or enjoyable but rather before something difficult or painful! In Asa’s case, obedience included some very painful tasks, such as killing those who chose not to take the oath to the Lord and deposing his grandmother from her position as queen mother. These people that were put to death were likely those who fell away from the faith and likely had relatives included in the living. This would have been very sad and painful, and the pain of deposing a family member speaks for itself, especially a grandmother! Despite it being painful, God calls us to obedience even if He asks us to choose God over our family.
However, there is an eternal reward for obedience! In exchange for our obedience, we are offered a relationship with our Creator. This is the same relationship that caused Moses to leave the riches of pharaoh for the wilderness and caused Moses at a later point say “if you don’t personally go with us, don’t make us leave this place” when God offered an escape from the wilderness in Exodus 33:15. This relationship with God is what we are designed for, and we have the opportunity to step into this relationship if we just obey!
Questions
- What barriers keep you from full obedience?
- Does a relationship with God appeal to you? Why or why not?
- When you obey, would you say you obey completely? Why or why not?
A Quote
“Almost complete obedience isn’t obedience at all. Jesus set the example for us to fully obey–to the finish–whatever God entrusts to us.”
John Bevere, Awe of God
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8 responses to “2 Chronicles 15”
“And all Judah rejoiced over the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and had sought him with their whole desire, and he was found by them, and the Lord gave them rest all around” (v15).
Obedience to God will likely challenge every fiber of our sinful flesh, yet offers the greatest reward and rest. May we cease striving and fully surrender to the Lord our God who calls and keeps us with his covenant love.
Yes!
8 “he took courage and put away the detestable idols”
The phrase to “take courage” is insightful. My call is more than simply to “be courageous” (Joshua 1:9), but I am also to “take courage” (John 16:33).
Today, I’m going to meditate on this idea of taking courage!
So while reading this chapter the words “Hear me, Asa,” “As soon as Asa heard these words” I immediately thought about the Hebrew word SHEMA. It means, (pronounced “shmah”) or is often translated as “hear.” But the word shema actually has a much wider, deeper meaning than “to perceive sound.” It has many meanings that includes listening, taking heed, and responding with action with the request that has been spoken.
So Asa heard and took action to obey what was spoken. We need to hear God speaking through His Word or through Holy Spirit to obedience with action.
Understanding the word shema also helps us see why Jesus often concluded his teaching with the words “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” What he really meant was, “You have heard my teaching, now take it to heart and obey it!” He wants us to be doers of his words, not hearers only (James 1:22).
In all of this today I am feeling the weight of Christ. Asa sacrificed oxen and sheep BUT GOD sacrificed His only begotten Son. Forgiveness is the divine miracle of grace. The cost to God was the Cross of Christ. We cannot forget the price that was paid. So hearing with the action behind the words of taking heed, and doing the request that was spoken. Asa took down idols, the people entered into a covenant to seek the Lord with all their heart and soul. This commitment to God was not taken lightly, and it brought about a profound transformation. Making a covenant with God can be a powerful step in our spiritual journey, solidifying our dedication and aligning our lives with His will.
I need to constantly be hearing to obedience and to seek God with all my heart soul, mind and strength and my neighbor as myself while remembering the cost.
God I am so thankful for Your Son Jesus and the price He paid for me. God thank You!! God continue to let me hear, shema, with obedience in action with what You are telling me. God I desire to love You with all my heart, soul, mind and strength and my neighbor as myself. God give me courage to remove idols, joy in worshiping You. God thank You as I seek You I find peace. God thank You for blessings in obedience. Thank You that I can encourage others and be uplift to others spirits to motivate others to keep pressing forward. God thank You for reminding me of Your unwavering faithfulness. When I seek You, I will find You and You find me and give me peace. This assurance of You, God helps me so much in my walk of faithfulness. Thank You for these minutes of this day to do what You have me to do while shema hearing You and YOur Word in Jesus name amen
WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Shema — to hear. “But word shema actually has a much wider, deeper meaning than “to perceive sound.” It has many meanings that includes listening, taking heed, and responding with action.”
Amy, I had never thought about that!
Hearing as both receptive — and responsive.
One of the places Jesus says “whoever has ears, let him hear!” is in Matthew 13:9. In The Passion Translation, this verse reads, ““If you’re able to understand this, then you need to respond.”
Obedience = Hearing + Doing.
Woohoo!
“And when Asa heard these words, the prophecy of Azariah the son of Oded the prophet, he took courage and REMOVED the repulsive idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities which he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim.
Then he RESTORED the altar [of burnt offering] of the Lord which was in front of the porch [of the temple] of the Lord.”
-2 Chronicles 15:8 AMP, emphasis added mine
Renewal almost always requires two things — tearing down what SHOULDN’T be there — and building up what SHOULD.
When Brent and I bought our current home, we did so with plans to convert the garage into a master bedroom suite. Our contractor — a very inventive, resourceful fellow — was able to save us a considerable amount of money by doing the work for the cost of “new construction” — as opposed to a full-on remodel. Remodeling, he explained, is usually more expensive — because before you can build something new, you have to tear down and remove what was already there. (Thankfully, there isn’t much in a garage that has to go!)
His explanation is something that has stuck with me ever since.
Which is why today’s story really hit home, as Asa removes idols and restores the altar before God can fully dwell with His people again.
We don’t have a lot of detail about how this went for Asa, but I can attest that our rebuild didn’t go exactly as planned. (When does it ever!) As our five-week project dragged out to fifteen, there were many moments of uncertainty and frustration along the way.
But because we had surrendered the project to God from the beginning — and continued to do so through all those delays — the end result was amazing. Not only did it turn out SO beautifully – but it was there we could all feel the Lord’s presence. One of my favorite memories from those days is seeing my children, who could have played anywhere in the house, choosing to be in our new room more than anywhere else. There was a peace in that place that “passed all understanding.”
Where God is, there those who love Him love to be.
This chapter offers its own beautiful illustration of God’s people making space for God’s presence, and the joy and peace they experienced as a result:
“All Judah rejoiced… for they sought Him with their whole heart, and He let them find Him. So the Lord gave them rest on every side.”
-2 Chronicles 15:15 AMP
Clearing away what needs to go is messy, hard, and costly. But it is the only way to make space for God to build something beautiful.
Thank you for sharing 😍
n 2 Chronicles 15:2, we are reminded, “The LORD is with you when you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.” This verse highlights the importance of actively seeking God in our daily lives. When we prioritize our relationship with Him, we find peace and guidance, knowing that He is always near to those who earnestly seek Him.