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| 1 And upon Azariah son of Oded hath been the Spirit of God, |
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| 2 and he goeth out before Asa, and saith to him, 'Hear, me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; Jehovah [is] with you in your being with Him, and if ye seek Him, He is found of you, and if ye forsake Him, He forsaketh you; |
Asa – Whose environments in youth had been unfavorable but who quickly developed a loyalty to God and soundness of judgment beneficial to his kingdom. R4724:2
The LORD Is with you – They had all done well and faithfully and therefore God's blessing was with them. R4724:5
While ye be with him – The continuance of divine blessing would depend upon their faithfulness to God and to the requirements of his Law. R4724:5
If ye forsake him – The hour of victory is more dangerous than the hour of distress; the heart is more apt to be proud and feel its own importance. The divine warning helped Asa and his people take a firmer stand for righteousness. R4724:5
Nor should a great victory elate us and make us careless and self-sufficient. R4725:4
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| 3 and many days [are] to Israel without a true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law, |
Israel – The ten tribes. R5733:3
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| 4 and it turneth back in its distress unto Jehovah, God of Israel, and they seek Him, and He is found of them, |
He was found of them – The Lord helped Israel proportionately as they at any time had turned to him. R5733:3
Reveals God's care over his people when they seek him. R5733:5
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| 5 and in those times there is no peace to him who is going out, and to him who is coming in, for many troubles [are] on all the inhabitants of the lands, |
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| 6 and they have been beaten down, nation by nation, and city by city, for God hath troubled them with every adversity; |
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| 7 and ye, be ye strong, and let not your hands be feeble, for there is a reward for your work.' |
Be ye strong therefore – Asa had manifested a disposition in harmony with God and now had this encouraging message. R5733:3
Work shall be rewarded – God's promise to Israel was his divine blessing of peace and earthly prosperity in proportion to their loyalty to him. R4725:1
Contrariwise, spiritual Israel is assured of tribulation, hatred, opposition and suffering in the world, but with the peace of God and a spiritual reward. R4725:1
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| 8 And at Asa's hearing these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he hath strengthened himself, and doth cause the abominations to pass away out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities that he hath captured from the hill-country of Ephraim, and reneweth the altar of Jehovah that [is] before the porch of Jehovah, |
Abominable idols – No idolatry was thenceforth permitted in the kingdom under penalty of death. R4724:6
We should put away all idolatry of money, fame, honor of men, and do the will of the Lord from the heart. R4725:4
Renewed the altar – Today, proportionately as creed idols and their worship would cease, the repair of the true altar of God would progress and many would rejoice to present their bodies living sacrifices. (Rom. 12:1, 2) R5734:1
As the Bible comes to be rightly understood, the unscriptural follies of the creeds will be appreciated. R5734:1
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| 9 and gathereth all Judah and Benjamin, and the sojourners with them out of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and out of Simeon for they have fallen unto him from Israel in abundance, in their seeing that Jehovah his God [is] with him. |
Out of Israel – Many of the ten-tribe kingdom who were piously inclined and still respected God and his promises were glad to leave their king and ally themselves with the tribe of Judah, where the great God was worshipped and they were known as "Jews." R5733:3, R2380:2, R2084:6
God grants blessings to those who humble themselves and are obedient. R2380:2
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| 10 And they are gathered to Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa, |
They gathered themselves – A great convention was held--a holiness convention. R2363:5
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| 11 and sacrifice to Jehovah on that day from the spoil they have brought in oxen seven hundred, and sheep seven thousand, |
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| 12 and they enter into a covenant to seek Jehovah, God of their fathers, with all their heart, and with all their soul, |
Entered into a covenant – A great national awakening along religious lines. R5733:5
Such a company of consecrated covenanters, enlightened as we are today, would be a mighty force, a mighty power. R5734:4
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| 13 and every one who doth not seek for Jehovah, God of Israel, is put to death, from small unto great, from man unto woman. |
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| 14 And they swear to Jehovah with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets, |
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| 15 and rejoice do all Judah concerning the oath, for with all their heart they have sworn, and with all their good-will they have sought Him, and He is found of them, and Jehovah giveth rest to them round about. |
Lord gave them rest – The Lord's blessing continued with the kingdom of Judah. R4724:6
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| 16 And also Maachah, mother of Asa the king he hath removed her from [being] mistress, in that she hath made for a shrine a horrible thing, and Asa cutteth down her horrible thing, and beateth [it] small, and burneth [it] by the brook Kidron: |
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| 17 yet the high places have not turned aside from Israel; only, the heart of Asa hath been perfect all his days. |
Were not taken away – It is not sufficient that we outwardly acknowledge the Lord to be our God; we must also be zealous in serving his cause. R2363:3
The heart of Asa was perfect – Asa was not serving the Lord because it would be the most profitable course for himself and for the nation but from a heart that was in harmony with God. R2363:3
Perfection of heart in the Lord's consecrated people of the Gospel age means a great deal more--a full consecration in thought, word and deed. R2364:4
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| 18 And he bringeth in the sanctified things of his father, and his own sanctified things, to the house of God, silver, and gold, and vessels. |
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| 19 And war hath not been till the thirty and fifth year of the reign of Asa. |
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