Wednesday, October 15, 2025
The Prophet Azariah Warns Asa
15 Now the Spirit of God came on Azariah the son of Oded, 2 and he went out [a]to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: the Lord is with you when you are with Him. And if you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you. 3 For many days Israel was without the true God and without a teaching priest and without law. 4 But in their distress they turned to the Lord God of Israel, and they sought Him, and He let them find Him. 5 In those times there was no peace to him who went out or to him who came in, for many disturbances [b]afflicted all the inhabitants of the lands. 6 Nation was crushed by nation, and city by city, for God troubled them with every kind of distress. 7 But you, be strong and do not [c]lose courage, for there is reward for your work.”
Asa’s Reforms
8 Now when Asa heard these words and the [d]prophecy which Azariah the son of Oded the prophet spoke, he took courage and removed the abominable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities which he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. He then restored the altar of the Lord which was in front of the porch of the Lord. 9 He gathered all Judah and Benjamin and those from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon who resided with them, for many defected to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him. 10 So they assembled at Jerusalem in 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 they had brought. 12 They entered into the covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and soul; 13 and whoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman. 14 Moreover, they made an oath to the Lord with a loud voice, with shouting, with trumpets and with horns. 15 All Judah rejoiced concerning the oath, for they had sworn with their whole heart and had sought Him [e]earnestly, and He let them find Him. So the Lord gave them rest on every side.
16 He also removed Maacah, the mother of King Asa, from the position of queen mother, because she had made a horrid image [f]as an Asherah, and Asa cut down her horrid image, crushed it and burned it at the brook Kidron. 17 But the high places were not removed from Israel; nevertheless Asa’s heart was blameless all his days. 18 He brought into the house of God the dedicated things of his father and his own dedicated things: silver and gold and utensils. 19 And there was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 15:2 Lit before Asa
- 2 Chronicles 15:5 Lit were on
- 2 Chronicles 15:7 Lit let your hands drop
- 2 Chronicles 15:8 With several ancient versions; Heb the prophecy, Oded the prophet
- 2 Chronicles 15:15 Lit with their whole desire
- 2 Chronicles 15:16 Or for Asherah
God’s Goodness and Israel’s Waywardness.
For the choir director; [a]on the Gittith. A Psalm of Asaph.
81 Sing for joy to God our strength;
Shout joyfully to the God of Jacob.
2 Raise a song, strike the timbrel,
The sweet sounding lyre with the harp.
3 Blow the trumpet at the new moon,
At the full moon, on our feast day.
4 For it is a statute for Israel,
An ordinance of the God of Jacob.
5 He established it for a testimony in Joseph
When he [b]went throughout the land of Egypt.
I heard a language that I did not know:
6 “I [c]relieved his shoulder of the burden,
His hands were freed from the [d]basket.
7 “You called in trouble and I rescued you;
I answered you in the hiding place of thunder;
I proved you at the waters of Meribah. [e]Selah.
8 “Hear, O My people, and I will [f]admonish you;
O Israel, if you would listen to Me!
9 “Let there be no strange god among you;
Nor shall you worship any foreign god.
10 “I, the Lord, am your God,
Who brought you up from the land of Egypt;
Open your mouth wide and I will fill it.
11 “But My people did not listen to My voice,
And Israel did not [g]obey Me.
12 “So I gave [h]them over to the stubbornness of their heart,
To walk in their own devices.
13 “Oh that My people would listen to Me,
That Israel would walk in My ways!
14 “I would quickly subdue their enemies
And turn My hand against their adversaries.
15 “Those who hate the Lord would pretend obedience to Him,
And their time of punishment would be forever.
16 “[i]But I would feed you with the [j]finest of the wheat,
And with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”
Footnotes
- Psalm 81:1 Or according to
- Psalm 81:5 Lit went out over
- Psalm 81:6 Lit removed his shoulder from
- Psalm 81:6 Or brick load
- Psalm 81:7 Selah may mean: Pause, Crescendo or Musical interlude
- Psalm 81:8 Or bear witness against
- Psalm 81:11 Lit yield to
- Psalm 81:12 Lit him
- Psalm 81:16 Lit He would feed him
- Psalm 81:16 Lit fat