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The Prophet Azariah Warns Asa

¹ Now ^(C1)the Spirit of God came on Azariah the son of Oded,² and he went out ^(F1)to meet Asa and said to him, "Listen to me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: ^(C1)the LORD is with you when you are with Him. And ^(C2)if you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.³ "^(C1)For many days Israel was without the true God and without ^(C2)a teaching priest and without law.⁴ "But ^(C1)in their distress they turned to the LORD God of Israel, and they sought Him, and He let them find Him.⁵ "^(C1)In those times there was no peace to him who went out or to him who came in, for many disturbances ^(F1)afflicted all the inhabitants of the lands.⁶ "^(C1)Nation was crushed by nation, and city by city, for God troubled them with every kind of distress.⁷ "But you, ^(C1)be strong and do not ^(F1)lose courage, for there is ^(C2)reward for your work."

Asa's Reforms

⁸ Now when Asa heard these words and the ^(F1)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 ^(C1)the cities which he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. ^(C2)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 ^(C1)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 (C1)They sacrificed to the LORD that day 700 oxen and 7,000 sheep from the spoil they had brought.^12 (C1)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 ^(C1)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 ^(F1)earnestly, and He let them find Him. So ^(C1)the LORD gave them rest on every side.

^16 (C1)He also removed Maacah, the mother of King Asa, from the position of queen mother, because she had made a horrid image ^(F1)as ^(C2)an Asherah, and ^(C3)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.