Asa Relied on the Lord God & Judah Had Peace 10 Years |
2 Chronicles 14:1-15 2 Chronicles in [Smaller Chunks] |
So Abijah [died] & slept with his [forefathers] & was buried in the city of David. His son, Asa, [ruled] in his [place.] [During Asa’s] days, the land was [peaceful] 10 years. Asa did [what] was right & good in the sight of the Lord his God. |
[Asa] took away all the altars of the strange gods & the high places. They [broke] down the images & cut down the groves. And [he] commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their [forefathers] & to do [God’s] Law & [commandments.] |
[Jeremiah 21:9 Then, they shall answer, Because they have [abandoned] the Covenant [contract] of the Lord, their God & worshiped other gods & served them.] |
Asa, also took away [from] all the cities of Judah, the high places & the images & the kingdom was [peaceful under Asa.] [Asa] built fenced cities in Judah: [since] the land [didn’t] have war in those years & had rest, because the Lord had given [Asa peace &] rest. |
Therefore, [Asa] said to Judah, [Let’s] build these cities & make walls [around] them [with] towers & gates [with] bars, while the land is [still] before us, because we have sought the Lord our God & He has given us rest on every side. So, they built & prospered. |
Asa had an army of 300,000 men [who carried large shields] & spears [from] Judah. There [were] 280,000 [who carried] shields & [shot with] bows [from] Benjamin. All these were mighty men of valor. |
Zera [a.k.a. Zerah,] the Ethiopian [a.k.a. Cushite] & an [army] of 1,000’s upon 1,000’s & 300 chariots came out against them in Mareshah. Asa went out against [Zera] & [put] his battle [in order] in the Valley of Zephathah [in] Mareshah. |
Asa cried [out] to the Lord, his God & said, Lord [it’s] nothing [for] You to help [us,] whether with many or with those [who] are [powerless] to help us. O Lord, our God, we [rely] on You & in Your Name we go against this multitude. |
O Lord, You are our God. [Don’t] let man prevail against you. So, the Lord [struck] the Ethiopians [in front of] Asa & Judah & the Eithiopians fled. Asa & the [army] with him, pursued them to Gerar & the Ethiopians were overthrown & [couldn’t] recover. |
For they were destroyed before the Lord & His [army] & they carried away [lots of plunder.] They [destroyed] all the cities around Gerar; for the fear [respect] of the Lord came upon them. |
They [plundered] all the cities; for there was an [enormous amount of plunder] in them. They also [attacked the camps of the herders] & carried away [herds of] sheep & goats & returned to Jerusalem. |