2 Chronicles
Chapter 15
1 God’s Spirit came to Azariah, Oded’s son.
2 He went to meet Asa and said, “Listen to me, Asa, and all of Judah and Benjamin: God is with you when you are with Him. If you look for Him, you will find Him; but if you leave Him, He will leave you.”
3 Israel has been a long time without the real God, without a priest to teach, and without law.
4 But when they were in trouble and turned to God, and looked for him, they found him.
5 During those times, people had no peace whether they left or arrived, as everyone living in the countries faced great troubles.
6 One nation destroyed another, and one city destroyed another; for God troubled them with all kinds of problems.
7 Stay strong, and don’t let your hands get weak: your work will be rewarded.
8 When Asa heard these words and Oded the prophet’s message, he felt brave. He removed the terrible idols from all over Judah and Benjamin, and from the cities he had captured in the hills of Ephraim. He also fixed God’s altar in front of God’s temple entrance.
9 He brought together all of Judah and Benjamin, and the foreigners from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon, because many from Israel joined him when they saw that God was with him.
10 They came together in Jerusalem in the third month, during the fifteenth year of Asa’s rule.
11 At that time, they gave to God from the things they had taken seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep.
12 They promised to search for God of their ancestors with all their heart and soul.
13 Anyone who does not seek the God of Israel must be put to death, no matter who they are, young or old, man or woman.
14 They promised to God loudly, with shouts, trumpets, and horns.
15 All of Judah was happy about their promise; they made it sincerely and looked for God with all their desire. They found God, and God gave them peace on every side.
16 Asa took away his grandmother Maachah’s title as queen because she made an idol in a sacred garden. Asa chopped down the idol, crushed it, and burned it in the Kidron Valley.
17 But the worship places on the hills were not removed from Israel; still, Asa was completely devoted to God all his life.
18 He brought into God’s house the items his father and he had dedicated: silver, gold, and containers.
19 There was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s rule.