Today we study Chapter 15 and the religious reforms instituted by Asa. We'd been previously told by the book of 1 Kings that during his reign he removed the pagan altars from the land and deposed his grandmother from her influential position as queen mother because of her idolatrous religious practices. Chapter 15 provides us with more details regarding these reforms, which appear to have mainly taken place after Judah's victory over the Cushite army. Asa was already faithful to the Lord before the battle with the Cushites, for the author told us he was faithful to the Lord all his life. The author included Asa's prayer to the Lord about the upcoming battle, which was the prayer of a man who knows the Lord comes to the aid of those who trust in Him. But now he goes even further in leading his people back to the Lord when a prophet comes to him and encourages him.
"The Spirit of God came on Azariah son of Oded. He went out 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. If you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.'" (2 Chronicles 15:1-2) These words are similar to those spoken to the Lord by David, who said, "To the faithful You show Yourself faithful." (2 Samuel 22:26, Psalm 18:25) The Lord gave Judah victory over the Cushites because King Asa and his army placed their trust in Him. But the prophet's words are a warning from the Lord that the people must continue being faithful to Him if they want to continue living victorious lives. They can't just sit back and say, "The Lord will keep on protecting us," while ignoring a relationship with him or while mixing their worship of the Lord with the worship of pagan deities.
The prophet continues, "For a long time Israel was without a true God, without a priest to teach and without the law. But in their distress they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought Him, and He was found by them. In those days it was not safe to travel about, for all the inhabitants of the lands were in great turmoil. One nation was being crushed by another and one city by another, because God was troubling them with every kind of distress. But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded." (2 Chronicles 15:3-7) When the Lord speaks of times past I believe He may be speaking about the centuries before the law was given, when there was no priesthood and no tabernacle or temple. Some scholars interpret verses 3-7 to be speaking about the era of the judges. We cannot be certain exactly what the Lord meant except that He's referring to an era of lawlessness when the nations did whatever they wanted, when the Lord allowed distress to come upon the nations who were not seeking Him. Even in Israel, before Israel ever had any kings and before the temple was built, we were told that "everyone did as he saw fit". (Judges 17:6)
Asa evidently understands the prophet's message because he takes heart when he receives it. I believe that he always wanted to put religious reforms in place but lacked the courage to do so. Now he knows the Lord will protect him, just as He protected him in battle. "When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Azariah son of Oded the prophet, he took courage. He removed the detestable idols from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the towns he had captured in the hills of Ephraim. He repaired the altar of the Lord that was in front of the portico of the Lord's temple." (2 Chronicles 15:8) I don't know what had happened to the altar in front of the portico but it may have been damaged when Pharaoh Shishak invaded Judah and stole valuable objects from the temple and the palace. Even if Pharaoh Shishak and his men did not do physical damage to the altar, their pagan presence in and around it (and their possible use of it for sacrificing or cooking) would have desecrated it and it would have needed to be ceremonially cleansed and rededicated to the Lord.
"Then he assembled all Judah and Benjamin and the people from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon who had settled among them, for large numbers had come over to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him. They assembled at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa's reign. At that time they sacrificed to the Lord seven hundred head of cattle and seven thousand sheep and goats from the plunder they had brought back. They entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, with all their heart and soul. All who would not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, were to be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman. They took an oath to the Lord with loud acclamation, with shouting and with trumpets and horns. All Judah rejoiced about the oath because they had sworn it wholeheartedly. They sought God eagerly, and He was found by them. So the Lord gave them rest on every side." (2 Chronicles 15:9-15) The people rejoice because there is no better feeling than being in fellowship with the Lord. If we place Him in His proper position in our lives (the top position), He will cause everything else to fall into its proper place.
"King Asa also deposed his grandmother Maakah from her position as queen mother, because she had made a repulsive image for the worship of Asherah. Asa cut it down, broke it up and burned it in the Kidron Valley. Although he did not remove the high places from Israel, Asa's heart was fully committed to the Lord all his life. He brought into the temple of God the silver and gold and the articles that he and his father had dedicated." (2 Chronicles 15:16-18) Asherah was a fertility goddess, among other things, and the images of ancient fertility goddesses tend to be hideous and horrifying. We might suppose these images were of a beautiful and seductive woman but that's not usually the case. Maakah's image was repulsive in appearance and repulsive because it represented a false deity.
Earlier in the week during our study of Asa we learned that he removed the foreign high places in the land; he did not remove the high places erected in the past by his own people for the purpose of making offerings to the Lord. He should have removed those as well, for the people are now commanded to bring all sacrifices and offerings to the temple. These other altars are a temptation to the people to worship God in their own way instead of in the ways prescribed by Him in the law. These altars are "gateway altars", for lack of a better phrase, to using foreign heathen altars. Using altars other than those at the temple keeps people away from the priests who will teach them the right way to worship, which means they will go about things in their own way and may blend heathen practices into their worship, eventually descending entirely into idolatry in some cases.
"There was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa's reign." (2 Chronicles 15:19) The man who becomes king of the northern tribes after King Jeroboam will make war with Asa twenty years in the future." (2 Chronicles 15:20) The king of the northern tribes who comes after King Jeroboam will make war with Asa in about twenty years. We'll move on into the study of that war tomorrow.
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