When Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominations out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from the hill country of Ephraim; and he renewed Yahweh’s altar that was before Yahweh’s porch. He gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and those who lived with them out of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon; for they came to him out of Israel in abundance when they saw that Yahweh his God was with him. So they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign. They sacrificed to Yahweh in that day, of the plunder which they had brought, seven hundred head of cattle and seven thousand sheep. They entered into the covenant to seek Yahweh, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and with all their soul; and that whoever would not seek Yahweh, the God of Israel, should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman. They swore to Yahweh with a loud voice, with shouting, with trumpets, and with cornets. All Judah rejoiced at the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart, and sought him with their whole desire; and he was found by them. Then Yahweh gave them rest all around.
Also Maacah, the mother of Asa the king, he removed from being queen, because she had made an abominable image for an Asherah; so Asa cut down her image, ground it into dust, and burned it at the brook Kidron.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv10, 11, 13, 15, 16 Called Sivan, containing part of May, and part of…
Called Sivan, containing part of May, and part of June.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv8–16 2Ch 15:8 And when Asa heard these words, and…
2Ch 15:8 And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from mount Ephraim, and renewed the altar of the LORD, that [was] before the porch of the LORD.
Ver. 8. And when Asa heard these words.] He was zealous for God before, but now his heart, was all on a light flame for God. "Did not our hearts burn within us, whilst he opened unto us the Scriptures?" said those two disciples travelling to Emmaus. {Luk 24:32} Together with Christ’s words there went forth a power. {Luk 5:15}
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And the prophecy of Oded.] That is, Of Azariah, son of Oded.
He put away the abominable idols.] St Peter speaketh of "abominable idolatry." {1Pe 4:3} Some Papists would hence infer that there is some idolatry not abominable, so loath are idolaters that their asses’ ears should be seen. Some think that Asa now purged out this abomination, quaestione domesticatim habita, {a} by narrow search made from house to house.
And out of the cities which he had taken from mount Ephraim.] Where the Ethiopians haply had left some of their spawn, as toads and other vermin leave their slime and filth congealed behind them.
And renewed the altar of the Lord,] i.e., Repaired it, being decayed, and offered on it very many sacrifices.
{a} Jun.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16 Of Oded the prophet, to wit, of Azariah, 2Ch…
Of Oded the prophet, to wit, of Azariah, 2Ch 15:1, who was also called by his father’s name Oded. Or Oded may be here put patronymically for the son of Oded; as David is put for Christ the Son of David, Jer 30:9, and elsewhere; and Moses for the sons of Moses, Psa 90:1. Or here is an ellipsis of the relative word, of which there are many instances both in sacred and profane authors; as 2Sa 21:19, the brother of Goliath; Mat 4:21, James the son of Zebedee; Luk 24:10, Mary the mother of James, by comparing Mar 15:40; Joh 19:25, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and many other places. And so this place may be thus read,
when Asa heard these words, even the prophecy of the son of Oded the prophet. And this ellipsis is the more easy and tolerable, because this defect might be well enough understood and supplied out of 2Ch 15:1. Though some understand this to be another prophecy of Oded the father, which is not here expressed, which Azariah his son repeated to them for the confirmation of his own prophecy.
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He took courage; for it required great courage to put away all the idols, to which so great a number of his people were to this day addicted, and, among others, Maachah the queen, his mother, whom for this reason he deposed, 1Ki 15:13.
The cities which he had taken, to wit, Abijah his father; which was easily understood from 2Ch 13:19. Or, which had been taken; the active word being oft so used impersonally for the passive, as Hebricians know.
Renewed the altar of the Lord; which had been either decayed through age and long use of it, or broken by his idolatrous mother’s means. Or, he consecrated or dedicated the altar, &c.; which possibly had been polluted by idolaters, and now needed some purification.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v8 We are here told what good effect the foregoing…
We are here told what good effect the foregoing sermon had upon Asa.
I. He grew more bold for God than he had been. His victory would inspire him with some new degrees of resolution, but this message from God with much more. Now he took courage. he saw how necessary a further reformation was, and what assurance he had of God's presence with him in it; and this made him daring, and helped him over the difficulties which had before deterred him and driven him off from the undertaking. Now he ventured to destroy all the abominable idols (and all idolatries are abominable, Pe1 4:3) as far as ever his power went. Away with them all. He also renewed the altar of the Lord, which, it seems, had gone out of repair, though it was not above thirty-five years since Solomon's head was laid, who erected it. So soon did these ceremonial institutions begin to wax old, as things which, in the fulness of time, must vanish away, Heb 8:13.
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II. He extended his influence further than before, Ch2 15:9. He summoned a solemn assembly, and particularly brought the strangers to it, who had come over to him from the ten tribes. 1. Their coming was a great encouragement to him; for the reason of their coming was because they saw that the Lord his God was with him. It is good to be with those that have God with them, to come into relation to, and contract acquaintance and friendship with, those that live in the fear and favour of God. We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you, Zac 8:23. 2. The cognizance he took of them, and the invitation he gave them to the general assembly, were a great encouragement to them. All strangers are to be helped, but those that cast themselves upon God's good providence, purely to keep a good conscience, are worthy of double honour. Asa gave orders for the gathering of them together (Ch2 15:9), yet it is said (Ch2 15:10) that they gathered themselves together, made it their own act, so forward were they to obey the king's orders. This meeting was held in the third month, probably at the feast of Pentecost, which was in that month.
III. He and his people offered sacrifices to God, as his share of the spoil they had got, Ch2 15:11. Their offering here was nothing to Solomon's (Ch2 7:5), which was owing to the diminution either of their zeal or of their wealth, or of both. These sacrifices were intended by way of thanksgiving for the favours they had received, and supplication for further favours. Prayers and praises are now our spiritual sacrifices. And, as he took care that the altar should have its gift, so he took care that the temple should have its gold: He brought into the house of God all the dedicated things, Ch2 15:18. It is honesty to render to God the things that are his. What has been long designed for him, and long laid by for him, as it should seem these dedicated things had been, should at length be laid out for him. Will a man rob God, or make slow payment to him, who is always ready to do us good?
IV. They entered into covenant with God, repenting that they had violated their engagements to him and resolving to do better for the future. It is proper for penitents, for converts, to renew their covenants. It should seem, the motion came not from Asa, but from the people themselves. Let every man be a volunteer that covenants with God. Thy people shall be willing, Psa 110:3. Observe,
1. What was the matter of this covenant. Nothing but what they were before obliged to; and, though no vow or promise of theirs could lay any higher obligation upon them than they were already under from the divine precept, yet it would help to increase their sense of the obligation, to arm them against temptations, and would be a testimony to the equity and goodness of the precept. And, by joining all together in this covenant, they strengthened the hands one of another. Two things they engaged themselves to: - (1.) That they would diligently seek God themselves, seek his precepts, seek his favour. What is religion but seeking God, enquiring after him, applying to him, upon all occasions? We shall not enjoy him till we come to heaven; while we are here we must continue seeking. They would seek God as the God of their fathers, in the way that their fathers sought him and in dependence upon the promise made to their fathers; and they would do it with all their heart and with all their soul, for those only seek God acceptably and successfully that are inward with him, intent upon him, and entire for him, in their seeking him. We make nothing of our religion if we do not make heart-work of it. God will have all the heart or none; and, when a jewel of such inestimable value as the divine favour is to be found, it is worth while to seek it with all our soul. (2.) That they would, to the utmost of their power, oblige others to seek him, Ch2 15:13. They agreed that whosoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel (that is, would either worship other gods or refuse to join with them in the worship of the true God, that was either an obstinate idolater or an obstinate atheist) he should be put to death. This was no new law of their own making, but an order to put in execution that law of God to this purport, Deu 17:2, etc. If this law had been duly executed, there would not have been so many abominable idols found in Judah and Benjamin, Ch2 15:8. Whether men may now, under the gospel, be compelled by such methods as these to seek the Lord is justly questioned; for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, and yet mighty.
2. In what manner they made this covenant. (1.) With great cheerfulness, and all possible expressions of joy: The swore unto the Lord; not secretly, as if they were either ashamed of what they did or afraid of binding themselves too fast to him, but with a loud voice, to express their own zeal and to animate one another; and they all rejoiced at the oath, Ch2 15:14, Ch2 15:15. They did not swear to God with reluctancy (as the poor debtor confesses a judgment to his creditor), but with all the pleasure and satisfaction imaginable, as the bridegroom plights his troth to the bride in the marriage covenant. Every honest Israelite was pleased with his own engagements to God, and they were all pleased with one another's. They rejoiced in it as a hopeful expedient to prevent their apostasy from God and a happy indication of God's presence with them. Note, The times of renewing our covenant with God should be times of rejoicing, and national reformation cannot but give general satisfaction to all that are good. It is an honour and happiness to be in bonds to God. (2.) They did it with great sincerity, zeal and resolution: They swore to God with all their hearts, and sought him with their whole desire. The Israelites were now in an extraordinarily good frame. O that there had always been such a heart in them! This comes in as the reason why they rejoiced so much in what they did: it was because they were hearty in it. Note, Those only experience the pleasure and comfort of religion that are sincere and upright in it. What is done in hypocrisy is a mere drudgery. But, if God has the heart, we have the joy.
V. We are told what was the effect of this their solemn covenanting with God. 1. God did well for them: He was found of them, and gave them rest round about (Ch2 15:15), so that there was no war for a long time after (Ch2 15:19), no open general war, though there were constant bickerings between Judah and Israel upon the frontiers, Kg1 15:16. National piety procures national blessings. 2. They did, on the whole, well for him. They carried on the reformation so far that Maachah the queen-mother was deposed for idolatry and her idol destroyed, Ch2 15:16. This was bravely done of Asa, that he would not connive at idolatry in those that were nearest to him, like Levi, that said to his father and mother, I have not seen him, Deu 33:9. Asa knows he must honour God more than his grandmother, and dares not leave an idol in an apartment of his palace while he is destroying idols in the cities of his kingdom. We may suppose this Maachah was so far convinced of her sin that she was willing to subscribe the association mentioned (Ch2 15:12, Ch2 15:13), binding herself to seek the Lord, and therefore was not put to death as those were that refused to sign it, great as well as small, women as well as men: probably it was with an eye to her that women were specified. But because she had been an idolater Asa thought fit to divest her of the dignity and authority she had, and probably he banished her the court and confined her to privacy, lest she should influence and infect others. But the reformation was not complete; the high places were not all taken away, though many of them were, Ch2 14:3, Ch2 14:5. Those in the cities were removed, but not those in the cities of Judah, but not those in the cities of Israel which were reduced to the house of David; or those that were used in the service of false gods, but not those that were used in the service of the God of Israel. These he connived at, and yet his heart was perfect. There may be defects in some particular duties where yet the heart, in the man, is upright with God. Sincerity is something less than sinless perfection.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv8–16 And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy…
And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet,.... Some think that besides the above words of Azariah the son of Oded, a prophecy of Oded his father was related by him, though not recorded; but rather Oded here is the same with the son of Oded; and so the Vulgate Latin and Syriac versions read Azariah the son of Oded; and so does the Alexandrian copy of the Septuagint version:
he took courage, and put away the abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin; which were abominable to God, and all good men; besides the images and statues he had broken before, he removed other idols that remained, being animated and emboldened by the speech of the prophet:
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and out of the cities which he had taken from Mount Ephraim: the same which his father Abijah had taken from Jeroboam, Ch2 13:19 and which perhaps, upon the approach of the Ethiopians, revolted from Asa, or were restored by them to Jeroboam, and Which Asa retook upon his conquest of them:
and renewed the altar of the Lord before the porch of the Lord; the altar of burnt offering, which had never been repaired since it was made by Solomon; perhaps he anew overlaid it with brass that being worn out, or become very thin in some places.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv8, 12, 15 Of Oded - Of Azariah, ver. 1, who was…
Of Oded - Of Azariah, ver. 1, who was also called by his father's name Oded.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 16 Verse 8. Renewed the altar] Dedicated it afresh, or…
Verse 8. Renewed the altar] Dedicated it afresh, or perhaps enlarged it, that more sacrifices might be offered on it than ever before; for it cannot be supposed that this altar had no victims offered on it till the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa, who had previously been so zealous in restoring the Divine worship.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 15, 16 2Ch 15:8. When Asa heard these words of Oded…
2Ch 15:8. When Asa heard these words of Oded the prophet — Of Azariah, the son of Oded, who was also called by his father’s name; he took courage — For it required great courage to put away all the idols, to which so great a number of his people were still attached, and among others Maachah, the queen, his mother, whom, for this reason, he deposed, 1Ki 15:13. And out of the cities which he had taken — Or, which had been taken, namely, by Abijah his father. And renewed the altar of the Lord — Which had been either decayed by time and long use of it, or broken by his idolatrous mother’s means. Or the expression may signify, He consecrated, or dedicated, the altar, &c., which, possibly, had been polluted by idolaters, and now needed some purification.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv8–12 Some versions have “the prophecy of Azariah the son…
Some versions have “the prophecy of Azariah the son of Oded,” which is perhaps the true reading.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16 Azarias, the son, is omitted in Hebrew and the…
Azarias, the son, is omitted in Hebrew and the Vatican Septuagint, which reads Adad, (Haydock) but it is supplied in the other editions, and in the Syriac, (Calmet) as [in] ver. 1. (Haydock) --- Taken: we do not read on what occasion, chap. xvii. 2. His father had seized upon Bethel, &c., chap. xiii. 19. (Calmet) --- Yet Asa waged war himself with the king of Israel. --- Dedicated. Septuagint, "renewed," as the altar had been neglected, or injured by the continual fire; (Menochius) or this was the extraordinary (Haydock) altar, which Solomon had used at the dedication of the temple. The multitude of Asa’s victims required more than one, ver. 11. It is not probable that God’s worship had been neglected till the 15th year of this pious king, (ver. 9) since even his wicked father was punctual in this respect, chap. xiii. 11. Before, at the higher end of the priests’ court, to the east of the altar of holocausts. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv8–10 when Asa heard . . . the prophecy of…
when Asa heard . . . the prophecy of Oded the prophet--The insertion of these words, "of Oded the prophet," is generally regarded as a corruption of the text. "The sole remedy is to erase them. They are, probably, the remains of a note, which crept in from the margin into the text" [BERTHEAU].
he took courage--Animated by the seasonable and pious address of Azariah, Asa became a more zealous reformer than ever, employing all his royal authority and influence to extirpate every vestige of idolatry from the land.
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and out of the cities which he had taken from mount Ephraim--He may have acquired cities of Ephraim, the conquest of which is not recorded (Ch2 17:2); but it has been commonly supposed that the reference is to cities which his father Abijah had taken in that quarter (Ch2 13:19).
renewed the altar of the Lord . . . before the porch--that is, the altar of burnt offering. As this was done on or about the fifteenth year of the reign of this pious king, the renewal must have consisted in some splendid repairs or embellishments, which made it look like a new dedication, or in a reconstruction of a temporary altar, like that of Solomon (Ch2 7:7), for extraordinary sacrifices to be offered on an approaching occasion.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv8, 9, 12, 13, 16 ASA’S REFORMS AND RENEWAL OF THE COVENANT, 2Ch_15:8-19.
ASA’S REFORMS AND RENEWAL OF THE COVENANT, 2Ch_15:8-19.
8. And the prophecy of Oded the prophet — Here is doubtless a corruption in the text. Either the words of Oded should be omitted, as an interpolation, or else the words Azariah the son (see 2Ch_15:1) should be supplied.
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Took courage — Azariah’s oracle inspired the king with a zeal and enthusiasm even additional to that occasioned by the recent marvellous victory.
Put away the abominable idols — This effort to clear his realm of idolatry is probably not to be identified with his earlier work of reform described in 1Ch_14:3, but a later effort, inspired and encouraged by his victory over Zerah and by the words of the prophet. It may have been that his earlier efforts were only partially successful, and that Azariah’s oracle reminded him that much remained to be done in the work of reform.
The cities which he had taken from mount Ephraim — The cities which his father had taken from Jeroboam. 2Ch_13:19. The writer, in his hasty brevity of narration, attributed to Asa what was really the work of his father. See a similar inaccuracy in 2Ch_17:2.
Renewed the altar — The great brazen altar described in 1Ch_4:1, which stood in the priests’ court before the porch of the temple. Some sixty years had passed since the temple was built, and this altar may, for that reason, have needed repair; or it may have been polluted by idolatry, and therefore needed renewal.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv8–16 8. and the prophecy of Oded the prophet] Some…
8. and the prophecy of Oded the prophet] Some words have fallen out of the text. Read, Even the prophecy which Azariah the son of Oded prophesied.
the abominable idols] R.V. the abominations; cp. 1Ki_14:23-24; 1Ki_15:12-13.
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mount Ephraim] R.V. the hill country of Ephraim. The term describes the hilly country between the plain of Esdrelon and the territory of Benjamin.
that was before the porch] Cp. 2Ch_7:7; 2Ch_8:12.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 (b) THE REFORM OF WORSHIP, AND PUBLIC RENEWAL OF…
(b) THE REFORM OF WORSHIP, AND PUBLIC RENEWAL OF THE COVENANT
(2Ch_15:8-15).
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(8) And the prophecy of Oded the prophet.—Heb., And the prophecy Oded the prophet; without any connection. This is suspicious, and suggests the idea that “Oded the prophet” is a marginal gloss, which has crept into the text; especially as, according to 2Ch_15:1, not Oded, but Azariah son of Oded, was the author of the prophecy. Possibly there is a lacuna, and the original text ran: “And the prophecy which Azariah son of Oded, the prophet, spake.” There is no variation in Heb. MSS., and the readings of the versions only show that the difficulty is ancient. (LXX., Vatic., “the prophecy of Adad the prophet; “but in 2Ch_15:1 : “Azarias son of Oded;” Alex., “Azarias son of Adad the prophet;” Syr., “Azariah son of Azur;” Vulg., “Azariah son of Oded the prophet.”) these words and the prophecy, i.e., these words, even (or, that is) the prophecy. Epexegetical use of the conjunction.
He took courage.—Hithchazzaq, strengthened himself (2Ch_12:13). The same verb as be strong chizqû), 2Ch_15:7.
And put away.—Removed (1Ki_15:12).
The abominable idols.—Abominations (shiqqûtsim): one of the many terms of contempt applied (to idols (Deu_29:17; 1Ki_11:5; 1Ki_11:7; Jer_4:1).
The cities which he had taken from mount Ephraim.—The hill-country of Ephraim. In 2Ch_17:2 we read again: “the cities of Ephraim, which Asa had taken.” It is generally assumed that in both passages there is a somewhat inaccurate reference to the conquests of Abijah recorded in 2Ch_13:19; for hitherto Asa had had no wars with the northern kingdom (2Ch_14:1; 2Ch_14:6; 2Ch_15:19). But Asa may have annexed some of the towns on his northern border without resistance, after his victory over Zerah. (Comp. the voluntary immigration into Judah described in 2Ch_15:9.) Thenius, who fixes the date of Baasha’s attempt before the Cushite invasion, says that Asa seems to have assumed the offensive after Baasha’s retreat from Ramah.
And renewed the altar.—The context seems to imply that this “renewal” consisted in reconsecration, the altar having been defiled by an illegal cultus. So the LXX. and Vulg., ἐνκάινισε, dedicavit. The word, however, may only mean repaired, restored. The altar had now stood sixty years. (Comp. 2Ch_24:4.)
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv8–16 These words and the prophecy. In addition to what…
These words and the prophecy. In addition to what is said under ver. 1 on the question of the occurrence here of the name Oded, where we should have looked for the name Azariah, it may be noted that it is open to possibility that "these words" certainly referring to the language of Azariah, the "prophecy" may have in view some quotation more or less well known from Oded, satisfied by the latter part of ver. 2 or By ver. 7. This is not very likely; still, the conjunction "and" would thereby better account for itself. Nevertheless, it would still remain that the word "prophecy" is not in construct but absolute state, and we cannot count the difficulty removed, comparatively unimportant as it may be. He took courage, and put away, etc. These words may express either Asa"s accomplishing of the reforms spoken of in the former chapter (vers. 3-5), or quite as probably his perseverance and renewed diligence and vigour in the same; the language, "he took courage," favours this latter view. The cities which he had taken from, etc. Some say that the reference here and 2Ch_17:2 also must be understood to be to Abijahs victory and spoils, (2Ch_13:19) and that these two places must accordingly be in slight error. If this passage had stood alone, this view might have been more easy to accept, but the words in 2Ch_17:2 explicitly state that Asa had taken such cities, and the mere fact that the history does not record when, nor even show any very convenient gap into which Asa"s taking of such cities after conflict with Israel might well fit in, can scarcely be allowed to override the direct assertion of 2Ch_17:2. (comp. 2Ch_16:11) At the same time, the work that would devolve on Asa in holding the cities his father Abijah had first taken, may easily account for all, and have been accounted Asa"s taking, in the sense of taking to them, or retaking them. Renewed the altar. The altar, the place of which was before the porch, was the altar of burnt offering. The Hebrew for "renewed" is vDeji. The Vulgate translates insufficiently dedicavit. Bertheau thinks the renewal designs simply the purification of it from idolatrous defilements, although he admits that this is to assume that it had been defiled by idolatrous priests. Keil says the altar might well need genuine repair after the lapse of sixty years from the building of the temple. Of the nine occurrences of the word. five are metaphorical( as e.g. , (Psa_51:10) but of the remaining four distinctly literal uses, including the present, three must mean just strictly "repair" (2Ch_24:4, 2Ch_24:12; Isa_61:4) and the probability maytherefore be that such is the meaning now. Many, however, prefer the other view. The work of Ass, as described in 2Ch_14:3-5, was one of taking away, breaking down, and cutting down; but this item shows it now, in his fifteenth year, become also one of renewing. and repairing. The porch of (so 2Ch_29:17; 1Ki_7:6, 1Ki_7:7, 1Ki_7:12; Eze_40:7) Ya, though in construct state, the kametz impure.
Vers. 8-19.
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Ancient covenanters.
I SERIOUS PREPARATIONS. (Vers, 8-11.)
1. The purgation of the land from idols. Encouraged by the words of the son of Oded not Oded, as in the text Asa, on reaching his capital, determined to convene a national assembly, and enter into a solemn league and covenant to carry out the work of reformation so auspiciously begun, (2Ch_14:2-5) and so manifestly owned of Jehovah in the splendid victory he had granted over the Cushite invader. (2Ch_14:12) As a preliminary, he "put away the abominations," i.e. the idols, "from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities he had taken from the hill country of Ephraim." In the same spirit acted Jacob, before going up to meet with Jehovah at Bethel; (Gen_35:2) and Moses, before the interview of Israel with Jehovah at Sinai; (Exo_19:14) Hezekiah, before he celebrated the Passover; (2Ch_30:14) and Josiah, before he renewed the covenant. (2Ch_34:3-7) If such preparation on the part of Israel was needful to qualify her for an interview with Jehovah even in external celebrations, (Amo_4:12) much more is a similar preparation of the heart indispensable on the part of souls who come before God in any act of spiritual worship (2Ch_19:3 2Ch_20:33; 1Sa_7:3; Psa_57:7; Luk_1:17) In particular, all known sin must be abandoned. (Isa_1:16, Isa_1:17)
2. The renewal of the altar of the Lord. The great brazen altar of Solomon (2Ch_4:1) had probably been defiled by idol-rites during preceding reigns, and required reconsecration (Bertheau); while, after sixty years of service, it almost certainly stood in need of repairs (Keil). Most likely Asa"s renovation of the altar was of both kinds an external reparation and a religious consecration. It is commonly a sign that a Church or nation is in earnest in entering upon religious reformation when it attends to the externals as well as to the internals of religion when it corrects abuses, repairs defects, and adds improvements in the outward means of grace, as well as endeavours to impart to these fresh attractiveness and zeal Individuals begin not well who neglect to engage all their powers of body, mind, and heart in the work, or to seek for these a new and gracious baptism from above. (Rom_12:1)
3. The invitation of the people to a national assembly. Without the hearty consent and cooperation of the people, reforms of no kind can be effected as little religious as political or social, and just as little these as those.Accordingly, all Judah and Benjamin, with such Israelites as sympathized with the new movement, were summoned to Jerusalem on a certain day to covenant to seek Jehovah. As early as the days of Rehoboam, strangers from the northern kingdom had found their way into the southern (; (2Ch_11:16) Asa"s victory over Zerah having been accepted as a proof that Jehovah was on the side of Judah"s king, the number of these immigrants largely increased (ver. 9). What was wanted then in Judah and Israel to rally the pious is demanded still a leader, who has God upon his side, because he is on the side of God.
4. The gathering of the pious in Jerusalem. It showed the spirit of the people that they responded at once to their monarch"s call. Followers that will not follow are a hindrance to those who would lead in reformations in either Church or state, Union is strength, and generally victory; disunion weakness, and always defeat.
II SOLEMN TRANSACTIONS. (Vers. 12-14.)
1. The presentation of the spoils. These, seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep, formed part of the plunder taken from Zerah"s army, (2Ch_14:14, 2Ch_14:15) and were now presented to Jehovah; as Abraham gave tithes to Melchizedek on returning from the slaughter of the kings; (Gen_14:20) as the Israelites in the wilderness after the slaughter of the Midianites levied a tribute unto the Lord; (Num_31:11-47) as Saul said he intended to sacrifice unto the Lord the sheep and oxen he had reserved from the spoil of the Amalekites; (1Sa_15:21) and as victorious generals among the Romans were accustomed to dedicate to Jupiter part of the spoils taken from the enemy (Adam"s Roman Antiquities," p. 327). As Asa"s victory had been achieved solely through Divine help, this was becoming as well as right. Those whom God renders successful in their callings should honour him with the firstfruits of their increase. (Pro_3:9) Every man as God hath prospered him, a rule of Christian giving. (1Co_16:2)
2. The formation of a covenant.
(1) The object twofold.
(a) "To seek the Lord God of their fathers," etc. (ver. 12) a right thing for nations and individuals to do yea, for all, whether they covenant with and swear to one another concerning it or not. To seek God, a nation"s and individual"s life (Isa_55:3, Isa_55:6; Psa_69:32; Amo_5:4) and the only source of true prosperity for either (Psa_70:4; Amo_8:14; Lam_3:25) That the god a nation or an individual seeks is the god of his or its fathers, is no proof that that god is the true God; but, being the true God, he possesses an additional claim on the worship and homage of both individual and nation, from the fact that he is and has been their fathers" God. If God is to be sought at all, it should be with the whole heart. (Jer_29:13) Nothing short of this is religion (Deu_11:13 Deu_13:3; Mat_22:37; Mar_12:30, 33; Luk_10:27)
(b) To "put to death," etc. (ver. 13). Under the theocracy religious toleration was impossible, for the reason that idolatry was high treason. "A theocratic government is a government of constraint. Freedom of conscience would have been an unmeaning sound under the Jewish economy" (Pressense, Early Years of the Christian Church," vol. 1. p. 36). Church and state in Judah were one. No such identification existed among heathen nations, though approximations towards it were often seen. Nor does such identification exist under the gospel. Hence neither Church nor state now has authority to put to death those who decline the religion prescribed by either. The reformed Churches of England and Scotland were slow in perceiving that the extermination of heretics by the sword of the civil magistrate, however legitimate under the Jewish theocracy, was not permissible in the Church of Jesus Christ. Under the gospel God alone is Lord of the conscience; and to each man pertains the right of choosing his own religion, his own creed, and his own worship, without dictation, not to say coercion, from either king or parliament being answerable for the choice he makes in the first place to his own conscience, and in the last place to God, whose creature and subject he is. This is the doctrine of religious equality, which should be carefully distinguished from that of religious toleration, which proceeds upon the erroneous assumption that Church and state possess the right, but decline to exercise the power of coercion, and agree to allow, what they might justly put down, diversity of faith and practice in religion.
(2) The form simple. "They sware unto the Lord;" i.e. bound themselves with an oath to carry out the twofold purpose above described. This they did with enthusiasm (ver. 14), which is always good in a good, (Gal_4:18) and especially good in religion (Luk_13:24; Joh_9:4; Eph_5:16; Heb_6:11)
(3) The scene impressive. In more points than one this high transaction under Asa had a parallel in the National Covenant, which was formed by the Scottish people in Edinburgh on the last day of February, 1638, when in the churchyard of Greyfriars, in the grey dawn, a parchment was spread upon a gravestone, and one by one the nobility, gentry, burgesses, ministers of religion, and common people, with uplifted hand and solemn oath, affixed to it their names, engaging with one another to maintain the Presbyterian form of Church government, and, at the point of the sword, to exterminate the prelatical.
III SIGNIFICANT RESULTS. (Vers. 15-19.)
1. The joy of the people. (Ver. 15.) This proved they had been in earnest. They exulted in the unanimity and heartiness with which the covenant had been made, and in the prospect thus opened up for the attainment of its objects.
2. The zeal of the king. (Vers. 16-18.)
(1) The deposition of the queen-mother, Maachah, the mother of Abijah and grandmother of Asa. High rank, venerable age, and near relationship to Asa had given her at court and in the land commanding influence, which she exercised in the interest of idolatry. Her removal by Asa showed him sincere in desiring to effect a reformation. (Luk_14:26)
(2) The destruction of her abominable image. This, which was made of wood, and is supposed by some to have been an obscene figure, pudendum, representing the productive power of nature which is doubtful (Bertheau and Keil) was an object of horror and detestation to the Hebrews; its destruction was another indication of the spirit by which Asa was actuated. The only defect in his reformation activity, was that he did not at the same time abolish the high places connected with the worship of Jehovah.
(3) The introduction into the temple of the dedicated gifts of his father and of himself. The former, consisting of the spoils Abijah had taken in the war with Jeroboam (2Ch_13:16) silver, gold, and vessels had been used by the conqueror either to adorn some heathen temple or to enrich the royal treasury, but were now surrendered by Asa to the house of the Lord. The latter, composed of similar materials plundered by himself in the Cushite war, (2Ch_14:14, 2Ch_14:15) he also presented to their rightful Owner, Jehovah. To restore the former was as much a duty as to give up the latter. "Asa, like a good son, pays his father"s debts and his own" (Bishop Hall).
3. The approbation of Jehovah. Intimated by the fact that for the next twenty years the land enjoyed rest (ver. 19). "When a man"s ways please God, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him". (Pro_16:7) Were nations to please God by their ways, he would "make wars cease to the end of the earth". (Psa_46:9)
Learn:
1. The stimulus good men derive from God"s Word, exemplified in theeffect produced upon Asa by Oded"s prophecy (ver. 8).
2. The purifying power of true religion on the soul symbolized by Asa"s purgation of the land (ver. 8).
3. The attractive influence upon others of those who have God with them seen in the rallying of the pious round Asa (ver. 9).
1. The supreme duty of individuals and nations to seek the Lord (ver.12).
2. The lawfulness of men covenanting with each other for such a purpose,but not of compelling others (ver. 13).
3. The necessity in religion of proving the heart"s sincerity by the hand"sactivity and liberality (vers. 11, 18).
4. The propriety of being thorough in all undertakings connected withreligion the want of this a defect in Asa (ver. 17). W
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v12 And they entered into a covenant to seek the…
2Ch_15:12-15
And they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers.
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The covenant renewed
Entering into a covenant is what we name a revival; they made it a national act, we separate it entirely from political affairs.
I. The preparations for revival.
1. The persons who led. A faithful prophet and an obedient king. Of Azariah we know nothing beyond the short record of this chapter. This suggests that a man is important to the world only for the work he does. The king was ready to learn from this obscure prophet and to lead the people to consecration. Happy the pastor who finds the wealth, authority, and zeal of his Church willing to receive the sacred message humbly from his lips and faithfully lead where he points the way.
2. The truths they used. The same that inspire every true revival (verse 2). Divine faithfulness, human responsibility, mercy for the penitent, punishment for the hardened.
II. The revival. In this blessed work there was--
1. Repentance.
2. Atonement (verse 11).
3. Consecration.
III. The joy of reconciliation (verse 15). Lessons:
1. The reformer must begin at his own house.
2. Service for God may cost pain.
3. The true leader is called of God.
4. Every true leader is a rallying-point for others (verse 9). (Monday Club Sermons.)
A revival
I. We see here that the heart of a revival lies in a renewal of the covenant of the Church with God. An awakened Church is the pioneer of an awakened world,
2. A second feature in this ancient revival of religion was a public proclamtion of a revived faith before the world. Religious men are too much in earnest to be still about it. They are moved by a great power. It will express itself as becomes a great power. It is the instinct of religious faith to bear its witness to the world.
III. The old Jewish revival was attended with a great influx of converts from without. So commonly works a pure revival upon the world. Very rare is the exception in which the heart of the world does not respond to the heart of the Church.
IV. A fourth feature of a true revival of religion is a thorough reformation of public and private morals. To put away idolatrous worship was what we should call a reformation in morals. Idolatry was immorality concentrated in its most hideous forms. No religious zeal could have been genuine in a monarch which did not sweep the land clean of them.
V. Such awakenings are often followed by periods of temporal prosperity. The Lord gave them rest round about. No other civilising power equals that of true religion. It never hurts a man for any of the right uses of this world to make a Christian of him. (A. Phelps.)
A revival: an imperious necessity
The text gives an account of the ancient revival of religion under King Asa. Other revivals are portrayed by the sacred writers. From these we learn--
I. That revivals are by no means new things. Nor are they things of modern invention.
II. That the progress of religion is not in a uniform steady line.
III. That revivals of religion ordinarily commence in humble and obscure ways, and are ordinarily helped on by the humblest instrumentality.
IV. That they are ordinarily accompanied by a great deal of what people are pleased to term excitement.
V. That true revival of religion are marked by marvellous transformations of character and reformations in the life. (G. E. Reed.)
And all Judah rejoiced at the oath.
Judahs solemn engagement
I. The solemn engagement into which they entered, and the temper they manifested therein.
1. They bound themselves to nothing new. It was to seek the Lord God of their fathers.
2. They swore to do this.
3. They entered into this engagement with great sincerity and with great cheerfulness.
II. The happy consequence of judahs solemn engagement. The Lord was found of them. (Job Orton.)
And He was found of them.--The search that always finds:--
I. The seeking. The highest bliss is to find God, the next highest is to seek Him.
1. Our text lays emphasis on the whole-heartedness of the peoples seeking after God. One reason why the great mass of professing Christians make so little of their religion is because they are only half-hearted in it. If you divide a river into two streams the force of each is less than half the power of the original current; and the chances are that you will make a stagnant marsh where there used to be a flowing stream. All in all or not at all is the rule for life in all departments.
2. They sought; Him with all their heart. That does not mean that there are to be no other desires, for it is a great mistake to pit religion against other things which are meant to be its instruments and its helps.
3. The one token of seeking God is casting out idols. There must be detachment if there is to be attachment. If some climbing plant, for instance, has twisted itself round the unprofitable thorns in the hedge, the gardener, before he can get it to go up the support that it is meant to encircle, has carefully to detach it from the stays to which it has wantonly clung, taking care that in the process he does not break its tendrils and destroy its power of growth. The heart must be emptied of base liquors if the new wine of the kingdom is to be poured into it.
II. The finding which crowns such seeking.
1. Anything is possible rather than that a whole-hearted search after God should be a vain search. For there are in that search two seekers--God is seeking for us more truly than we are seeking for Him.
2. This is the only direction for a mans desires and aims in which disappointment is an impossibility.
3. Our wisdom is to make this search. What would you think of a company of gold-seekers, hunting about in some exhausted claim for hypothetical grains--ragged, starving--and all the while in the next gully were lying lumps of gold for the picking up? And that figure fairly represents what people do and suffer who seek for good and do not seek after God.
II. The rest which ensues on finding God. We have no immunity from toil and conflict, but disturbance around is a very small matter if there be a better thing--rest within. A vessel with an outer casing and a layer of air between may be kept at a temperature above that of the external atmosphere. So we may have conflict and strife, and yet a better rest than that of my text may be ours. (A. Maclaren, D.D.)
Happy earnestness
This verse represents well the happy combination of sacrament and life. It brings before us whole-heartedness for God, with special regard to two of its features.
I. Joy. And all Judah rejoiced at the oath, etc. A wholeness of devotedness to God is consistent with every department of activity and every form of interest which is not in itself sinful. It is as a soul to the body of all secular occupation, however absorbing. The wide onward lift of the tidal wave in mid-ocean does not more interfere with the commerce of the countries, the heightening sun of the springtime does not more embarrass the progress of the land over which it smiles, than the full-hearted service of God breaks in upon the lawful interests of a man among the engagements of his every-day existence. This joy implies--
1. Enthusiasm. This may be reckoned the atmosphere which surrounds the joy of whole-heartedness for God.
2. Willingness. A wide compliance with a competent and kindly force that presses on us from without. Predominant willingness contributes largely to a Christian mans joy.
3. Rightness. The approval of conscience.
4. Undividedness of affection.
II. Prosperousness. And He was found of them: and Jehovah gave them rest round about. This signifies--
1. That we find what we seek. There are neighbourhoods where the mists lie so often and so long upon the grand outlines of the landscape, that a clear day is in some sense a day of discovery, of finding, though nothing is there then which was not there always. There have been those who for years have looked through a filmy dimness of eyesight upon those they loved, whose movements were to them like the movements of featureless shades; when the films were one day purged from the eyes was it not almost more than a figure of speech they spoke when they said they had found those loved faces and forms again? So this energising of the heart for God restores vision, and vision restores reality. God in Christ becomes near.
2. That we miss much that we had hitherto found. Hostile movements from around are comparatively allayed, and the hush that has fallen upon these reflects itself upon the soul in restfulness. (J. A. Kerr Bain, M.A.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On v15 2 Chronicles
2 Chronicles
THE SEARCH THAT ALWAYS FINDS
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2Ch 15:15.
These words occur in one of the least familiar passages of the Old Testament. They describe an incident in the reign of Asa, who was the grandson of Solomon’s foolish son Rehoboam, and was consequently the third king of Judah after the secession of the North. He had just won a great victory, and was returning with his triumphant army to Jerusalem, when there met him a prophet, unknown otherwise, who poured out fiery words, exhorting Asa and his people to cleave to God and to cast away their idols. Asa, encouraged by the prophetic words of this bold speaker for God, screwed himself up, and was able to induce also his people, to effect a great religious reformation. He made a clean sweep of the idols, and gathered the sadly-dwindled nation together in Jerusalem, where they renewed the covenant with the Lord God of their fathers. The text sums up their work and its result. ‘They sought Him with their whole heart, and He was found of them; and the Lord gave them rest round about.’ The words express in simplest form what should be the chief desire of our hearts and occupation of our lives, and what will then be our peaceful experience. We shall best bring out these points if we take the words just as they lie, and consider the seeking, the finding which certainly crowns that seeking, and the rest which ensues on finding God.
I. The seeking.
Now, of course, there is no doubt that what the chronicler meant to describe by the phrase, ‘seeking the Lord,’ was largely the mere external acts of ritual worship, the superficial turning from idols to a purely external recognition of God as the God of Israel. But while there may have been nothing deeper than a change in the nominal object of nominal worship, so far as many were concerned, no doubt a very real turning of heart to God underlay the external change in many other cases, of which the destruction of idols and the renewed observance of the form of Jehovah’s worship were the consequence and sign. That turning of mind, will, and affection towards God must be ours if we are to be among those wise and happy seekers who are sure to find that which-or rather Him whom-they seek and to rest in Him whom they find. That search is not after a lost treasure, nor does it imply ignorance of where its object is to be found. We seek that which we know, and which we may be assured of finding. Therefore there need be no tremors of uncertainty in our quest, and the blessedness of the search is as real as, though different from, the blessedness of the possession which ends it. The famous saying which prefers the search after, to the possession of truth, is more proud than wise; but the comparison which it institutes is so far true that there is a joy in the aspiration after and the efforts towards truth only less joyous than that which attends its attainment. But truth divorced from God is finite and may pall, become familiar and lose its radiance, like a gathered flower; and hence the preference for the search is intelligible though one-sided. But God does not pall, and the more we find Him the more we delight in Him; the highest bliss is to find Him, the next highest is to seek Him; and, since seeking and finding Him are never wholly separate, these kindred joys blend their lights in the experience of all His children.
But our text lays emphasis on the whole-heartedness of the people’s seeking of God. The search must be earnest and engaged in with the whole energy of our whole being, if any blessing is to come from it. Why! one reason why the great mass of professing Christians make so little of their religion is because they are only half-hearted in it. If you divide a river into two streams the force of each is less than half the power of the original current; and the chances are that you will make a stagnant marsh where there used to be a flowing stream. ‘All in all, or not at all,’ is the rule for life, in all departments. It is the rule in daily business. A man that puts only half himself in his profession or trade, while the other half of his wits is gone woolgathering and dreaming, is predestined from all eternity to fail. The same is true about our religion. If you and I attend to it as a kind of by-occupation; if we give the balance of our time and the superfluity of our energy, after we have done a hard day’s work-say, an hour upon a Sunday-to seeking God, and devote all the rest of the week to seeking worldly prosperity, it is no wonder if our religion languishes, and is mainly a matter of forms, as it is with such hosts of people that call themselves Christians.
Oh! dear brethren, I do believe there is more unconscious unreality in the average Christian man’s endeavour to be a better Christian than there is in almost anything else in the world:-
‘One foot on sea, and one on shore,
To one thing constant never.’
That is why so many of us know nothing of a progressive strengthening of our faith, and an increasing conquest of ourselves, and a firmer grasp of God, and a fuller realisation of the blessedness of walking in His ways.
‘They sought Him with all their heart.’ That does not mean, remember, that there are to be no other desires, for it is a great mistake to pit religion against other things which are meant to be its instruments and its helps. We are not required to seek nothing else in order to seek God wholly. He demands no impossible and fantastic detachment of ourselves from the ordinary and legitimate occupations, affections, and duties of human life, but He does ask that the dominant desire after Him should be powerful enough to express itself through all our actions, and that we should seek for God in them, and for them in God.
Whilst thus we are to give the right interpretation to that whole-heartedness in our seeking God, on which the text lays stress, do not let us forget that the one token of it which the text specifies is, casting out our idols. There must be detachment if there is to be attachment. If some climbing plant, for instance, has twisted itself round the unprofitable thorns in the hedge, the gardener, before he can get it to go up the support that it is meant to encircle, has carefully to detach it from the stays to which it has wantonly clung, taking care that in the process he does not break its tendrils and destroy its power of growth. So, to train our souls to cleave to God, and to grow up round the great Stay that is provided for us, there is needed, as an essential part of the process, the voluntary, conscious, conscientious, and constant guarding of ourselves from the vagrancies of our desires, which send out their shoots away from Him; and when the objects of these become idols, then there is nothing for it but that, like Asa and his people, we should hew them to pieces and make a bonfire of them; and then renew our covenant before God. I desire to press that upon you and upon myself. The heart must be emptied of baser liquors, if the new wine of the Kingdom is to be poured into it.
True it is, of course-and thank God for it!-that the most powerful agent in effecting that detachment of ourselves from lower things is our fruition of higher. It is when God comes into the temple that Dagon falls on the threshold. It is when a new affection begins to spring in the heart that old loves are thrust out of it. But whilst that is true, it is also true that the two processes run on simultaneously; and that whilst, on the one hand, if we are ever to overcome our love of the world it must be through the love of God, on the other hand, if we are ever to be confirmed in a whole-hearted love of God, it must be through our conquest of our love of the world. ‘Unite my heart to fear Thy name’ was the profound prayer of the old Psalmist; and the ‘heart,’ according to Old Testament usage, is the central fountain from which flow all the streams of conscious life. To seek Him with the whole heart is to engage the whole self in the quest, and that is the only kind of seeking which has the certainty of success.
II. The finding which crowns such seeking.
‘He was found of them.’ Yes; anything is possible rather than that a whole-hearted search after God should be a vain search. For there are, in that case, two seekers-God is seeking for us more truly than we are seeking for Him. And if the mother is seeking her child, and the child its mother, it will be a very wide desert where they will not meet. ‘The Father seeketh such to worship Him,’ that is-the divine activity is going about the world, searching for the heart that turns to Him, and it cannot but be that they that seek Him shall find Him, or ‘shall be found of Him.’ Open the windows, and you cannot keep out the sunshine; open your lungs and you cannot keep out the air. ‘In Him we live and move and have our being,’ and if our desires turn, however blindly, to Him, and are accompanied with the appropriate action, heaven and earth are more likely to rush to ruin than such a searching to be frustrated of its aim.
Brethren! is there anything else in the world of which you can say, ‘Seek, and ye shall find’? You, with white hairs on your heads, have you found anything else in which the chase was sure to result in the capture; in which capture was sure to yield all that the hunter had wished? There is only one direction for a man’s desires and aims, in which disappointment is an impossibility. In all other regions the most that can be promised is ‘Seek, and perhaps you will find’; and, when you have found, perhaps you will feel that the prize was not worth the finding. Or it is, ‘Seek, and possibly you will find; and after you have found and kept for a little while, you will lose.’ Though it may be
‘Better to have loved and lost,
Than never to have loved at all,’
a treasure that slips out of our fingers is not the best treasure that we can search for. But here the assurance is, ‘Seek, and ye shall find; and shall never lose. Find, and you shall always possess.’
What would you think of a company of gold-seekers, hunting about in some exhausted claim, for hypothetical grains, ragged, starving-and all the while in the next gully were lying lumps of gold for the picking up? And that figure fairly represents what people do and suffer who seek for good and do not seek for God.
III. The rest which ensues on finding God.
‘The Lord gave them rest round about.’ We believe that the Jewish nation was under special supernatural guidance, so that national adherence to the Law was always followed by external prosperity. That is not, of course, the case with us. But which is the better thing, ‘rest round about’ or rest within? We have no immunity from toil or conflict. Seeking God does not cover our heads from the storm of external calamities, nor arm our hearts against the darts and daggers of many a pain, anxiety, and care, but disturbance around is a very small matter if there be a better thing, rest within.
Do you remember who it was that said, ‘In the world ye shall have tribulation . . . but in Me ye shall have peace’? Then we have, as it were, two abodes-one, as far as regards the life of sense, in the world of sense-another, as far as regards the inmost self, which may, if we will, be in Christ. A vessel with an outer casing and a layer of air between it and the inner will keep its contents hot. So we may have round us the very opposite of repose, and, if God so wills, let us not kick against His will; we may have conflict and stir and strife, and yet a better rest than that of my text may be ours. ‘Rest round about’ is sometimes good and sometimes bad. It is often bad, for it is the people that ‘have no changes’ who most usually ‘do not fear God.’ But rest within, that is sure to come when a man has sought with all his desire for God, whom he has found in all His fullness, is only good and best of all.
We all know, thank God! in worldly matters and in inferior degree, how blessed and restful it is when some strong affection is gratified, some cherished desire fulfilled. Though these satisfactions are not perpetual, nor perfect, they may teach us what a depth of blessed and calm repose, incapable of being broken by any storms or by any tasks, will come to and abide with the man whose deepest love is satisfied in God, and whose most ardent desires have found more than they sought for in Him. Be sure of this, dear friends! that if we do thus seek, and thus find, it is not in the power of anything ‘that is at enmity with joy’ utterly to ‘abolish or destroy’ the quietness of our hearts. ‘Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him.’ They who thus repose will have peace in their hearts, even whilst tasks and temptations, changes and sorrows, disturb their outward lives. ‘In the world ye shall have tribulation.’ Be it so; it may be borne with submission and thankfulness if in Christ we have peace.
Thus we may have the peace of God, rest in and from Him, entering into us, and in due time, by His gracious guidance and help, we shall enter into eternal rest. Whilst to seek is to find Him, in a very deep and blessed sense, even in this life; in another aspect all our earthly life may be regarded as seeking after Him, and the future as the true finding of Him. That future will bring to those whose hearts have turned from the shows and vanities of time to God a possession of Him so much fuller than was experienced here that the lesser discoveries and enjoyments of Him which are experienced here, scarcely deserve in comparison to be called by the same name. So my text may be taken, as in its first part, a description of the blessed life here-’They sought Him with all their heart’-and in its second, as a shadowy vision of the yet more blessed life hereafter, ‘He was found of them, and the Lord gave them rest round about,’ as well as within, in the land of peace, where sorrow and sighing, and toil and care, shall pass from memory; and they that warred against us shall be far away.
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On vv8, 10, 16 when Asa
when Asa
Chapter 14 describes the outward prosperity of the kingdom, and Asa’s superficial reformation; chapter 15 the true reformation.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v10 The True Worship Restored
The True Worship Restored
v. 10. So they, all those mentioned as having been gained by Asa’s reformatory measures, gathered themselves together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa, for a great festival of confession and thanksgiving.
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v. 11. And they offered unto the Lord the same time, in the course of that festival, of the spoil which they had brought, seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep, the thanksgiving festival most likely being combined with the great Feast of Pentecost.
v. 12. And they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul, to be united with Him in the bonds of the closest love and service and loyalty,
v. 13. that whosoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, possessing influence and power or not, whether man or woman, as the Law of the Lord required, Deu 13:5 to Deu 9:15.
v. 14. And they sware unto the Lord with a loud voice and with shouting, in a solemn chant, and with trumpets and with cornets, instruments used for the Temple music.
v. 15. And all Judah, in a solemn enthusiasm amounting almost to ecstasy, rejoiced at the oath; for they had sworn with all their heart, it was not a mere confession of the lips, and sought Him with their whole desire; and He was found of them. And the Lord gave them rest round about, he rewarded their piety by granting the blessing of peace.
v. 16. And also concerning Maachah, the mother, that is, the grandmother, of Asa the king, he removed her from being queen, she no longer could hold the position as dowager, because she had made an idol in a grove, erected a statue to the heathen goddess Astarte. And Asa cut down her idol, the wooden post consecrated to the female goddess, and stamped it, or crushed it, probably by cutting it up into little pieces, and burned it at the brook Kidron.
v. 17. But the high places were not taken away out of Israel, that is, the buildings which had been erected as houses of worship on the hills; nevertheless, the heart of Asa was perfect all his days, devoted to the Lord in true loyalty.
v. 18. And he brought into the house of God the things that his father had dedicated, set apart as votive gifts, and that he himself had dedicated, silver and gold and vessels, of the booty taken from the Ethiopians.
v. 19. And there was no more war unto the five and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa. The fact that peace in the land is a gift of God’s goodness often is overlooked by men; nevertheless, it is He who alone controls the hearts of men for peace or war.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv8, 10, 12, 14, 16 When Asa heard these words, the prophecy of Oded…
When Asa heard these words, the prophecy of Oded the prophet
"When Asa heard the words that Oded the prophet spoke" or "When Asa heard the prophecy of Oded the prophet." The phrase "the prophecy of Oded the prophet" defines "these words."
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the prophecy of Oded the prophet
Many versions, including the UDB, make this passage read, "the prophecy of Azariah, the son of Oded the prophet." They do this in order to make the sense agree with 2 Chronicles 15:1. Translators will probably want to do the same in their versions.
drove away the disgusting things
The words "the disgusting things" refers to idols. Having his people remove or destroy the idols is spoken of as if it were driving them away. AT: "got rid of the disgusting idols" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information and Metaphor)
He gathered all Judah and Benjamin
Here the word "all" is a generalization. The phrase means that David assembled people from all over Judah and Benjamin. AT: "He gathered together people from all over Judah and Benjamin" (See: Hyperbole and Generalization)
For they came from Israel
"For people from of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon came from Israel"
translationWords
word
prophet
Ephraim
altar
house of God
Manasseh
Simeon
Israel
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv8, 9, 10, 16 15:8-18 The Chronicler described Asa’s response in the precise…
15:8-18 The Chronicler described Asa’s response in the precise terms of the prophet’s exhortation, but Asa’s specific actions went far beyond its general directives. As soon as Asa heard the prophetic words, he took courage in initiating a comprehensive reform, beginning with the removal of the detestable idols that again infested the land (see 14:5). Full trust in God had won the war against the Cushites, and total renewal of the covenant brought the Promised Land to rest (15:15).
15:8 The towns he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim were those conquered in his war with Baasha (16:1). There was continuous warfare between Baasha and Asa (see 1 Kgs 15:16).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.