2Chronicles
13-15
Sunday Evening Bible Study
Introduction
The kingdom of Israel Israel Judah kingdom
of Judah
2Chronicles 13
:1-3 Abijah battles Jeroboam
:1 Now in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam
began Abijah to reign over Judah
Abijah – ‘Abiyah – “Jehovah is (my) father”. He is also known as Abijam in 1Ki. 15:1.
:2 He reigned three years in Jerusalem
He didn’t have a very long reign.
:2 His mother's name also was Michaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah.
Michaiah – Miykayahuw – “who is like God”
Abijah’s mother was also known as “Maachah”
Maachah – Ma‘akah – “oppression”
(2 Chr 11:20-22 KJV) And after her he took Maachah the daughter of
Absalom; which bare him Abijah, and Attai, and Ziza, and Shelomith. {21} And
Rehoboam loved Maachah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and his
concubines: (for he took eighteen wives, and threescore concubines; and begat
twenty and eight sons, and threescore daughters.) {22} And Rehoboam made Abijah
the son of Maachah the chief, to be ruler among his brethren: for he thought to
make him king.
We think that she was the granddaughter of Absalom, who had a daughter
named Tamar, who possibly married Uriel of Gibeah.
:2 And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam.
Perhaps Jeroboam thought that with the death of Rehoboam, the southern kingdom was weakened and vulnerable.
:3 And Abijah set the battle in array …
Abijah is outnumbered 2 to 1.
:4-12 Abijah’s
speech
:4 And Abijah stood up upon mount
Zemaraim Israel
Zemaraim – Ts@marayim – “double fleece of wool”. A mountain area 15 miles north of Jerusalem
Some have suggested that Abijah is going to first try and negotiate his way out of the problem.
:5 even to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt?
covenant of salt – salt was looked at as not just something to make things taste better, but as a preservative, as something that made things “permanent”.
This phrase is found two other places in Scripture.
(Lev 2:13
KJV) And every oblation of thy meat
offering shalt thou season with salt; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the
covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat offering: with all thine
offerings thou shalt offer salt.
Salt was to be sprinkled on all the grain offerings. It was to remind the people of this “covenant of salt”, that God had a permanent contract with His people.
(Num 18:19
KJV) All the heave offerings of the holy
things, which the children of Israel
God gave this promise to Aaron, that his descendants would be paid from the offerings that the people made to the Lord. God called this a “covenant of salt” with Aaron, it was a permanent contract.
(Num
In other words, God’s agreement to make David and his sons after him kings over the nation was a permanent agreement.
:7 And there are gathered unto him vain men, the children of Belial…when Rehoboam was young and tenderhearted, and could not withstand them.
vain – reyq – empty, vain
Belial – b@liya‘al – worthlessness; worthless, good for nothing, unprofitable, base fellow; wicked
young – na‘ar – a boy, lad, servant, youth, retainer
Rehoboam was actually 41 years old, but it seems that Abijah considered his
father immature.
tenderhearted – rak – tender, soft, delicate, weak; weak of heart, timid
An interesting commentary.
Abijah looks back at the division of the kingdom and attributes it to Rehoboam’s youth and lack of experience.
He sees Jeroboam and his followers as having taken advantage of Rehoboam’s weaknesses.
:8 there are with you golden calves, which Jeroboam made you for gods.
He’s reminding them of their huge failure.
Jeroboam invented these two golden calves as ways of keeping the people in
the northern kingdom from going south to worship the Lord in Jerusalem
He’s saying, “You have the nerve to come here and fight with us when you’ve got this big sin?”
:9 Have ye not cast out the priests of the LORD …
This was the other sin of Jeroboam. Not only did he invent this alternate form of worship, but he removed the legitimate priests and set up his own set of priests.
Whoever showed up with a bull and seven rams could become a priest.
There was no sense of “calling” involved. God was not a part of the decision of who would represent Him.
:10 But as for us, the LORD is our God, and we have not forsaken him
Abijah and the southern kingdom are still worshipping the Lord.
:12 And, behold, God himself is with us for our captain, and his priests with sounding trumpets to cry alarm against you.
captain – ro’sh – head, top, summit, upper part, chief, total, sum, height, front, beginning
sounding – t@ruw‘ah – alarm, signal, sound of tempest, shout, shout or blast of war or alarm or joy
trumpets – chatsots@rah – trumpet, clarion
Lesson
God wants to be involved in your
battles.
These trumpets date back to the time of Moses, when God commanded Moses to make a set of trumpets for the nation. The trumpets would be used for various purposes, but overall they were a form of communication. They were used tell the tribes when to pack up and head out, they were a warning when the enemy attacked, they were used to remind people to celebrate the feasts. The priests were in charge of blowing the trumpets.
At times, the trumpets acted as a way for getting the people’s attention and giving them directions.
But they also were a way of “getting God’s attention”.
(Num 10:8-9 KJV) And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall
blow with the trumpets; and they shall be to you for an ordinance for ever throughout
your generations. {9} And if ye go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresseth you, then ye shall blow an alarm with the
trumpets; and ye shall be remembered
before the LORD your God, and ye shall be saved from your enemies.
Warfare was tied to the Lord. God wanted to be involved in their battles.
:12 O
children of Israel
prosper – tsalach – to advance, prosper, make progress, succeed, be profitable
Lesson
Don’t fight against God
You’ll lose every time.
(Isa 45:9 KJV) Woe unto him that striveth
with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall
the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?
(Isa 45:9 NLT) "Destruction is certain for those who
argue with their Creator. Does a clay pot ever argue with its maker? Does the
clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying, 'Stop, you are doing it wrong!' Does the pot exclaim, 'How clumsy can you be!'
How do we know if we’re fighting against God?
It’s not because things aren’t “going well”.
We know we’re fighting against God when we are deliberately ignoring what He has commanded us.
The northern kingdom is directly disobeying the Lord with their golden calves and their priesthood.
:13-20 The battle
:13 But Jeroboam caused an ambushment to come about behind them
It seems that Jeroboam wasn’t too interested in what Abijah had to say. He was busy planning and carrying out his attack.
:14 they cried unto the LORD
they cried out – tsa‘aq – to cry, cry out, call, cry for help
:15 Then the men of Judah
gave a shout – ruwa‘– to shout, raise a sound, cry out, give a blast; (Hiphil) to shout a war-cry or alarm of battle; to sound a signal for war or march
:17 there fell down slain of Israel
Abijah’s army killed more men than they had in
their entire army. There were 400,000
men of Judah Israel
:18 the children of Judah
brought – kana‘– to be humble, be humbled, be subdued, be brought down, be low, be under, be brought into subjection
prevailed – ‘amats – to be strong, alert, courageous, brave, stout, bold, solid, hard
relied upon – sha‘an – to lean on, trust in, support
Lesson
Courage comes from leaning on the
Lord
Sometimes it seems that there is no one else to lean on but the Lord. Yet that’s exactly where God wants us to be, totally relying upon Him.
He needs to be our strength.
:19 took cities from him, Bethel
Bethel
Jeshanah – Y@shanah – “storage” See map
Ephrain – ‘Ephrown – “Ephron”, “fawn-like” See map
:20 Neither did Jeroboam recover strength
Jeroboam was never again as strong after this. But this doesn’t mean that Jeroboam died before Abijah. Jeroboam won’t die until after Abijah is gone. Abijah’s son, Asa, takes the throne in Jeroboam’s 20th year (1Ki. 15:9).
:21-22 Abijah finishes
:21 But Abijah waxed mighty, and married fourteen wives
waxed mighty – chazaq – to strengthen, prevail, harden, be strong, become strong, be courageous, be firm, grow firm, be resolute, be sore
The kings of Judah Judah
:22 And the rest of the acts of Abijah, and his ways…
What about Abijah’s “report card”? Was he considered a “good king” or a “bad king”?
We get the report card in 1Kings:
(1 Ki 15:3-5 KJV) And he walked in all the sins of his father,
which he had done before him: and his
heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as the heart of David his
father. {4} Nevertheless for David's sake did the LORD his God give him a lamp
in Jerusalem, to set up his son after him, and to establish Jerusalem: {5}
Because David did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD, and turned not
aside from any thing that he commanded him all the days of his life, save only
in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.
perfect – shalem – complete, safe, peaceful, perfect, whole, full, at peace
We aren’t specifically told that he was “bad”. But he wasn’t necessarily an example to follow either.
Lesson
Riding the fence
Personally, I’d prefer that people were either “bad” or “good”. If a person is “bad”, then they’re bad all the time. If a person is “good”, then they’re good all the time.
In reality, our lives sometimes can be just as mixed up as Abijah’s.
We may have moments when we achieve great victories for the Lord.
But I kind of wonder if God isn’t looking for a bigger picture in our lives, more than just a victory or two.
God is looking for a heart that is “complete”, a heart that is “full” of Him.
:22 the story of the prophet Iddo
This was Ezra’s source for his chapter on Abijah, his “bibliography”. Iddo wrote material about Solomon (2Chr. 9:29 ), Rehoboam (2Chr. 12:15 ), and Abijah.
2Chronicles 14
:1-5 Asa’s
time of peace
:2 And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God:
good – towb – good, pleasant, agreeable
right – yashar – straight, upright, correct, right
This is Asa’s report card.
We will be told why he received this commendation.
:3 brake down the images, and cut down the groves
images – matstsebah – pillar, mastaba, stump; associated with Baal worship.
groves – ‘asherah – “groves (for idol worship)”; a Babylonian (Astarte)-Canaanite goddess (of fortune and happiness), the supposed consort of Baal, her images
Asa removed much of the idol worship in the land.
:4 And commanded Judah
to seek – darash – to resort to, seek, seek with care, enquire, require
:5 he took away …the images: and the kingdom was quiet before him.
images – chamman – incense altar, sun-pillar, idol, image
quiet – shaqat – to be quiet, be tranquil, be at peace, be quiet, rest, lie still, be undisturbed
:6-8 The nation prospers
:6 the LORD had given him rest.
Asa had a period of ten years where he did not have to go out to battle. It wasn’t because of his own goodness that he had this rest, it was simply because the Lord gave it to him.
:7 walls, towers, gates, bars …So they built and prospered.
Asa took advantage of his years of “rest” to build the nation.
Lesson
Building brings prosperity
I was challenged this week with this:
(John 10:10 KJV)
The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I
am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
The question asked me was, “How many people in our churches experience the “abundant life” that Jesus promises?
Asa’s prosperity, the nation’s “abundant life” came as they “built” the fenced cities. Asa’s building included:
Walls – This is what keeps the enemy out.
I see the “walls” as being similar to our resolve as to what we will allow into our lives.
Will we allow certain things to penetrate our lives? Or are we resolved to say “no” to temptation.
Towers – This is what helps us see the enemy coming
A tower is a place where you get perspective. For a tower to work, you need to get a little bit above everything else to get a view of what’s going on around you.
I think that every once in a while we need to be able to step away from our lives and look at things from a different perspective. I think that we need time to be quiet, time to think, time to pray.
Gates – This is what keeps us from being trapped inside the city – without gates we can’t farm our lands, trade with other cities, or go out and face the enemy when he attacks.
As Christians, we have to be careful not to become “ingrown”. We need to get outside of this place every once in a while if we’re going to reach the world. Outreach.
We need to have a concern for lost people. And most of the lost people in the world are outside these walls.
Bars – This is what keeps the
gates closed when we need them closed – how we decide what kinds of things will
come “into” our city, what we allow into our lives. Discernment.
Lesson
Build when it’s easy
Asa’s time of “rest” came because the Lord gave it. There was a break from the wars.
Asa used that time of “rest” to build up the nation.
We too go through seasons when we’re under attack and when we’re at rest.
My tendency when I’m at rest is to take it easy when I should be building.
I think that as a church we tend to also go through these times of “war” and “peace”. I think we’ve recently gone through much difficulty and it seems that we’re about to enter into a time of “rest”.
Now is the time to build.
Lesson
New Testament disciplines
As Christians, our “prosperity” doesn’t come from building physical walls, towers, gates, and bars. There are spiritual things that we need to build up in our lives. There are spiritual disciplines that we can develop that will develop those spiritual “walls, towers, gates, and bars”
Four of the most important disciplines can be seen modeled in the early church:
(Acts 2:42
KJV) And they continued
stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread,
and in prayers.
continued stedfastly – proskartereo – to continue all the time in a place; to persevere and not to faint; to show one’s self courageous for
These things are not things that we are to do once in a while, or even just once a week. These are things that are to be a part of our lives regularly.
The apostles’ doctrine – This is God’s Word. We have the apostles’ doctrine in the New Testament writings. The early church was constantly in God’s Word.
How often do you read God’s Word? How many of you read your Bible yesterday? How many of you read your Bible every day last week?
Fellowship – this is our relationship with each other, our helping each other. There ought to be a relationship between you and other believers where you can encourage each other. There ought to be people that you know who will pick you up when you fall, who will encourage you when you’re starting to stumble. People who will pray for you. People who will look you in the eye and say, “Are you staying close to Jesus?”
Breaking of Bread – I don’t think this is just talking about having meals together – that would be under “fellowship”. I think this is talking about Communion. This is where we take time to remember what Jesus has done for us at the cross.
The Gospel – we should never get far from the basics of the Gospel. Jesus Christ died on a cross for us. His body was broken as our sins were heaped upon Him. His blood was spilt to wash away our sins.
Prayers – The word is plural. There are lots of kinds of prayer, and they all ought to be a regular part of our life. We ought to have our own individual, private time in talking with the Lord. Waking up in the morning, I’ve been trying to get into the habit of praying for my day before my feet hit the floor. We ought to be praying together as families. We ought to be praying together with our friends. We ought to be praying as a church.
:8 And Asa had an army …
Asa’s army totaled 580,000 men between the tribes
of Judah
:9-15 Victory over Ethiopia
:9 there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian …
Zerah – Zerach – “rising”. He was probably a mercenary general hired by the Pharaoh of Egypt.
the Ethiopian – better, “Cushite”. Not modern Ethiopia Sudan Ethiopia Ethiopia
a thousand thousand – A million-man army. Asa thought he had a huge army.
As they said in Star Wars: “There’s always a bigger fish.”
three hundred chariots – these were the equivalent to a modern tank. This isn’t some small, cheap little army.
Mareshah – Mar’eshah – “crest of a hill”. About 24 miles southwest of Jerusalem
Note: This attack didn’t come because Asa was being
bad. It just came.
Lesson
Discipline doesn’t keep you from the
battle, it prepares you for it.
We might think that since Asa has built all these cities up, that he should never have to worry about his enemies.
Not so. But his building projects make it better to face the enemy.
In our Christian life, learning to practice spiritual discipline doesn’t keep us from being attacked from the enemy.
They prepare us to win the battle.
Illustration
Sometimes we can look at the best athletes and get to think that they only work at their “job” a few hours each week.
We might look at a professional golfer like Tiger Woods and think that he only swings his clubs a couple of hours a week at the tournaments.
A top professional will work at his skills eight hours a
day. They must be disciplined.
Like it or not, we are in a spiritual battle. If we want to survive the battle, we need to learn to be disciplined.
Illustration
Daniel was a disciplined man.
You have to pay attention to the details to see it, but his disciplined life was something that went on behind the scenes.
He was disciplined about his physical body.
As a young man, he refused to eat the wrong kinds of food.
(Dan 1:8 KJV)
But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with
the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine
which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he
might not defile himself.
He was a man of prayer
(Dan
He was a student of the Word.
(Dan 9:2-3 KJV)
In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number
of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that
he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of
I think this is part of the reason why we see Daniel and his friends behaving so amazingly under the most difficult of circumstances.
When Nebuchadnezzar threatened to have all his wise men killed if they didn’t tell him what he dreamed and what it meant – Daniel and his friends simply prayed, and God answered.
When Daniel’s friends were told to bow to Nebuchadnezzar’s idol, they refused. They knew that God would bless them when they said “no” to the right things.
When Daniel was threatened with the Lion’s Den, he went
ahead and prayed anyway. It was his
habit of life. God was with him.
:10 they set the battle in array in the valley
of Zephathah
Zephathah – Ts@phathah – “watch-tower”. The battle took place at the “watch-tower”.
Watch-towers are designed to spot the enemy coming, so you can protect your homeland. Because the watch-tower was up and running, the battle didn’t get past it.
Lesson
Be ready for battle
Illustration
Bruce Wilkensen, in his book, “The Prayer of Jabez” (pgs. 65-66), tells of being worn out one day and realizing that he was in a dangerous place:
“Years ago, a cab had picked me up in downtown Chicago
“O Lord,” I pleaded, “I have no resistance left. I’m completely worn out in Your service. I can’t cope with temptation. Please, keep evil far from me today.”
When I boarded the plane, I found I’d been assigned a middle seat – not a good start for my flight. And things quickly got worse. The man on my left pulled out a pornographic magazine. “Lord, I thought we had a deal here!” I groaned in my spirit, and I looked the other way. But before the plane lifted off, the man on my right opened his briefcase and pulled out his own skin magazine.
At that moment, I didn’t have it in me to ask them to change their reading material. I closed my eyes. “Lord,” I prayed, “I can’t cope with this today. Please chase evil far away!”
Suddenly the man on my right swore, folded up his magazine, and put it away. I looked at him to see what had prompted his action. Nothing, as far as I could tell. Then the man on the left looked at him, swore loudly, and closed up his magazine, too. Again, I could find no apparent reason for his decision.
We were over Indiana
“Gentlemen,” I said, “you wouldn’t believe me if I told you!”
I think we need to have that “watch-tower” operational. We need to be aware of when we’re vulnerable to attack.
:11 …help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on thee
we rest – sha‘an – to lean on, trust in, support
Lesson
Victory still comes from God.
Even when we learn to live a life of discipline, we don’t somehow become able to single-handedly fight every battle and conquer every enemy.
We still have to throw ourselves upon the Lord.
Yet a life of a spiritually disciplined person will teach him to go quickly to the Lord and rely completely upon Him.
Even though Asa had done so much work in raising an army and building up the cities, it wasn’t enough.
He knew that he still needed the Lord to help. He knew …
(Psa 127:1 KJV) A Song of degrees for
Solomon. Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build
it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh
but in vain.
Even when you are learning to be spiritually disciplined and have built up your “fenced cities”, the victory is still completely dependent upon God, just as if you were completely helpless.
:12 So the LORD smote the Ethiopians before Asa
God won the battle.
:13 And Asa and the people that were with him pursued them unto Gerar: and the Ethiopians were overthrown
Gerar – G@rar – “a lodging place”. A city about 20 miles south of Zephathah. This is the ancient Philistine city that Abraham and Isaac had stayed in (Gen. 20,26). See map
were overthrown – naphal – to fall, lie, be cast down, fail
destroyed – shabar – to break, break in pieces
Usually we are given a number of how many are killed, but here the hint is that the entire army was wiped out.
:14 And they smote all the cities round about Gerar
The cities around Gerar must not have belonged to Judah
2Chronicles 15
:1-7 Azariah’s
exhortation
:1 And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded:
Azariah – ‘Azaryah – “Jehovah has helped”
The root of his name, ‘azar, was used in Asa’s prayer:
(2 Chr 14:11 KJV) And Asa cried unto the LORD his God, and said,
LORD, it is nothing with thee to help,
whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God …
the Spirit of God came upon – we might say “he was filled with the
Holy Spirit”.
:2 The LORD is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.
seek – darash – to resort to, seek, seek with care, enquire, require
he will be found – matsa’ – to find, attain to
forsake – ‘azab – to leave, loose, forsake
:3 Now for a long season Israel
What period of time is Azariah talking about?
Perhaps he is talking about the time of the judges:
(Judg 21:25 KJV) In those days there was no king in Israel
:4 But when they in their trouble did turn unto the LORD
trouble – tsar – narrow, tight; straits, distress; adversary, foe, enemy, oppressor; hard pebble, flint
sought – baqash – to seek, require, desire, exact, request
found – matsa’ – to find, attain to
Every time God allowed the nation to go through a tough time during the Judges, the nation turned back to the Lord and then God began to work to deliver them.
:5 And in those times there was no peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in, but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the countries.
peace – shalowm – completeness, soundness, welfare, peace
went out … came in – this is a Hebrew phrase that sometimes speaks of leadership (Num. 27:17). It could be that this is simply saying that it was difficult to travel from place to place during the time of the Judges because of the incredible lawlessness.
(2 Chr 15:5 ICB) In those days no one could travel safely.
There was much trouble in all the nations.
vexations – m@huwmah
– tumult, confusion, disquietude, discomfiture, destruction, trouble,
vexed, vexation
:6 And nation was destroyed of nation, and city of city: for God did vex them with all adversity.
did vex – hamam – to move noisily, confuse, make a noise, discomfit, break, consume, crush, destroy, trouble, vex
adversity – tsarah – straits, distress, trouble
:7 Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded.
be ye strong – chazaq – to strengthen, prevail, harden, be strong, become strong, be courageous, be firm, grow firm, be resolute, be sore
be weak – raphah – to sink, relax, sink down, let drop, be disheartened
work – p@‘ullah – work, recompense, reward
rewarded – sakar – hire, wages
Lesson
Don’t slow down
We might think that Asa is doing just fine.
But God is telling him to keep going. Don’t slow down. Don’t coast.
Illustration
A man decided that he was going to ride a 10-speed bike from Phoenix Flagstaff Black
Canyon City
Okay, you don’t have to hitch yourself to a Corvette, but don’t slow down
either.
:8-15 More Reforms
:8 he took courage, and put away the abominable idols …renewed the altar
he took courage – chazaq – to strengthen, prevail, harden, be strong, become strong, be courageous, be firm, grow firm, be resolute, be sore
abominable idols – shiqquwts – detestable thing or idol, abominable thing, abomination, idol, detested thing
renewed – chadash – to be new, renew, repair
I think that if I were Asa, I might be offended to think that I’m being
told to do even more when I’ve already been responsible for doing so much to
bring the nation of Judah
But Asa takes up the challenge and does even more.
:9 …for they fell to him out of Israel
People came from all over when they saw what God had been doing for Asa.
Sometimes we wonder how we can get people to come to our ministries …
I think our focus is on the wrong thing. We need to work at keeping ourselves in the love of God, to be on fire for Him.
Lesson
Watch the fire
Charles Spurgeon told young pastors: “If you want people to come to your church, then get yourself on fire and people will come from all over to watch you burn”.
God will add to the church.
:10 they gathered themselves …in the third month
third month – May-June
:11 of the spoil which they had brought, seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep.
The Ethiopians had their own flocks with them to feed their huge army. The flocks now belong to Judah
:12 And they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD
covenant – b@riyth – covenant, alliance, pledge
to seek – darash – to resort to, seek, seek with care, enquire, require
Lesson
Make a commitment
Make a covenant to follow the Lord.
:13 That whosoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel
How about that for an altar call?
I don’t know if we ought to go this far with the covenant …
:14 And they sware unto the LORD with a loud voice
they sware – shaba
They didn’t make some quiet, half-hearted commitment.
:15 And all Judah
whole desire – ratsown – pleasure, delight, favour, goodwill, acceptance, will
he was found – matsa’ – to find, attain to
gave them rest – nuwach – to rest
Lesson
Joy in commitment
The Bible says that the angels rejoice when one sinner repents.
We can look at the end of Asa’s life and wonder, “What’s the point in making a commitment to the Lord if you’re not going to follow it?”
Don’t think about failing. Make a commitment.
:16-19 Cleaning house
:16 And also concerning Maachah the mother of Asa the king, he removed her from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove: and Asa cut down her idol, and stamped it, and burnt it at the brook Kidron.
Maachah – the grandmother of Asa, Abijah’s mother
idol – miphletseth – horrid thing, horrible thing
grove – ‘asherah – “groves (for idol worship)”; a Babylonian (Astarte)-Canaanite goddess (of fortune and happiness), the supposed consort of Baal, her images
Kidron – near Jerusalem
Lesson
Family ties
Asa was willing to deal with his grandmother’s influence on the nation.
He stood up to her and said “no”.
Jesus said,
(Luke 14:26 KJV)
If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife,
and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot
be my disciple.
The point is not to yell at your parents. The point is that Jesus needs to be the first love in our lives. He wants us to choose Him over any other person.
