2 Chronicles 14:1-15
1 So Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David: and Asa his son reigned in his stead. In his days the land was quiet ten years.
2 And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God:
3 For he took away the altars of the strange gods, and the high places, and brake down the images,a and cut down the groves:
4 And commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment.
5 Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the images:b and the kingdom was quiet before him.
6 And he built fenced cities in Judah: for the land had rest, and he had no war in those years; because the LORD had given him rest.
7 Therefore he said unto Judah, Let us build these cities, and make about them walls, and towers, gates, and bars, while the land is yet before us; because we have sought the LORD our God, we have sought him, and he hath given us rest on every side. So they built and prospered.
8 And Asa had an army of men that bare targets and spears, out of Judah three hundred thousand; and out of Benjamin, that bare shields and drew bows, two hundred and fourscore thousand: all these were mighty men of valour.
9 And there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian with an host of a thousand thousand, and three hundred chariots; and came unto Mareshah.
10 Then Asa went out against him, and they set the battle in array in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah.
11 And Asa cried unto the LORD his God, and said, LORD, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many,c or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O LORD, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee.
12 So the LORD smote the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled.
13 And Asa and the people that were with him pursued them unto Gerar: and the Ethiopians were overthrown, that they could not recover themselves; for they were destroyedd before the LORD, and before his host; and they carried away very much spoil.
14 And they smote all the cities round about Gerar; for the fear of the LORD came upon them: and they spoiled all the cities; for there was exceeding much spoil in them.
15 They smote also the tents of cattle, and carried away sheep and camels in abundance, and returned to Jerusalem.
THE REIGN OF ASA
(vv.1-15)
Abijah was buried in Jerusalem and his son Asa took the throne of Judah. To his credit the land was quiet for ten years, with no attacking enemies, for the character of Asa was such that he did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord (vv.2-3). His faithfulness involved the constructive work of commanding Judah to seek the Lord and to observe the law, but some destructive work was no less important: he removed the high places and incense altars that had been introduced in Solomon's time and was continued by Rehoboam and Abijah.
But while the land enjoyed rest from war, he was wise in preparing for wan He built fortified cities in Judah and encouraged the people to build and make walls about the including towers, gates and bars. Believers today also are wise to take advantage of times of peace to store up the Word of God in their hearts as a protection from the attacks of the enemy that are sure to come eventually. Thus Asa's prosperity is an incentive for us today to learn to prosper spiritually while we have opportunity for it.
Asa also gathered an army of 300,000 from Judah and 280,000 from Benjamin, all capable warriors (v.8). However, after ten years of his reigning the king of Ethiopia came to attack him with an army of one million men and 300 chariots (v.9). Thus, he had 420,000 more men than Asa had. But Asa was not discouraged. After setting his troops in battle array, he prayed a prayer of simple confidence in the Lord, reminding Him, "it is nothing for You to help, whether with many or with those who have no power; help us, O Lord our God, for we rest on You, and in Your name we go against this multitude. O Lord, You are our God; do not let men prevail against You" (v.11).
Such genuine confidence in the Lord produced the results we ought to expect. By the Lord's intervention the Ethiopians were routed in fear. Asa's army pursued them and overthrew all their power, leaving them without any ability to recover. Judah carried away a great amount of spoil (v.13). At the same time they defeated all the cities around Gerar. This was Philistine territory which really belonged to Judah, but had not been possessed by them. From these cities they took a great amount of plunder also, including much livestock (vv.14-15).