2 Chronicles 15
1 The Spirit of God came upon Azariah son of Oded.
2 He went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin! The LORD is with you as long as you are with him. If you seek him, he will let you find him; but if you abandon him, he will abandon you.
3 For many days Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach them, and without the Law.
4 But in their distress, Israel turned to the LORD, the God of Israel. They sought him, and he let them find him.
5 In those times, there was no peace for anyone going out or coming in, because great turmoil afflicted all the inhabitants of the lands.
6 Nation clashed with nation, and city with city, because God troubled them with every kind of distress.
7 But you, be strong, and do not let your hands grow weak, because your work will be rewarded.”
8 When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of the prophet Oded, he took courage. He removed the detestable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from the towns he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. He also renewed the altar of the LORD that stood in front of the portico of the LORD’s house.
9 He gathered all Judah and Benjamin, along with the resident foreigners among them from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon, for many from Israel had joined him when they saw that the LORD his God was with him.
10 They gathered in Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign.
11 On that day they sacrificed to the LORD seven hundred cattle and seven thousand sheep from the spoil they had brought back.
12 They entered into a covenant to seek the LORD, the God of their ancestors, with all their heart and all their soul.
13 Anyone who would not seek the LORD, the God of Israel, was to be put to death, young or old, man or woman.
14 They swore an oath to the LORD in a loud voice, with shouting, trumpets, and rams’ horns.
15 All Judah rejoiced over the oath, because they had sworn it with all their heart. They sought the LORD with all their willingness, and he let them find him. The LORD gave them rest on every side.
16 King Asa also removed his mother Maacah from her position as queen mother, because she had made a detestable image for Asherah. Asa cut down her detestable image, ground it to powder, and burned it by the Kidron Valley.
17 The high places were not removed from Israel; nevertheless, Asa’s heart was wholly devoted all his days.
18 He brought into the house of God the things his father had dedicated and the things he himself had dedicated: silver, gold, and utensils.
19 There was no war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.
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