Read 2 Chronicles 14 and 15 at Bible Gateway.
The Hebrew paragraph divisions:
2 Chr 13:21-14:1 {p} Abijah grew mighty/ his family + acts + death, burial + his son Asa reigned
2 Chr 14:2-7 {p} Asa sought God + removed idolatry from Judah/ the LORD gave him rest
2 Chr 14:8a {s} Asa had an army that bore bucklers + spears, out of Judah 300,000
2 Chr 14:8b-11 {s} Of Benjamin, 280,00/ Zerah the Ethiopian against them with 1,000,000/ Asa’s prayer
2 Chr 14:12-15 {s} Ethiopians overthrown before the LORD as far as Gerar/ they took away much spoil
2 Chr 15:1-2 {s} The prophet to Asa: The LORD is with you while you are with Him
2 Chr 15:3-7 {s} Israel has been without God + teaching priest + law, but you be strong
2 Chr 15:8-9 {p} Asa removed the idols from the land/ the children of Israel came over to him in great numbers
2 Chr 15:10-19 {p} In the 15th year of King Asa, they gathered in Jerusalem to seek the Lord/ there was no war
The strong themes:
2 Chr 13:21-14:1 {p} Abijah grew mighty/ his family + acts + death, burial + his son Asa reigned
2 Chr 14:2-7 {p} Asa sought God + removed idolatry from Judah/ the LORD gave him rest
2 Chr 14:8-15:9 {sx5+p} Asa relied on the LORD, not his army, and prevailed, for the Lord was with him
2 Chr 15:10-19 {p} In the 15th year of King Asa, they gathered in Jerusalem to seek the Lord/ there was no war
The chiastic structure:
1a) 2 Chr 14:1 {p} In the beginning of Asa’s reign the land was quiet for ten years;
1b) 2 Chr 14:2-7, Asa did what was right: removed idolatry + sought the Lord his God;
1) 2 Chr 14:2, Asa did what was good + right in the eyes of the Lord his God;
2) 2 Chr 14:3a, For he removed the altars of the foreign gods + the high places;
3) 2 Chr 14:3b, He broke down the sacred pillars + cut down the wooden images;
4) 2 Chr 14:4, He commanded Judah to seek the Lord + observe the law;
5) 2 Chr 14:5a, He also removed the high places + incense altars from all the cities of Judah;
6) 2 Chr 14:5b-7, The kingdom was quiet under him, therefore he built fortified cities in Judah;
1a) 2 Chr 14:6a, And he built fortified cities in Judah;
1b) 2 Chr 14:6b, For the land had rest;
central axis) 2 Chr 14:6c, He had no war in those years;
2b) 2 Chr 14:6d, Because the Lord had given him rest;
2a) 2 Chr 14:7 {p} Let us build for the Lord our God has given us rest, because we have sought Him;
1a) 2 Chr 14:7a, He said to Judah: Let us build these cities and fortify them;
1b) 2 Chr 14:7b, While the land is yet before us;
1c) 2 Chr 14:7c, Because we have sought the Lord our God;
2c) 2 Chr 14:7d, We have sought Him;
2b) 2 Chr 14:7e, And He has given us rest on every side;
2a) 2 Chr 14:7f {p} So they built and prospered.
1c) 2 Chr 14:8, Asa had an army of mighty men: 300,00 from Judah {s} 280,00 from Benjamin;
1d) 2 Chr 14:9-10, Zerah the Ethiopian came against him with a million men + 300 chariots;
central axis) 2 Chr 14:11 {s} And Asa cried out to the Lord his God, and said, “Lord, there is none beside You to help, between the mighty and him that has no strength; 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 man prevail against You!”
2d) 2 Chr 14:12-15 {s} The Lord struck the Ethiopians + they were overthrown/ Judah carried away much spoil;
2c) 2 Chr 15:1-8a, Asa took courage in the word of the LORD, not in the might of his army;
1a) 2 Chr 15:1-2a, The Spirit of God came upon the prophet + he met Asa, saying: “Hear me;”
1b) 2 Chr 15:2b, The Lord is with you while you are with Him;
1c) 2 Chr 15:2c-d {s} If you seek Him, you will find Him/ if you forsake Him, He will forsake you;
1) 2 Chr 15:2c, If you seek Him, He will be found by you;
2) 2 Chr 15:2d {s} But if you forsake Him, He will forsake you;
central axis) 2 Chr 15:3, Israel has been without the true God + teaching priest + Torah;
2c) 2 Chr 15:4-6, When they turn to God + sought Him, they found Him, for He had troubled them;
1) 2 Chr 15:4, But when in their trouble they turned to God + sought Him, He was found by them;
2) 2 Chr 15:5-6, For they did not have peace, but turmoil in the land, for God troubled them with adversity;
2b) 2 Chr 15:7 {s} Be strong + do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded!”
2a) 2 Chr 15:8a, When Asa heard these words + the prophecy of the prophet, he took courage;
2b) 2 Chr 15:8b-18, Asa removed idols/ caused Judah + Benjamin + Israel to seek God/ his heart was loyal;
2) 2 Chr 15:8b, He removed the idols from Judah + Benjamin + cities of Ephraim/ restored YHVH’s altar;
4) 2 Chr 15:9-15a, He gathered Judah + Benjamin + children of Israel together in Jerusalem to seek the Lord;
1a) 2 Chr 15:9a, He gathered Judah + Benjamin + children of Israel;
central axis) 2 Chr 15:9b {p} For they came over to him in great numbers from Israel because God was with him;
2a) 2 Chr 15:10-15b, They gathered together at Jerusalem/ offered sacrifices/ sought Him, and was found by them;
1a) 2 Chr 15:10-11, They gathered together at Jerusalem/ offered sacrifices from the spoil;
1b) 2 Chr 15:12, They entered into a covenant to seek the Lord with all their heart + soul;
central axis) 2 Chr 15:13, Whoever would not seek the Lord was to be put to death;
2b) 2 Chr 15:14-15a, They took an oath before the Lord, rejoicing, for they had sworn + sought Him with all their heart + soul;
2a) 2 Chr 15:15b, And He was found by them;
6) 2 Chr 15:15c, And the Lord gave them rest all around;
3) 2 Chr 15:16, He removed his mother from being queen mother + cut down her Asherah image;
5) 2 Chr 15:17a, But the high places were not removed from Israel;
1) 2 Chr 15:17b-18, The heart of Asa was loyal all his days/ he brought the dedicated things into the house of God;
2a) 2 Chr 15:19 {p} There was no war until the 35th year of the reign of Asa.
By the way, 2 Chr 15:13, a sentence that modern readers find offensive, is a prophetic declaration of the gospel of grace. For grace is extended to those who seek Him, are found by Him, and submit themselves to His grace; but for those who refuse to accept His mercy, they have the wage they have earned, which is death. That is the gospel of grace.
The thing that struck me today was the C pair. At first I could not understand how they paired. But the 1c pair was about the number and valor of Asa’s army, and the 2c pair about the word of the Lord that he received from the prophet, and Asa took courage because of the word of the Lord he had heard. He did not take courage in the might and victories of his army, something that most kings take courage in, but he took courage in the word of the Lord he had heard. And because he rested in God, God gave him rest in the land for 35 years.
Something else interesting I saw: Asa met the Ethiopian force, whose army was twice the size of Judah’s army. But he relied on the Lord, and the Lord gave Judah the victory. This same event happened to Abijah, Asa’s father, in 2 Chr 13. Jeroboam’s force was twice the size of Abijah’s force, but because Judah relied on the Lord, God gave them the victory over Jeroboam. We saw that in the lives of the patriarchs, events from the lives of the fathers repeated in the lives of the sons, for it was history that prophesies. Now we are seeing in the same thing in the sons of David, who are prophetic types for Messiah: events from the lives of the fathers repeated in the lives of the sons, likely also for the same reason: it is history that prophesies.
It puts me in mind, that the body of Messiah is dealing with its own idolatry in the culture surrounding them, and enemies on every side. But even if we are outnumbered 2 to 1 (I don’t believe we are, I believe we are the vast majority, however the media makes it seem we are a minority, which is a lie), we should still take courage in the LORD our God as Asa did, for the Lord is with us as we are with Him!
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