CHAPTER 15
So he went out
to meet
Asa
and said
to him,
“Listen to me,
Asa
and all
Judah
and Benjamin.
The LORD
is with you
when you are
with Him.
If
you seek Him,
He will be found
by you,
but if
you forsake Him,
He will forsake
you.
For many
years
Israel
has been without
the true
God,
without
a priest
to instruct them,
and without
law.
But in their distress
they turned
to
the LORD,
the God
of Israel,
and sought Him,
and He was found
by them.
In those
days
there was no
safety
for travelers,
because
the residents
of the lands
had
many
conflicts.
Nation
was crushed
by nation,
and city
by city,
for
God
afflicted them
with all kinds of
adversity.
When Asa
heard
these
words
and the prophecy
of Azariah son of Oded
the prophet,
he took courage
and removed
the detestable idols
from
the whole
land
of Judah
and Benjamin
and from the cities
he had captured
in the hill country
of Ephraim.
He then restored
the altar
of the LORD
that
was in front
of the portico
of the LORD's temple.
And he assembled
all
Judah
and Benjamin,
along with those from the tribes of Ephr
Manasseh,
and Simeon
who had settled
among them,
for
great numbers
had come over
to him
from Israel
when they saw
that
the LORD
his God
was with him.
At that
time
they sacrificed
to the LORD
seven
hundred
oxen
and seven
thousand
sheep
from
all the plunder
they had brought back.
Then they entered
into a covenant
to seek
the LORD,
the God
of their fathers,
with all
their heart
and
soul.
And
whoever
would not
seek
the LORD,
the God
of Israel,
would be put to death,
whether
young
or
old,
man
or
woman.
And all
Judah
rejoiced
over
the oath,
for
they had sworn
it with all
their heart.
They had sought
Him earnestly,
and He was found
by them.
So the LORD
gave them rest
on every side.
King
Asa
also
removed
his grandmother
Maacah
as the queen mother,
because
she had made
a detestable
Asherah pole.
Asa
chopped down
the pole,
crushed it,
and burned
it in the Kidron
Valley.
And he brought
into the house
of God
the silver
and gold
articles
that he
and his father
had dedicated.