Chapter Fifteen

1–7. The prophetic teaching of Azariah to Asa and the people concerning the dependence of the prosperity of the Kingdom of Judah on the faithfulness of Judah to Jehovah. 8–19. Asa’s pious zeal in putting in order the worship of Jehovah.

2 Chronicles 15:1. And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded. 2 Chronicles 15:2. And he went out to meet Asa, and said to him: “Hear me, O Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you while you are with Him; and if you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you. 2 Chronicles 15:3. For many days Israel was without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without the law. 2 Chronicles 15:4. But when in its distress it turned to the Lord God of Israel, and sought Him, He was found by them. 2 Chronicles 15:5. In those days there was no peace for those who went out or came in, for great disturbances befell all the inhabitants of the lands. 2 Chronicles 15:6. Nation was destroyed by nation, and city by city, for God troubled them with every kind of distress. 2 Chronicles 15:7. But you—be strong and do not let your hands grow weak, for your work shall be rewarded. The prophet Azariah, besides being mentioned in this chapter, is also mentioned in (2 Chr 23:1), moved by the Spirit of God, addresses the people and King Asa—under the fresh impression of the miraculous victory (14)—with an exhortation to faithfulness to Jehovah and with a warning against apostasy from Him; verses 3–6 depict the state of confusion of the Kingdom of Judah during the invasion of Zerah, and the picture of God abandoning His people and the spiritual deprivation of the latter closely resembles the prophetic depictions of the state of Israel’s rejection (compare verse 3 with (Hos 3:4; Amos 8:11)).

2 Chronicles 15:8. When Asa heard these words, the prophecy of Azariah the son of Oded the prophet, he took courage and removed all the abominations from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities that he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim, and he renewed the altar of the Lord that was before the vestibule of the Lord. 2 Chronicles 15:9. And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and those from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who were sojourning with them, for great numbers had come over to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him. 2 Chronicles 15:10. And they were gathered together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa. 2 Chronicles 15:11. And they sacrificed to the Lord on that day, from the spoil that they had brought, seven hundred cattle and seven thousand sheep. 2 Chronicles 15:12. And they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul. 2 Chronicles 15:13. And if anyone would not seek the Lord God of Israel, he should be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman. 2 Chronicles 15:14. And they swore an oath to the Lord with a loud voice, with shouting, with trumpets, and with horns. 2 Chronicles 15:15. And all Judah rejoiced over the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and sought Him with their whole desire, and He was found by them. And the Lord gave them rest on every side. 2 Chronicles 15:16. And King Asa removed his mother Maacah from being queen mother because she had made an obscene image for Asherah. And Asa cut down her image, crushed it, and burned it at the Wadi Kidron. 2 Chronicles 15:17. But the high places were not removed from Israel; nevertheless the heart of Asa was wholly devoted to the Lord all his days. 2 Chronicles 15:18. And he brought into the house of God the dedicated gifts of his father and his own dedicated gifts: silver, gold, and vessels. 2 Chronicles 15:19. And there was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of the reign of Asa. The prophetic speech encouraged Asa and impelled him to zeal for the glory of Jehovah, to the renewal of a national covenant with Jehovah, and to the destruction of the remains of idolatry that had been preserved from the time of previous kings. In verse 8, according to the Hebrew Masoretic text, it reads: “Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Oded,” LXX: Ἀδάδ, so that some suppose that the impression made on Asa was produced not by the prophecy of Azariah, but by that of Oded (verse 1), his father: “it can be supposed,” says Prof. Gulyaev (“Historical Books of the Old Testament Scripture,” p. 530), “that here, besides the word of Azariah, some prophetic message from his father Oded, known in its time, is also meant.” But it is far more natural to see here a reference to the prophecy just related, (verses 1–7) of Azariah, son of Oded. Many manuscripts of the LXX, such as: XI, 52, 55, 60, 64, 71, 119, 121, 158, 243 (in Holmes’ edition), indeed insert the name of Azariah in verse 8; so do the Syriac translation and the Vulgate: prophetiam Azariae, filii Oded propheti (compare the Church Slavonic–Russian text). The twofold victory of the Judeans: under Abijah over the Israelites, and under Asa over the Egyptians, attracted many Israelites to settle in Judah (verse 9). The internal consequence of the prophetic preaching was all of Asa’s activity in the renewal of the altar (verse 8), in the restoration of the covenant of faithfulness to Jehovah with the obligation to impose the ban or theocratic penalty on apostates ((verses 12–14); compare (Deut 13)), in the organization of magnificent sacrifices (see 11) and solemn religious celebrations (verses 14–15). This is not directly stated in 3 Kings. Verses 16–18, on the other hand, repeat (1 Kgs 15:13-15). Concerning the high places removed and not removed by Asa, see the comments to (2 Chr 14:2); compare “Commentary on the Bible”, vol. II, p. 439.