2 Chronicles 13-16: Faith and Failure

We trace Abijah’s bold reliance against a larger army and Asa’s early reforms, then confront the slow slide from dependence to self-reliance that reshaped a kingdom. The story lands as a mirror: peace is a gift, but it can dull trust if we let comfort lead.

• Abijah’s confrontation with Jeroboam and Judah’s reliance on God
• The ambush foiled and the victory credited to trust, not numbers
• Asa’s reforms, peace, and fortified cities grounded in worship
• Prayer before battle against the Cushites and a sweeping deliverance
• Azariah’s call to seek God and the covenant renewal
• The treaty with Aram, prophetic rebuke, and onset of wars
• Asa’s anger at correction, oppression, and closing his ears
• Illness without prayer and the warning embedded in comfort
• Practicing reliance in peace so instinct guides us in crisis

Chapters

• 0:00 Setting The Scene In Chronicles
• 2:38 Abijah’s Stand And Judah’s Victory
• 5:27 Asa’s Reforms And Early Faith
• 8:16 Prayer Against The Cushites
• 10:46 Renewal, Oath, And Reform Deepen
• 13:06 The Treaty With Aram And Rebuke
• 15:01 Asa’s Decline And Modern Parallels
• 15:51 Guarding Against Complacency

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:23

Hey, this is the Out Loud Bible Project Podcast, and this is Mike. I've enjoyed this walk through the book of 2nd Chronicles. I don't know if you ever thought you'd say that, but I have. 2nd Chronicles 13 through 16 today. Last time we were reading about the King Rehoboam, who was the king of what is now in this point of the story, the Southern Kingdom, because God ripped Solomon's kingdom in, I would say half. It's very much weighted toward the kingdom that uh is in the north, the northern kingdom of Israel that uh was given to King Jeroboam, but the southern kingdom, which is basically just Judah, and the tribe of Benjamin is allied with them, that's given to Solomon's son Rehoboam. And Rehoboam, frankly, didn't really do a great job with his reign either. So it's it's a rough go here. Uh 2 Chronicles really does, well, chronicle the story of the Southern Kingdom and the Southern Kings. And yes, there are some instances where they interact with the Northern King and the Northern Kingdom. We'll see some of that today. Uh, but for the most part, we're focusing on the Southern Kingdom, which, again, for the most part, is loyal to God, but there's plenty of failures as well. And it's certainly honest with what it with what happened, and we get to see some rise and fall. I think we can take this as a bit of a mirror to ourselves and recognize that our own faith and our own journey of faithfulness with God does go up and down. And there are times where we drift away, and there are times that we let other influences come in and we kind of compromise with the way the world does things and the way the people around us do things. And yet, when we come back to him, he's faithful to bring us back again. And so we get to see this uh rise and fall in the book of 2 Chronicles. We get to see it in our own life. We can start to draw some parallels. So let's take a look at 2 Chronicles 13 through 16. I'll be reading the New English translation, and we can see how this pans out in the Southern Kingdom of Israel. In the eighteenth year of the reign of King Jeroboam, Abijah became king over Judah. He ruled for three years in Jerusalem. His mother was Micaiah, the daughter of Uriel from Gibeah. There was a war between Abijah and Jeroboam. And again, this is a civil war between Rahboam's son Abijah and Jeroboam, the king of the northern kingdom. Abijah launched the attack with four hundred thousand well-trained warriors, while Jeroboam deployed against him eight hundred thousand well-trained warriors. Abijah ascended Mount Zemerim in the Ephraimite hill country and said, Listen to me, Jeroboam and all Israel. Don't you realize that the Lord God of Israel has given David and his dynasty lasting dominion over Israel by a formal covenant? Jeroboam, son of Nebat, a servant of Solomon, son of David, rose up and rebelled against his master. Lawless, good for nothing men gathered around him and conspired against Rehoboam, son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was an experienced young man and couldn't resist them. Now you're declaring that you'll resist the Lord's rule through the Davidic dynasty? You have a huge army, and bring with you the gold calves that Jeroboam made for you as gods, but you banished the Lord's priests, Aaron's descendants, and the Levites, and appointed your own priests, just as the surrounding nations do. Anyone who comes to consecrate himself with a young bull or seven rams becomes a priest of these fake gods. But as for us, the Lord is our God, and we've not rejected him. Aaron's descendants serve as the Lord's priests, and the Levites assist them with the work. They offer burnt sacrifices to the Lord every morning and every evening, along with fragrant incense. They arrange the bread of the presence on a ritually clean table and light the lamps on the gold lampstand every morning. Certainly, we are observing the Lord our God's regulations, but you have rejected him. Now look, God is with us as our leader. His priests are ready to blow the trumpet to signal the attack against you. You Israelites, don't fight against the Lord God of your ancestors, for you will not win. Now Jeroboam had sent some men to ambush the Judahite army from behind. The main army was in front of the Judahite army, but the ambushers were behind it. And the men of Judah turned around and realized they were being attacked from the front and the rear, so they cried out to the Lord for help. The priests blew their trumpets, and the men of Judah gave the battle cry. And as the men of Judah gave the battle cry, God struck down Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. The Israelites fled from before the Judahite army, and God handed them over to the men of Judah. Abijah and his army thoroughly defeated them. Five hundred thousand well-trained Israelite men fell dead. That day the Israelites were defeated. The men of Judah prevailed because they relied on the Lord God of their ancestors. Abijah chased Jeroboam. He seized from him these cities, Bethel and its surrounding towns, Joshana and its surrounding towns, and Ephron and its surrounding towns. Jeroboam didn't regain power during the reign of Abijah. The Lord struck him down and he died. Abijah's power grew. He had fourteen wives and fathered twenty two sons and sixteen daughters. The rest of the events of Abijah's reign, including his deeds and sayings, are recorded in the writings of the prophet Ido. Abijah passed away and was buried in the city of David, and his son Asa replaced him as king. During his reign the land had rest for ten years. Asa did what the Lord his God desired and approved. He removed the pagan altars and the high places. He smashed the sacred pillars and cut down the ashera poles. He ordered Judah to seek the Lord God of their ancestors and to observe his laws and commands. He removed the high places and the incense altars from all the towns of Judah. The kingdom had rest under his rule. He built fortified cities throughout Judah, for the land was at rest, and there was no war during those years. The Lord gave him peace. He said to the people of Judah, Let's build these cities and fortify them with walls, towers, and barred gates. The land remains ours because we've followed the Lord our God. We've followed him, and he has made us secure on all sides. So they built the cities and prospered. Asa had an army of three hundred thousand men from Judah, equipped with large shields and spears. He also had two hundred and eighty thousand men from Benjamin who carried small shields and were adept archers. They were all skilled warriors. Zarah the Cushite marched against him with an army of one million men and three hundred chariots. He arrived at Merashah, and Asa went out to oppose him. They deployed for battle in the valley of Zephatha, near Merishah. Now Asa prayed to the Lord his God. O Lord, there is no one but you who can help the weak when they're vastly outnumbered. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you and have marched on your behalf against this huge army. O Lord, you are our God, don't let men prevail against you. The Lord struck down the Kushites before Asa and Judah. The Kushites fled, and Asa and his army chased them as far as Garar. The Kushites were wiped out, they were shattered before the Lord and his army. The men of Judah carried off a huge amount of plunder. They defeated all the towns surrounding Garar, for the Lord caused them to panic. The men of Judah looted all the towns, for they contained a huge amount of goods. They also attacked the tents of the herdsmen in the charge of the livestock, and they carried off many sheep and camels, and then returned to Jerusalem. God's spirit came upon Azariah, son of Oded. He met Asa and told him, Listen to me, Asa, at all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you when you're loyal to him. If you seek him, he'll respond to you, but if you reject him, he'll reject you. For a long time Israel had not sought the one true God or a priest to instruct them or the law, and because of their distress they turned back to the Lord God of Israel. They sought him, and he responded to them. In those days no one could travel safely, for total chaos had taken over all the people of the surrounding lands. One nation was crushed by another, and one city by another, for God caused them to be in great turmoil. But as for you, be strong and don't get discouraged, for your work will be rewarded. When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Oded the Prophet, he was encouraged. He removed the detestable idols from the entire land of Judah and Benjamin, and from the cities he had seized in the Ephraimite hill country. He repaired the altar of the Lord in front of the porch of the Lord's temple. He assembled all Judah and Benjamin, as well as the settlers from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who had come to live with them. Many people from Israel had come to live there when they saw that the Lord his God was with him. They assembled in Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa's reign, and at that time they sacrificed to the Lord some of the plunder that they had brought back, including seven hundred head of cattle and seven thousand sheep. They solemnly agreed to seek the Lord God of their ancestors with their whole heart and being. Anyone who would not seek the Lord God of Israel would be executed, whether they were young or old, male or female. They swore their allegiance to the Lord, shouting their approval loudly and sounding trumpets and horns. All Judah was happy about the oath because they made the vow with their whole heart. They willingly sought the Lord, and he responded to them. He made them secure on every side. King Asa also removed Makah, his grandmother, from her position as queen mother because she had made a loathsome Asherah pole. Asa cut down her loathsome pole and crushed and burned it in the Kidron Valley. The high places were not eliminated from Israel, yet Asa was wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord throughout his lifetime. He brought the holy items that his father and he had made into God's temple, including the silver, gold, and other articles. There was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa's reign. In the thirty-sixth year of Asa's reign, King Basha of Israel attacked Judah, and he established Rama as a military outpost to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the land of King Asa of Judah. Asa took all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of the Lord's temple and of the royal palace, and sent it to King Ben Hadad of Syria, ruler in Damascus, along with this message. I want to make a treaty with you, like the one our fathers made. See, I have sent you silver and gold. Break your treaty with King Basha of Israel so he'll retreat from my land. Ben Hadad accepted King Asa's offer and ordered his army commanders to attack the cities of Israel. They conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel Maim, and all the storage cities of Naphtali. When Basha heard the news, he stopped fortifying Rama and abandoned the project. King Asa ordered all the men of Judah to carry away the stones and wood that Basha had used to build Rama, and he used the materials to build up Gaba and Mizpa. At that time Hanani the prophet visited King Asa of Judah and said to him, Because you relied on the king of Syria and didn't rely on the Lord your God? The army of the king of Syria has escaped from your hand. Did not the Cushites and the Libyans have a huge army with chariots and a very large number of horsemen? But when you relied on the Lord he handed them over to you. Certainly the Lord watches the whole earth carefully, and is ready to strengthen those who are devoted to him. You have acted foolishly in this matter. From now on you will have war. Asa was so angry at the prophet he put him in jail. Asa also oppressed some of the people at that time. The events of Asa's reign from start to finish are recorded in the scroll of the kings of Judah and Israel. In the thirty ninth year of his reign Asa developed a foot disease, and his disease became severe. Yet even in his disease he didn't seek the Lord, but only the doctors. Asa passed away in the forty first year of his reign. He was buried in the tomb he had carved out in the city of David. They laid him to rest on a platform covered with spices and assorted mixtures of ointments. They made a huge bonfire to honor him. It's kind of a sad story here, the story of Asa. But I think part of the reason it's sad is because it's also relatable. Early on, Asa had a great moment of faith. It was in a situation when it was just it looked impossible. He was completely outnumbered, completely outresourced. He had nothing and could do nothing. And those times seem like the scariest, but I know personally it's those situations that I don't have any choice but to run to God. I'm like, God, I can't do anything. I need you to help me. And I think it's easier for me and maybe for you to have faith in the impossible. I think it's harder to have faith and rely on the Lord when we have more resources. Later, when Asa was up against the attacking army of the northern kingdom of Israel, what did he do? He used the resources he had. He had money, he had connections, and he used those to bring about a victory, and he did not rely on the Lord. It's easier to forget to go to the Lord when we have other things that we can go to. He had also enjoyed a time of peace. I think it's easier to get complacent when we've been enjoying a relatively easy time for a while. That when something comes up, we just want to fix it with what we have. We forget that the Lord is the one who carries the victories. Do you find yourself in a time of peace right now? Hey, that's great. Praise God. Do not let that turn into complacency. Arm yourself now with a plan when the next thing goes wrong. You may have resources, you may have connections. Don't forget where your peace and your wealth and your connections came from. Don't forget the one who holds the victory. That's the thinking out loud thought for the day.