The Berean Pursuit
In the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam son of Nebat, Abijam became king of Judah, and he reigned in Jerusalem three years. His mother's name was Maacah daughter of Abishalom.
And Abijam walked in all the sins that his father before him had committed, and his heart was not as fully devoted to the LORD his God as the heart of David his forefather had been. Nevertheless, for the sake of David, the LORD his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem by raising up a son to succeed him and to make Jerusalem strong. For David had done what was right in the eyes of the LORD and had not turned aside from anything the LORD commanded all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.
And there was war between the houses of Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of Abijam's life.
As for the rest of the acts of Abijam, along with all his accomplishments, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam.
And Abijam rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David, and his son Asa reigned in his place.
In the twentieth year of Jeroboam's reign over Israel, Asa became king of Judah, and he reigned in Jerusalem forty-one years. His grandmother's name was Maacah daughter of Abishalom.
And Asa did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, as his father David had done. He banished the male shrine prostitutes from the land and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. He also removed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother because she had made a detestable Asherah pole. Asa chopped down the pole and burned it in the Kidron Valley.
The high places were not removed, but Asa's heart was fully devoted to the LORD all his days. And he brought into the house of the LORD the silver and gold and other articles that he and his father had dedicated.
Now there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel throughout their days. Baasha king of Israel went to war against Judah and fortified Ramah to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the territory of Asa king of Judah.
So Asa withdrew all the silver and gold that remained in the treasuries of the house of the LORD and the royal palace. He entrusted it to his servants and sent them with this message to Ben-hadad son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus: "Let there be a treaty between me and you, between my father and your father. See, I have sent you a gift of silver and gold. Now go and break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me."
And Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, conquering Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, and the whole land of Naphtali, including the region of Chinnereth.
When Baasha learned of this, he stopped fortifying Ramah and withdrew to Tirzah. Then King Asa summoned all the men of Judah, with no exceptions, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and the timbers Baasha had used for building. And with these materials King Asa built up Geba of Benjamin, as well as Mizpah.
Now the rest of the acts of Asa, along with all his might, all his accomplishments, and the cities he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? In his old age, however, he became diseased in his feet.
And Asa rested with his fathers and was buried with them in the city of his father David, and his son Jehoshaphat reigned in his place.
In the second year of Asa's reign over Judah, Nadab son of Jeroboam became king of Israel, and he reigned two years. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD and walked in the way of his father and in his sin, which he had caused Israel to commit.
Then Baasha son of Ahijah of the house of Issachar conspired against Nadab, and Baasha struck him down at Gibbethon of the Philistines while Nadab and all Israel were besieging the city. In the third year of Asa's reign over Judah, Baasha killed Nadab and reigned in his place.
As soon as Baasha became king, he struck down the entire household of Jeroboam. He did not leave to Jeroboam anyone that breathed, but destroyed them all according to the word that the LORD had spoken through His servant Ahijah the Shilonite, because of the sins Jeroboam had committed and had caused Israel to commit, and because he had provoked the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger.
As for the rest of the acts of Nadab, along with all his accomplishments, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel throughout their days.
In the third year of Asa's reign over Judah, Baasha son of Ahijah became king of all Israel, and he reigned in Tirzah twenty-four years.
And Baasha did evil in the sight of the LORD and walked in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin, which he had caused Israel to commit.
In the eighteenth year of Jeroboam's reign, Abijah became king of Judah, and he reigned in Jerusalem three years. His mother's name was Micaiah daughter of Uriel; she was from Gibeah.
And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. Abijah went into battle with an army of 400,000 chosen men, while Jeroboam drew up in formation against him with 800,000 chosen and mighty men of valor.
Then Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim in the hill country of Ephraim and said, "Hear me, O Jeroboam and all Israel! Do you not know that the LORD, the God of Israel, has given the kingship of Israel to David and his descendants forever by a covenant of salt? Yet Jeroboam son of Nebat, a servant of Solomon son of David, rose up and rebelled against his master. Then worthless and wicked men gathered around him to resist Rehoboam son of Solomon when he was young, inexperienced, and unable to resist them.
And now you think you can resist the kingdom of the LORD, which is in the hands of David's descendants. You are indeed a vast army, and you have with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made for you as gods. But did you not drive out the priests of the LORD, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites? And did you not make priests for yourselves as do the peoples of other lands? Now whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams can become a priest of things that are not gods.
But as for us, the LORD is our God. We have not forsaken Him; the priests who minister to the LORD are sons of Aaron, and the Levites attend to their duties. Every morning and every evening they present burnt offerings and fragrant incense to the LORD. They set out the rows of showbread on the ceremonially clean table, and every evening they light the lamps of the gold lampstand. We are carrying out the requirements of the LORD our God, while you have forsaken Him.
Now behold, God Himself is with us as our head, and His priests with their trumpets sound the battle call against you. O children of Israel, do not fight against the LORD, the God of your fathers, for you will not succeed."
Now Jeroboam had sent troops around to ambush from the rear, so that while he was in front of Judah, the ambush was behind them. When Judah turned and discovered that the battle was both before and behind them, they cried out to the LORD. Then the priests blew the trumpets, and the men of Judah raised the battle cry. And when they raised the cry, God routed Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.
So the Israelites fled before Judah, and God delivered them into their hands. Then Abijah and his people struck them with a mighty blow, and 500,000 chosen men of Israel fell slain. Thus the Israelites were subdued at that time, and the men of Judah prevailed because they relied on the LORD, the God of their fathers.
Abijah pursued Jeroboam and captured some cities from him: Bethel, Jeshanah, and Ephron, along with their villages.
Jeroboam did not again recover his power during the days of Abijah, and the LORD struck him down and he died.
But Abijah grew strong, married fourteen wives, and became the father of twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters. Now the rest of the acts of Abijah, along with his ways and his words, are written in the Treatise of the Prophet Iddo.
Then Abijah rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David. And his son Asa reigned in his place, and in his days the land was at peace for ten years.
And Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God. He removed the foreign altars and high places, shattered the sacred pillars, and chopped down the Asherah poles. He commanded the people of Judah to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, and to observe the law and the commandments. He also removed the high places and incense altars from all the cities of Judah, and under him the kingdom was at peace.
Because the land was at peace, Asa built fortified cities in Judah. In those days no one made war with him, because the LORD had given him rest. So he said to the people of Judah, "Let us build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, with doors and bars. The land is still ours because we have sought the LORD our God. We have sought Him and He has given us rest on every side." So they built and prospered.
Asa had an army of 300,000 men from Judah bearing large shields and spears, and 280,000 men from Benjamin bearing small shields and drawing the bow. All these were mighty men of valor.
Then Zerah the Cushite came against them with an army of 1,000,000 men and 300 chariots, and they advanced as far as Mareshah. So Asa marched out against him and lined up in battle formation in the Valley of Zephathah near Mareshah.
Then Asa cried out to the LORD his God: "O LORD, there is no one besides You to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on You, and in Your name we have come against this multitude. O LORD, You are our God. Do not let a mere mortal prevail against You."
So the LORD struck down the Cushites before Asa and Judah, and the Cushites fled. Then Asa and his army pursued them as far as Gerar. The Cushites fell and could not recover, for they were crushed before the LORD and His army. So the people of Judah carried off a great amount of plunder and attacked all the cities around Gerar, because the terror of the LORD had fallen upon them. They plundered all the cities, since there was much plunder there. They also attacked the tents of the herdsmen and carried off many sheep and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.
Remind the believers to submit to rulers and authorities, to be obedient and ready for every good work, to malign no one, and to be peaceable and gentle, showing full consideration to everyone.
For at one time we too were foolish, disobedient, misled, and enslaved to all sorts of desires and pleasures-living in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.
But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. This is the Spirit He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by His grace, we would become heirs with the hope of eternal life. This saying is trustworthy. And I want you to emphasize these things, so that those who have believed God will take care to devote themselves to good deeds. These things are excellent and profitable for the people.
But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, arguments, and quarrels about the law, because these things are pointless and worthless.
Reject a divisive man after a first and second admonition, knowing that such a man is corrupt and sinful; he is self-condemned.
As soon as I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, make every effort to come to me at Nicopolis, because I have decided to winter there. Do your best to equip Zenas the lawyer and Apollos, so that they will have everything they need. And our people must also learn to devote themselves to good works in order to meet the pressing needs of others, so that they will not be unfruitful.
All who are with me send you greetings.
Greet those who love us in the faith.
Grace be with all of you.