1 Kings 15:9-24 - The Reign Of Asa In Judah

⁹ In the twentieth year of Jeroboam, king of Israel, Asa began to reign over Judah. ¹⁰ And he reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom.

¹¹ And Asa did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD, as did David his father. ¹² For he took away the male cult prostitutes out of the land and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. ¹³ And he also removed Maachah, his mother, from being queen because she had made an idol in a grove; and Asa destroyed her idol and burnt it by the brook Kidron. ¹⁴ But the high places were not removed; nevertheless, Asa's heart was perfect with the LORD all his days. ¹⁵ And he brought in the things which his father had dedicated and the things which he himself had dedicated, into the house of the LORD, silver and gold and vessels.

¹⁶ And there was war between Asa and Baasha, king of Israel, all their days. ¹⁷ And Baasha, king of Israel, went up against Judah and built Ramah, that he might not allow any to go out or come in to Asa, king of Judah. ¹⁸ Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king's house and delivered them into the hand of his slaves, and King Asa sent them to Benhadad, the son of Tabrimon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying, ¹⁹ There is a covenant between me and thee and between my father and thy father; behold, I have sent unto thee a bribe of silver and gold; come and break thy covenant with Baasha, king of Israel, that he may depart from me.

²⁰ So Benhadad hearkened unto King Asa and sent the princes of the hosts, which he had against the cities of Israel, and smote Ijon and Dan and Abelbethmaachah and all Cinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali. ²¹ And when Baasha heard this, he left off building of Ramah and dwelt in Tirzah. ²² Then King Asa made a proclamation throughout all Judah; no one was exempted; and they took away the stones and timber of Ramah, with which Baasha had been building; and King Asa built with them Geba of Benjamin, and Mizpah.

²³ The rest of all the acts of Asa and all his might and all that he did and the cities which he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? Nevertheless, in the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet. ²⁴ And Asa slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David, his father; and Jehoshaphat, his son, reigned in his stead.

¹ So Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David, and Asa his son reigned in his stead. In his days the land had rest ten years.

² And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God, ³ for he took away the altars of the strange gods and the high places and broke down the images and cut down the groves ⁴ and commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fathers, and they fulfilled the law and the commandments. ⁵ Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the images, and the kingdom had rest before him.

⁶ And he built fenced cities in Judah, for the land had rest, and he had no war in those years because the LORD had given him rest. ⁷ Therefore, he said unto Judah, Let us build these cities and make about them walls and towers, gates, and bars, now that the land is 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 were prospered.

⁸ And Asa had an army of men that bore shields and spears, out of Judah three hundred thousand and out of Benjamin, that bore shields and drew bows, two hundred and eighty thousand; all these were mighty men of valour. ⁹ And there came out against them Zerah, the Ethiopian, with a host of a thousand thousand and three hundred chariots and came unto Mareshah. ¹⁰ Then Asa went out against him, and they ordered the battle in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah.

¹¹ And Asa cried unto the LORD his God and said, LORD, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many or with those that have no power; help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O LORD, thou art our God; do not let man prevail against thee.

¹² So the LORD smote the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. ¹³ And Asa and the people that were with him pursued them unto Gerar, and the Ethiopians were overthrown until there were none left alive, for they were destroyed before the LORD and before his host, and they carried away very much spoil. ¹⁴ And they smote all the cities round about Gerar, for the fear of the LORD came upon them; and they spoiled all the cities, for there was exceeding much spoil in them. ¹⁵ They smote also the booths of livestock and carried away sheep and camels in abundance and returned to Jerusalem.