Reflections on 2 Chronicles 14

 2 Chronicles 14(Contemporary English Version)

1. Abijah died and was buried in Jerusalem. Then his son Asa became king, and Judah had ten years of peace.
2. Asa obeyed the LORD his God and did right.
3. He destroyed the local shrines and the altars to foreign gods. He smashed the stone images of gods and cut down the sacred poles used in worshiping the goddess Asherah.
4. Then he told everyone in Judah to worship the LORD God, just as their ancestors had done, and to obey his laws and teachings.
5. He destroyed every local shrine and incense altar in Judah.
6. The LORD blessed Judah with peace while Asa was king, and so during that time, Asa fortified many of the towns.
7. He said to the people, "Let's build walls and defense towers for these towns, and put in gates that can be locked with bars. This land still belongs to us, because we have obeyed the LORD our God. He has given us peace from all our enemies." The people did everything Asa had suggested.
8. Asa had a large army of brave soldiers: Three hundred thousand of them were from the tribe of Judah and were armed with shields and spears; two hundred eighty thousand were from Benjamin and were armed with bows and arrows.
9. Zerah from Ethiopia led an army of a million soldiers and three hundred chariots to the town of Mareshah in Judah.
10. Asa met him there, and the two armies prepared for battle in Zephathah Valley.
11. Asa prayed: LORD God, only you can help a powerless army defeat a stronger one. So we depend on you to help us. We will fight against this powerful army to honor your name, and we know that you won't be defeated. You are the LORD our God.
12. The LORD helped Asa and his army defeat the Ethiopians. The enemy soldiers ran away,
13. but Asa and his troops chased them as far as Gerar. It was a total defeat--the Ethiopians could not even fight back! The soldiers from Judah took everything that had belonged to the Ethiopians.
14. The people who lived in the villages around Gerar learned what had happened and were afraid of the LORD. So Judah's army easily defeated them and carried off everything of value that they wanted from these towns.
15. They also attacked the camps where the shepherds lived and took a lot of sheep, goats, and camels. Then they went back to Jerusalem.

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Abijah, as recorded in the previous chapter, had boasted to Jeroboam of Judah's faithfulness to the Lord. But from the beginning of his son's reign following him, we learn that his and Judah's faithfulness to the Lord was mostly a show. His son, Asa, succeeded him and implemented true religious reform. This involved removing considerable pagan altars and high places along with shattering sacred pillars and chopping down Asherah poles. He also told the people of Judah to seek the Lord. These actions brought peace to Judah "because the LORD gave him rest." (14:6)

Verses 6-10 record Asa's efforts to build up his military capabilities by establishing fortified cities throughout Judah and building up his army to 580,000 spearmen and bowmen, even though it was the Lord who was responsible for their peace and the Lord, not their military might, that delivered them from the Cushite army as told in verses 11-15. Zerah of Cush brought an army of 1 million men, including 300 chariots, to attack Judah. Asa marched his much smaller army out to meet them. He cried for the Lord give them victory and He did. The Lord routed the Cushite army "until they had no survivors." (14:13) While they had this momentum going, Judah's army went on to attack some Philistine cities and plunder them.

It is obvious that Judah's victory over the Cushite army did not involve their fortified cities nor was it due to the size of their army, for their army was nearly one-half the size of the Cushite's. Thus, Asa's efforts to strengthen the nation militarily seems to have been a contradiction to his faith in the Lord. This is not a point for which to be critical of Asa, but one of which to take note. How much in the lives of any one of us is contradictory to our faith? We speak of our trust in the Lord and but expend considerable effort on doing things that speak of trust in something other than the Lord.