As we seek to follow the twin threads of monarchy in Israel and Judah, it is difficult to give a fully chronological account. The focus of those writing both Kings and Chronicles is to relate the actions of one man at a time, and mention his opposite only when they cross paths. Asa succeeds Abijah as King of Judah one year before Jeroboam dies. Asa's father reigned but three years in large part because of his continuing the sins of his predecessors. Asa rejected those ways, and followed the Lord, at least for awhile. We take our text primarily from 2 Chronicles, with the parallel in 1 Kings 15.
2 Chronicles 14:1-8 -- We are told the Abijah passed, and Asa succeeded him in about 911 BC, with first a decade of quiet. Recall that his father had already crushed Israel, and his grandfather had bought off Pharaoh. One of his first royal acts was to remove the pagan shrines in his realm. By this time, the shrines consisted of a carved stone image of Baal, and a carved wooden image of Astarte. They were worshiped primarily as general fertility deities. There would be incense stands in front of each. However, we know that his prohibition was not wholly effective in stopping the pagan practices. Nonetheless, the Lord honored his intent and kept enemies at bay. Taking advantage of this peace, Asa rebuilt the fortress cities of Judah. The total manpower pool of fighters was 300,000 from Judah and 280,000 from Benjamin. The latter included those who defected from Israel.
14:9-15 -- His first test of faith was the arrival of a massive army of Ethiopians, probably under the rule of Pharaoh. Typically, the count of "a thousand thousand" was a round number indicating a force far outnumbering the army of Judah. Asa met them at Mareshah. This city stood on a hill overlooking the one primary pass between the Philistine Plain and the Hill Country of Judah. The city sits a few miles north of a line drawn between Gaza and Hebron. There Asa called on the Lord to give victory. His public prayer in the presence of his troops included a confession that it mattered not at all what the opposing army was, Jehovah was not much troubled delivering them into the hands of His people.
God heard and granted Asa's request. The Ethiopians were so badly routed the Egyptian Empire did not return to bother Israel for another 170 years. The pursuit continued as far as Gerar, roughly 20 miles. Since it was the Philistines and helped supply this massive force, and gave them safe passage to Judah, Asa's forces captured Gerar and all the cities around it. Not just the spoils abandoned by the Ethiopians, but a tremendous amount was taken from the Philistines around Gerar. The text indicates the Philistines capitulated quickly rather than fight, so great was their fear.
15:1-7 -- We know nothing of Azariah save his brief appearance here. The meeting was shortly after the successful battle at Mareshah, thus about 900 BC. The prophet noted there had not been a teaching priest on the mold of Samuel, and thus the knowledge of God and the Law had languished. Yet He remained available to those who called on Him. Still, there was no peace. Asa was encouraged to continue the work of God and his reward would be great.
15:8-15 -- With this behind him, he spent the next five years reinforcing his previous command to end pagan worship in the land. All the more so the cities captured from Israel. He refurbished the altar in the Temple Court. Seeing all this power and holiness, a large number from Ephraim and Manasseh, as well as the resident Simeonites, came to support Asa. At the end of this five-year revival, the elders of the kingdom brought a large collection of offerings, including some of the plundered animals from their victory over Ethiopia, and established a new covenant of obedience before the Lord.
15:16-19 -- In keeping with this commitment, Asa removed his mother Maacah from her position as Queen Mother because she had purchased an obscene image of Ashterah. He destroyed the image in a public ritual in the valley between Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives. Unfortunately, the people insisted on rebuilding their hilltop shrines behind his back in the north. Finally, he replenished the furnishings of the Temple. The peace that followed lasted twenty years, until his 35th.
15:25-33 -- We drop back to Kings for a moment to pick up the thread of events in Israel. In Asa's first year, Jeroboam was struck down by God. His son, Nadab took the throne, just as evil as his father. He had powerful ambitions, and began by laying siege to the Philistine city of Gibbethon, which was very close to the fortress Solomon received as a wedding present from a Pharaoh of a previous dynasty in Egypt. This was under way during Nadab's second year on the throne. While thus engaged, one of his lieutenants from the Tribe of Issachar, Baasha, murdered him and took the throne. He then proceeded to murder the entire House of Jeroboam, as prophesied. This was about 909 BC. Baasha reigned some 24 years. During this entire time, he maintained hostilities with Asa.
2 Chronicles 16:1-6 -- At one point, this hostility lead to an attempt to fortify Ramah, in Benjamin, not the old home town of Samuel the Prophet. This was about 875 BC. No doubt he was stirred to action by the defection to Asa of so many of his subjects. It is believed he managed to retake Bethel at this point, and fortifying Ramah would have been the starting point of a string of fortifications just a few miles north of Jerusalem.
At that time, the Damascus was an ally of Israel. We recall that Rezon (also called Hezion) was a rebel against Solomon, taking over Damascus and creating trouble (1 Kings 11:23f). At some point, his son Tabrimon made up amends with the House of David during the reign of Abijah. However, the current ruler of Damascus, Ben-hadad was in league with Baasha. When Baasha began work on fortifying Ramah, Asa forgot the Lord, and traded his former piety for politics. He raided the Temple treasury, and along with his own personal treasure, induced Ben-hadad to turn on Baasha. He as successful in his aim, as the troops of Damascus began raiding in Galilee, starting with Ijon in the far north, then Dan and Abel-maacha, along with all the storage cities that Solomon had developed under the advice of Hiram of Tyre (1 Kings 9:10ff). Baasha was forced to withdraw and defend his northern border. When Ramah was deserted, Asa commanded every available man to go and remove all the building materials Baasha had left. These materials were then used to fortify Geba to the east of Raman, and Mizpah to the northwest.
16:7-10 -- We are introduced to the family of seers now headed by Hanani. His son would become Court Seer to Asa's son. He announces to Asa that, had he relied on God instead of man, he would have defeated both Israel and Damascus. Instead, Damascus remained a future threat. Any king that could be bought off by one was surely for sale to another. Hanani reminded Asa that Ethiopia was a far bigger threat, and the Lord handled them easily. The principle is stated that Jehovah was constantly on the watch for opportunities to support those faithful to Him. The punishment would be no end of warfare during Asa's remaining years. Asa put this messenger of God in prison. His change in attitude from his former days is further exemplified by selectively oppressing some of his people at that time.
16:11-14 -- During his 39th year, Asa began having serious trouble with his feet. Speculation includes the possibility diabetes causing poor circulation and gangrene. Rather than seek the Lord, Asa went to pagan healers. He suffered this another two years, then died. He was buried in the royal tomb, and his funeral service included the burning of a lot of incense, as well as quite a bit mixed to anoint his body.
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Ed Hurst
04 December 2004
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