King Asa
2 Chronicles 14:1-16:14

Early Years of Asa's Reign

2 Chronicles 14:1-15

• Asa became king after Abijah's death. (v. 1)
• Asa did right in the eyes of the Lord. (v. 2)
• Why did Asa do right? Look to verses 3-5: he removed the vestiges of idol worship, he commanded Judah to seek the Lord, and he removed the high places. (v. 3-5)
• Asa built up the cities and had an impressive army. (v. 6-8)
• After ten years of peace in Asa's kingdom, the Ethopians came to attack, under the leadership of Zerah. (v. 9-10)
• Asa called upon the Lord to deliver the victory. (v. 11)
• Judah was mightily victorious against the Ethopians. (v. 12-15)

Asa's Religious Reforms

2 Chronicles 15:1-19

• The Spirit of God (LOOK! It's the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament!) came upon Azariah, who told Asa that the Lord will make Himself found when the people seek Him, but He will forsake the people if they forsake Him. (v. 1-7)
• When Asa heard the words from Azariah, he took down the idols from Judah. (v. 8)
• Asa gathered all the faithful and they gave sacrifices. (v. 9-11)
• Judah made a covenant with the Lord to seek Him. All those who did not seek the Lord were to be put to death. (v. 12-15)
• Asa removed his mother from the position of Queen Mother because she practiced idolotry. He did a good job of following God and causing the southern kingdom to do likewise. (v. 16-19)

Final Years of Asa's Reign

2 Chronicles 16:1-10

• In the thirty-sixth year of Asa's reign, King Baasha of Israel invaded Judah. (v. 1)
• Asa sent the silver and gold from the treasuries to King Ben-hadad of Aram, with a request to create a treaty between them. (v. 2-3)
• Ben-hadad agreed and sent armies to attack Israel. (v. 4)
• When Baasha heard about what was happening, he retreated. (v. 5)
• King Asa called the men of Judah to fortify themselves. (v. 6)
• Hanani the seer came to King Asa and told him that because he didn't put his trust in the Lord, he missed the chance to destroy the army of the king of Aram. (v. 7)
• Hanani reminded Asa of the victories that came with trusting in the Lord. (v. 8-9)
• Asa became mad ad Hanani and threw him in jail. (v. 10)
• Do we find ourselves in a position where we are apt to "shoot the messenger?" How do we deal with that?

Summary of Asa's Reign

2 Chronicles 16:11-14

• Asa died from a serious foot disease.