“1 And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded: 2 And he
went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah
and Benjamin; The LORD [is] with you, while ye be with him; and if ye
seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will
forsake you. 3 Now for a long season Israel [hath been] without the true
God, and without a teaching priest, and without law. 4 But when they in
their trouble did turn unto the LORD God of Israel, and sought him, he
was found of them. 5 And in those times [there was] no peace to him that
went out, nor to him that came in, but great vexations [were] upon all
the inhabitants of the countries. 6 And nation was destroyed of nation,
and city of city: for God did vex them with all adversity. 7 Be ye
strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be
rewarded.”
“8 And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the
prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominable idols out of all
the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken
from mount Ephraim, and renewed the altar of the LORD, that [was] before
the porch of the LORD. 9 And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and the
strangers with them out of Ephraim and Manasseh, and out of Simeon: for
they fell to him out of Israel in abundance, when they saw that the LORD
his God [was] with him. 10 So they gathered themselves together at
Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa.
11 And they offered unto the LORD the same time, of the spoil [which]
they had brought, seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep. 12 And
they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with
all their heart and with all their soul; 13 That whosoever would not
seek the LORD God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or
great, whether man or woman. 14 And they sware unto the LORD with a loud
voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets. 15 And
all Judah rejoiced at the oath: for they had sworn with all their heart,
and sought him with their whole desire; and he was found of them: and
the LORD gave them rest round about. 16 And also [concerning] Maachah
the mother of Asa the king, he removed her from [being] queen, because
she had made an idol in a grove: and Asa cut down her idol, and stamped
[it], and burnt [it] at the brook Kidron. 17 But the high places were
not taken away out of Israel: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect
all his days. 18 And he brought into the house of God the things that
his father had dedicated, and that he himself had dedicated, silver, and
gold, and vessels. 19 And there was no [more] war unto the five and
thirtieth year of the reign of Asa.” (2 Chronicles 15:1-19 AV)
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