2 Chronicles 14 Study Notes

14:1 In light of the single event of Abijah’s life that the Chronicler highlights, Abijah received a neutral death notice. He was buried on Mount Zion in the vicinity of David’s tomb. The line of succession passed on to his son Asa.

Asa: Third king of Judah; son of Abijah; devoted to God, but closed himself off from God at the end of his life. The years given for the kings’ reigns make it clear that at times there was some overlap, when the father had already elevated his son as co-regent with him, just as David did with Solomon for a short while (1Ch 29:22). Thus, the ten years of peace could include the latter years of Abijah’s reign and the first years of Asa’s reign.

14:2-3 Asa receives high praise from the Chronicler. He removed all the objects of idol worship and exhorted the people to obey God. High places were places of worship to various gods. Many, but not all, were pagan. Frequently sites for idolatry are called “high places,” as in this passage (11:15); but the expression is also used for places dedicated to the Lord, the true God. Asherah poles were dedicated to the Canaanite goddess Asherah. The Canaanites believed that Asherah was the wife of the high god El and the mother of the main god Baal. She was a goddess of sexuality, and worshiping her by venerating sacred poles was supposed to produce fertility for crops and animals.

14:4-5 Seeking God is referred to about twenty-five times in Chronicles. It involved total dependence on the Lord and expressing that dependence in prayer and worship.

14:6-7 Encouraged by the time of peace, Asa set about redoing the fortifications throughout the land. He showed greater understanding than Rehoboam of the value of these fortifications. He told the people that they still owned the land because they had sought the Lord. Without the Lord’s protection, the walls would be useless.

14:8-10 Asa’s army was even larger than that of Abijah; the four hundred thousand warriors had grown to five hundred eighty thousand. Unfortunately, this huge number still put him at a disadvantage when Zerah the Cushite (an Ethiopian) came calling with an army of one million men and three hundred chariots. Instead of concealing himself behind his newly built fortifications, Asa and his smaller army marched out to confront Zerah in the vicinity of Mareshah, a town in western Judah.

14:11 Asa knew the odds were against him, but he had evidently learned from his father’s success against Jeroboam’s army. He cried out to the Lord for help. The king believed the outcome of the battle would not be determined by a mere mortal.

14:12 Once again, it was the Lord who won the battle, with Asa and his army serving as his instruments.

14:13-15 Zerah and his huge army had advanced this far because they had received support from the people of Gerar and the cattle-raising nomads in the vicinity. Thus, the army of Judah plundered all the cities around Gerar.