The MacArthur Study Bible, NKJV

by John MacArthur

  2 Chronicles 15

  The Reforms of Asa

  1Now athe Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded.

  2And he went out 1to meet Asa, and said to him: “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. bThe LORD is with you while you are with Him. cIf you seek Him, He will be found by you; but dif you forsake Him, He will forsake you.

  3e“For a long time Israel has been without the true God, without a fteaching priest, and without glaw;

  4“but hwhen in their trouble they turned to the LORD God of Israel, and sought Him, He was found by them.

  5“And in those times there was no peace to the one who went out, nor to the one who came in, but great turmoil was on all the inhabitants of the lands.

  6i“So nation was 2destroyed by nation, and city by city, for God troubled them with every adversity.

  7“But you, be strong and do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded!”

  8And when Asa heard these words and the prophecy of 3Oded the prophet, he took courage, and removed the abominable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities jwhich he had taken in the mountains of Ephraim; and he restored the altar of the LORD that was before the vestibule of the LORD.

  9Then he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and kthose who dwelt with them from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon, for they came over to him in great numbers from Israel when they saw that the LORD his God was with him.

  10So they gathered together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa.

  11lAnd they offered to the LORD 4at that time seven hundred bulls and seven thousand sheep from the 5spoil they had brought.

  12Then they mentered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul;

  13nand whoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel owas to be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman.

  14Then they took an oath before the LORD with a loud voice, with shouting and trumpets and rams’ horns.

  15And all Judah rejoiced at the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and psought Him with all their soul; and He was found by them, and the LORD gave them qrest all around.

  16Also he removed rMaachah, the 6mother of Asa the king, from being queen mother, because she had made an obscene image of 7Asherah; and Asa cut down her obscene image, then crushed and burned it by the Brook Kidron.

  17But sthe 8high places were not removed from Israel. Nevertheless the heart of Asa was loyal all his days.

  18He also brought into the house of God the things that his father had dedicated and that he himself had dedicated: silver and gold and utensils.

  19And there was no war until the thirty-fifth year of the reign of Asa.

  2 Chronicles 16

  Ása’s Treaty with Syria

  (1 Kin. 15:16–22)

  1In the thirty-sixth year of the reign of Asa, aBaasha king of Israel came up against Judah and built Ramah, bthat he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.

  2Then Asa brought silver and gold from the treasuries of the house of the LORD and of the king’s house, and sent to Ben-Hadad king of Syria, who dwelt in Damascus, saying,

  3“Let there be a treaty between you and me, as there was between my father and your father. See, I have sent you silver and gold; come, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me.”

  4So Ben-Hadad heeded King Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel. They attacked Ijon, Dan, Abel Maim, and all the storage cities of Naphtali.

  5Now it happened, when Baasha heard it, that he stopped building Ramah and ceased his work.

  6Then King Asa took all Judah, and they carried away the stones and timber of Ramah, which Baasha had used for building; and with them he built Geba and Mizpah.

  Hanani’s Message to Ása

  7And at that time cHanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said to him: d“Because you have relied on the king of Syria, and have not relied on the LORD your God, therefore the army of the king of Syria has escaped from your hand.

  8“Were ethe Ethiopians and fthe Lubim not a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet, because you relied on the LORD, He delivered them into your ghand.

  9h“For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. In this iyou have done foolishly; therefore from now on jyou shall have wars.”

  10Then Asa was angry with the seer, and kput him in prison, for he was enraged at him because of this. And Asa oppressed some of the people at that time.

  Illness and Death of Asa

  (1 Kin. 15:23, 24)

  11lNote that the acts of Asa, first and last, are indeed written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.

  12And in the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa became diseased in his feet, and his malady was severe; yet in his disease he mdid not seek the LORD, but the physicians.

  13nSo Asa 1rested with his fathers; he died in the forty-first year of his reign.

  14They buried him in his own tomb, which he had 2made for himself in the City of David; and they laid him in the bed which was filled owith spices and various ingredients prepared in a mixture of ointments. They made pa very great burning for him.

  2 Chronicles 17

  Jehoshaphat Reigns in Judah

  1Then aJehoshaphat his son reigned in his place, and strengthened himself against Israel.

  2And he placed troops in all the fortified cities of Judah, and set garrisons in the land of bJudah and in the cities of Ephraim cwhich Asa his father had taken.

  3Now the LORD was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the former ways of his father David; he did not seek the Baals,

  4but sought 1the God of his father, and walked in His commandments and not according to dthe acts of Israel.

  5Therefore the LORD established the kingdom in his hand; and all Judah egave presents to Jehoshaphat, fand he had riches and honor in abundance.

  6And his heart took delight in the ways of the LORD; moreover ghe removed the 2high places and wooden images from Judah.

  7Also in the third year of his reign he sent his leaders, Ben-Hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Michaiah, hto teach in the cities of Judah.

  8And with them he sent Levites: Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tobadonijah—the Levites; and with them Elishama and Jehoram, the priests.

  9iSo they taught in Judah, and had the Book of the Law of the LORD with them; they went throughout all the cities of Judah and taught the people.

  10And jthe fear of the LORD fell on all the kingdoms of the lands that were around Judah, so that they did not make war against Jehoshaphat.

  11Also some of the Philistines kbrought Jehoshaphat presents and silver as tribute; and the Arabians brought him flocks, seven thousand seven hundred rams and seven thousand seven hundred male goats.

  12So Jehoshaphat became increasingly powerful, and he built fortresses and storage cities in Judah.

  13He had much property in the cities of Judah; and the men of war, mighty men of valor, were in Jerusalem.

  14These are their numbers, according to their fathers’ houses. Of Judah, the captains of thousands: Adnah the captain, and with him three hundred thousand mighty men of valor;

  15and next to him was Jehohanan the captain, and with him two hundred and eighty thousand;

  16and next to him was Amasiah the son of Zichri, lwho willingly offered himself to the LORD, and with him two hundred thousand mighty men of valor.

  17Of Benjamin: Eliada a mighty man of valor, and with him two hundred thousand men armed with bow and shield;

  18and next to him was Jehozabad, and with him one hundred and eighty thousand prepared for war.

  19These served the king, besides mthose the king put in the fortified cities throughout all Judah.

  2 Chronicles
18

  Micaiah Warns Áhab

  (1 Kin. 22:1–28)

  1Jehoshaphat ahad riches and honor in abundance; and by marriage he ballied himself with cAhab.

  2dAfter some years he went down to visit Ahab in Samaria; and Ahab killed sheep and oxen in abundance for him and the people who were with him, and persuaded him to go up with him to Ramoth Gilead.

  3So Ahab king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, “Will you go with me against Ramoth Gilead?” And he answered him, “I am as you are, and my people as your people; we will be with you in the war.”

  4Also Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, e“Please inquire for the word of the LORD today.”

  5Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?” So they said, “Go up, for God will deliver it into the king’s hand.”

  6But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not still a prophet of the LORD here, that we may inquire of fHim?”1

  7So the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man by whom we may inquire of the LORD; but I hate him, because he never prophesies good concerning me, but always evil. He is Micaiah the son of Imla.” And Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say such things!”

  8Then the king of Israel called one of his officers and said, “Bring Micaiah the son of Imla quickly!”

  9The king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah, clothed in their robes, sat each on his throne; and they sat at a threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them.

  10Now Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah had made ghorns of iron for himself; and he said, “Thus says the LORD: ‘With these you shall gore the Syrians until they are destroyed.’ ”

  11And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, “Go up to Ramoth Gilead and prosper, for the LORD will deliver it into the king’s hand.”

  12Then the messenger who had gone to call Micaiah spoke to him, saying, “Now listen, the words of the prophets with one accord encourage the king. Therefore please let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak encouragement.”

  13And Micaiah said, “As the LORD lives, hwhatever my God says, that I will speak.”

  14Then he came to the king; and the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?” And he said, “Go and prosper, and they shall be delivered into your hand!”

  15So the king said to him, “How many times shall I make you swear that you tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the LORD?”

  16Then he said, “I saw all Israel iscattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no jshepherd. And the LORD said, ‘These have no master. Let each return to his house in peace.’ ”

  17And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?”

  18Then Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on His kthrone, and all the host of heaven standing on His right hand and His left.

  19“And the LORD said, ‘Who will persuade Ahab king of Israel to go up, that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead?’ So one spoke in this manner, and another spoke in that manner.

  20“Then a lspirit came forward and stood before the LORD, and said, ‘I will persuade him.’ The LORD said to him, ‘In what way?’

  21“So he said, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And the LORD said, ‘You shall persuade him and also prevail; go out and do so.’

  22“Therefore look! mThe LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of these prophets of yours, and the LORD has declared disaster against you.”

  23Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near and nstruck Micaiah on the cheek, and said, “Which way did the spirit from the LORD go from me to speak to you?”

  24And Micaiah said, “Indeed you shall see on that day when you go into an inner chamber to hide!”

  25Then the king of Israel said, “Take Micaiah, and return him to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king’s son;

  26“and say, ‘Thus says the king: o“Put this fellow in prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and water of affliction, until I return in peace.” ’ ”

  27But Micaiah said, “If you ever return in peace, the LORD has not spoken by pme.” And he said, “Take heed, all you people!”

  Ahab Dies in Battle

  (1 Kin. 22:29–40)

  28So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth Gilead.

  29And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will qdisguise myself and go into battle; but you put on your robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went into battle.

  30Now the king of Syria had commanded the captains of the chariots who were with him, saying, “Fight with no one small or great, but only with the king of Israel.”

  31So it was, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, “It is the king of Israel!” Therefore they surrounded him to attack; but Jehoshaphat rcried out, and the LORD helped him, and God diverted them from him.

  32For so it was, when the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing him.

  33Now a certain man drew a bow at random, and struck the king of Israel between the 2joints of his armor. So he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, for I am wounded.”

  34The battle increased that day, and the king of Israel propped himself up in his chariot facing the Syrians until evening; and about the time of sunset he died.

  2 Chronicles 19

  Jehoshaphat’s Additional Reforms

  1Then Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned safely to his house in Jerusalem.

  2And Jehu the son of Hanani athe seer went out to meet him, and said to King Jehoshaphat, “Should you help the wicked and blove those who hate the LORD? Therefore the cwrath of the LORD is upon you.

  3“Nevertheless dgood things are found in you, in that you have removed the 1wooden images from the land, and have eprepared your heart to seek God.”

  The Reforms of Jehoshaphat

  4So Jehoshaphat dwelt at Jerusalem; and he went out again among the people from Beersheba to the mountains of Ephraim, and brought them back to the LORD God of their ffathers.

  5Then he set gjudges in the land throughout all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city,

  6and said to the judges, “Take heed to what you are doing, for hyou do not judge for man but for the LORD, iwho is with you 2in the judgment.

  7“Now therefore, let the fear of the LORD be upon you; take care and do it, for jthere is no iniquity with the LORD our God, no kpartiality, nor taking of bribes.”

  8Moreover in Jerusalem, for the judgment of the LORD and for controversies, Jehoshaphat lappointed some of the Levites and priests, and some of the chief fathers of Israel, 3when they returned to Jerusalem.

  9And he commanded them, saying, “Thus you shall act min the fear of the LORD, faithfully and with a loyal heart:

  10n“Whatever case comes to you from your brethren who dwell in their cities, whether of bloodshed or offenses against law or commandment, against statutes or ordinances, you shall warn them, lest they trespass against the LORD and owrath come upon pyou and your brethren. Do this, and you will not be guilty.

  11“And take notice: qAmariah the chief priest is over you rin all matters of the LORD; and Zebadiah the son of Ishmael, the ruler of the house of Judah, for all the king’s matters; also the Levites will be officials before you. Behave courageously, and the LORD will be swith the good.”

  2 Chronicles 20

  Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir Defeated

  1It happened after this that the people of aMoab with the people of bAmmon, and others with them besides the cAmmonites,1 came to battle against Jehoshaphat.

  2Then some came and told Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude is c
oming against you from beyond the sea, from 2Syria; and they are din Hazazon Tamar” (which is eEn Gedi).

  3And Jehoshaphat feared, and set 3himself to fseek the LORD, and gproclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.

  4So Judah gathered together to ask hhelp from the LORD; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD.

  5Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court,

  6and said: “O LORD God of our fathers, are You not iGod in heaven, and jdo You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and kin Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You?

  7“Are You not lour God, who mdrove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and gave it to the descendants of Abraham nYour friend forever?

  8“And they dwell in it, and have built You a sanctuary in it for Your name, saying,

  9o‘If disaster comes upon us—sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine—we will stand before this temple and in Your presence (for Your pname is in this temple), and cry out to You in our affliction, and You will hear and save.’

  10“And now, here are the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir—whom You qwould not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but rthey turned from them and did not destroy them—

  11“here they are, rewarding us sby coming to throw us out of Your possession which You have given us to inherit.

  12“O our God, will You not tjudge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but uour eyes are upon You.”

  13Now all Judah, with their little ones, their wives, and their children, stood before the LORD.

  14Then vthe Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly.

  15And he said, “Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the LORD to you: w‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, xfor the battle is not yours, but God’s.