Asa Is King of Judah
2 Chronicles 14, verse 1. Asa did what was good and proper in the eyes of the Lord his God, 2 Chronicles 14, verse 2. for he removed the altars of the foreign gods and the high places and broke down the sacred pillars and cut down the groves. 2 Chronicles 14, verse 3. He commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers and to observe the law and the commandments. 2 Chronicles 14, verse 4. He also removed the altars and the idols from all the cities of Judah, and the kingdom was quiet under him. 2 Chronicles 14, verse 5. He was able to build walled cities in Judah, for the land had rest. There was no war in those years because the Lord gave him rest. 2 Chronicles 14, verse 6. Therefore he said to Judah, “Because we sought the Lord our God, let us build these cities and make walls around them, and towers, gates, and bars in the land we rule. We sought Him, and He gave us rest on every side, and we have prospered.” 2 Chronicles 14, verse 7. Asa had an army of three hundred thousand from Judah who carried shields and spears, and from Benjamin two hundred fifty thousand men who carried shields and drew bows. All these were mighty men of valor. 2 Chronicles 14, verse 8. Then Zerah the Ethiopian came against them with an army of a million men and three hundred chariots, and came to Mareshah. 2 Chronicles 14, verse 9. So Asa went out against him, and they set the troops in battle array in the valley to the north of Mareshah. 2 Chronicles 14, verse 10. And Asa cried out to the Lord his God and said, “Lord, with You it is not impossible, whether with the many or with the few. Strengthen us, Lord our God, for we trust in You. And in Your name we go against this multitude. Lord our God, do not let man prevail against You!” 2 Chronicles 14, verse 11. So the Lord struck the Ethiopians before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. 2 Chronicles 14, verse 12. And Asa and the people with him pursued them to Gerar, and the Ethiopians were so defeated they could not recover. They were crushed before the Lord and His army. And they carried away a great deal of spoil. 2 Chronicles 14, verse 13. Then they cut off all the villages round about Gerar, for the fear of the Lord came upon them; even so, they plundered all their cities, for they had a great amount of spoil in them. 2 Chronicles 14, verse 14. They even tore down the enclosures for the livestock. Then they took many of the sheep and camels and returned to Jerusalem.