151 And upon Azariah son of Oded hath been the Spirit of God, 2 and he goeth out before Asa, and saith to him, 'Hear, me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; Jehovah 'is' with you—in your being with Him, and if ye seek Him, He is found of you, and if ye forsake Him, He forsaketh you; 3 and many days 'are' to Israel without a true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law, 4 and it turneth back in its distress unto Jehovah, God of Israel, and they seek Him, and He is found of them, 5 and in those times there is no peace to him who is going out, and to him who is coming in, for many troubles 'are' on all the inhabitants of the lands, 6 and they have been beaten down, nation by nation, and city by city, for God hath troubled them with every adversity; 7 and ye, be ye strong, and let not your hands be feeble, for there is a reward for your work.'
8 And at Asa's hearing these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he hath strengthened himself, and doth cause the abominations to pass away out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities that he hath captured from the hill-country of Ephraim, and reneweth the altar of Jehovah that 'is' before the porch of Jehovah, 9 and gathereth all Judah and Benjamin, and the sojourners with them out of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and out of Simeon—for they have fallen unto him from Israel in abundance, in their seeing that Jehovah his God 'is' with him. 10 And they are gathered to Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa, 11 and sacrifice to Jehovah on that day from the spoil they have brought in—oxen seven hundred, and sheep seven thousand, 12 and they enter into a covenant to seek Jehovah, God of their fathers, with all their heart, and with all their soul, 13 and every one who doth not seek for Jehovah, God of Israel, is put to death, from small unto great, from man unto woman. 14 And they swear to Jehovah with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets, 15 and rejoice do all Judah concerning the oath, for with all their heart they have sworn, and with all their good-will they have sought Him, and He is found of them, and Jehovah giveth rest to them round about. 16 And also Maachah, mother of Asa the king—he hath removed her from 'being' mistress, in that she hath made for a shrine a horrible thing, and Asa cutteth down her horrible thing, and beateth 'it' small, and burneth 'it' by the brook Kidron: 17 yet the high places have not turned aside from Israel; only, the heart of Asa hath been perfect all his days. 18 And he bringeth in the sanctified things of his father, and his own sanctified things, to the house of God, silver, and gold, and vessels. 19 And war hath not been till the thirty and fifth year of the reign of Asa.
161 In the thirty and sixth year of the reign of Asa, come up hath Baasha king of Israel, against Judah, and buildeth Ramah, so as not to permit any going out and coming in to Asa king of Judah. 2 And Asa bringeth out silver and gold from the treasures of the house of Jehovah, and of the house of the king, and sendeth unto Ben-Hadad king of Aram, who is dwelling in Damascus, saying, 3 'A covenant 'is' between me and thee, and between my father and thy father, lo, I have sent to thee silver and gold; go, break thy covenant with Baasha king of Israel, and he doth go up from off me.' 4 And Ben-Hadad hearkeneth unto king Asa, and sendeth the heads of the forces that he hath unto cities of Israel, and they smite Ijon, and Dan, and Abel-Maim, and all the stores, cities of Naphtali. 5 And it cometh to pass, at Baasha's hearing, that he ceaseth from building Ramah, and letteth his work rest; 6 and Asa the king hath taken all Judah, and they bear away the stones of Ramah, and its wood, that Baasha hath built, and he buildeth with them Geba and Mizpah.
7 And at that time hath Hanani the seer come in unto Asa king of Judah, and saith unto him, 'Because of thy leaning on the king of Aram, and thou hast not leaned on Jehovah thy God, therefore hath the force of the king of Aram escaped from thy hand. 8 Did not the Cushim and the Lubim become a very great force for multitude, for chariot, and for horsemen? and in thy leaning on Jehovah He gave them into thy hand, 9 for Jehovah—His eyes go to and fro in all the earth, to show Himself strong 'for' a people whose heart 'is' perfect towards Him; thou hast been foolish concerning this, because—henceforth there are with thee wars.' 10 And Asa is angry at the seer, and giveth him to the house of torture, for 'he is' in a rage with him for this; and Asa oppresseth 'some' of the people at that time. 11 And lo, the matters of Asa, the first and the last, lo, they are written on the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. 12 And Asa is diseased—in the thirty and ninth year of his reign—in his feet, till his disease is excessive, and also in his disease he hath not sought Jehovah, but among physicians. 13 And Asa lieth with his fathers, and dieth in the forty and first year of his reign, 14 and they bury him in 'one of' his graves, that he had prepared for himself in the city of David, and they cause him to lie on a bed that 'one' hath filled 'with' spices, and divers kinds of mixtures, with perfumed work; and they burn for him a burning—very great.
27 'Now hath my soul been troubled, and what? shall I say—Father, save me from this hour?—but because of this I came to this hour; 28 Father, glorify Thy name.' There came, therefore, a voice out of the heaven, 'I both glorified, and again I will glorify 'it';' 29 the multitude, therefore, having stood and heard, were saying that there hath been thunder; others said, 'A messenger hath spoken to him.' 30 Jesus answered and said, 'Not because of me hath this voice come, but because of you; 31 now is a judgment of this world, now shall the ruler of this world be cast forth; 32 and I, if I may be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto myself.' 33 And this he said signifying by what death he was about to die; 34 the multitude answered him, 'We heard out of the law that the Christ doth remain—to the age; and how dost thou say, That it behoveth the Son of Man to be lifted up? who is this—the Son of Man?' 35 Jesus, therefore, said to them, 'Yet a little time is the light with you; walk while ye have the light, that darkness may not overtake you; and he who is walking in the darkness hath not known where he goeth; 36 while ye have the light, believe in the light, that sons of light ye may become.' These things spake Jesus, and having gone away, he was hid from them,
37 yet he having done so many signs before them, they were not believing in him, 38 that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he said, 'Lord, who gave credence to our report? and the arm of the Lord—to whom was it revealed?' 39 Because of this they were not able to believe, that again Isaiah said, 40 'He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart, that they might not see with the eyes, and understand with the heart, and turn back, and I might heal them;' 41 these things said Isaiah, when he saw his glory, and spake of him.
42 Still, however, also out of the rulers did many believe in him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing, that they might not be put out of the synagogue, 43 for they loved the glory of men more than the glory of God.
44 And Jesus cried and said, 'He who is believing in me, doth not believe in me, but in Him who sent me; 45 and he who is beholding me, doth behold Him who sent me; 46 I a light to the world have come, that every one who is believing in me—in the darkness may not remain; 47 and if any one may hear my sayings, and not believe, I—I do not judge him, for I came not that I might judge the world, but that I might save the world. 48 'He who is rejecting me, and not receiving my sayings, hath one who is judging him, the word that I spake, that will judge him in the last day, 49 because I spake not from myself, but the Father who sent me, He did give me a command, what I may say, and what I may speak, 50 and I have known that His command is life age-during; what, therefore, I speak, according as the Father hath said to me, so I speak.'
(Read John 12:27-33)
The sin of our souls was the troubled of Christ's soul, when he undertook to redeem and save us, and to make his soul an offering for our sin. Christ was willing to suffer, yet prayed to be saved from suffering. Prayer against trouble may well agree with patience under it, and submission to the will of God in it. Our Lord Jesus undertook to satisfy God's injured honour, and he did it by humbling himself. The voice of the Father from heaven, which had declared him to be his beloved Son, at his baptism, and when he was transfigured, was heard proclaiming that He had both glorified his name, and would glorify it. Christ, reconciling the world to God by the merit of his death, broke the power of death, and cast out Satan as a destroyer. Christ, bringing the world to God by the doctrine of his cross, broke the power of sin, and cast out Satan as a deceiver. The soul that was at a distance from Christ, is brought to love him and trust him. Jesus was now going to heaven, and he would draw men's hearts to him thither. There is power in the death of Christ to draw souls to him. We have heard from the gospel that which exalts free grace, and we have heard also that which enjoins duty; we must from the heart embrace both, and not separate them.
(Read John 12:34-36)
The people drew false notions from the Scriptures, because they overlooked the prophecies that spoke of Christ's sufferings and death. Our Lord warned them that the light would not long continue with them, and exhorted them to walk in it, before the darkness overtook them. Those who would walk in the light must believe in it, and follow Christ's directions. But those who have not faith, cannot behold what is set forth in Jesus, lifted up on the cross, and must be strangers to its influence as made known by the Holy Spirit; they find a thousand objections to excuse their unbelief.
(Read John 12:37-43)
Observe the method of conversion implied here. Sinners are brought to see the reality of Divine things, and to have some knowledge of them. To be converted, and truly turned from sin to Christ, as their Happiness and Portion. God will heal them, will justify and sanctify them; will pardon their sins, which are as bleeding wounds, and mortify their corruptions, which are as lurking diseases. See the power of the world in smothering convictions, from regard to the applause or censure of men. Love of the praise of men, as a by-end in that which is good, will make a man a hypocrite when religion is in fashion, and credit is to be got by it; and love of the praise of men, as a base principle in that which is evil, will make a man an apostate, when religion is in disgrace, and credit is to be lost for it.
(Read John 12:44-50)
Our Lord publicly proclaimed, that every one who believed on him, as his true disciple, did not believe on him only, but on the Father who sent him. Beholding in Jesus the glory of the Father, we learn to obey, love, and trust in him. By daily looking to Him, who came a Light into the world, we are more and more freed from the darkness of ignorance, error, sin, and misery; we learn that the command of God our Saviour is everlasting life. But the same word will seal the condemnation of all who despise it, or neglect it.
