151 And the spirit of God came on Azariah, the son of Oded; 2 And he came face to face with Asa and said to him, Give ear to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin: the Lord is with you while you are with him; if your heart's desire is for him, he will be near you, but if you give him up, he will give you up. 3 Now for a long time Israel has been without the true God, and without a teaching priest and without the law; 4 But when in their trouble they were turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, searching after him, he let their search be rewarded. 5 In those times there was no peace for him who went out or for him who came in, but great trouble was on all the people of the lands. 6 And they were broken by divisions, nation against nation and town against town, because God sent all sorts of trouble on them. 7 But be you strong and let not your hands be feeble, for your work will be rewarded.
8 And Asa, hearing these words of Azariah, the son of Oded the prophet, took heart and put away all the disgusting things out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the towns which he had taken from the hill-country of Ephraim; and he made new again the altar of the Lord in front of the covered way of the Lord's house. 9 And he got together all Judah and Benjamin and those of Ephraim and Manasseh and Simeon who were living with them; for numbers of them came to him out of Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him. 10 So they came together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the rule of Asa. 11 And that day they made offerings to the Lord of the things they had taken in war, seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep. 12 And they made an agreement to be true to the Lord, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and all their soul; 13 And that anyone, small or great, man or woman, who was not true to the Lord, the God of Israel, would be put to death. 14 And they made an oath to the Lord, with a loud voice, sounding wind-instruments and horns. 15 And all Judah was glad because of the oath, for they had taken it with all their heart, turning to the Lord with all their desire; and he was with them and gave them rest on every side.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on 2 Chronicles 15:1-15
Chapter Contents
The people make a solemn covenant with God.
The work of complete reformation appeared so difficult, that Asa had not courage to attempt it, till assured of Divine assistance and acceptance. He and his people offered sacrifices to God; thanksgiving for the favours they had received, and supplication for further favours. Prayers and praises are now our spiritual sacrifices. The people, of their own will, covenanted to seek the Lord, each for himself, with earnestness. What is religion but seeking God, inquiring after him, applying to him upon all occasions? We make nothing of our religion, if we do not make heart-work of it; God will have all the heart, or none. Our devotedness to God our Saviour, should be avowed and shown in the most solemn and public manner. What is done in hypocrisy is a mere drudgery.