13 That whosoever would not seek H1875 the LORD H3068 God H430 of Israel H3478 should be put to death, H4191 whether H4480 small H6996 or great, H1419 whether man H376 or woman. H802
He that sacrificeth H2076 unto any god, H430 save H1115 unto the LORD H3068 only, he shall be utterly destroyed. H2763
And they smote H5221 the men H582 that were at the door H6607 of the house H1004 with blindness, H5575 both small H6996 and great: H1419 so that they wearied H3811 themselves to find H4672 the door. H6607
And it came to pass, that at midnight H2677 H3915 the LORD H3068 smote H5221 all the firstborn H1060 in the land H776 of Egypt, H4714 from the firstborn H1060 of Pharaoh H6547 that sat H3427 on his throne H3678 unto the firstborn H1060 of the captive H7628 that was in the dungeon; H1004 H953 and all the firstborn H1060 of cattle. H929
And that prophet, H5030 or that dreamer H2492 of dreams, H2472 shall be put to death; H4191 because he hath spoken H1696 to turn H5627 you away from the LORD H3068 your God, H430 which brought you out H3318 of the land H776 of Egypt, H4714 and redeemed H6299 you out of the house H1004 of bondage, H5650 to thrust H5080 thee out of the way H1870 which the LORD H3068 thy God H430 commanded H6680 thee to walk in. H3212 So shalt thou put H1197 the evil H7451 away H1197 from the midst H7130 of thee. If thy brother, H251 the son H1121 of thy mother, H517 or thy son, H1121 or thy daughter, H1323 or the wife H802 of thy bosom, H2436 or thy friend, H7453 which is as thine own soul, H5315 entice H5496 thee secretly, H5643 saying, H559 Let us go H3212 and serve H5647 other H312 gods, H430 which thou hast not known, H3045 thou, nor thy fathers; H1 Namely, of the gods H430 of the people H5971 which are round about H5439 you, nigh H7138 unto thee, or far off H7350 from thee, from the one end H7097 of the earth H776 even unto the other end H7097 of the earth; H776 Thou shalt not consent H14 unto him, nor hearken H8085 unto him; neither shall thine eye H5869 pity H2347 him, neither shalt thou spare, H2550 neither shalt thou conceal H3680 him: But thou shalt surely H2026 kill H2026 him; thine hand H3027 shall be first H7223 upon him to put him to death, H4191 and afterwards H314 the hand H3027 of all the people. H5971 And thou shalt stone H5619 him with stones, H68 that he die; H4191 because he hath sought H1245 to thrust thee away H5080 from the LORD H3068 thy God, H430 which brought thee out H3318 of the land H776 of Egypt, H4714 from the house H1004 of bondage. H5650 And all Israel H3478 shall hear, H8085 and fear, H3372 and shall do H6213 no more H3254 any H1697 such wickedness H7451 as this is among H7130 you. If thou shalt hear H8085 say in one H259 of thy cities, H5892 which the LORD H3068 thy God H430 hath given H5414 thee to dwell H3427 there, saying, H559 Certain men, H582 the children H1121 of Belial, H1100 are gone out H3318 from among H7130 you, and have withdrawn H5080 the inhabitants H3427 of their city, H5892 saying, H559 Let us go H3212 and serve H5647 other H312 gods, H430 which ye have not known; H3045 Then shalt thou enquire, H1875 and make search, H2713 and ask H7592 diligently; H3190 and, behold, if it be truth, H571 and the thing H1697 certain, H3559 that such H2063 abomination H8441 is wrought H6213 among H7130 you; Thou shalt surely H5221 smite H5221 the inhabitants H3427 of that city H5892 with the edge H6310 of the sword, H2719 destroying it utterly, H2763 and all that is therein, and the cattle H929 thereof, with the edge H6310 of the sword. H2719
If there be found H4672 among H7130 you, within any H259 of thy gates H8179 which the LORD H3068 thy God H430 giveth H5414 thee, man H376 or woman, H802 that hath wrought H6213 wickedness H7451 in the sight H5869 of the LORD H3068 thy God, H430 in transgressing H5674 his covenant, H1285 And hath gone H3212 and served H5647 other H312 gods, H430 and worshipped H7812 them, either the sun, H8121 or moon, H3394 or any of the host H6635 of heaven, H8064 which I have not commanded; H6680 And it be told H5046 thee, and thou hast heard H8085 of it, and enquired H1875 diligently, H3190 and, behold, it be true, H571 and the thing H1697 certain, H3559 that such abomination H8441 is wrought H6213 in Israel: H3478 Then shalt thou bring forth H3318 that man H376 or that woman, H802 which have committed H6213 that wicked H7451 thing, H1697 unto thy gates, H8179 even that man H376 or that woman, H802 and shalt stone H5619 them with stones, H68 till they die. H4191
Lest there should be H3426 among you man, H376 or woman, H802 or family, H4940 or tribe, H7626 whose heart H3824 turneth away H6437 this day H3117 from the LORD H3068 our God, H430 to go H3212 and serve H5647 the gods H430 of these nations; H1471 lest there should be H3426 among you a root H8328 that beareth H6509 gall H7219 and wormwood; H3939
And Elijah H452 said H559 unto them, Take H8610 the prophets H5030 of Baal; H1168 let not one H376 of them escape. H4422 And they took H8610 them: and Elijah H452 brought them down H3381 to the brook H5158 Kishon, H7028 and slew H7819 them there.
He will bless H1288 them that fear H3373 the LORD, H3068 both small H6996 and great. H1419
Having G5177 therefore G3767 obtained G5177 help G1947 of G3844 God, G2316 I continue G2476 unto G891 this G5026 day, G2250 witnessing G3140 both G5037 to small G3398 and G2532 great, G3173 saying G3004 none other things G3762 than G1622 those which G3739 G5037 the prophets G4396 and G2532 Moses G3475 did say G2980 should G3195 come: G1096
And G2532 the kings G935 of the earth, G1093 and G2532 the great men, G3175 and G2532 the rich men, G4145 and G2532 the chief captains, G5506 and G2532 the mighty men, G1415 and G2532 every G3956 bondman, G1401 and G2532 every G3956 free man, G1658 hid G2928 themselves G1438 in G1519 the dens G4693 and G2532 in G1519 the rocks G4073 of the mountains; G3735
And G2532 I saw G1492 the dead, G3498 small G3398 and G2532 great, G3173 stand G2476 before G1799 God; G2316 and G2532 the books G975 were opened: G455 and G2532 another G243 book G975 was opened, G455 which G3739 is G2076 the book of life: G2222 and G2532 the dead G3498 were judged G2919 out of G1537 those things which were written G1125 in G1722 the books, G975 according to G2596 their G846 works. G2041
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » John Gill's Exposition of the Bible » Commentary on 2 Chronicles 15
Commentary on 2 Chronicles 15 John Gill's Exposition of the Bible
INTRODUCTION TO 2 CHRONICLES 15
Asa returning from the battle, and with the spoil of the enemy, was met by a prophet of the Lord, who encouraged him to go on with the work of reformation, promising the presence and help of God with him, 2 Chronicles 15:1, which inspired him with fresh courage, and he went about the work with great alacrity; and having offered sacrifices, he and his people entered into a solemn covenant with the Lord, to serve him, 2 Chronicles 15:8 upon which he destroyed his mother's idol, brought the dedicated things into the house of God, and the effect of this was peace for a long time, 2 Chronicles 15:16.
And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded,.... The same with Iddo, as HillerusF8Onomastic, Sacr. p. 458. thinks; and some suppose this to be the name of the son as well as the father, but called Azariah, to distinguish him from him, see 2 Chronicles 15:8 on whom came, as the Targum, the spirit of prophecy, instructing him what to say to Asa; and the Jews sayF9In Hieron. Trad. Heb. in Paralipom. fol. 84. L. & 85. A. he is the same with Iddo, and he the same that was sent to Jeroboam, to reprove him for the altar he built.
And he went out to meet Asa,.... From Jerusalem, as Asa was coming to it:
and said unto him, hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; the principal inhabitants of which tribes had been collected, and went to this war, and were now returning:
the Lord is with you, while ye be with him; it was a clear case he had been with them, in giving them the victory over the Ethiopians; and as long as they continued in the service of God, and abode by his pure worship, they might expect he would yet be with them, otherwise not:
and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; you will see his face, and enjoy his favour, and have his presence, and help from him in every time of need, when they sought him by prayer and supplication, as Asa had, and attended his worship and ordinances:
but if ye forsake him; his laws and his service:
he will forsake you; and leave you to fall into the hands of your enemies.
Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God,.... The fear, worship, and service of him being greatly neglected by them for a long time; what period of time is referred to is not expressed, whether past, present, or to come, but left to be supplied; the Targum refers this to the time of the separation of the ten tribes, and the days of Jeroboam, when the calves were worshipped, and not the true God, and the teaching priests of the Lord were cast out, and the law of the Lord, especially with respect to worship, was not regarded, in which it is followed by many interpreters; others think it refers to time to come, and to what would be the case, should they forsake the Lord; and was fulfilled in the Babylonish captivity, see Hosea 3:4 and the JewsF11Vajikra Rabba, sect. 19. fol. 160. 4. say, that"Oded prophesied that the days should come, when Israel would be "without the true God", since judgment should not be done in the world: and "without a teaching priest"; since the high priesthood should cease, (see Hebrews 7:12) "and without the law"; since the sanhedrim should cease;'but according to our supplement, and which seems most correct, it refers to time past; not to the case of the ten tribes from the times of Jeroboam; nor to the case of Judah from the times of Rehoboam; but to times more remote, even the times of the judges, when they worshipped Baal and Ashtaroth, and not the true God, Judges 2:10, yet at the same time suggesting, that should the present inhabitants of Judah go into the same practices, their case would be like theirs, described in the following verses:
and without a teaching priest: as they were under the judges, from the times of Phinehas to those of Eli, which was a long space of time:
and without law; every man doing as he pleased, there being no king in Israel, nor any regard paid to the law of God, moral or ceremonial, Judges 17:6.
But when they in their trouble did turn unto the Lord God of Israel,.... When being carried captive by neighbouring nations, and oppressed; and they cried unto the Lord, and repented of their sins, and turned from them to him:
and sought him; by prayer and supplication:
he was found of them; and appeared for their help and deliverance, of which there are many instances in the book of Judges.
And in those times there was no peace to him that went out nor to him that came in,.... There was no safety in going abroad for travellers from one part to another on account of trade and business, the highways being infested with thieves and robbers:
but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the countries; of the country villages, which were deserted, because of the plunders and depredations of them, Judges 5:6.
And nation was destroyed of nation, and city of city,.... Or one tribe of another; as the Ephraimites by the Gileadites, and the tribe of Benjamin by the other tribes; and Shechem by Abimelech, Judges 9:45,
for God did vex them with all adversity; both with foreign enemies and civil wars; and now it is intimated that this would be their case again, should they not keep close to the Lord their God.
Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak,.... Be hearty, earnest, and vigorous, and not languid and remiss in reforming the worship of God, which Asa had begun:
for your work shall be rewarded; with peace and prosperity at home, and success against enemies abroad, of which they had had a recent instance.
And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet,.... Some think that besides the above words of Azariah the son of Oded, a prophecy of Oded his father was related by him, though not recorded; but rather Oded here is the same with the son of Oded; and so the Vulgate Latin and Syriac versions read Azariah the son of Oded; and so does the Alexandrian copy of the Septuagint version:
he took courage, and put away the abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin; which were abominable to God, and all good men; besides the images and statues he had broken before, he removed other idols that remained, being animated and emboldened by the speech of the prophet:
and out of the cities which he had taken from Mount Ephraim: the same which his father Abijah had taken from Jeroboam, 2 Chronicles 13:19 and which perhaps, upon the approach of the Ethiopians, revolted from Asa, or were restored by them to Jeroboam, and Which Asa retook upon his conquest of them:
and renewed the altar of the Lord before the porch of the Lord; the altar of burnt offering, which had never been repaired since it was made by Solomon; perhaps he anew overlaid it with brass that being worn out, or become very thin in some places.
And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and the strangers with them,.... The proselytes of the gate:
out of Ephraim and Manasseh, and out of Simeon: out of all the places in those tribes that had come off to him, or had been taken by him; for otherwise these belonged to the ten tribes under the government of Jeroboam, and his successors, and the next clause explains it:
for they fell to him out of Israel abundance, when they saw that the Lord his God was with him; as was clear by the victory he gave him over the Ethiopians; after that time many in the above tribes came over to him; the Targum is,"when they saw the Word of the Lord his God was his help.'
So they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem,.... By the order of Asa, 2 Chronicles 15:9,
in the third month; of the ecclesiastical year, the month Sivan, in which month was the day of Pentecost; and that very probably was the time of their gathering:
in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa; and which seems to be the year in which he fought the Ethiopians.
And they offered unto the Lord the same time,.... The Targum adds, on the feast of weeks, or Pentecost: of the spoil which they had brought; from the camp of the Ethiopians, and the cities of the Philistines:
seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep; partly for burnt offerings, and partly for peace offerings, by way of thankfulness to the Lord for the victory he had given them, and for a feast at the making of the following covenant with him.
And they entered into a covenant,.... Asa and all his people; that is, as Piscator remarks, they went between the pieces of the calf cut asunder, for the confirmation of the covenant, see Jeremiah 34:18,
to seek the Lord God of their fathers, with all their heart, and with all their soul; to serve and worship him most truly, sincerely, and cordially.
That whosoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel should be put to death,.... That obstinately refused to worship him, and served other gods, which by the law was deserving of death, Deuteronomy 17:2,
whether small or great, whether man or woman; without any regard to rank or dignity, age or sex.
And they sware unto the Lord with a loud voice,.... As not being ashamed of the oath they took, and that there might be witnesses of it, and that it might be clear they did not equivocate in but expressed themselves in plain words:
and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets; showing that the oath was not extorted from them unwillingly, but that they took it with the utmost cheerfulness, and with all the demonstrations of joy and gladness imaginable.
And all Judah rejoiced at the oath,.... The greater part of them; for some there might be who were dissemblers:
for they had sworn with all their heart; in the sincerity and uprightness of their souls:
and sought him with their whole desire; none being more or so desirable as he:
and he was found of them: and favoured them with his presence:
and the Lord gave them rest round about; from all their enemies.
And also concerning Maachah the mother of Asa the king,.... Or rather his grandmother, 1 Kings 15:10,
he removed her from being queen; the Septuagint version is, "that she should not minister to Astarte"; which was the goddess of the Zidonians; of this and the two next verses; see Gill on 1 Kings 15:13, 1 Kings 15:14, 1 Kings 15:15.
And there was no more war unto the thirty fifth year of the reign of Asa. That is, from the Ethiopian war to that time; after that there was no war with any foreign enemy; there were animosities and discords, bickerings and hostilities of some sort continually between Asa and Baasha king of Israel, as long as he lived, see 1 Kings 15:16.