II CHRON 11-15 OBSERVATIONS

CHAPTER 11

Shemiah the prophet comes to Rehoboam who was planning on attacking the cities in Israel…and told him, God says, “NO” So they obeyed the words of the Lord and turned and went back home.

Rehoboam Fortifies the Cities

Priests and Levites Move to Judahere

Jeroboam and his sons rejected the priests and Levites who were in Israel and instead APPOINTED FOR HIMSELF priests.

This is a horrible thing…not realizing it is God’s prerogative to appoint who He wants to represent men before Him…

Family of Rehoboam

He dealth wisely, and spread his sons out in cities all over Israel

CHAPTER 12

Egypt Attacks Judah

· Rehoboam forsook the Law of the Lord, and took all Israel along with him.

· King of Egypt attacks Judah because they had transgressed against the Lord

· GOD: You have forsaken me, therefore I have left you in the hands of Shishak

· Then the leaders of Israel HUMBLED themselves..therefore I will not destroy them….but they will be his servants that they may know that My service is easier than his service.

CHAPTER 13

Abijah Reigns in Judah

· Gave a speech: God gave Israel to David forever

· But Jeroboam rebelled

· Worthless rogues gathered around him when he was too young to withstand them

· We have forsaken God

· Do not fight against the Lord you will not prosper.

· God struck Jeroboam and the children of Israel fled before Judah.

· God delivered them into Judah’s hands.

· Children of Judah prevailed because they relied on the Lord God of their fathers.

CHAPTER 14

Asa Reigns in Judah

· Did good

o 2 Chronicles 14:2 - 7 (NASB) ²Asa did good and right in the sight of the LORD his God, ³for he removed the foreign altars and high places, tore down the sacred pillars, cut down the ^£Asherim, ⁴and commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fathers and to observe the law and the commandment. ⁵He also removed the high places and the incense altars from all the cities of Judah. And the kingdom was undisturbed under him. ⁶He built fortified cities in Judah, since the land was undisturbed, and there was no one at war with him during those years, because the LORD had given him rest. ⁷For he said to Judah, “Let us build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours because we have sought the LORD our God; we have sought Him, and He has given us rest on every side.” So they built and prospered.

· Because Asa sought the Lord, the Lord fought for him and routed the Ethiopians:

o 2 Chronicles 14:12 (NASB) ¹²So the LORD routed the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled.

CHAPTER 15

Prophet Warns Asa

· OBSERVE: The the principle: the Lord will be with you when you are with Him. He will let you find Him if you seek for him.
2 Chronicles 15:1 - 2 (NASB) ¹Now the Spirit of God came on Azariah the son of Oded, ²and he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: the LORD is with you when you are with Him. And if you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.

· NOTE: The charge to Asa:
2 Chronicles 15:7 (NASB) ⁷“But you, be strong and do not lose courage, for there is reward for your work.”

Asa’s Reforms

· NOTE: The things Asa did:
2 Chronicles 15:8 - 15 (NASB) ⁸Now when Asa heard these words and the prophecy which Azariah the son of Oded the prophet spoke,

o he took courage and

o removed the abominable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities which he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim.

o He then restored the altar of the LORD which was in front of the porch of the LORD.

o ⁹He gathered all Judah and Benjamin and those from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon who resided with them, for

§ many defected to him from Israel when they saw that the LORD his God was with him.

§ ¹⁰So they assembled at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign.

§ ¹¹They sacrificed to the LORD that day 700 oxen and 7,000 sheep from the spoil they had brought.

§ ¹²They entered into the covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and soul;

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

§ ¹⁴Moreover, they made an oath to the LORD with a loud voice, with shouting, with trumpets and with horns.

§ ⁵All Judah rejoiced concerning the oath, for they had sworn with their whole heart and had sought Him earnestly, and He let them find Him. So the LORD gave them rest on every side.