Keeping the Faith
- Now that a major battle has been won with God's help, a prophet named Azariah approaches the king to remind him that the people still need God's help.
- He tells Asa that as long as they follow God, he'll protect then. Back in the day, Israel didn't follow God and they paid the price.
- But the people found their way back to Yahweh and he welcomed them back.
- King Asa is totally feeling the prophet's words and he rededicates himself to serving God. He repairs the altar in the Temple and throws out all the idols.
- He gets everyone in Judah together, the guys from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and also people from the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon.
- Seems that once some of those northerners saw how holy and awesome the Southern Kingdom was, they jumped ship.
- Anyway, everyone comes together in Jerusalem and they make sacrifices in the Temple and promise God that they'll always be faithful.
- Anyone who doesn't want to be faithful to God will be put to death. So there's that.
- King Asa is so serious about devotion to God that he even kicks his own mother out of the royal family because she made an idol to the goddess Asherah.
- Asa is loyal to God his entire life and nothing bad ever happened again.
- Well, until about 36 years into his reign. There's another war. Darn.