Bible Commentaries

The Lord is with you, to defend you against all your enemies, as now you have seen, and you may hereafter expect, if you persist in that good course into which you are entered.

If ye forsake him, he will forsake you: but let not this victory make you presumptuous or self-confident, for you are upon your good behaviour; and if you leave God, he will leave and destroy you after he hath done you good.

Heb. For many days have been to Israel

without the true God, & c, i.e. they have long lived without the sound knowledge and worship of the true God. The prophet confirms his foregoing exhortation, and the threatening annexed to it, that if they forsook God, he would forsake them, from the usual manner of God’s dealing with Israel formerly, and therefore in the same case they may expect the same usage. Israel, here mentioned and propounded as an example, is here understood, either,

1. Specially of the ten tribes, distinguished by that name from the kingdom of Judah; whose condition had been, since Jeroboam’s revolt, and now was such in some measure, as is here described, they having been, and still being, without God and his true worship, and therefore exposed to many vexations, and wars, and miseries. But these had not as yet turned unto God, or sought him, nor was God yet found of them, as is said of this Israel, 2 Chronicles 15:4. Nor had they as yet been exercised with those grievous and continual vexations, and wars, and mutual destructions of which he here speaks, 2 Chronicles 15:5,6, and which in succeeding times they felt; for except that one blow which they had from Abijah, 2Ch 13, we read of none other great mischiefs which befell them. Or rather,

2. Generally of the whole nation of Israel in former times, and especially in the times of the judges; to which all that follows suits very well; for then many times they were, though not wholly and universally, yet in a very great measure, and for the generality of them, without God, and his law, and teaching priests, as plainly appears from divers passages in the Book of the Judges; and then indeed they were brought to all the exigencies and calamities here following; then they had grievous wars, both foreign and domestic; and then they did sometimes turn to the Lord and sought him, and he was found of them, and did raise up judges and saviours to them; of which see Jude 2 at large, and Jude 3:9, Jude 3:15 10:10, &c.

When they did turn, i.e. Israel, mentioned 2 Chronicles 15:3.

In those times; when Israel lived in the gross neglect and contempt of God, and his law and worship.

No peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in; men could not go abroad about their private occasions without great danger; as it was in the days of Shamgar, Jude 5:6, which is a good comment upon this text.

Of the countries, Heb. of these countries, i.e. the divers parts of the land of Israel, both within and without Jordan.

Nation was destroyed of nation, i.e. one part of the people of Israel destroyed the other by civil wars; of which see instances, Jude 9:23, &c.; Jude 12:1, &c. As all the people of Israel are called a nation, so the several tribes and families of them are sometimes called nations, as Genesis 17:4 Ezekiel 2:3 Acts 4:27, compared with Psalms 2:1.

Be ye strong therefore; go on therefore courageously and resolutely to maintain God’s worship, and to root out idolatry, as you have begun to do; for this is the only right method of preserving yourselves from such calamities as your predecessors have felt.

Let not your hands be weak; be not discouraged with the opposition which you may possibly meet with.

Your work shall be rewarded; what you do for God and for his honour and service shall not go unrequited.

Of Oded the prophet, to wit, of Azariah, 2 Chronicles 15:1, who was also called by his father’s name Oded. Or Oded may be here put patronymically for the son of Oded; as David is put for Christ the Son of David, Jeremiah 30:9, and elsewhere; and Moses for the sons of Moses, Psalms 90:1. Or here is an ellipsis of the relative word, of which there are many instances both in sacred and profane authors; as 2 Samuel 21:19, the brother of Goliath; Matthew 4:21, James the son of Zebedee; Luke 24:10, Mary the mother of James, by comparing Mark 15:40 John 19:25, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and many other places. And so this place may be thus read,

when Asa heard these words, even the prophecy of the son of Oded the prophet. And this ellipsis is the more easy and tolerable, because this defect might be well enough understood and supplied out of 2 Chronicles 15:1. Though some understand this to be another prophecy of Oded the father, which is not here expressed, which Azariah his son repeated to them for the confirmation of his own prophecy.

He took courage; for it required great courage to put away all the idols, to which so great a number of his people were to this day addicted, and, among others, Maachah the queen, his mother, whom for this reason he deposed, 1 Kings 15:13.

The cities which he had taken, to wit, Abijah his father; which was easily understood from 2 Chronicles 13:19. Or, which had been taken; the active word being oft so used impersonally for the passive, as Hebricians know.

Renewed the altar of the Lord; which had been either decayed through age and long use of it, or broken by his idolatrous mother’s means. Or, he consecrated or dedicated the altar, &c.; which possibly had been polluted by idolaters, and now needed some purification.

Out of Simeon; which tribe, though they had their inheritance out of the portion of Judah, did for the generality of them revolt to Jeroboam with the other tribes, as appears from many passages of Scripture; which they might conveniently do, because their portion bordered, as on one side upon that of Judah, so on the other side upon that of Dan; and therefore might indifferently join with the one or other, as they saw fit.

They fell to him, to wit, from the king of Israel.

In the third month, to wit, of the sacred year, in which the feast of weeks or of pentecost fell; of which see Exodus 23:16 Deuteronomy 16:9.

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa. Asa had peace but ten years, 2 Chronicles 14:1; after which probably there were some bickerings and skirmishes, which seem to have been composed; and after that Zerah comes against him, and is discomfited. Upon this great success many of the Israelites fall to him, and in his fifteenth year he calls this assembly.

Taken from Zerah and his accomplices, 2 Chronicles 14:13, &c.

They entered into a covenant; they engaged themselves by a serious and solemn covenant before the Lord and this great assembly.

Whosoever should obstinately refuse to pay unto God that solemn worship which he required at his temple in Jerusalem, or should disown God, or serve other gods,

should be put to death, by virtue of all those laws which command that such persons should be cut off, and in pursuance of that law, Deuteronomy 17:2. Compare Hebrews 10:28.

All Judah rejoiced, i.e. a great number of the people, as such general expressions are frequently understood; for none doubt but there were many dissemblers and ungodly men at this time among them.

Of this and the following verses, See Poole "1 Kings 15:2", See Poole "1 Kings 15:10", See Poole "1 Kings 15:14", See Poole "1 Kings 15:15".

For though there were continual skirmishes between Asa and Baasha and their people all their days, 1 Kings 15:16, yet it did not break forth into an open war till Asa’s thirty-fifth year, i.e. till that was ended. But how this thirty-fifth year is to be computed, See Poole "2 Chronicles 16:1".