2 Chronicles 15

15 ¹The Spirit of our Father came upon Azariah son of Oded. ²He went out to meet Asa and said to him, "Hear me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin: our Father is with you while you're with him. If you seek him, you will find him; if you abandon him, he will abandon you. ³For a long time Israel was without our Father, without a teaching priest, and without law." ⁴In their distress they turned to our Father, the God of Israel, sought him, and they found him. ⁵In those times no one going out or coming in was safe, for great turmoil struck all living in the lands. ⁶Nation crushed nation and city crushed city, for our Father troubled them with every kind of distress. ⁷But you, be strong; do not lose heart, for your work will be rewarded.

⁸When Asa heard these words, the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage and removed the detestable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and from the cities he had captured in the Ephraim hill country. He restored the altar of our Father in front of his temple entrance. ⁹He gathered all Judah and Benjamin, plus those from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon living among them, since many in Israel had crossed over to him when they saw our Father was with him. ¹⁰They assembled at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa's reign. ¹¹That day they sacrificed to our Father from the plunder—700 oxen and 7,000 sheep. ¹²They covenanted to seek our Father, God of their ancestors, with all their heart and with all their soul. ¹³Whoever would not seek our Father, the God of Israel, was to be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman. ¹⁴They swore to our Father with a loud voice, with shouting, and with trumpets and horns. ¹⁵All Judah rejoiced over the oath, for they swore with their whole heart, sought him with their whole desire, and found him. And our Father gave them rest on every side.

¹⁶King Asa also removed his mother Maacah from being queen mother, because she had made a detestable image for Asherah; he cut it down, ground it to dust, and burned it in the Kidron Valley. ¹⁷Though the high places were not removed from Israel, Asa's heart remained wholly devoted throughout his life. ^a a v17 High places were hilltop shrines where sacrifices were offered, often to pagan gods. ¹⁸He brought into our Father's house his father's dedicated gifts and his own dedicated gifts—silver, gold, and utensils. ¹⁹And there was no war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa's reign.