2 Chronicles 16
Asa dies of a foot sickness
Judah rents the Syrian army
1 Kings 15:16-22 1Israel’s King Baasha ended a long stretch of peace for Judah when his army took the border town of Ramah and turned it into their frontline fortress. [1] They did this during the 36th year of King Asa’s reign over Judah. This blocked people from using that route to travel in or out of Judah. [2]
2Asa responded by gathering gold and silver from the Temple and royal treasuries. He sent it to Syrian King Ben-hadad in Damascus, with a message:
3“Our fathers had a peace agreement. Let’s do the same. I’m sending you silver and gold from our royal and Temple treasuries. I know you have a peace treaty with Baasha, but I’m asking you to break it. Make one with me, so he’ll leave my land.”
4Ben-hadad sent his army to attack Israel. They captured the towns of Ijon, Dan, Abel-maim, [3] and towns scattered throughout the tribal territory of Naphtali. 5When King Baasha got the news, he withdrew from Ramah.
6Asa recruited people from all over Judah to carry off the building stones and timber Baasha had brought in to fortify Ramah. They hauled it all to the neighboring towns of Geba and Mizpah, [4] and used them to reinforce those cities. Prophet condemns King Asa
7During that building campaign, a prophet named Hanani went to King Asa and said,
“You are never going to conquer Syria. God won’t let you do it because you decided to put your faith in Syria’s army instead of in the LORD your God. 8Don’t you remember what he did for you when the Ethiopians and Libyans attacked you with an overwhelming force of infantry, cavalry, and war chariots? Back then, you trusted the LORD and he handed you the victory. 9The LORD watches over people everywhere. He strengthens anyone who puts their faith in him. You didn’t. So, from now on you’re going to have wars.”
10Asa flew into a rage. He threw the prophet in prison and locked him in stocks. Asa turned cruel toward others as well. Asa gets sick and dies
1 Kings 15:23-24 11The rest of Asa’s story about what he did as king and about the cities he built is preserved in the History of Kings in Judah and Israel.
12Thirty-nine years into his reign, Asa developed severe problems with his feet. But the disease did not drive him to ask the LORD for help. He went to physicians instead. 13Two years later, in the 41st year of his reign, Asa died.
14The people buried him in a tomb chiseled out for him in the City of David. They laid his body on a burial stretcher and surrounded it with fragrant spices and perfume. [5] Then they built a huge bonfire to honor him.
Footnotes
116:1There are several towns named Ramah in the Bible. But this one is likely on the border between the northern tribes of Israel and the southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin. Most scholars point to what is now the Palestinian West Bank town of Al Ram. It’s about 5 miles or 8 kilometers north of Jerusalem.
216:1Some kings of the breakaway northern tribes known as Israel lived in fear of their people worshiping at the Temple in Judah’s capital of Jerusalem. They knew that if the people decided to reunite as one nation, only the dynasty of David would survive. The king from David’s family would kill the northern king as a threat, and possibly kill the king’s extended family as well.
316:4Abel-maim is called Abel-beth-maacah in 1 Kings 15:20. This and the other cities and territory Baasha attacked lay on a main international route used by travelers, caravans, and armies. Assyrian King Tiglath Pileser III took the same route over a century later (2 Kings 15:29).
416:6Both towns of Geba and Mizpah were within four miles or six kilometers of Ramah, if the locations that scholars use today are correct. Ruins at Tell en-Nasbeh, a location many link to Mizpah, show evidence of defensive fortifications that some scholars date to the time of Asa.
516:14It was common in ancient times to use perfume to mask the smell of a decaying body while loved ones mourned.
Discussion Questions
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Israel captures Ramah
Israel, Judah: One nation dividedVideos
2Asa responded by gathering gold and silver from the Temple and royal treasuries. He sent it to Syrian King Ben-hadad in Damascus, with a message:
3“Our fathers had a peace agreement. Let’s do the same. I’m sending you silver and gold from our royal and Temple treasuries. I know you have a peace treaty with Baasha, but I’m asking you to break it. Make one with me, so he’ll leave my land.”
4Ben-hadad sent his army to attack Israel. They captured the towns of Ijon, Dan, Abel-maim, [3] and towns scattered throughout the tribal territory of Naphtali. 5When King Baasha got the news, he withdrew from Ramah.
6Asa recruited people from all over Judah to carry off the building stones and timber Baasha had brought in to fortify Ramah. They hauled it all to the neighboring towns of Geba and Mizpah, [4] and used them to reinforce those cities.
Prophet condemns King Asa
7During that building campaign, a prophet named Hanani went to King Asa and said,“You are never going to conquer Syria. God won’t let you do it because you decided to put your faith in Syria’s army instead of in the LORD your God. 8Don’t you remember what he did for you when the Ethiopians and Libyans attacked you with an overwhelming force of infantry, cavalry, and war chariots? Back then, you trusted the LORD and he handed you the victory. 9The LORD watches over people everywhere. He strengthens anyone who puts their faith in him. You didn’t. So, from now on you’re going to have wars.”
10Asa flew into a rage. He threw the prophet in prison and locked him in stocks. Asa turned cruel toward others as well.
Asa gets sick and dies
1 Kings 15:23-24 11The rest of Asa’s story about what he did as king and about the cities he built is preserved in the History of Kings in Judah and Israel.
12Thirty-nine years into his reign, Asa developed severe problems with his feet. But the disease did not drive him to ask the LORD for help. He went to physicians instead. 13Two years later, in the 41st year of his reign, Asa died.
14The people buried him in a tomb chiseled out for him in the City of David. They laid his body on a burial stretcher and surrounded it with fragrant spices and perfume. [5] Then they built a huge bonfire to honor him.
12Thirty-nine years into his reign, Asa developed severe problems with his feet. But the disease did not drive him to ask the LORD for help. He went to physicians instead. 13Two years later, in the 41st year of his reign, Asa died.
14The people buried him in a tomb chiseled out for him in the City of David. They laid his body on a burial stretcher and surrounded it with fragrant spices and perfume. [5] Then they built a huge bonfire to honor him.
Footnotes
There are several towns named Ramah in the Bible. But this one is likely on the border between the northern tribes of Israel and the southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin. Most scholars point to what is now the Palestinian West Bank town of Al Ram. It’s about 5 miles or 8 kilometers north of Jerusalem.
Some kings of the breakaway northern tribes known as Israel lived in fear of their people worshiping at the Temple in Judah’s capital of Jerusalem. They knew that if the people decided to reunite as one nation, only the dynasty of David would survive. The king from David’s family would kill the northern king as a threat, and possibly kill the king’s extended family as well.
Abel-maim is called Abel-beth-maacah in 1 Kings 15:20. This and the other cities and territory Baasha attacked lay on a main international route used by travelers, caravans, and armies. Assyrian King Tiglath Pileser III took the same route over a century later (2 Kings 15:29).
Both towns of Geba and Mizpah were within four miles or six kilometers of Ramah, if the locations that scholars use today are correct. Ruins at Tell en-Nasbeh, a location many link to Mizpah, show evidence of defensive fortifications that some scholars date to the time of Asa.
It was common in ancient times to use perfume to mask the smell of a decaying body while loved ones mourned.
Discussion Questions
- Sorry, there are currently no questions for this chapter.
Maps/Guides