CHRONICLES
CHAPTER 15
Azariah prophesies Judah shall prosper if people keep the commandments—Asa puts away false worship in Judah—Many from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon migrate to Judah—People covenant to serve the Lord and are blessed.
1 AND the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded:
[ Here is prophet of the time that we know nothing about yet. ]
2 And he went out to meet Asa, a [ This happens as Asa has become a new king in Judah. ] and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; [ The two tribes of Israel that are found in the southern part. ] The LORD is with you, while ye be with him; [ The prophet teaches Asa that God wants to be with him, and he will do so if Asa will follow and do what God asks of him. . ] and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.
3 Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, [ No prophets or priesthood. sounds like general apostasy. There is no one to teach the ways of God, to cry repentance. They are left to make and do as they please which usually does not end up very well. The people have expelled God from his own kingdom. ] and without law. [ If there is not God's law then who's law is it? Man's, so everyone makes their own law.
"Think for a moment, of the greatness of the Being who created the Universe; and ask, could He be so inconsistent with His own character, as to leave man without a law or rule by which to regulate his conduct, after placing him here, where, according to the formation of his nature he must in a short period sink into the dust? Is there nothing further; is there no existence beyond this veil of death which is so suddenly to be cast over all of us? If there is, why not that Being who had power to place us here, inform us something of the hereafter? If we had power to place ourselves in this present existence, why not have power to know what shall follow when that dark veil is cast over our bodies? If in this life we receive our all; if when we crumble back to dust we are no more, from what source did we emanate, and what was the purpose of our existence? If this life were all, we should be led to query, whether or not there was really any substance in existence, and we might with propriety say, “Let us eat, drink, and be merry, for to-morrow we die!” But if this life is all,then why this constant toiling, why this continual warfare, and why this unceasing trouble? But this life is not all; the voice of reason, the language of inspiration, and the Spirit of the living God,our Creator, teaches us, as we hold the record of truth in our hands, that this is not the case, that this is not so; for, the heavens declare the glory of a God, and the firmament showeth His handiwork;and a moment’s reflection is sufficient to teach every man of common intelligence, that all these are not the mere productions of chance, nor could they be supported by any power less than an Almighty hand; and He that can mark the power of Omnipotence, inscribed upon the heavens, can also see God’s own handwriting in the sacred volume: and he who reads it oftenest will like it best, and he who is acquainted with it, will know the hand wherever he can see it; and when once discovered,it will not only receive an acknowledgment, but an obedience to all its heavenly precepts. For amoment reflect: what could have been the purpose of our Father" Teachings Of The Prophet Joseph Smith pg 56. ]
4 But when they [ Those who among them that were righteous, those who ried to follow God. ] in their trouble did turn unto the LORD God of Israel, and sought him, [ Exercised their individual agency to reach out to Gid. Thise who knocked at his door. ] he was found of them.
[ He was with them. he reached back to them. You see he is always there. No matter how bad the surroundings are, if there is one seeking he is there for them. ]
5 And in those times there was no peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in, but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the countries.
7 Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded.
[ In essence this prophet is telling Asa that he can turn things around, that God wants to help, he wants to be part of things, and you can be the one to make it happen. ]
8 And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, [ So Oded recorded the words of God and his son(Azariah) has brought those words to Asa the King. (verse 2) We do not have the record of Oded but it is assumed that it had reference to idol worship. ] he [ Asa. ] took courage, and put away the abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from mount Ephraim, and renewed the altar of the LORD, [ The altar at solomans temple was in dis-repair, so he had it fixed, restored. ] that was before the porch of the LORD.
9 And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and the strangers with them out of Ephraim and Manasseh, [ These would have been the righteous descendants of Joseph. They will bring with them the sword of Joseph, The record of Joseph down to the southern kingdom. Which interesting enough what does Lehi have his son's do before they leave for the promised land? Go get the sword(the sword of Joshua) and the record, and Nephi cuts of Laban's head and takes his garment(humm? Adams/Noah's garment? Just like Esau had done with Nimrod). Of which Lehi would have been a part of this group. So this group left the Northern kingdom at the time and came down to Judah where they existed for about 300 years. So this is long enough for Lehi to build a little inheritance. Also building a stong case that Laban and Lehi knew each other. Jerusalem was not a big place at the time, and everyone knew each other, especially fellow refugees(Josephites - house of Israel but not Jews per say) who were now living among the Benjamnites. ] and out of Simeon: for they fell to him out of Israel in abundance, [ The righteous people in both the southern and northern parts see that there is something different in the leadership of King Asa, he is trying to be righteous and so they come after him. They want to be a part of it. ] when they saw that the LORD his God was with him.
10 so they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa.
11 And they offered unto the LORD the same time, of the spoil which they had brought, seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep.
12 And they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul;
13 That whosoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel should be put to death, [ They are serious about this. If you do not want to be a part don't come here and mess things up for those of us that are sick and tired of all of the evil doings. So if you come here and do not seek God we will put you to death. Pretty harsh, but times have been harsh for them so when you want to change you have to do so with full purpose, no half measures as that leads right back down the wrong path. ] whether small or great, whether man or woman.
14 And they sware unto the LORD with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets.
15 And all Judah rejoiced at the oath: for they had sworn with all their heart, and sought him with their whole desire; and he was found of them: and the LORD gave them rest round about.
16 ¶ And also concerning Maachah the mother of Asa the king, he removed her from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove: and Asa cut down her idol, and stamped it, and burnt it at the brook Kidron.
17 But the high places were not taken away out of Israel: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days.