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1 Kings 15 14
Asa didn’t remove the high places from Israel. But he committed his whole life completely to the Lord.
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2 Kings 12 3
But the high places weren’t removed. The people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.
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2 Chronicles 19 3-2 Chronicles 19 4
But there’s some good in you. You have removed all the poles in the land used to worship the female god named Asherah. And you have worshiped God with all your heart.”Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem. He went out again among the people. He went from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim. He turned the people back to the Lord, the God of Israel.
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1 Kings 14 23
Judah also set up for themselves high places for worship. They set up sacred stones. They set up poles used to worship the female god named Asherah. They did it on every high hill and under every green tree.
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2 Chronicles 16 7-2 Chronicles 16 12
At that time Hanani the prophet came to Asa, the king of Judah. He said to him,“ You trusted the king of Aram. You didn’t trust in the Lord your God. So the army of the king of Aram has escaped from you.The people of Cush and Libya had a strong army. They had large numbers of chariots and horsemen. But you trusted in the Lord. So he handed them over to you.The Lord looks out over the whole earth. He gives strength to those who commit their lives completely to him. You have done a foolish thing. From now on you will be at war.”Asa was angry with the prophet because of what he had said. In fact, he was so angry he put him in prison. At the same time, Asa treated some of his own people very badly.The events of Asa’s rule from beginning to end are written down. They are written in the records of the kings of Judah and Israel.In the 39th year of Asa’s rule his feet began to hurt. The pain was terrible. But even though he was suffering, he didn’t look to the Lord for help. All he did was go to the doctors.
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2 Kings 15 3-2 Kings 15 4
Uzziah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Amaziah had done.But the high places weren’t removed. The people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.
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2 Chronicles 14 2-2 Chronicles 14 5
Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God.Asa removed the altars where false gods were worshiped. He took away the high places. He smashed the sacred stones. He cut down the poles used to worship the female god named Asherah.He commanded Judah to worship the Lord, the God of their people. He commanded them to obey the Lord’ s laws and commands.Asa removed the high places and incense altars from every town in Judah. The kingdom had peace and rest under his rule.
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1 Kings 15 11
Asa did what was right in the sight of the Lord. That’s what King David had done.
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2 Chronicles 20 3-2 Chronicles 20 30
Jehoshaphat was alarmed. So he decided to ask the Lord for advice. He told all the people of Judah to go without eating.The people came together to ask the Lord for help. In fact, they came from every town in Judah to pray to him.Then Jehoshaphat stood up among the people of Judah and Jerusalem. He was in front of the new courtyard at the Lord’ s temple.He said,“ Lord, you are the God of our people who lived long ago. You are the God who is in heaven. You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. You are strong and powerful. No one can fight against you and win.Our God, you drove out the people who lived in this land. You drove them out to make room for your people Israel. You gave this land forever to those who belong to the family line of your friend Abraham.They have lived in this land. They’ve built a temple here for your Name. They have said,‘ Suppose trouble comes on us. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a punishing sword, or plague or hunger. We’ll serve you. We’ll stand in front of this temple where your Name is. We’ll cry out to you when we’re in trouble. Then you will hear us. You will save us.’“ But here are men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir. You wouldn’t allow Israel to march in and attack their territory when the Israelites came from Egypt. So Israel turned away from them. They didn’t destroy them.See how they are paying us back. They are coming to drive us out. They want to take over the land you gave us as our share.Our God, won’t you please judge them? We don’t have the power to face this huge army that’s attacking us. We don’t know what to do. But we’re looking to you to help us.”All the men of Judah stood there in front of the Lord. Their wives, children and little ones were with them.Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jahaziel. He was standing among the people of Israel. He was the son of Zechariah. Zechariah was the son of Benaiah. Benaiah was the son of Jeiel. Jeiel was the son of Mattaniah. Jahaziel was a Levite. He was from the family line of Asaph.Jahaziel said,“ King Jehoshaphat, listen! All you who live in Judah and Jerusalem, listen! The Lord says to you,‘ Do not be afraid. Do not lose hope because of this huge army. The battle is not yours. It is God’s.Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the valley in the Desert of Jeruel.You will not have to fight this battle. Take your positions. Stand firm. You will see how the Lord will save you. Judah and Jerusalem, do not be afraid. Do not lose hope. Go out and face them tomorrow. The Lord will be with you.’ ”Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face toward the ground. All the people of Judah and Jerusalem also bowed down. They worshiped the Lord.Then some Levites from the families of Kohath and Korah stood up. They praised the Lord, the God of Israel. They praised him with very loud voices.Early in the morning all the people left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they started out, Jehoshaphat stood up. He said,“ Judah, listen to me! People of Jerusalem, listen to me! Have faith in the Lord your God. He’ll take good care of you. Have faith in his prophets. Then you will have success.”Jehoshaphat asked the people for advice. Then he appointed men to sing to the Lord. He wanted them to praise the Lord because of his glory and holiness. They marched out in front of the army. They said,“ Give thanks to the Lord. His faithful love continues forever.”They began to sing and praise him. Then the Lord hid some men and told them to wait. He wanted them to attack the people of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir. They had gone into Judah and attacked it. But they lost the battle.The Ammonites and Moabites rose up against the men from Mount Seir. They destroyed them. They put an end to them. When they finished killing the men from Seir, they destroyed one another.The men of Judah came to the place that looks out over the desert. They turned to look down at the huge army. But all they saw was dead bodies lying there on the ground. No one had escaped.So Jehoshaphat and his men went down there to carry off anything of value. Among the dead bodies they found a large amount of supplies, clothes and other things of value. There was more than they could take away. There was so much it took three days to collect all of it.On the fourth day they gathered together in the Valley of Berakah. There they praised the Lord. That’s why it’s called the Valley of Berakah to this day.Then all the men of Judah and Jerusalem returned to Jerusalem. They were filled with joy. Jehoshaphat led them. The Lord had made them happy because all their enemies were dead.They entered Jerusalem and went to the Lord’ s temple. They were playing harps, lyres and trumpets.All the surrounding kingdoms began to have respect for God. They had heard how the Lord had fought against Israel’s enemies.The kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace. His God had given him peace and rest on every side.
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2 Kings 18 22
But suppose you say to me,‘ We are depending on the Lord our God.’ Didn’t Hezekiah remove your god’s high places and altars? Didn’t Hezekiah say to the people of Judah and Jerusalem,‘ You must worship at the altar in Jerusalem’?
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2 Chronicles 15 8
Asa heard that prophecy. He paid attention to the words of Azariah the prophet, the son of Oded. So Asa became bolder than ever. He removed the statues of gods from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin. He also removed them from the towns he had captured in the hills of Ephraim. He did it because the Lord hated those gods. Asa repaired the altar of the Lord. It was in front of the porch of the Lord’ s temple.
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Psalms 125:5
But the Lord will drive out those who have taken crooked paths. He will drive them out with those who do evil things. May Israel enjoy peace.
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Psalms 40:4
Blessed is the person who trusts in the Lord. They don’t trust in proud people. Those proud people worship statues of gods.
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2 Chronicles 15 17
Asa didn’t remove the high places from Israel. But he committed his whole life completely to the Lord.
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Proverbs 4:27
Don’t turn to the right or left. Keep your feet from the path of evil.
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Psalms 101:3
I won’t look at anything that is evil and call it good. I hate the acts of people who aren’t faithful to you. I won’t have anything to do with those things.
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1 Kings 15 5
David had done what was right in the sight of the Lord. He had kept all the Lord’ s commands. He had obeyed them all the days of his life. But he hadn’t obeyed the Lord in the case of Uriah, the Hittite.
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1 Samuel 12 20-1 Samuel 12 21
“ Don’t be afraid,” Samuel replied.“ It’s true that you have done all these evil things. But don’t turn away from the Lord. Serve him with all your heart.Don’t turn away and worship statues of gods. They are useless. They can’t do you any good. They can’t save you either. They are completely useless.
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2 Kings 14 3-2 Kings 14 4
Amaziah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. But he didn’t do what King David had done. He always followed the example of his father Joash.But the high places weren’t removed. The people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.
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2 Chronicles 17 3-2 Chronicles 17 6
The Lord was with Jehoshaphat. That’s because he lived the way King David had lived. He didn’t ask for advice from the gods that were named Baal.Instead, Jehoshaphat obeyed the God of his father. He obeyed the Lord’ s commands instead of the practices of Israel.The Lord made the kingdom secure under Jehoshaphat’s control. All the people of Judah brought gifts to Jehoshaphat. So he had great wealth and honor.His heart was committed to living the way the Lord wanted him to. He removed the high places from Judah. He also removed the poles used to worship the female god named Asherah.
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2 Chronicles 14 11
Then Asa called out to the Lord his God. He said,“ Lord, there isn’t anyone like you. You help the weak against the strong. Lord our God, help us. We trust in you. In your name we have come out to fight against this huge army. Lord, you are our God. Don’t let mere human beings win the battle over you.”
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Exodus 32:8
They have quickly turned away from what I commanded them. They have made themselves a metal statue of a god in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down and sacrificed to it. And they have said,‘ Israel, here is your god who brought you up out of Egypt.’