圣经Abijah slept with his ancestors and was buried in the city of David. His son Asa succeeded him as king. During the reign of Asa, the country had peace for ten years.
Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God,
Remove the altars and high places of foreign gods, smash the pillars, and cut down the wooden poles,
Command the Jews to seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and to do his laws and commandments.
And he removed the high places and sun statues in all the cities of Judah, and the kingdom enjoyed peace at that time.
He also built several fortified cities in Judah. The country was peaceful for several years without any war, because the Lord gave it peace.
He said to the Jews, “We will build these cities, build walls around them, build towers, set up gates, and make bars.”. The land still belongs to us because we seek the Lord our God. Since we have sought Him, He has given us peace on all sides. So they built cities and prospered in all things.
The army of Asa came from Judah, consisting of 300000 men armed with shields and spears. Two hundred and eighty thousand people from Benjamin who drew shields and bows. These are all powerful warriors.
King Zerah of Cush led an army of one million soldiers and three hundred chariots to attack the Jews and arrived at Marisha.
So Asa went out to confront him and set up a formation with each other in the valley of Zephath in Marisha.
Asa called out to the Lord his God, saying, O Lord, only you can help the weak over the strong. O Lord our God, help us. Because we rely on you to attack this army in your name. O Lord, you are our God; do not let anyone surpass you.
So the Lord defeated the people of Ethiopia before Asa and Judah, and they fled.
Asa and his army pursued them as far as Gerar. The ancient people were killed in great numbers and could no longer be strong, because they were defeated before the Lord and his army. The Jews took away a lot of wealth,
And he broke down the cities around Gerar. The Lord has caused great fear among all those in it. The Jews also plundered all the cities, because there was a lot of wealth in them,
And he destroyed the pens of the flock, and took away many sheep and camels, and returned to Jerusalem.
