CLARKE · whole chapter
years, 2Chr 14:1 . He makes a great reformation in Judah, and builds cities of defense, 2Chr 14:2-7 . His military strength, 2Chr 14:8 . He is attacked by Zerah the Ethiopian, with an immense army; Asa cries to the Lord, attacks the Ethiopians, and gives them a total overthrow, 2Chr 14:9-12 . He takes several of their cities, their cattle, etc., and returns to Jerusalem, laden with spoils, 2Chr 14:13-15 . Verse 1 The land was quiet ten years - Calmet thinks these years should be counted from the fifth to the fifteenth of Asa's reign. Verse 2 Did that which was good - He attended to what the law required relative to the worship of God. He was no idolater, though, morally speaking, he was not exempt from faults,
1Kgs 15:14 . He suppressed idolatry universally, and encouraged the people to worship the true God: see 2Chr 14:3-5 . Verse 6 Fenced cities - To preserve his territories from invasion, and strengthen the frontiers of his kingdom, see 2Chr 14:7 . Verse 8 Targets and spears - Probably targets with the dagger in the center, and javelins for distant fight. Bare shields and drew bows - They were not only archers, but had shield and sword for close fight. Verse 9 Zerah the Ethiopian - Probably of that Ethiopia which lay on the south of Egypt, near to Libya, and therefore the Libyans are joined with them, 2Chr 16:8 . A thousand thousand - If this people had come from any great distance, they could not have had forage for such an immense army. Verse 11 Whether with many - The same sentiment as that uttered by Jonathan,
1Sam 14:6 , when he attacked the garrison of the Philistines. O Lord our God - we rest on thee - "Help us, O Lord our God; because we depend on thy Word, and in the name of thy Word we come against this great host." - Targum. Verse 14 There was - much spoil in them - These cities being on the rear of this vast army, they had laid up much forage in them; and to get this the Jews overthrew the whole. Verse 15 Tents of cattle - Those which had carried the baggage of the great army, and which they had left in such places as abounded with pasture. Perhaps sheepfolds, enclosures for camels, mules, etc., may also be intended. The discomfiture was great, because God fought for the people; and the spoil was immense, because the multitude was prodigious, indeed almost incredible, a million of men in one place is almost too much for the mind to conceive, but there may be some mistake in the numerals: it is evident from the whole account that the number was vast and the spoil great. Introduction
HENRY_FULL · 2 Chronicles 14:1–8
Asa King of Judah. ( b. c. 955.) 1 So Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David: and Asa his son reigned in his stead. In his days the land was quiet ten years. 2 And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God: 3 For he took away the altars of the strange gods, and the high places, and brake down the images, and cut down the groves: 4 And commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment. 5 Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the images: and the kingdom was quiet before him. 6 And he built fenced cities in Judah: for the land had rest, and he had no war in those years; because the Lord had given him rest. 7 Therefore he said unto Judah, Let us build these cities, and make about them walls, and towers, gates, and bars, while the land is yet before us; because we have sought the Lord our God, we have sought him, and he hath given us rest on every side. So they built and prospered. 8 And Asa had an army of men that bare targets and spears, out of Judah three hundred thousand; and out of Benjamin, that bare shields and drew bows, two hundred and fourscore thousand: all these were mighty men of valour. Here is, I. Asa's general character ( v. 2 ): He did that which was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. 1. He aimed at pleasing God, studied to approve himself to him. Happy are those that walk by this rule, to do that which is right, not in their own eyes, or in the eye of the world, but in the eyes of God. 2. He saw God's eye always upon him, and that helped much to keep him to what was good and right. 3. God graciously accepted him in what he did, and approved his conduct as good and right. II. A blessed work of reformation which he set on foot immediately upon his accession to the crown. 1. He removed and abolished idolatry. Since Solomon admitted idolatry, in the latter end of his reign, nothing had been done to suppress it, and so, we presume, it had got ground. Strange gods were worshipped and had their altars, images, and groves; and the temple service, though kept up by the priests ( ch. xiii. 10 ), was neglected by many of the people. Asa, as soon as he had power in his hands, made it his business to destroy all those idolatrous altars and images ( v. 3 , 5 ), they being a great provocation to a jealous God and a great temptation to a careless unthinking people. He hoped by destroying the idols to reform the idolaters, which he aimed at, rather than to ruin them. 2. He revived and established the pure worship of God; and, since the priests did their part in attending God's altars, he obliged the people to do theirs ( v. 4 ): He commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers, and not the gods of the heathen, and to do the law and the commandments, that is, to observe all divine institutions, which many had utterly neglected. In doing this, the land was quiet before him, v. 5 . Though they were much in love with their idols, and very loth to leave them, yet the convictions of their consciences sided with the commands of Asa, and they could not, for shame, refuse to comply with them. Note, Those that have power in their hands, and will use it vigorously for the suppression of profaneness and the reformation of manners, will not meet with so much difficulty and opposition therein as perhaps they feared. Vice is a sneaking thing, and virtue has reason enough on its side to make all iniquity stop her mouth, Ps. cvii. 42 . III. The tranquillity of his kingdom, after constant alarms of war during the last two reigns: In his days the land was quiet ten years ( v. 1 ), no war with the kingdom of Israel, who did not recover the blow given them in the last reign for a great while. Abijah's victory, which was owing, under God, to his courage and bravery, laid a foundation for Asa's peace, which was the reward of his piety and reformation. Though Abijah had little religion himself, he was instrumental to prepare the way for one that had much. If Abijah had not done what he did to quiet the land, Asa could not have done what he did to reform it; for inter arma silent leges — amidst the din of arms the voice of law is unheard. IV. The prudent improvement he made of that tranquillity: The land had rest, for the Lord had given him rest. Note, If God give quietness, who then can make trouble? Job xxxiv. 29 . Those have rest indeed to whom God gives rest, peace indeed to whom Christ gives peace, not as the world giveth, John xiv. 27 . Now, 1. Asa takes notice of the rest they had as the gift of God ( He hath given us rest on every side. Note, God must be acknowledged with thankfulness in the rest we are blessed with, of body and mind, family and country), and as the reward of the reformation begun: Because we have sought the Lord our God, he has given us rest. Note, As the frowns and rebukes of Providence should be observed for a check to us in an evil way, so the smiles of Providence should be taken notice of for our encouragement in that which is good. See Hag. ii. 18, 19 ; Mal. iii. 10 . We find by experience that it is good to seek the Lord; it gives us rest. While we pursue the world we meet with nothing but vexation. 2. He consults with his people, by their representatives, how to make a good use of the present gleams of peace they enjoyed, and concludes with them, (1.) That they must not be idle, but busy. Times of rest from war should be employed in work, for we must always find ourselves something to do. In the years when he had no war he said, "Let us build; still let us be doing." When the churches had rest they were built up, Acts ix. 31 . When the sword is sheathed take up the trowel. (2.) That they must not be secure, but prepare for wars. In times of peace we must be getting ready for trouble, expect it and lay up in store for it. [1.] He fortified his principle cities with walls, towers, gates, and bars, v. 7 . "This let us do," says he, " while the land is yet before us, " that is, "while we have opportunity and advantage for it and have nothing to hinder us." He speaks as if he expected that, some way or other, trouble would arise, when it would be too late to fortify, and when they would wish they had done it. So they built and prospered. [2.] He had a good army ready to bring into the field ( v. 8 ), not a standing army, but the militia or trained-bands of the country. Judah and Benjamin were mustered severally; and Benjamin (which not long ago was called little Benjamin, Ps. lxviii. 27 ) had almost as many soldiers as Judah, came as near as 28 to 30, so strangely had that tribe increased of late. The blessing of God can make a little one to become a thousand. It should seem, these two tribes were differently armed, both offensively and defensively. The men of Judah guarded themselves with targets, the men of Benjamin with shields, the former of which were much larger than the latter, 1 Kings x. 16, 17 . The men of Judah fought with spears when they closed in with the enemy; the men of Benjamin drew bows, to reach the enemy at a distance. Both did good service, and neither could say to the other, I have no need of thee. Different gifts and employments are for the common good.