14:1 (13:23) Abijah passed away and was buried in the City of David. His son Asa replaced him as king. During his reign the land had rest for ten years.
The author continued to focus on the line of David. Nothing is said about the northern kings, unless they come in contact with the southern kingdom. King Asa was the fifth dynastic generation from the line of David.
14:2 (14:1) Asa did what the Lord his God desired and approved.
Asa was a good king who would bring revival to Judah. Israel was ruled by 19 evil kings. Israel never had a revival.
14:3 He removed the pagan altars and the high places, smashed the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles.
King Asa removed the pagan altars which were established by King Solomon, King Rehoboam, and King Abijah. Notice that it took four generations to remove the idolatry in which King Solomon had started.
14:4 He ordered Judah to seek the Lord God of their ancestors and to observe his law and commands.
King Asa commanded the nation to eliminate idols, seek Jehovah, and keep the Mosaic Law.
14:5 He removed the high places and the incense altars from all the cities of Judah. The kingdom had rest under his rule.
King Asa kept the Law and removed idolatry, so his kingdom experienced peace. This was a result of the blessing and cursing aspects of the Mosaic Law.
14:6 He built fortified cities throughout Judah, for the land was at rest and there was no war during those years; the Lord gave him peace.
Judah was able to strengthen its military position during this time of peace.
14:7 He said to the people of Judah: “Let’s build these cities and fortify them with walls, towers, and barred gates. The land remains ours because we have followed the Lord our God and he has made us secure on all sides.” So they built the cities and prospered.
King Asa gave biblical sermons to the people, reminding the people that the price for peace was obedience to the Mosaic Law.
14:8 Asa had an army of 300,000 men from Judah, equipped with large shields and spears. He also had 280,000 men from Benjamin who carried small shields and were adept archers; they were all skilled warriors.
In one generation, King Asa increased the army of Judah from 400,000 to 580,000.
14:9 Zerah the Cushite marched against them with an army of 1,000,000 men and 300 chariots. He arrived at Mareshah,
The Cushites were from Ethiopia.
14:10 and Asa went out to oppose him. They deployed for battle in the Valley of Zephathah near Mareshah.
Mareshah was 25 miles southwest of Jerusalem.
14:11 Asa prayed to the Lord his God: “O Lord, there is no one but you who can help the weak when they are vastly outnumbered. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you and have marched on your behalf against this huge army. O Lord our God, don’t let men prevail against you!”
King Asa was a godly king, because he prayed. He asked Jehovah to give Judah victory against an enemy that greatly outnumbered them.
14:12 The Lord struck down the Cushites before Asa and Judah. The Cushites fled,
Jehovah gave Judah another supernatural defeat. Notice that King Asa was able to defeat Cush, while his grandfather could not defeat Egypt. The reason was that King Asa was obedient to the Mosaic Law, but King Rehoboam was not. Israel’s survival depended upon their obedience to the Law.
14:13 and Asa and his army chased them as far as Gerar. The Cushites were wiped out; they were shattered before the Lord and his army. The men of Judah carried off a huge amount of plunder.
The Cushites were wiped out and plundered.
14:14 They defeated all the cities surrounding Gerar, for the Lord caused them to panic. The men of Judah looted all the cities, for they contained a huge amount of goods.
When the surrounding cities heard that Jehovah was fighting for Judah, they all panicked and were easily defeated.
14:15 They also attacked the tents of the herdsmen in charge of the livestock. They carried off many sheep and camels and then returned to Jerusalem.
Judah plundered the livestock of the enemy cities. Judah began to rebuild some of the wealth which she had lost to Egypt.