To Know Jesus and Make Him Known

Concerning Asa the King of Judah:

Issue #1:  The High Places.  Were they removed or weren’t they?

“The high places were not taken away; but Asa’s heart was completely devoted to the LORD his entire life” (1 Ki 15:14)

Asa “removed the high places and the incense altars from all the cities of Judah” (2 Chr 14:5)

Issue #2:  War and Peace.  Was there peace or was there war?

“There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel throughout their reigns” (1 Ki 15:16)

“Because the land experienced peace, Asa built fortified cities in Judah.  No one made war with him in those days because the LORD gave him rest” (2 Chr 14:6).

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Issue #1:  Were the High Places Removed Under King Asa or Not?

Two Perspectives

We must first understand the difference and the pespective between the books of the Kings and the books of the Chronicles.  The Books of 1 and 2 Kings was written more from a political viewpoint and about the overall picture in which the two kingdoms split.  It is seen as a whole nation that suddenly became two.

The Books of Chronicles are different and are written more from a priestly perspective.  The Chronicles is mostly from the perspective of Judah and it’s obedience.  This perspective is in opposition to Israel, the northern half of the split, which was more populated but was disobedient to the LORD.

Two Tellings of the Events

In 1 Kings 15:11-14, we have a brief summation of the life of Asa and his political role.  This is how it is summarized:

1.  Asa did was right in the LORD’s eyes
2. He banished the male cult prostutites from the land
3. He removed all the idols that his fathers had made
4. He also removed his grandmother Maacah from being queen mother because she had made an obscene image of Asherah.  Asa chopped down her obscene image and burned it in the Kidron Valley.  The high places were not taken away…

BUT Asa’s heart was completely devoted to the LORD his entire life.

In 2 Chronicles 14 we get a much bigger picture of Asa as a revivalist for the Lord.  It says this of him

1.  Asa did what was good and right in the sight of the LORD his God
2. He removed the pagan altars and the high places
3. He shattered their sacred pillars
4. And chopped down their Asherah poles
5. He told the people of Judah to seek the LORD God of their ancestors and carry out the instruction and the commands
6. He also removed the high places and the incense altars from all the cities of Judah

We see in the Chronicles the spiritual aspect of imploring and inspiring the people to serve the LORD.  This is consistent with the priestly theme and the perspective of Judah.  But there are a few key differences that are very indicative.

• In the Chronicles it isn’t mentioned about the queen mother (yet)
• Also in the Chronicles it says “all the cities of Judah” but it doesn’t specify in Kings the location

These two facts are important.  They actually give us the answer to this narrative.  It wasn’t until the 15th year of Asa’s reign that we read about the problem with the queen mother (2 Chr 15:10-18).  So this happened at a later time.

And then it says this:

“King Asa also removed Maacah, his grandmother, from being queen mother because she had made an obscene image of Asherah.  Asa chopped down her obscene image, then crushed it and burned it in the Kidron Valley.  The high places were not taken away from Israel; nevertheless, Asa was wholehearted his entire life” (2 Chr 15:17).

Compare this to the 2 Chr 14:5 narrative:

Asa “removed the high places and the incense altars from all the cities of Judah”

How does this fit?

Asa at the beginning of his reign purged Israel of the high places in Judah.  That was the southern part of the split of Israel.  But Jerusalem wasn’t far from the border of Israel (see the map).  It is very reasonable in a newly split country that Grandmother Maacah lived just outside of Jerusalem in the territory of Israel in the northern half of the split.

This fits with the text that Asa did not removed all the high places “from Israel” (1 Chr 15:17).  Because of the national split he had limited jurisdiction to smash altars “from Israel.”  But he could indeed, as ruler of Judah, remove all the high places from “all the cities of Judah” (2 Chr 14:5).  It was an issue of different jurisdiction.

So in the Kings that focuses on the whole nation of Israel that split down to two, it is understandable that the author notes that not all the high places were removed.  Asa couldn’t because he was just ruler of Judah and not Israel, the northern kingdom.  Even though in a sense they were all Israel at one point.

In the same way when the author of the Chronicles is writing from Judah’s perspective.  That’s why he can say that Asa removed the high places from all the cities of Judah.

There is no contradiction here.  The location tells where these events happened and the jurisdiction of the leaders.  Asa had full jurisdiction over Judah but not Israel.

Issue #2:  Was there War or Peace for Asa?

Again we look at the text to tell us what was happening.  Let’s look at the text again.

“Because the land experienced peace, Asa built fortified cities in Judah.  No one made war with in those days…” (2 Chr 14:6).

It isn’t saying there was never war.  In fact, in just the following verses the Cushites invade and come against Israel with a million men (and by the way Israel with help from God wins).

So this isn’t a dogmatic, literal never had war.  It’s an “in those days” there wasn’t war.  There was a time of peace.

This one really isn’t a contradiction when you just read it for what it says.  “In those days…” is referring to a piece of time when there was peace.

Conclusion

It’s important to study the context both in the text and the context of the times.  These give us clues to what was going on and can often clear things up like it has here.  It’s when things are ripped out of context that problems arise.  This is no different then when someone takes something we say out of context to make it mean something it doesn’t.

Context is key.