"*** 2KINGS 01 ****" 
"Rehoboam son of Solomon 41 years old when he became king of Judah Rehoboam the son of Solomon was forty-one years old when he became king of Judah . The priests and Levites from northern Israel gather to live in"
"Judah After the kingdoms of Judah and Israel divided , the priests and Levites living in the northern kingdom of Israel abandoned their pasture landsand property and came to live in Judah . This was because Jeroboam the king of Israel rejected them as servants of the Lord . Heappointed his own priests for the high places and calf idols he had made . Faithful northern Israelites also move to Judah Israelites from other tribes in Israel who set their heart on seeking Jehovah also followed the Levites to Jerusalem in order to offersacrifices to the Lord . They strengthened the kingdom of Judah"
"and supported Rehoboam son of Solomon for the three years he walkedin the ways of David and Solomon . After three years Judah abandons the Law of the Lord and turns to idolatry However in the fourth year of Rehoboam s reign , when his position as king became strong , he and all Judah abandoned the Law of the Lord. They built high places and pillars and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree. There were also male shrine prostitutes in the land . Judah committed the abominations of the nations who were in the land before them . An Asherah pole is believed to be a type of"
"totem pole. Worship of the god Asherah involved lewd and unnatural sexual practices. Egypt invades Judah Therefore , because Judah had been un- faithful , in the fifth year Shishak the king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem . He came with 1200 chariots , 60,000 horsemen and innumerable troops of Libyans and Ethiopians . He captured the fortified cities of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem . The Lord abandons Judah to the Egyptians Then the prophet Shemaiah came to Rehoboam and said , Jehovah says , As you have abandoned me, I now abandon you toShishak. The king and elders of Judah humble"
"themselves At these words the king and elders of Judah humbled themselves and said , The Lord is just. When the Lord saw this , he said to the prophet Shemaiah , Since they have humbled themselves I will grant them some deliverance. 14They will however still be- come subject to Shishak so they may learn the difference between serving me and serving the kings of other lands. Treasures of the Temple and palace taken to Egypt Then Shishak king of Egypt entered Jerusalem and carried off the treasures of the Temple and the royal palace . He took every- thing including the gold shields Solomon"
"hadmade and carried it all back to Egypt . Rehoboam makes bronze shields to replace the gold ones that were taken King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace those that were taken . Thereafter whenever he went to the Temple his guardswent with him , carrying the shields . Afterwards they returned them to the guardroom . Rehoboam dies and his son Abijah becomes king Rehoboam reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem . He had eighteen wives and sixty concubines , twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters . Then he rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David and Abijah his son became"
"king . The records of Judah The events of Rehoboam s reign and his warfare with Jeroboam king of Israel are written in the Annals of the Kings of Judah and in the records of the prophet Shemaiah and the seerIddo. A battle between Judah and Israel The hostility between Judah and Israel continued during the reign of Abijah , son of Rehoboam . He marched against King Jeroboam of Israel with a force of 400 ,000 men , but Jeroboam mustered 800 ,000 men . King Abijah addresses Israel before the battle accusing them of rebellion However before the battle began , Abijah the king stood on a hilltop"
"and cried out to theopposing army , Jeroboam and all Israel , hear me As you well know , the Lord has given the kingship of Israel to David and his descendantsforever by covenant . Yet Jeroboam has rebelled against his master . Worthless men opposed my father Rehoboam , son of Solomon when he was young and not strong enough to resist them . Now you again plan to resist the kingdom of Jehovah which is in the hands of David s descendants . You are indeed a vast army , and have with you the two golden calves thatJeroboam has made to be your gods . But did you not drive out the sons of Aaron and"
"the Levites and appoint priests of your own? Abijah claims the priests of Judah still observe the requirements of the Lord As for us , Jehovah is our God and we have not forsaken him . The priests who serve him at the Temple in Jerusalem are the sons of Aaron , and the Levites assist them . 25Every morning and evening they present offerings and fragrantincense to the Lord . They set out the holy bread and light the lamps on the gold lamp- stand every evening . We are observing the requirements of the Lord our God but you have forsaken him . Abijah warns Israel they will not succeed if they"
"fight God is with us , and his priests will soon sound their trumpets to battle against you . Men of Israel do not fight against Jehovah for you will not succeed . Israel flees before Judah Now the king of Israel had sent troops around to the rear of Judah . When Judah turned and saw they were about to be attackedboth front and rear , they cried out to the Lord and the priests blew their trumpets . Then the men of Judah raised the battle cry . At the sound of the battle cry God struck fear into the Israelites and they fled before Judah . ,000 men of Israel slain Judah inflicted huge losses on"
"Israel , so that ,000 men were slain . They also captured the towns of Bethel and Ephron . The men of Judah were victorious because they relied on Jehovah , the God of their fathers . Abijah dies and his son Asa becomes king King Abijah of Judah had fourteen wives , twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters , but his heart was not devoted to the Lord as the heart of his forefather David had been . Then Abijah rested with his fathers . He had reigned three years in Jerusalem , and Asa his son became king." 
"*** 2KINGS 02 ****" 
"Asa a righteous king, removes the idolatrous altars, pillars and poles"
"Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, he put away the male shrine prostitutes and removed the foreign altars that Solomonhad erected in the high places . He smashed the stone pillars and cut down the Asherah poles . He also commanded the people to seek Jehovah the God of their fathers and to obey his commandments . Peace and prosperity No one was at war with Judah during Asa s early years . The whole kingdom was at peace . He rebuilt the fortified cities of Judah and putwalls around them . He built and prospered . Asa had an army of 300 ,000 men equipped with large shields and"
"spears , and 280 ,000 Benjamites armed with small shields and bows . All these were brave fighting men . Stone worship pillars (2 Kings 2:1). A million strong Ethiopian army invades Judah Then Zerah the Ethiopian invaded Judah with a vast army of 1 ,000,000 men and 300 chariots . King Asa prays to the Lord for help Asa king of Judah marched out with his army to meet him . Then he prayed to the Lord saying , Help us O Jehovah our God , for we trust in you . In your name we have come against this vast army . ,000,000 Ethiopians killed by Asas army When Asa had said this prayer the Ethiopians"
"began to flee from Judah . Asa and his army pursued them as far as Gerar . The Ethiopians fell before them until there were no survivors . Huge amount of spoil captured Then the men of Judah carried off a huge amount of spoil . They also destroyed the towns around Gerar and obtained more spoil , and from the camps of the herdsmen they capturedherds of sheep , goats and camels . Then they started back to Jerusalem . The prophecy of the prophet Azariah As they neared the city the Spirit of God came upon the prophet Azariah and he went out to meet Asa . He prophesied to the king and the men"
"with him saying , Hear me Asa and all you men of Judah and Benjamin. Jehovah is with you when you are with him. If you seek him you will find him. But if youforsake him he will forsake you. Now take courage, be strong and endure and your works will be rewarded. King Asa removes all idols from Judah When Asa heard this prophecy he took courage and removed the loathsome idols from the whole land of Judah and from the towns hehad captured from Israel . Asa deposes the queen mother because of her idolatry He also deposed his grandmother Maacah as queen mother , for she had made an Asherah pole."
"Asa cut the pole down and broke it up and burned it in the Kidron Valley . The silver, gold and articles of the Temple replaced and the altar renovated Asa replaced the silver and gold and the articles that had been taken from the Templeand renovated the altar in front of the Temple . Asa summons all Judah to Jerusalem to offer sacrifice Then he summoned all Judah to Jerusalem , and also those of Israel who had settled among them for large numbers had come to him fromall over Israel when they heard that the Lord was with him . They gathered at Jerusalem in the fifteenth year of his reign and"
"sacrificed to the Lord 700 head of cattle and 7000 sheep and goats from the spoils they had captured . All Judah joyfully make a covenant to serve the Lord Then they took an oath with loud acclamation , shouting and trumpet blasts and entered into a covenant to serve Jehovah the God of their fathers with all their heart and soul . And if any did not continue to serve the Lord they were to be put to death , whether small or great , man or woman . All Judah rejoiced over the oath they had made , because they had sworn it with all their hearts . So the Lord gave them rest on every side. Baasha"
"king of Israel declares war on Judah However in the sixteenth year of Asa s reign , Baasha king of Israel declared war against Judah and began fortifying the town ofRamah  to prevent anyone from leaving or entering Judah . Asa goes to Syria for help instead of to the Lord Asa took all the silver and gold from the Lords house and also from his own palace and sent it to Ben-Hadad , king of Syria who was ruling in Damascus , with this message , Let there be a treaty between us as there was between my father and your father . I am sending you silver and gold , therefore attack Baasha king of"
"Israel so he will withdraw from me . Syria attacks Israel as Asa asked and King Baasha withdraws from Ramah Ben-Hadad did as Asa asked and sent his forces against the towns of Israel . When Baasha heard of this he stopped fortifying Ramah and withdrew his forces . So Asa brought the men of Judah to Ramah and they carried away the stones and timber Baasha had been using and used them to build up other towns . The Lord rebukes Asa by Hanani the prophet Then Hanani the prophet came to Asa and said to him , Had you trusted in Jehovah Were not the Ethiopians a mighty army? Yet when you trusted in"
"Jehovah he delivered them into your hands. 26For the eyes of Jehovah range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, from now on you will be at war. Asa casts the prophet Hanani into prison Asa was angry with Hanani the prophet because of these words and cast him into prison . At the same time he inflicted cruelty on some of the people . Asa afflicted with severe foot disorder, does not seek help from the Lord In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was afflicted with a disease in his feet . The disorder was severe , but he"
"did not seek help from the Lord, only from his physicians . Asa dies and Jehoshaphat his son becomes king Two years later Asa died and rested with his fathers . They buried him in a tomb he had cut out for himself in the City of David inJerusalem . They laid him on a bier covered with spices and blended perfumes and burned a huge fire in his honour . His son Jehoshaphat became king."