The Prophecy of Azariah

2 Chronicles 15:1–7 NKJV

1 Now the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded. 2 And he went out to meet Asa, and said to him: “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you. 3 For a long time Israel has been without the true God, without a teaching priest, and without law; 4 but when in their trouble they turned to the Lord God of Israel, and sought Him, He was found by them. 5 And in those times there was no peace to the one who went out, nor to the one who came in, but great turmoil was on all the inhabitants of the lands. 6 So nation was destroyed by nation, and city by city, for God troubled them with every adversity. 7 But you, be strong and do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded!”

Background information

Asa was the 5th King of Israel and the 3rd King fo Judah.

In the reign of his grandfather, Rehoboahm, The Kigndom of Israel was divided. Jeroboam took 10 tribes with him, while rehoboam maintain the two tribes. This was according to the Word of the Lord spoken by Ahijah, who spoke this to The King of solomon.

Asa had just defeated a huge army of the Ethiopians who came up againts him. Because he relied in the Lord, the Lord gave them over to him.

It is at his return the Spirit of the Lord came upon Azariah and spoke these words.

Importants truths revealed through this prophecy.

2 Chronicles 15:2–7 (NKJV)

2 And he went out to meet Asa, and said to him: “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you while you are with Him.

The people had just witnessed that God was with them because he had given them a great victory against their enemies.

Yet The prophet was revealing to them, before they get carried away, that the Lord is with them as long as their are with him.

“you determine the lord remain with you or not”

The Emphasis should not be wthether the Lord is with you or not but rather wether you are with him or not.

Joshua 5:13-14 “13 And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, “Are You for us or for our adversaries?” 14 So He said, “No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, “What does my Lord say to His servant?””

We are on God’s side as long as we are living according to his Word.

If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.

God will not forsake those who seek him, they will find him.

Proverbs 8:17 “17 I love those who love me, And those who seek me diligently will find me.”

Isaiah 45:19 “19 I have not spoken in secret, In a dark place of the earth; I did not say to the seed of Jacob, ‘Seek Me in vain’; I, the Lord, speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.”

Psalm 9:10 “10 And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; For You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.”

How do his people forsake God

2 Chronicles 7:19–22 NKJV

19 “But if you turn away and forsake My statutes and My commandments which I have set before you, and go and serve other gods, and worship them, 20 then I will uproot them from My land which I have given them; and this house which I have sanctified for My name I will cast out of My sight, and will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples. 21 “And as for this house, which is exalted, everyone who passes by it will be astonished and say, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and this house?’ 22 Then they will answer, ‘Because they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and embraced other gods, and worshiped them and served them; therefore He has brought all this calamity on them.’ ”

What makes a house a house of God, is the one true God is worshiped.

3 For a long time Israel has been without the true God, without a teaching priest, and without law;

4 but when in their trouble they turned to the Lord God of Israel, and sought Him, He was found by them.

5 And in those times there was no peace to the one who went out, nor to the one who came in, but great turmoil was on all the inhabitants of the lands.

6 So nation was destroyed by nation, and city by city, for God troubled them with every adversity.

There was no peace in Israel, trouble and turmoil was everywhere because Israel lacked three things.

The true God

A teaching Priest

The Law

Israel under Jeroboam

1 Kings 12:25–33 (NKJV)

25 Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the mountains of Ephraim, and dwelt there. Also he went out from there and built Penuel.

26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom may return to the house of David:

27 If these people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn back to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and go back to Rehoboam king of Judah.”

28 Therefore the king asked advice, made two calves of gold, and said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt!”

29 And he set up one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan.

30 Now this thing became a sin, for the people went to worship before the one as far as Dan.

31 He made shrines (house) on the high places, and made priests from every class of people, who were not of the sons of Levi.

32 Jeroboam ordained a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the feast that was in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. So he did at Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he had made. And at Bethel he installed the priests of the high places which he had made.

33 So he made offerings on the altar which he had made at Bethel on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, in the month which he had devised in his own heart. And he ordained a feast for the children of Israel, and offered sacrifices on the altar and burned incense.

The first thing Jeroboam Did

What Jeroboam did was made two golden calf and proclaimed them to be the gods who brough israel out of Egypt.

In other words the calves were still called by the name of the Lord and all The Lord’s work was attached to them but the image/nature of God was corrupted in that it was made in the likeness of corruptible things.

So Jeroboam corrupted the image/nature of God in the minds of God’s people.

God was no longer one, he was two

God was no longer the invisible God who only reveales himslef through his word. He was a golden calf.

Until the Last King of Israel, 19th king Hoshea, they had not departed from this great sin which Jeroboam made Israel to sin.

This is the Work of Satan, Corrupting what the nature of God.

2 Corinthians 11:2–4 NKJV

2 For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. 3 But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 4 For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted—you may well put up with it!

The spirit of Jeroboam is still working, Through the proclamation of a corrupted Jesus,

2. He set up Priest to proclaim this corruptable God and minister to him

The festivals and rituals were the same as done by The priest in the House of The Lord.

This priest did not know the Lord, Their image of The Lord was a coruptible calf

They were not chosen or anointed by God. They were chosen and anointed by Jereboam.

A priest that does not kow God is not a Priest.

Jeremiah 2:8 “8 The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’ And those who handle the law did not know Me; The rulers also transgressed against Me; The prophets prophesied by Baal, And walked after things that do not profit.”

3. The Law was not taught nor proclaim in all its fullness.

The law refering to the the first five books of the holy Scriptures, it was the scriptures of the Jews of that time.

The result.

Because this was the environment Israel was living in.

They had no peace, it was turmoil and all kinds of trouble were taking place.

2 Chronicles 17:9–10 (NKJV)

9 So they taught in Judah, and had the Book of the Law of the Lord with them; they went throughout all the cities of Judah and taught the people.

10 And the fear of the Lord fell on all the kingdoms of the lands that were around Judah, so that they did not make war against Jehoshaphat.

But Thank God the Kingdom of Judah knew their God, Their had the Law and had priest who were chosen of God and knew the Lord teaching in every city.

7 But you, be strong and do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded!”

Since Your work is being done in this environemnt, in this atmosphere.

Take courage, your work will be rewarded.

We are not serving God in false temples, we are not worshiping God in false temples.

We are serving God and worshiping God in The true Temple, the house of The living God, whose Foundation and pillar is the truth.

Therefore we do our work in peace and it shall be rewarded.

What did Asa and Judah Do as a response

2 Chronicles 15:8-19.

Let us take courage today

We are serving God working in the House of The Lord, where the one true God is proclaimed, is belived is worshiped.

Our work will not be in vain.