2 Chronicles 14:4

And commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(4) And commanded Judah to seek.—‘amar with infinitive. (Comp. 1Chronicles 21:17.) The chronicler’s own style is visible in this verse.

To seek the Lord God of their fathers.—The same phrase recurs in 2Chronicles 15:12.

The law and the commandment.—Exodus 24:12, “That I may give thee the tables of stone, and the law and the commandment that I have written” (Deuteronomy 6:25).

And the images.—Hammanîm. (Comp. the word hammah, “sun.”) Pillars or statues to the sun-god, standing before or upon the altars of Baal, are intended (see Leviticus 26:30; Isaiah 17:8; 2Chronicles 34:4.) Comp. the Phenician deity Baal-hamman.

The kingdom was quiet before him.—Enjoyed peace under his oversight. Compare the use of the word “before,” in Numbers 8:22; Psalm 72:5 (“before the moon”).

Benson Commentary

2 Chronicles 14:4-5. He commanded Judah to seek the Lord — By his royal edicts he commanded them to worship God, and him only. And to do the law, and the commandment — To observe all divine institutions, which many had neglected, and to practise all that the law of Moses required of them. And the kingdom was quiet before him — Though, it is probable, they were much in love with their idols, and very loath to part with them; yet the convictions of their consciences sided with the commands of Asa, and they could not, for shame, but comply with them. They that have power in their hands, and will use it vigorously for the suppression of profaneness, and the reformation of manners, will, in general, not meet with so much difficulty and opposition as, perhaps, they might expect. Vice is a mean and base thing, and carries its own shame and condemnation on the face of it; while virtue has always reason enough on its side to make iniquity stop her mouth, Psalm 107:42.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

14:1-15 Asa's piety, He strengthens his kingdom. - Asa aimed at pleasing God, and studied to approve himself to him. Happy those that walk by this rule, not to do that which is right in their own eyes, or in the eye of the world, but which is so in God's sight. 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. Asa consulted with his people how to make a good use of the peace they enjoyed; and concluded with them that they must not be idle, nor secure. A formidable army of Ethiopians invaded Asa's kingdom. This evil came upon them, that their faith in God might be tried. Asa's prayer is short, but it is the real language of faith and expectation from God. When we go forth in God's name, we cannot but prosper, and all things work together for the good of those whom he favours.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Asa his son reigned - If Rehoboam was (1 Kings 12:8 note) not more than 21 years old at his accession, Asa, when he mounted the throne, must have been a mere boy, not more than 10 or 11 years of age.

The land was quiet ten years - The great blow struck by Abijah 2 Chronicles 13:15-19, his alliance with Syria 1 Kings 15:19, and the rapid succession of sovereigns in Israel during the earlier part of Asa's reign 1 Kings 15:25-33, would naturally prevent disturbance on the part of the northern kingdom. The tender age of Asa himself would be a bar to warlike enterprises on the part of Judah.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

3. brake down the images—of Baal (see on [436]2Ch 34:4; [437]Le 26:30).

cut down the groves—rather, "Asherim."

Matthew Poole's Commentary

By his royal edicts he required them to worship God, and him only, and to practise all which the laws of Moses required of them.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers,.... To pray to him, and him only, and attend his worship and service; this he did by a public edict:

and to do the law and the commandment: to observe all the laws of God, moral, ceremonial, and civil.

Geneva Study Bible

And commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

4. to seek the Lord] Cp. 2 Chronicles 15:12-13.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 4. - And commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers. What an indication lies couched in this word "commanded" (confirmatory of the spirit of what is said above, in our previous verse-note) of the moral efforts of Asa, and that the efforts on which he may have largely relied for "taking away the high places" were moral efforts, rather than those of physical force. 2 Chronicles 14:4

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

He removed from all the cities of Judah the altars of the high places, and the חמּנים, sun-pillars, pillars or statues consecrated to Baal as sun-god, which were erected near or upon the altars of Baal (2 Chronicles 34:4; see on Leviticus 26:30). In consequence of this the kingdom had rest לפניו, before him, i.e., under his oversight (cf. Numbers 8:22). This ten-years' quiet (2 Chronicles 14:1) which God granted him, Asa employed in building fortresses in Judah (2 Chronicles 14:5). "We will build these cities, and surround them with walls and towers, gates and bolts." It is not said what the cities were, but they were at any rate others than Geba and Mizpah, which he caused to be built after the war with Baasha (2 Chronicles 16:6). "The land is still before us," i.e., open, free from enemies, so that we may freely move about, and build therein according to our pleasure. For the phraseology, cf. Genesis 13:9. The repetition of דּרשׁנוּ, 2 Chronicles 14:6, is impassioned speech. "They built and had success;" they built with effect, without meeting with any hindrances.