2 Crônicas 14

2 Crônicas 14

Trapp - “Though he had no war, yet he provided for it. So did our Queen Elizabeth; and so must every Christian soldier.” Raymond Dillard has an interesting note on building - The Chronicler commonly reports on the building projects of godly kings; he makes no mention of such projects in his account of the reigns of kings under divine censure. These two verses are a fairly direct articulation of his historiographical concepts: obedience brings peace (“no wars . . . for Yahweh had given him rest”; “we sought him and he has given us rest”) and the prosperity to build (“they built and prospered”). (BORROW 2 Chronicles) The LORD had given him rest (nuach/nuah; katapauo - cause to rest) - The only true rest in this life is when the LORD gives it (See Rest in the Bible). In the present context, this divine rest is surely a gracious gift from God to bless Asa for his godly conduct. While we can never "earn" God's favor, there is no question that God does bestow His favor (in this case rest) when one disciplines themselves for godliness (a NT description of Asa - 1Ti 4:7-8+), where godly behavior "is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life (INCLUDING "REST") and also for the life to come." Psalm 1:1-3+ also speaks of the blessing God bestows on the godly man or woman. There was no one at war with him during those years - The question is during what years? In context, it was when Asa "cleaned house" of the vain idols and idol "paraphernalia" (sacred pillars, etc) and called for worship of Yahweh, the One True God (cf "seek the LORD" - 2Ch 14:4)! We need to build up our defenses in times of rest in anticipation of the difficulties ahead. Ron Daniel - 14:6-7 The Lord Had Given Him Rest - The kingdom was undisturbed for a period of ten years. It would have been very tempting to rest easy. To focus on entertainment and relaxation. But instead, King Asa used that time to build fortified cities surrounded by walls and gates. Asa was building his defenses in times of rest. Is he being paranoid? Not at all! - Farmers work hard in the springtime to insure that we'll have food in the winter. - Investors build up their savings for times to insure they'll have reserves when the market dips. - Even ants at harvest time aren't fooled by the massive amounts of grain surrounding them (Prov. 6:6-8). They store much of it away in anticipation of the freeze to come. How foolish, then, that we don't build our spiritual defenses in times of peace! The famous passage of spiritual warfare in Ephesians six warns us to do this, (though most people miss it by jumping ahead to the description of the armor): Eph. 6:13+...take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. When are we to take up the armor? Now. When are we going to need to use it? In the evil day. "Well, can't I wait to take it up then?" No. Why do so many Christians bail out on church when life is easy, and only return when things get bad? Why do so many believers stop reading their Bibles, and only open them again when life throws them a curve? Why is it that we stop praying until we fall into a pit? Saints, we need to build up our defenses in times of rest in anticipation of the difficulties ahead. Rest (lay, leave, place/put, set/settle, deposit)(05117) nuach/nuah means to rest or pause and as noted from the many ways it is translated nuach has many uses in the OT. In its most general and literal sense, the verb means "to settle down" in a place or to be at rest. In this aspect, it refers to the rest of humans (Deut. 5:14; Est. 9:22) and animals (2 Sam. 21:10). Nuach essentially conveys a basic sense of absence of movement and of being settled in a particular place with overtones of finality. The first use in Ge 2:15 describes how God "put" Adam in the Garden. The next use describes a physical setting down of something (Ge 8:4, cp 2Sa 21:10, Ex 10:14, Josh 3:13). It can mean to rest, to settle, to settle down, e.g., of the ark (Gen. 8:4); of locusts on the crops (Ex. 10:14); of a spirit on a person (2 Ki. 2:15); of the Lord's Spirit (Num. 11:25, 26); of birds (2 Sam. 21:10); of the hand of the Lord on something (Isa. 25:10); of wisdom which rests in one's heart (Prov. 14:33). It means to repose, to pause for rest after laboring (Ex. 20:11; 23:12; Deut. 5:14); freedom, respite from one's enemies (Esth. 9:16). 2 Chronicles 14:7 For he said to Judah, “Let us build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours because we have sought the LORD our God; we have sought Him, and He has given us rest on every side.” So they built and prospered. NET 2 Chronicles 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. CSB 2 Chronicles 14:7 So he said to the people of Judah, "Let's build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, with doors and bars. The land is still ours because we sought the LORD our God. We sought Him and He gave us rest on every side." So they built and succeeded. ESV 2 Chronicles 14:7 And he said to Judah, "Let us build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours, because we have sought the LORD our God. We have sought him, and he has given us peace on every side." So they built and prospered. NIV 2 Chronicles 14:7 "Let us build up these towns," he said to Judah, "and put walls around them, with towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours, because we have sought the LORD our God; we sought him and he has given us rest on every side." So they built and prospered. NLT 2 Chronicles 14:7 Asa told the people of Judah, "Let us build towns and fortify them with walls, towers, gates, and bars. The land is still ours because we sought the LORD our God, and he has given us peace on every side." So they went ahead with these projects and brought them to completion. NRS 2 Chronicles 14:7 He said to Judah, "Let us build these cities, and surround them with walls and towers, gates and bars; the land is still ours because we have sought the LORD our God; we have sought him, and he has given us peace on every side." So they built and prospered. NJB 2 Chronicles 14:6 'Let us rebuild these towns,' he told Judah, 'let us surround them with wall and tower, with gate and bar while the country is still ours, for we have sought Yahweh our God and he has sought us and given us peace all around.' They built and prospered. NAB 2 Chronicles 14:6 He said to Judah: "Let us build these cities and surround them with walls, towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours, for we have sought the LORD, our God; we sought him, and he has given us rest on every side." So they built and prospered. YLT 2 Chronicles 14:7 And he saith to Judah, 'Let us build these cities, and compass them with wall, and towers, two-leaved doors, and bars, while the land is before us, because we have sought Jehovah our God, we have sought, and He giveth rest to us round about;' and they build and prosper. For he said to Judah: 2Ch 32:5 Ac 9:31 the land: Joh 9:4 12:35,36 Heb 3:13-15 we have sought: 2Ch 14:4 1Ch 28:9 Ps 105:3,4 Jer 29:12-14 1Pe 3:12 He has given us rest: 2Ch 14:6 Jos 23:1 Mt 11:28,29 THE REST OF RIGHTEOUSNESS For he said to Judah, “Let us build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours because we have sought (darash; Lxx = ekzeteo - intense seeking) the LORD our God; we have sought (darash; Lxx = ekzeteo) Him, and He has given us rest (nuach/nuah; katapauo - cause to rest) on every side (note - not just rest but total rest) - The writer repeats the great truth that God gave them rest (2Ch 14:6). Note the clear association between seeking God and receiving His gift of rest. One is reminded of Jesus' words "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Mt 11:28-30+) The land is still ours (free from enemies) - In other words, they had not been overrun or conquered by neighboring adversaries. And the writer links this blessing with the fact that they sought the LORD. The conclusion is clear -- the land is still theirs because the LORD has protected them. The time is coming when He will not protect them and they lose the land to the Babylonians in 586 BC because of their failure to seek the Living God, choosing instead to seek dead IDOLS. So (term of conclusion) they built and prospered (tsalach; Lxx - euodoo) - As discussed in the previous verse, God was not against building human fortifications. But He wanted them (and us) to understand that the real protection is from the LORD God (cf Ps 41:2, Ps 121:7). Clearly, Asa's subjects heard and heeded his charge to seek Yahweh (2Ch 14:4) for here we see plural "we" twice. When the leader who calls the people to seek God, seeks God himself, the people are much more likely to follow suit. These were good years in Judah as they were experiencing the truth of the following psalm... For you have made the LORD, my Refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place. No evil will befall you, Nor will any plague come near your tent. -- Psalm 91:9-10 To reiterate, Judahites prospered because they sought the LORD and He prospered (tsalach; Lxx - euodoo) them (see Ps 1:3+ [cf Josh 1:8+ uses tsalach] describes the godly man stating "in whatever he does, he prospers (tsalach)." God is the One Who causes one to prosper as in the case of King Uzziah who "continued to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding through the vision of God; and as long as he sought the LORD, God prospered him." (2Ch 26:5) King Asa and Judah reaped the fruit of righteousness. The rest and peace in Judah reminds me of James 3:18+ which says "the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace." The NLT says "those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of goodness." King Asa clearly understood the words of the old hymn, "Trust and Obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus than to trust and obey." David