Today is the 25th day of July. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible!

I am Brian and it is wonderful to be here with you today as we continue our journey step

by step day by day. Right here around the global campfire. So I'm excited that we're here

again and we get to take another step forward. And our next step forward leads us to the place

that we left off and in the Old Testament that has us navigating our way through the book of

Second Chronicles. I would say we are pretty near the dead center of the book of Second Chronicles.

And so we will continue that journey as we continue to learn and understand the life and times of

the kings of Israel and Judah. Today, Second Chronicles, chapters 14, 15 and 16.

And Abija rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city of David. Asa, his son,

succeeded him as king and in his days the country was at peace for 10 years. Asa did what was good and

right in the eyes of the Lord his God. He removed the foreign altars and the high places,

smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Ashera poles. He commanded Judah to seek the Lord,

the God of their ancestors, and to obey his laws and commands. He removed the high places and

incense altars in every town in Judah and the kingdom was at peace under him. He built up the

fortified cities of Judah since the land was at peace. No one was at war with him during those years.

For the Lord gave him rest. 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.

Asa had an army of 300,000 men from Judah equipped with large shields and with spears and 280,000

from Benjamin armed with small shields and with bows. All these were brave fighting men.

Zira, the Kushite marched out against them with an army of thousands upon thousands and 300

chariots and came as far as Merah Shah. Asa went out to meet him and they took up battle positions in

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