Hey Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble and I'm your host for the Bible recap.

King Ray, the first king of the Southern Kingdom of Judah, has died, and he's replaced by

a sent Abijim, also known as Abijja.

Abijja does not follow God, just like his dad.

Meanwhile, King Jerry is still King in the Northern Kingdom of Israel, and these two obviously

don't get along.

King Jerry's people come out to attack King Abijja's people, and Abijja tells Jerry,

look, we know you're acting wickedly, we know all about your golden calves and your fake

temple and your non-leave-ite priests, and if you attack us, it's bound to fail because

it's an attack against God.

Even though Abijja is wicked himself, he's not wrong about this.

In the battle, Abijja is outnumbered 2-1, but he and his army kill more than half of

Jerry's army, and take some of his land as well.

After Abijja dies, the next king of Judah is his son, Asa, and finally we have a God-fearing

man on the throne in the South.

Ray!

Asa gets a serious pep talk from a man named Aziraya, who acts as the mouthpiece of God the

Spirit, and after Aziraya reminds him of his purpose as King and encourages him to

be bold in making reforms, Asa does just that.

He is not afraid to make things right in Judah, even if that means kicking family members

out of their roles in the Kingdom.

He fires all the male cult prostitutes and tears down the idols.

...