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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Chronicles 14:1-8

Here is, I. Asa's general character (2 Chron. 14:2): He did that which was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. 1. He aimed at pleasing God, studied to approve himself to him. Happy are those that walk by this rule, to do that which is right, not in their own eyes, or in the eye of the world, but in the eyes of God. 2. He saw God's eye always upon him, and that helped much to keep him to what was good and right. 3. God graciously accepted him in what he did, and approved his conduct... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Chronicles 14:3

For he took away the altars of the strange gods ,.... Or of a strange people, of the Zidonians, Ammonites, and Moabites, which had remained from the times of Solomon, and which he built for his wives, 1 Kings 11:7 . and the high places ; built for idols; for as for those on which the true God was worshipped, they were not removed in his days, 1 Kings 15:14 . and brake down the images : or statues, or pillars, erected to the honour of idols, and on which the images of them were... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Chronicles 14:1-5

Rest on every side. It is significant enough that the Chronicler considered it a noteworthy fact that "in his days the land was quiet ten years." It indicates very forcibly that the chronic condition of the country in those times was one of unsettlement and strife. We should think it strange, indeed, if the historian of our country thought it worth while to record that for ten years the sovereign "had no war" ( 2 Chronicles 14:6 ). But it is painful to think that for very many centuries,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Chronicles 14:1-8

Quiet in the land. I. A GREAT BLESSING . 1 . Its character. No war ( 2 Chronicles 14:6 ). Few, reflecting on the untold calamities of war, the expenditure of blood and treasure, the sorrow and desolation sent into many homes, the interruption of the arts of peace, the bad passions kindled by it in the breasts even of the victors, will doubt that peace is one of the foremost blessings a nation can enjoy. This was the condition of Judah during the first ten years of Asa's... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Chronicles 14:1-15

The quiet often years. The former half of this chapter may be said to turn upon the welcome subject of the "quiet" (spoken of twice), the "no war" (spoken of once), and the "rest" (spoken of three times), which were now for ten years the portion of Judah. The tender youth and the pious promise of King Asa combined, no doubt, in the providence of God, with external circumstances, to secure that interval of quiet and repose from war from which many blessings were able to flow. We may... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Chronicles 14:2-5

Destructive godliness. Human energy and capacity show themselves in two forms -in the destructive and in the constructive. Though action of the latter kind is the more honourable and admirable of the two, yet that of the former is also useful and needful in its time. Moses did a very good work for the people of Israel when he ground to powder the golden calf; and Hezekiah, when he broke in pieces the brazen serpent and called it "a bit of brass;" and the Christians of Ephesus did a wise... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Chronicles 14:2-7

Constructive godliness. It is better to construct than to destroy (see preceding homily), and though Asa did well in demolishing the strange altars and expelling the sodomites from the land, he did even better in I. BUILDING UP OURSELVES on our holy faith (Jud 1:20). A man's first duty is that which he owes to his own spirit; for God has given him that, above all things, to have in charge and to present pure and perfect before him at the last. We are, therefore, most sacredly... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Chronicles 14:3

The altars of the strange (gods); Hebrew, the altars of the stranger, meaning, of course, "the altars of the gods of the stranger." This expression, "strange gods," is found in the Authorized Version about thirteen times for the Hebrew גֵכָר , or הַגֵּכָר , and would be most correctly rendered, "The gods [or, 'god'] of the stranger," i.e. of the foreigner, as it is rendered in the solitary instance of Deuteronomy 31:16 . The high places. Comp. Deuteronomy 31:5 and 2... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 2 Chronicles 14:3

2 Chronicles 14:3. He took away the altars of the strange gods Since the time when Solomon admitted idolatry, in the latter end of his reign, it appears, nothing had been done till now to suppress it; so that it may be presumed it had gained ground. Strange gods were worshipped, and had their altars, images, and groves: and the temple-service, though kept up by the priests, was neglected by many of the people. As soon as Asa had power in his hands, he made it his business to destroy those... read more

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