2 Chronicles 15:1

ASA'S FAITHFUL EFFORTS TO BRING ISRAEL BACK TO GOD;

AZARIAH'S ADMONITION FOR ISRAEL

"And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Obed: and he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: for Jehovah is with you while ye are with him; and if ye seek him he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you. Now for a long season Israel was without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law: but when in their distress they turned unto Jehovah, the God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them. And in those times there was no peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in; but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the lands. And they were broken in pieces, nation against nation, and city against city; for God did vex them with all adversity. But be ye strong, and let not your hands be slack; for your work shall be rewarded."

Azariah's purpose here is clear enough, namely, the encouragement of God's people to be constant in their faithfulness to their God, for it was their lack of faithfulness which had so frequently resulted in manifold sorrows for the Chosen People.

2 Chronicles 15:3-6 are interpreted in various ways. Cook believed that, "They refer to the many apostasies of God's people in the times of the Judges."[1] Curtis (Madsen) applied the words to, "The Northern Kingdom";[2] and Keil stated that, "We must take the words in a general sense, applying then exclusively neither to the past nor to the future, because the truth uttered here has force at all times."[3]

"Without the true God, without a teaching priest, and without law" (2 Chronicles 15:3). There were many times in Israel's history when these conditions prevailed. "It was not that Israel did not have instruction; Israel would not receive it."[4]