King Asa ruled for 41 years – 911BC-870BC. King Asa was the son of the previous king, King Abijam.
King Asa did what pleased God. He removed the pagan places of worship and destroyed them.
King Asa had an army of over five hundred thousand fighting men. However, when Zerah the Cushite came to fight King Asa, King Asa called to the Lord his God and God struck down the Cushites before Asa and Judah.
In his old age, he was crippled by a foot disease. King Asa died of natural causes and was buried in the royal tombs in Jerusalem and his son Jehoshaphat succeeded him as king.
Asa in Hebrew means: Healer.
Background Reading:
King Asa — 3rd and Good king of Judah
15:9 Asa began to reign as Judah’s king during the twentieth year of the reign of Jeroboam as king over Israel. 10 He reigned 41 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Maacah, the daughter of Abishalom. 11 Asa practiced what the LORD considered to be right, just like his ancestor David. 12 He also removed the male cult prostitutes from the land and destroyed all the idols that his ancestors had made. 13 He removed his mother Maacah from her position as Queen Mother because she had made a detestable image dedicated to Asherah. Asa cut down his mother’s idol, crushed it, and burned it at the Kidron Brook. 14 Nevertheless, the high places were not removed, even though Asa’s heart was blameless toward the LORD all of his life. 15 Asa brought into the LORD’s Temple the things that his father had dedicated, as well as his own dedicated gifts such as silver, gold, and temple service implements.
Alliances with Aram against Israel
16 A state of continual military unrest existed between Asa and King Baasha of Israel throughout their lifetimes. 17 King Baasha of Israel invaded Judah and interdicted Ramah by building fortifications around it so no one could enter or leave to join King Asa of Judah. 18 But Asa removed all the silver and gold from the treasuries of the Lord’s Temple and from his royal palace, placed them into the care of some servants, and then sent them to Tabrimmon’s son King Ben-hadad of Aram, the grandson of Hezion, who lived in Damascus.
19 “Let’s make a treaty between you and me,” he said, “just like the one between my father and your father. Notice that I’ve sent you silver and gold to break your treaty with King Baasha of Israel, so he’ll retreat from his attack on me.”
20 So King Ben-hadad did just what King Asa had asked: he sent his commanding officers to attack the cities of Israel, conquering Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, all of Chinneroth, and the territory of Naphtali. 21 When Baasha learned of this, he stopped fortifying Ramah and remained in Tirzah, 22 so King Asa published a proclamation throughout Judah (no one was left out) and they carried away the stones and timber with which Baasha had been fortifying Judah. King Asa used them to fortify Geba in Benjamin and Mizpah.
23 The rest of Asa’s accomplishments, his strength, everything that he undertook, and the cities that he fortified are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah, are they not? However, as he approached old age, he became diseased in his feet. 24 Then Asa died, as had his ancestors, and he was buried with his ancestors in the City of David, his ancestor. His son Jehoshaphat reigned in his place.
1 Kings 15:9-24
Also read 2 Chronicles 14:1-17:1.
Other slides in this module:
- 931BC-913BC – King Rehoboam the first King of Judah
- 931BC-910BC – King Jeroboam the first King of the House of Israel
- 913-911BC – King Abijah or Abijam the 2nd king of Judah
- 911BC-870BC – King Asa the 3rd and a Good King of Judah
- 910BC – King Nadab the 2nd King of Israel
- 909BC-886BC – King Baasha the 3rd King of Israel
- 886BC-885BC – King Elah the 4th King of Israel
- 885BC – King Zimri the 5th King of Israel
- 885BC-874BC – King Omri the 6th King of Israel
- 874BC-853BC – King Ahab becomes the 7th King of Israel
- 860BC – The Widow of Zarephath received back her dead son
- 860BC-852BC – Elijah the prophet on Mount Carmel
- 874/73-853BC – Queen Jezebel an evil queen
- 856BC – Naboth’s family Vineyard and King Ahab
- 848BC – Micaiah a man of God, prophesies against King Ahab
- 873/72BC-848BC – King Jehoshaphat the 4th and a Good King of Judah
- 853BC-852BC – King Ahaziah the 8th King of Israel
- 853BC – King Jehoram the 5th King of Judah
- 852BC-841BC – King Jehoram the 9th King of Israel
- 860BC-852BC – Elisha the prophet who took over from Elijah
- 860BC-852BC – Elisha’s second of 32 Miracles – Healing of the water
- 852-796BC – The miracle of the Widow’s oil
- 852-796BC – The Shunammite woman had her son restored back to life
- 849BC – Naaman the man healed of Leprosy by Elisha the man of God
- 848BC-841BC – Obadiah the prophet of God
- 841BC – King Ahaziah the 6th King of Judah
- 841BC – Queen Athaliah the 7th King of Judah
- 841BC-814BC – King Jehu the 10th King of Israel
- 835-795BC – Joash the 8th King of Judah
- 835BC – Joel the prophet of God
- 814BC-798BC – King Jehoahaz the 11th King of Israel
- 798BC-782BC- King Jehoash the 12th King of Israel
- 796BC -767BC – King Amaziah the 9th and a Good King of Judah
- 793BC-753BC – King Jeroboam 2nd the 13th King of Israel
- 790BC – King Azariah the 10th and a good King of Judah
- 782BC-753BC – Jonah, a Prophet of God, and the Whale
- 760BC–755BC – Amos the prophet of God
- 755BC-710BC – The prophet Hosea
- 753BC – King Zechariah the 14th King of Israel
- 752BC – King Shallum the 15th King of Israel
- 752BC-742BC – King Menahem the 16th King of Israel
- 742BC-740BC – King Pekahiah the 17th King of Israel
- 740BC- 732BC – King Pekah the 18th King of Israel
- Questions and Answers 1-24
- Questions and Answers 25-43
- The 20 Kings of Judah who ruled between – 931BC-586BC
- The 19 Kings of Israel who ruled between – 931BC-722BC
- The 19 Kings of Israel – 931BC-722BC = 209 years
- Time Line for Divided Kingdom
- Timeline of the Kings of Israel
- Background Information – Prophets and Kings
- Resources – Prophets and Kings
- Next Module – Prophets and Kings part two