14:6 The concept of being given rest - often from enemies passes into Biblical use here are some examples. Notice how strongly it is linked with David and his kingdom. Exodus 33:14 Deuteronomy 3:20 12:10 25:19 Joshua 1:13,15 22:4 23:1 2 Samuel 7:1 1 Kings 5:4 8:56 1 Chronicles 22:9,18 23:25 2 Chronicles 14:6 7 Isaiah 14:3 Matthew 11:28 Hebrews 4:8

15:8 So Asa began a spiritual renewal in Judah. Do not think that the falling away had been a casual thing. In telling us that Asa 'renewed the altar of the Lord' we have to conclude that quite extensive desecration of Solomon's temple had taken place by now.

14:3-5 Asa's reformations highlight the extent to which Judah had sunk in a relatively short time.

15:16 The daughter of Abishalom (called Absalom) 2 Chronicles 11:20-22 the third wife of Rehoboam, and mother of Abijam 1 Kings 15:2 She is called "Michaiah the daughter of Uriel," who was the husband of Absalom's daughter Tamar 2 Chronicles 13:2 Her son Abijah or Abijam was heir to the throne.

14:11 That Asa cried to God for deliverance against the Ethiopians builds upon the confidence put in Yahweh in yesterday's reading. Confirming that trust in God is all that was required for deliverance. The principle is clear for us today. Do we believe that our God will deliver us? Not that we expect to have no problems but rather that we should always believe that He will provide ultimate deliverance.

15:2 The assurance of the fellowship of God as long as service is faithful is echoed in Jas 4:8. The Father is looking for some response from us so that he can respond to us.

14:3-4 Asa, in calling the people to worship God, was doing the work that the priests should have done. For it was the priests who should have been the teachers of the law (Lev 10:11, Mal 2:7) So we have to conclude that at this time the priesthood was corrupt.

15:8 The mention of 'Oded' highlights the point which we might easily forget. That is this. There were far more prophets than those whose words are found recorded in Scripture. A useful exercise would be to list them with an indication of when they were speaking. This will help you to get a fuller picture of the work of the prophets.

15:16 If we are to apply God's Truth correctly, we should be like Him.  He treats everyone by the same measure (Acts 10:34).  Asa did not give his grandmother preferential treatment.  He corrected her wrong without compunction.  And so, we must not give our natural families favor at the expense of Truth.

14:5;15:17 Asa is considered a good king.  However, like other kings who started off good, he slacked off later in his reign.  It is recorded that he took away the high places early in his reign, but failed to maintain this status. 

We shall see tomorrow that he was rebuked by the prophet Hanani for his waning faith in calling on the Syrians for help instead of Yahweh; and for relying upon physicians in place of consulting Yahweh.  The lesson for us is to daily monitor our progress in Christ and take care that our faith does not diminish.

14:7  Not only was Asa a man who observed God’s laws. He also recognised that God worked in his life. There is more to living the gospel than just keeping the commandments. We have to have a relationship with the Father and realise that he is in charge of our lives .

15:11  The offering the spoils of war to God was an indication that the people recognised that really it belonged to God as He had won the battle, not they.

15:8 There was an upsurge of feeling among the people, including those from the tribes of Ephraim, Mansseh, and Simeon who had fled to Judah. They made a covenant to serve the Lord to the best of their ability. As a result we see that the Lord gave them rest (V.19)

14:5 Asa seems to have done half the job. He removed the high places in the cities but did not remove them from the rest of the land – 2Chron 15:17

15:7-8 The word of God encouraging Asa had the effect of causing him to ‘be strong’ ad he made changes in his own life. Do we see the word of exhortation as providing the same impetus in our lives?

14:2 In saying that Asa did ‘good and right’ the record is quoting God’s request of Israel – Deut 12:28

15:8 Asa’s repentance is one of the elements of the life of a man which can enable God to say of him that he ‘did that which is right in the eyes of the Lord his God’ 2Chron 14:2

2Chron 14:1 - "Asa" [(609) means "healer, physician"] perhaps echos Christ, the great physician and healer.

2Chron 14:11 - sometimes we may feel powerless against the mighty obstacles in our lives but we can rely on God's help (James 5:16;1Cor 10:13);  2Chron 15:2 - if we don't forsake God, He won't forsake us.

2Chron 15:1 - "Azariah" [(5838) means "Jah has helped" - God helps us too], "Oded" [(5752) means "restorer" - believers will be restored when Christ returns].

2Chron 15:3 - there will be full understanding and righteous law when Christ returns (Isa 2:3;1Cor 13:10,12).

2Chron 15:3,4,12 - seek and ye shall find (Matt 7:7-8).

2Chron 15:7 - believers will be rewarded if they don't give up (1Cor 9:24-27;Heb 3:12-14;2Pet 3:17).

2Chron 15:10-13;Lev 23:15-22 - seemingly refers to the Feast of Weeks/Pentecost and perhaps echos a future resurrection of the first fruits(Christ), resurrection of those responsible, a day of judgement, the millenial day of Jubilee bringing rest, peace along with freedom from sin and death.

47:22-23 Abraham was told ‘in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed’ Gen 12:3 We rightly understand that this is fulfilled in the call of the gentiles Gal 3:8 However it is also to have a literal fulfilment when gentiles share an inheritance in the land with the children of Israel.

47:12 The leaves that are for medicine id echoed in Rev 22:2

47:1These waters are to be seen as associated with the waters mentioned in Joel 3:18

47:3-5 The way in which the waters are described highlights that we are not talking of a small stream. But, as Zechariah says – Zech 14:8– it is to flow all the time. It was not a little wadi that dried up in the summer. God’s blessings are eternal, not temporary. Also they are super abundant.

v22 introduces some very interesting concepts. Firstly that Israel will share the land with the "strangers" who dwell among them. This is unthinkable at the present time. Though many non Jewish people live in Israel, they don't feel they're being treated equally with their neighbours. Secondly, it is bearing children in the land that qualifies these strangers for a share of the land, presumably because it demonstrates the desire to stay and put down roots.

Question: What about the foreigner that's unmarried, or can't bear children? Does this rule disqualify them from an inheritance?

47:1-2 So we see that there is water issuing out from the temple in two directions. This is like what Zechariah saw Zech 14:8

15:18-20 We all like to be liked by those we come into contact with. However we must appreciate that our belief in the gospel should make our lives so different that our friends and neighbours notice that we are not like them. One consequence of this is that they may feel threatened or intimidated by our morality and as a consequence shun us or try to find fault with us.
We must realise that this sort of attitude is just like the way in which people who should have known better responded to Jesus.

16:1 If we wish to think of Jesus as being one who went about bending over backwards in order to please men we would be mistaken. Matthew 11:6 13:21 57 Mark 6:3 John 6:61
Whilst Jesus knew that what he had to say would offended many he was concerned that his followers would not be so dismayed. Matthew 11:6 Luke 7:23
His concern was that his Father's will might be known. This is offensive to the flesh - therefore he prayed that his disciples would not be caused to stumble as did his adversaries. John 16:1

15:22-24 are words spoken by Jesus to the disciples. He is showing them that the religious leaders bear responsibility for what they did - even though the death of Jesus was by the 'determinate counsel of God' (Acts 2:23). This is why Peter and John could say that they had killed Jesus and should repent (Acts 3:14-15)

16:17-19 Whilst the disciples have been very willing to question Jesus as we saw in Chapter 14 they are now reticent again, like they had been at time earlier in his ministry. Maybe they were so confused because they could not understand Jesus' answers that they felt it better just to remain quiet. However the Lord, in his wisdom, realised that they were confused and, despite the fact that he was going to die before the end of the next day, dealt with their confusion. Truly a man who was more concerned with the needs of others than his own needs.

15:27 Jesus comment 'from the beginning' forms the basis for the criteria laid down (Acts 1:21) when finding a replacement for Judas.

16:22 It is true that no man was able to take away the disciple's joy after the resurrection. They had seen and talked with him for 40 days. No matter what happened the truth of the resurrection could not be denied. Are we so convinced that Jesus did rise from the dead the no one would convince us otherwise?

15:13 In saying 'a man lay down his life ...' Jesus is re using the words of Peter (13:38) but whereas Peter could say the words but not perform the deed Jesus was able to both say the words and perform the deed. We are all like Peter but can be thankful that Jesus, though sharing our nature, was able to fulfill his promise.

16:33 John does  not record the 'Olivet Prophecy' with it's attendant warnings (Mark 13:11) but here we have similar words, given in more general terms. So Jesus warned the disciples of persecution in the Olivet Prophecy and now, a couple of days later, he warns them again.

15:1-11 On the night that the Memorial Feast was instituted, it was natural for Jesus to speak about the vine as a symbol of spiritual fruitfulness. He admonished the disciples not to follow the evample of Judas ( though Judas's name is not mentioed here), but to remain in the vine, that is, in Christ. These branches are divided into two groups; those that bear fruit to glory of our Heavenly Father, and those that do not bear fruit. In order to bear fruit it is absolutly necessary to remain in the vine. We are aware of what happens to the branches that do not bear fruit. We know what type of branch that we would like to be.    

15:12 In talking about the ‘new commandment’ Jesus is reminding the disciples what he had told them in the upper room John 13:34

16:5-6  It seems that the disciples were so troubled by what Jesus had been saying to them that they did not even ask him where he was going but that the sorrow would not be in the disciples minds if they had asked.

15:10 In speaking about keeping his commandments Jesus is returning to the point that he made in John 14:15

16:20 Jesus here speaks beforehand about the emotional roller coaster that the disciples would endure between his arrest and resurrection some three days later.

15:20 In saying ‘remember the word’ Jesus is quoting Psa 119:46 where David is speaking of how to maintain fellowship with God and reminds the disciples of what he had said earlier that evening in the upper room – John 13:16.

16:4  In encouraging the disciples that they will be joyful Jesus is repeating words he had spoken earlier that evening – John 15:11