ASA’S VICTORY:
2 Chr. 14:8-15 ”“
Now Asa had an army of three hundred thousand from Judah, carrying large shields and spears, and 280,000 from Benjamin, carrying shields and wielding bows; all of them were valiant warriors.
Now Zerah the Ethiopian went out against them with an army of a million men and three hundred chariots, and he came to Mareshah.
So Asa went out to meet him, and they drew up in battle formation in the Valley of Zephathah at Mareshah.
Then Asa called to the LORD his God and said,
"LORD, there is no one besides You to help in the battle between the powerful and those who have no strength; help us, LORD our God, for we trust in You, and in Your name have come against this multitude. LORD, You are our God; do not let man prevail against You.”
So the LORD routed the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled.
Asa and the people who were with him pursued them as far as Gerar; and so many Ethiopians fell that they could not recover, for they were shattered before the LORD and before His army. And they carried away a very large amount of plunder.
They destroyed all the cities around Gerar, for the dread of the LORD had fallen on them; and they pillaged all the cities, for there was much plunder in them.
They also fatally struck those who owned livestock, and they led away large numbers of sheep and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.
"LORD, there is no one besides You to help in the battle between the powerful and those who have no strength; help us, LORD our God, for we trust in You, and in Your name have come against this multitude. LORD, You are our God; do not let man prevail against You.”So the LORD routed the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled.
ASA’S DEFEAT:
2 Chr. 16:1-10 ””
In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign, Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah and fortified Ramah in order to prevent anyone from going out or coming in to Asa king of Judah.
Then Asa brought out silver and gold from the treasuries of the house of the LORD and the king’s house, and sent it to Ben-hadad king of Aram, who lived in Damascus, saying, "A treaty must be made between you and me, as there was between my father and your father. Behold, I have sent you silver and gold; go, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so that he will withdraw from me.”
And Ben-hadad listened to King Asa, and he sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, and they conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel-maim, and all the storage cities of Naphtali.
When Baasha heard about it, he stopped fortifying Ramah and put an end to his work.
Then King Asa brought all Judah, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber with which Baasha had been building, and with it he fortified Geba and Mizpah.
At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, "Because you have relied on the king of Aram and have not relied on the LORD your God, for that reason the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand. Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubim an immense army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on the LORD, He handed them over to you. For the eyes of the LORD roam throughout the earth, so that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His. You have acted foolishly in this. Indeed, from now on you will have wars.”
Then Asa was angry with the seer and put him in prison, for he was enraged at him for this. And Asa mistreated some of the people at the same time.
"Because you have relied on the king of Aram and have not relied on the LORD your God, for that reason the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand. Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubim an immense army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on the LORD, He handed them over to you. For the eyes of the LORD roam throughout the earth, so that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His. You have acted foolishly in this. Indeed, from now on you will have wars.”