And he said to Judah, Let us build these cities, and surround them with walls and towers, gates and bars, while the land is yet before us; for we have sought Jehovah our God; we have sought him, and he has given us rest on every side. And they built and prospered.
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The Verse in Context
2 Chronicles 14:7 records Asa exhorting Judah: "Let us build these cities, and make about them walls and towers, gates and bars, while the land is yet before us; because we have sought the LORD our God, we have sought him, and he hath given us rest on every side." The verse links spiritual reformation to practical building: rest given by God is the season for fortifying His people, not for ease.
Rest as a Gift, Not an End
Asa's reign opens with reformation — strange altars torn down, images broken, groves cut. The rest that followed was directly tied to that obedience.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinThe land was quiet. The Lord blessed him and the land for the faithful work which had been done... Notice the great prosperity which followed the work he had done. "The Kingdom was quiet before him." Cities were built and fortified. They readily acknowledged that it was all of God. "Because we have sought the LORD our God, we have sought Him, and He hath given us rest on all sides." So they built and prospered.
Building as the Wise Use of Quiet Days
Asa did not waste the calm. He saw rest as the chance to prepare for conflict yet to come — a model for the believer in any peaceful season.
MagazinesThese ten years of rest were from Jehovah, and the king very wisely used the time to prepare against times of conflict, for "he built fenced cities in Judah," with towers, walls, gates and bars, and "they built and prospered" (verses 6-7). As then, so it is now, God's people are in a scene where foes have to be met, and our times of rest are to be spent in building, so that we may be strong through reliance on the Lord, and doing what is pleasing in His sight. There was not only the building of cities in defence of God's people, but also of the preparation of God's host, an army that the Lord could use against His enemies. We are not only builders in the service of God, but we are part of the Lord's host, contending earnestly "for the faith once delivered to the saints" (Jude 3), and to do this we have to stand resolutely against the enemies of God.
Tearing Down Must Be Joined to Building Up
One of the richest lessons in the verse is the balance between negative reform and positive construction. Asa was not content merely to destroy idolatry; he raised something solid in its place.
C KnappHe was no mere iconoclast. If he had the zeal to break down the images, he had also the wisdom to build fortified cities. To expose evil is very well, but to furnish the soul with truth is what protects it from the invasion of the enemy. They redeemed the time, as we are bidden to do in Eph. 5:16, "Redeeming the time, because the days are evil." So God was with them. Encouraged by the king's words and example, the people entered heartily into the blessed work of building...
The Cause Behind the Rest: Seeking the Lord
Asa expressly traces the quiet to the act of seeking. The verse repeats the phrase — "we have sought the Lord our God, we have sought him" — to show how diligence in seeking God is the soil from which rest grows. The blessing of cities, walls, towers, gates and bars is not the fruit of military skill but the visible token of communion with Jehovah. The contrast with Asa's later years — when he leaned on Syria rather than the Lord and was struck with disease — only sharpens the lesson of verse 7.
J. N. DarbyAsa follows his steps; and, whether at peace, or while at war with the Ethiopians, Israel prospers in his reign. He takes away the strange gods; for we continually find them again. Energy is required to cast them out and prevent their return.
A Standing Pattern for the Believer
The principle reaches beyond Judah. In a world where the enemy never sleeps, every quiet hour is given so the saints may strengthen themselves while opportunity remains — "while the land is yet before us." The Ethiopian invasion that follows in the very next paragraph (verses 9–11) shows why the cities had to be built when they were. Asa's faith-prayer against Zerah's million was made by a king who had used his peace well.
Summary
- Rest is granted. Asa openly confesses the rest was God's gift, given because Judah sought Him — not the fruit of human strength.
- Reform first, then build. Idols must be torn down, but truth must also be built up; pulling down evil alone leaves the soul exposed.
- Redeem the time. Quiet seasons are not for ease but for fortifying the people of God against coming attack.
- Seeking is the secret. The repeated phrase "we have sought him" is the spiritual cause behind every wall, tower, gate and bar.
- A warning attached. Asa's later failure with Syria shows that early faithfulness must be sustained; energy is needed to keep idols out and to keep seeking the Lord.