The Spirit of God came on Azariah and he said to Asa and all Judah and Benjamin: The Lord is with you when you are with him! If you forsake him he will forsake you! Be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded. These words encouraged Asa to combat paganism in Judah, and he repaired the altar of the Lord. Then Asa assembled all Judah in Jerusalem and he sacrificed 700 head of cattle plus 7,000 sheep and goats from the plunder brought back from the defeat of the Cushites, and the people went into a covenant to seek the Lord with all their heart and soul, but all who refused to enter this covenant were to be put to death. As part of Asa's reform he even deposed his own grandmother Maakah from her position as queen mother because of her bad involvement with pagan Asherah religion. Asa's heart was fully committed to God throughout his life and there was no more war until the 35th year of Asa's reign.
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