Hey, Bible readers. I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for the Bible Recap.

King Ray, the first king of the Southern Kingdom of Judah has died, and he's replaced by his son Abijam, also known as Abija. Abija does not follow God, just like his dad. Meanwhile, King Jerry is still king in the Northern Kingdom of Israel, and these two obviously don't get along. King Jerry's people come out to attack King Abija's people, and Abidja tells Jerry, Look, we know you're acting wickedly. We know all about your golden calves and your fake temple and your non-Levite priests. And if you attack us, it's bound to fail because it's an attack against God. Even though Abidja is wicked himself, he's not wrong about this. In the battle, Abidja is outnumbered two to one, but he and his army kill more than half of Jerry's army and take some of his land as well. After Abidja dies, The next king of Judah is his son Assa. And finally, we have a God-fearing man on the throne in the south. Hooray. Assa gets a serious pep talk from a man named Azariah, who acts as the mouthpiece of God, the spirit. And after Azariah reminds him of his purpose as king and encourages him to be bold in making reforms, Assa does just that.

He is not afraid to make things right in Judah, even if that means kicking family members out of their roles in the kingdom. He fires all the male cult prostitutes and tears down the idol. He makes rebellion against God punishable by death. He does leave some of the spots that are designated for idol worship intact, so he's not completely thorough in keeping others from worshiping idols.

But as for his heart, he only worships Yahweh.

One thing you may begin to notice is that the kings in Judah, the Southern Kingdom, are always compared to whether or not they're like David. He set the standard for what a good king is. Meanwhile, the Northern Kingdom gets a new king when Jerry dies. His name is Nadab. He's an evil king, but he only has a two-year reign. He and his whole family are murdered by a man named Basha, who takes over the throne in the Northern Kingdom, and he's an evil king, too. However, God uses him to fulfill the words of the Prophet Ahija in first Kings 14, when he foretold that all of Jerry's family would be killed. After that massacre against his fellow Northerners, Basha devises a plan against Assa and the Southern Kingdom, which involves setting up a blockade on one of their major highways. Even though God has given Assa incredible military victories as the underdog, Assa decides to rely on his own plan for how to handle this situation. His decision seems logical and diplomatic and maybe even wise, especially since his army is likely outnumbered, but he doesn't seek God's counsel on it. He takes a bunch of valuable stuff that he's got in storage and offers it to a neighboring king in exchange for his country attacking Basha and Israel instead.

When Basha realizes what's he stops building the blockade. Then, King Assa takes all the supplies Basha was using to build his blockade, throws them on the back of an 18-wheeler, and uses them to build his own blockade against Basha elsewhere. A prophet named Hanani comes to Assa and lets him know that he may have gotten what he wanted, but God is not pleased. And the consequence of not trusting God for victory over his enemies is that he'll now have lots of enemies, and they'll make war against him. Assa does not receive correction well. He's furious. He imprisons the Prophet Hanani and starts being cruel to other people, too. He's probably living in deep regret over his actions, but he can't seem to see that he's only making things worse by letting his anger and regret rule him instead of repenting. Assa continues walking in autonomy, not seeking God, even when he comes down with a terrible disease that leads to his death. He seeks help from everyone but God. Assa ruled Judah a long time, long enough for five kings to come and go in the Northern Kingdom.

He started out wise, but he died arrogant and angry.

Then his son Jehoshaphat takes over the throne in the Southern Kingdom. What was your God shot today? Mine was when God, the spirit, was speaking through Azariah the prophet in 2 Chronicles 15, and he said, If you seek him, he will be found by you. This made me think of you guys out there reading and recaping with us every day. You're seeking him. You're at least 176 days into seeking him? Have you been finding him? What do you know about him that you didn't know 177 days ago? I hope your days are stacked with evidence of him. I hope you're finding him in places you never even thought possible, places like Leviticus and numbers and genealogies. Keep seeking him because I bet you know him more today than you did yesterday, but not as much as you'll know him tomorrow. And I hope you're seeing every day that he's where the joy is.

We know so many of you will be taking TBR with you as you travel this summer, and we want proof.

Picks or it didn't happen, right?

So while you're jet-setting or road-tripping, we'll be traveling vicariously through you. And this summer, our TBR on Vacay Contest gives you a chance to win some great TBR prizes. We'll have winners every week in June and July, plus one grand prize winner at the end of the summer. To enter, tag us at the Bible Recap and #TBRon TBR on Vacay in a photo of where you're reading and recapping. Each time you tag us, you'll be entered into a drawing for a variety of very cool TBR Prizes. Plus, you'll get a bonus entry anytime you tag us with any TBR merch. A book, T-shirt, tumbler, or our stickers from our new sticker pack. Our grand prize winner will receive a $100 gift card to the TBR store and a signed copy of the TBR book. Again, we're at the Bible Recap everywhere, and the hashtag is #TBRonvake. And fine, you're right. This is my not-so-suttle way of saying, yes, take a vacation, but do not take a vacation from reading your Bible. You got me. Nothing gets past you guys, but I am a bit of a one-trick pony.