Azariah went to meet Asa and said, "Listen to me Asa, and all you people of Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you look for the Lord, you will find him. But if you leave him, he will leave you.
Asa felt encouraged when he heard these words and the message from Obed the prophet. Then he removed the hated idols from the whole area of Judah and Benjamin. He also removed the hated idols from the towns he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. And he repaired the Lord's altar that was in front of the porch of the Lord's Temple.
Then Asa gathered all the people from Judah and Benjamin and the people from the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who had moved from the country of Israel to live in the country of Judah. A great many of these people came to Judah because they saw that the Lord, Asa's God, was with him.
At that time they sacrificed 700 bulls and 7000 sheep and goats to the Lord. Asa's army had taken the animals and other valuable things from their enemies.
All the people of Judah were happy about the oath, because they had promised with all their heart. They followed God with all their heart. They looked for God and found him, so the Lord gave them peace in all the country.
King Asa also removed Maacah, his mother, from being queen mother. He did this because she had set up one of those awful poles to honor the goddess Asherah. Asa cut down that Asherah pole, smashed it into small pieces, and burned the pieces in the Kidron Valley.