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The Defeat of the Ethiopians
v. 9. And there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian, either a Cushite king of Arabia or a mighty Ethiopian king, who, as history relates, invaded the southwest of Egypt and of Asia, with an host of a thousand thousand and three hundred chariots, an immense army, filled with the lust of conquest; and came unto Mareshah, a fortified town in the lowlands of Judah.
v. 10. Then Asa went out against him, and they set the battle in array in the Valley of Zephathah, between Hebron and Ashdod, at Mareshah.
v. 11. And Asa cried unto the Lord, his God, and said, Lord, it is nothing with Thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power, he had the firm confidence that the almighty power of God was independent of the armed forces of man, no matter what their number was. Help us, O Lord, our God; for we rest on Thee, and in Thy name we go against this multitude, which outnumbered his whole army almost two to one. O Lord, Thou art our God; let not man prevail against Thee, mere mortal man, in this case, being represented by the horde which threatened to overwhelm the army of Judah.
v. 12. So the Lord, in answer to Asa's prayer, smote the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled.
v. 13. And Asa and the people that were with him pursued them unto Gerar, the ancient Philistine city southeast of Gaza; and the Ethiopians were overthrown that they could not recover themselves, they fell beyond the hope of rallying their forces; for they were destroyed before the Lord, broken like a piece of glass or fragile pottery. and before His host, for so Asa's army is called as the instrument of the divine justice and wrath against the enemy, and they, the soldiers of Judah, carried away very much spoil.
v. 14. And they smote all the cities round about Gerar, the Philistines, as usual, probably having made common cause with the Cushites; for the fear of the Lord came upon them, the inhabitants of this entire region. And they spoiled all the cities; for there was exceeding much spoil in them.
v. 15. They smote also the tents of cattle, the herds of the nomad tribes in the northwestern part of Paran, bordering upon the Philistine country, and carried away sheep and camels in abundance, and returned to Jerusalem. Those who trust in the Lord with all their heart shall never be ashamed, for His blessing and protection is always near them.