SARAH
（《列王纪上》15章；《历代志下》14章）
(1 Kings 15; 2 Chronicles 14)
亚比雅死了以后，他儿子亚撒接着当犹大王。
After Abijah died, his son Asa became king of Judah.
亚撒在耶路撒冷一共当了41年王。
Asa reigned in Jerusalem for 41 years.
亚撒这个人，总的来说是个敬畏上帝的好王。
Overall, Asa was a good king who feared God.
他按照上帝的心意做事，跟他祖先大卫一样，努力走正路。
He did what was right in the eyes of God, like his ancestor David, and tried to walk the right path.
他当王以后，开始清理国家里的那些他父亲遗留下来乱七八糟的事情。
After he became king, he began to clean up the mess that had been left behind by his father in the country.
当时有些人专门做淫乱的宗教活动，亚撒把这些人赶了出去；以前历代君王造的那些偶像，他也一个个清除掉它们。
At that time, some people were involved in immoral religious practices, and Asa drove them out; he also removed the idols that previous kings had made, one by one.
更厉害的是，他连自己的奶奶玛迦太后都没有包庇。
What is even more remarkable is that he did not protect or excuse his own grandmother, Queen Mother Maakah.
因为玛迦造了一个很可怕的偶像，叫亚舍拉。
Because Maakah had made a terrible idol called Asherah.
亚撒一看，这行为绝对不行，不能因为她是自己的奶奶就睁一只眼闭一只眼。
When Asa saw this, he knew that this behavior was absolutely wrong; he could not turn a blind eye just because she was his grandmother.
于是他把玛迦太后的地位废掉，还把她造的偶像砍下来、砸碎，然后烧掉，扔在汲沦溪边。
So he removed Maakah from her position as queen mother, and he cut down, crushed, and burned the idol she had made, throwing it by the Kidron Valley.
不过，亚撒也不是做到百分之百完美。
However, Asa was not one hundred percent perfect.
当时还有一些邱坛没有被彻底拆掉。
At that time, some of the high places had not been completely removed.
但总体来说，亚撒一辈子对上帝是真心实意的，不是嘴上说说而已。
But overall, Asa was sincere in his devotion to God throughout his life; it was not merely something he said with his lips.
他又把他父亲以前分别出来献给上帝的金银和各种器皿，都送进了上帝的圣殿。
He also brought the gold, silver, and various vessels that his father had previously set apart for God into the temple of God.
不过，国家之间的战争并没有因此停止。
However, the wars between the nations did not stop because of this.
亚撒当王的时候，还是常常跟以色列王巴沙打仗。
During Asa’s reign, he still often fought against Baasha, king of Israel。
这是这个时期的故事。
This is the story from this period.
亚撒面对祖先留下的偶像，没有选择继续下去，而是主动清除。今天，我们的家庭、环境或过去有没有一些错误的东西，是我们需要勇敢面对并停止延续的？
Asa faced the idols left behind by his ancestors. He did not choose to continue them, but took action to remove them. Today, are there things from our family, environment, or past that are wrong and that we need to courageously face and stop passing on?