During the greater part of this time, Asa was ruling in Judah. He “did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God, for he removed the altars of the foreign gods and ... commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers, and to observe the law and the commandment. ... And the kingdom was quiet under him.” 2 Chronicles 14:2-5. RR 39.4
The faith of Asa was put to a severe test when “Zerah the Ethiopian ... with an army of a million men and three hundred chariots” invaded his kingdom. Verse 9. In this crisis Asa did not put his trust in the “fortified cities in Judah” that he had built, with “walls around them, and towers, gates, and bars,” nor in the “mighty men of valor” in his army. Verses 6-8. The king’s trust was in Jehovah. Setting his forces in battle array, he sought the help of God. RR 39.5