11. Asa obeyed the Lord, as David had done.
12. He forced the prostitutes at the shrines to leave the country, and he got rid of the idols his ancestors had made.
13. His own grandmother Maacah had made an idol of Asherah, and Asa took it and burnt it in Kidron Valley. Then he removed Maacah from her position as queen mother.
14. As long as Asa lived, he was completely faithful to the Lord, even though he did not destroy the local shrines.
15. He placed in the temple all the silver and gold objects that he and his father had dedicated to the Lord.
16. Asa was always at war with King Baasha of Israel.
17. One time, Baasha invaded Judah and captured the town of Ramah. He started making the town stronger, so he could put troops there to stop people from going in and out of Judah.
18. When Asa heard about this, he took the silver and gold from his palace and from the Lord's temple. He gave it to some of his officials and sent them to Damascus with this message for King Benhadad of Syria:
19. “Our fathers signed a peace treaty. Why don't we do the same thing? This silver and gold is a present for you. So, would you please break your treaty with Baasha and force him to leave my country?”