Oded
(2 Chronicles 28:9)
(C3229, 3299, 775-705 BC)
His name comes from the Hebrew 'the ¯' ded that translates "heavy."
There was another prophet mentioned in the Bible by that name, only mentioned in passing in 1 Chronicles 15:1 and 8 as being the father of the prophet Azariah. Directed by God's Spirit, Azariah brought a message to King Asa of Judah reminding him of the power of God that had delivered His people from their enemies and encouraging him to rid the land of Judah and Benjamin of the idolatry that had infected them. Hearing this message, Asa "put away the abominations of the whole land of Judah and Benjamin as well as the cities which he had taken in the hill country of Ephraim, and renewed the altar of the Lord, that was before the porch of the Lord."
But the kings who came after Asa relaxed and idolatry again polluted the kingdom of Judah's grandson Asa, for his father Jehoram had married Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel. Athaliah was an extremely cruel and idolatrous woman, having imposed herself on her husband and their son Ahaziah.
Nearly a century after Asa, his descendant Ahaz ascended the throne and made molten images to the Baalim, burned incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire of the altar of Moloch.
Because of this, God allowed his territory to be invaded by the Syrians and the army of Israel whose king was called Pekah. This was in 735 BC. The army of Pekah took two hundred thousand captives to Samaria, with their wives, sons and daughters.
When the victorious army approached the city of Samaria, the second prophet of the Lord named Oded met Pekah, rebuked him for his violence and told him to show mercy to the captives and to send them back home. So some of the chiefs of the people persuaded the army to release the prisoners and then gave them good treatment and brought them back to Jericho, the "city of palm trees" in the kingdom of Judah.
R David Jones