Dear everyone,
Today I want to look at the story of Asa king of Judah. He did some great things in his life and saw
God work mighty deeds, yet he stumbled in the end. Maybe we can learn from his example and
follow what he did right, but also learn from his mistakes and guard our hearts
from stumbling.
Here are a few key passages from the life of Asa (I encourage
you to read the whole story when you have time.)
2 Chronicles 14:1-8
Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the
city of David. And Asa his son reigned in his place. In his days the land had
rest for ten years. 2 And Asa did what was
good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. 3 He
took away the foreign altars and the high places and broke down the
pillars and cut down the Asherim 4 and
commanded Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, and to keep
the law and the commandment. 5 He also took out of
all the cities of Judah the high places and the incense altars. And
the kingdom had rest under him. 6 He built fortified
cities in Judah, for the land had rest. He had no war in those years, for
the Lord gave him peace. 7 And he said to
Judah, “Let us build these cities and surround them with walls and towers,
gates and bars. The land is still ours, because we have sought the Lord our
God. We have sought him, and he has given us peace on every side.” So they
built and prospered. 8 And Asa had an army of 300,000
from Judah, armed with large shields and spears, and 280,000 men from Benjamin
that carried shields and drew bows. All these were mighty men of valor.
Things to think
about:
·
Notice that Asa starts off well. He does what is good and right in the eyes of
the Lord. How often do we care more
about doing what is right in the eyes of the people around us than in the eyes
of God?
·
How would your life be different if you cared
more about what God thought of what you were doing rather than what people
thought of what you were doing?
·
Asa was not alone in his devotion – the people followed
his example and stopped worshiping false gods.
It always surprises me how much influence a real leader can have on the
people around them. Are you such a
leader?
2 Chronicles 14:9-13
Zerah the Ethiopian came out against them with an army
of a million men and 300 chariots, and came as far as Mareshah. 10 And
Asa went out to meet him, and they drew up their lines of battle in the
Valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. 11 And Asa cried
to the Lordhis God, “O Lord, there is none like you to help, between
the mighty and the weak. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on
you, and in your name we have come against this multitude. O Lord,
you are our God; let not man prevail against you.” 12 So
the Lord defeated the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and the
Ethiopians fled. 13 Asa and the people who were
with him pursued them as far as Gerar, and the Ethiopians fell until none
remained alive, for they were broken before the Lord and his army.
The men of Judah carried away very much spoil. 14 And
they attacked all the cities around Gerar, for the fear of the Lord was
upon them. They plundered all the cities, for there was much plunder in them.
Things to think
about:
·
What would you do in a battle where you were
outnumbered more than 2 to 1? One million
soldiers! That must have been
frightening…but how to Asa respond? He prayed
and asked God to support them. Asa
trusted in the Lord’s promise that he would protect and bless his people, no
matter what enemy came against them.
·
How do you respond when you are faced with a
situation that looks impossible? Where
do you turn for help? What promises to
you rely on?
·
Who defeated the Ethiopian army? Who defeats the enemies we face in our lives?
2 Chronicles 15:1-4,
8-12
The Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded, 2 and
he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and
Benjamin: The Lord is with you while you are with him. If
you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will
forsake you. 3 For a long time Israel was without
the true God, and without a teaching priest and without law, 4 but
when in their distress they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and
sought him, he was found by them…
…As soon as Asa heard these words, the
prophecy of Azariah the son of Oded, he took courage and put away the
detestable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from the
cities that he had taken in the hill country of Ephraim, and he repaired
the altar of the Lord that was in front of the vestibule of the house
of the Lord. 9 And he gathered all Judah and
Benjamin, and those from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who were residing
with them, for great numbers had deserted to him from Israel when they saw that
the Lord his God was with him. 10 They
were gathered at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of the
reign of Asa. 11 They sacrificed to the Lord on
that day from the spoil that they had brought 700 oxen and 7,000 sheep. 12 And
they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers,
with all their heart and with all their soul…
Things to think
about:
·
Not only did king Asa win in battle he also won
over the hearts of the people to the Lord.
He heard the message of God spoken through a prophet and he
responded. He acted upon what he
heard. It changed his life and changed the
way he ruled his kingdom.
·
Does God’s Word have the same effect on your
life? When was the last time you were
changed by something God said in His Word?
Summary – Asa then
grows complacent or at least grows foolish later in life. He is about to be attacked by another army
and instead of sticking with what worked the first time and seeking the Lord,
he seeks the help of the king of Syria.
Sometimes you just think – Doh! Why
did I do that? Hear what a prophet had
to say after King Asa acted so foolishly…
2 Chronicles 16:7-9
At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of
Judah and said to him, “Because you relied on the king of Syria, and did
not rely on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Syria has
escaped you. 8 Were not the Ethiopians and the
Libyans a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you
relied on the Lord, he gave them into your hand. 9 For
the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to
give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. You
have done foolishly in this, for from now on you will have wars.”
Things to think
about:
·
Hearing correction is always difficult. We all make mistakes, but how do we handle it
when we are called out on those mistakes?
·
I think the attitude God is looking for is
repentance, humility, and sorrow…not anger, pride, and bitterness. How did Asa respond to this correction in his
life?
2 Chronicles 16:10-13
10 Then Asa was angry with the seer
and put him in the stocks in prison, for he was in a rage with him because
of this. And Asa inflicted cruelties upon some of the people at the same time.
11 The acts of Asa, from first to
last, are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 12 In
the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was diseased in his feet, and his
disease became severe. Yet even in his disease he did not seek the Lord,
but sought help from physicians. 13 And Asa slept
with his fathers, dying in the forty-first year of his reign.
Things to think
about:
·
How do you respond when your sin is
uncovered? How do you react when you
have acted foolishly?
·
Asa stumbled in the end…do you think there was
symbolism or irony here that God diseased his feet? A physical reminder of his spiritual
stumble? His walk with the Lord was
suffering so his walk in his life was suffering.
·
My encouragement for the day – don’t be like Asa
and stumble in the end. Have faith in
God at all times and when you make a mistake or fall, turn to Him in repentance
and humility…you don’t want to have diseased feet now do you? J
