King Asa
I was thinking about Bro Howard’s message on last week, and more specifically the story of King Asa. I thought I’d just share a little bit of what I was thinking.
The story can be found in II Chronicles the 15th and 16th Chapters. From the beginning of his reign, God assured Asa that he was with him.
II Chronicles 15:1
1 And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded: 2 And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The LORD is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you. 3 Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law. 4 But when they in their trouble did turn unto the LORD God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them. 5 And in those times there was no peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in, but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the countries. 6 And nation was destroyed of nation, and city of city: for God did vex them with all adversity. 7 Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded. 8 And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from mount Ephraim, and renewed the altar of the LORD, that was before the porch of the LORD.
When Asa heard the word of the Lord, from the prophet, he was encouraged. So encouraged that he begin to tear down the idols in the kingdom. For a time he was a great leader. Look at all the works he did, because of his faith in God. He even removed his mother from being Queen because of her idol worshipping. A good leader, that had no respect of person.
9 And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and the strangers with them out of Ephraim and Manasseh, and out of Simeon: for they fell to him out of Israel in abundance, when they saw that the LORD his God was with him. 10 So they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa. 11 And they offered unto the LORD the same time, of the spoil which they had brought, seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep. 12 And they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul; 13 That whosoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman. 14 And they sware unto the LORD with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets. 15 And all Judah rejoiced at the oath: for they had sworn with all their heart, and sought him with their whole desire; and he was found of them: and the LORD gave them rest round about. 16 And also concerning Maachah the mother of Asa the king, he removed her from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove: and Asa cut down her idol, and stamped it, and burnt it at the brook Kidron. 17 But the high places were not taken away out of Israel: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days. 18 And he brought into the house of God the things that his father had dedicated, and that he himself had dedicated, silver, and gold, and vessels. 19 And there was no more war unto the five and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa.
II chronicles 16
In the six and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah, and built Ramah, to the intent that he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. 2 Then Asa brought out silver and gold out of the treasures of the house of the LORD and of the king's house, and sent to Benhadad king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying, 3 There is a league between me and thee, as there was between my father and thy father: behold, I have sent thee silver and gold; go, break thy league with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me. 4 And Benhadad hearkened unto king Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel; and they smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abelmaim, and all the store cities of Naphtali. 5 And it came to pass, when Baasha heard it, that he left off building of Ramah, and let his work cease. 6 Then Asa the king took all Judah; and they carried away the stones of Ramah, and the timber thereof, wherewith Baasha was building; and he built therewith Geba and Mizpah. 7
For a space of time, there was peace in Judah, because Asa’s heart was perfect and sought to please God. It was in the 36th year that things began to turn. Baasha, the King of Israel, began to build Ramah (a city or forte) to control people going in and out of Judah (where Asa was the King). Asa then took the silver and gold out of the house of the Lord (see II Chronicles 15:18…he had dedicated this silver and gold to the Lord) and sent it to Benhadad the King of Syria. Obviously a powerful King and leader, but not one who served God. He encouraged the King of Syria to break their league with Israel make a league or covenant with Judah. So Benhadad did that, and began to attack the cities of Israel. So much so that they left off building Ramah to go and protect their own cities. Then, King Asa and all of Judah went and gathered the materials left by Baasha, the king of Israel, and built his own cities/forts. Judah was safe, but God wasn’t pleased. After all the things Asa had done to please God, at some point his faith began to fail him. He relied on man rather than on God to deliver him. God sent a prophet to Asa to deliver God’s message.
And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said unto him, Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria, and not relied on the LORD thy God, therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thine hand. 8 Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubims a huge host, with very many chariots and horsemen? yet, because thou didst rely on the LORD, he delivered them into thine hand. 9 For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.
Look at what Asa’s unbelief and fear led too. After 35 years of peace, there was war, because he decided to trust man rather than God. And it’s not like God hadn’t proven himself to Asa before. God hadn’t given Asa ANY reason to doubt his power and strength. From the beginning God had promised Asa that if he would be with God, God would be with him.
10 Then Asa was wroth with the seer, and put him in a prison house; for he was in a rage with him because of this thing. And Asa oppressed some of the people the same time. 11 And, behold, the acts of Asa, first and last, lo, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. 12 And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not to the LORD, but to the physicians. 13 And Asa slept with his fathers, and died in the one and fortieth year of his reign. 14 And they buried him in his own sepulchres, which he had made for himself in the city of David, and laid him in the bed which was filled with sweet odours and divers kinds of spices prepared by the apothecaries' art: and they made a very great burning for him.
Behold the acts of Asa, first and last. A great king, and leader, who had a heart that was perfect towards God. But unbelief and fear set in, and in his end, he would not seek God.
Lord help me, to be patient and trust in you. Keep in my mind the MANY victories that you have given me, the miracles that you’ve worked on my behalf, so that I won’t be like Asa. Definitely a lesson to be learned. But, to encourage us, it says “…the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect towards him.” God help me not to be foolish, and trust my flesh, or any persons flesh above the power of God!! I will have confidence that WHATEVER battle i'm facing, I CANNOT depend on the things of the world to give me victory, but God alone!
The story can be found in II Chronicles the 15th and 16th Chapters. From the beginning of his reign, God assured Asa that he was with him.
II Chronicles 15:1
1 And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded: 2 And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The LORD is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you. 3 Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law. 4 But when they in their trouble did turn unto the LORD God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them. 5 And in those times there was no peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in, but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the countries. 6 And nation was destroyed of nation, and city of city: for God did vex them with all adversity. 7 Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded. 8 And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from mount Ephraim, and renewed the altar of the LORD, that was before the porch of the LORD.
When Asa heard the word of the Lord, from the prophet, he was encouraged. So encouraged that he begin to tear down the idols in the kingdom. For a time he was a great leader. Look at all the works he did, because of his faith in God. He even removed his mother from being Queen because of her idol worshipping. A good leader, that had no respect of person.
9 And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and the strangers with them out of Ephraim and Manasseh, and out of Simeon: for they fell to him out of Israel in abundance, when they saw that the LORD his God was with him. 10 So they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa. 11 And they offered unto the LORD the same time, of the spoil which they had brought, seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep. 12 And they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul; 13 That whosoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman. 14 And they sware unto the LORD with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets. 15 And all Judah rejoiced at the oath: for they had sworn with all their heart, and sought him with their whole desire; and he was found of them: and the LORD gave them rest round about. 16 And also concerning Maachah the mother of Asa the king, he removed her from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove: and Asa cut down her idol, and stamped it, and burnt it at the brook Kidron. 17 But the high places were not taken away out of Israel: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days. 18 And he brought into the house of God the things that his father had dedicated, and that he himself had dedicated, silver, and gold, and vessels. 19 And there was no more war unto the five and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa.
II chronicles 16
In the six and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah, and built Ramah, to the intent that he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. 2 Then Asa brought out silver and gold out of the treasures of the house of the LORD and of the king's house, and sent to Benhadad king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying, 3 There is a league between me and thee, as there was between my father and thy father: behold, I have sent thee silver and gold; go, break thy league with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me. 4 And Benhadad hearkened unto king Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel; and they smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abelmaim, and all the store cities of Naphtali. 5 And it came to pass, when Baasha heard it, that he left off building of Ramah, and let his work cease. 6 Then Asa the king took all Judah; and they carried away the stones of Ramah, and the timber thereof, wherewith Baasha was building; and he built therewith Geba and Mizpah. 7
For a space of time, there was peace in Judah, because Asa’s heart was perfect and sought to please God. It was in the 36th year that things began to turn. Baasha, the King of Israel, began to build Ramah (a city or forte) to control people going in and out of Judah (where Asa was the King). Asa then took the silver and gold out of the house of the Lord (see II Chronicles 15:18…he had dedicated this silver and gold to the Lord) and sent it to Benhadad the King of Syria. Obviously a powerful King and leader, but not one who served God. He encouraged the King of Syria to break their league with Israel make a league or covenant with Judah. So Benhadad did that, and began to attack the cities of Israel. So much so that they left off building Ramah to go and protect their own cities. Then, King Asa and all of Judah went and gathered the materials left by Baasha, the king of Israel, and built his own cities/forts. Judah was safe, but God wasn’t pleased. After all the things Asa had done to please God, at some point his faith began to fail him. He relied on man rather than on God to deliver him. God sent a prophet to Asa to deliver God’s message.
And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said unto him, Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria, and not relied on the LORD thy God, therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thine hand. 8 Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubims a huge host, with very many chariots and horsemen? yet, because thou didst rely on the LORD, he delivered them into thine hand. 9 For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.
Look at what Asa’s unbelief and fear led too. After 35 years of peace, there was war, because he decided to trust man rather than God. And it’s not like God hadn’t proven himself to Asa before. God hadn’t given Asa ANY reason to doubt his power and strength. From the beginning God had promised Asa that if he would be with God, God would be with him.
10 Then Asa was wroth with the seer, and put him in a prison house; for he was in a rage with him because of this thing. And Asa oppressed some of the people the same time. 11 And, behold, the acts of Asa, first and last, lo, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. 12 And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not to the LORD, but to the physicians. 13 And Asa slept with his fathers, and died in the one and fortieth year of his reign. 14 And they buried him in his own sepulchres, which he had made for himself in the city of David, and laid him in the bed which was filled with sweet odours and divers kinds of spices prepared by the apothecaries' art: and they made a very great burning for him.
Behold the acts of Asa, first and last. A great king, and leader, who had a heart that was perfect towards God. But unbelief and fear set in, and in his end, he would not seek God.
Lord help me, to be patient and trust in you. Keep in my mind the MANY victories that you have given me, the miracles that you’ve worked on my behalf, so that I won’t be like Asa. Definitely a lesson to be learned. But, to encourage us, it says “…the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect towards him.” God help me not to be foolish, and trust my flesh, or any persons flesh above the power of God!! I will have confidence that WHATEVER battle i'm facing, I CANNOT depend on the things of the world to give me victory, but God alone!
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