Read 2 Chronicles 16
Asa’s Last Years
16 In the thirty-sixth year of the reign of Asa, Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and built Ramah, that he might permit no one to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. 2 Then Asa took silver and gold from the treasures of the house of the Lord and the king’s house and sent them to Ben-hadad king of Syria, who lived in Damascus, saying, 3 “There is a covenant between me and you, as there was between my father and your father. Behold, I am sending to you silver and gold. Go, break your covenant with Baasha king of Israel, that he may withdraw from me.” 4 And Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, and they conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel-maim, and all the store cities of Naphtali. 5 And when Baasha heard of it, he stopped building Ramah and let his work cease. 6 Then King Asa took all Judah, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber, with which Baasha had been building, and with them he built Geba and Mizpah.
7 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.” 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. 14 They buried him in the tomb that he had cut for himself in the city of David. They laid him on a bier that had been filled with various kinds of spices prepared by the perfumer’s art, and they made a very great fire in his honor.
Go Deeper
As we have read about in the previous couple of chapters, Judah was thriving under Asa’s leadership, and he was known for his commitment to honoring God throughout the kingdom. Then, something changed. Baasha, king of Israel, was fortifying the border of Israel and Judah with obvious plans to move into conflict with Asa and, perhaps, try to overtake the kingdom of Judah. The problem, however, was that Asa never even considered taking this threat to God for His guidance, strength, and protection that He had provided for the first 15 years of his reign. Judah was already stronger as a nation than Israel, and Asa’s armies could easily overtake the army of the king of Aram, Ben-hadad. Instead, he bribes the king of Aram with silver and gold from the temple of God (and the people of Judah) to be used as mercenary monies against the kingdom of Israel. Verses 5-6 show that the scheme worked. King Asa had the people of Judah remove all the fortifications of Baasha on the northern border.
Even in the apparent “success” of Asa’s decision to have king Ben-hadad fight his battle for him, we find that the eventual result was not good for him or the kingdom of Judah. King Asa had become “fat” in his successes, and worse, forgot who was truly in charge of his life and the kingdom God gave him to steward. The lesson here is clear. As we prosper and flourish in this life, we so easily forget who gives, provides, and guides us in all aspects of life whether physical or spiritual, or both. We must constantly seek the Lord to be reminded of what Paul wrote in Romans 11:36 says, “For from Him, and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.”
We now watch Hanani, the seer, call king Asa on his error. It is interesting that God used a seer to convict Asa of his sin. Seers of that time were pagan spiritual advisors guided by astrology and unrighteous methodologies similar to today’s versions of palm reading or future telling. Again, Asa doesn’t repent nor seek the high priest for help. Instead, he is incensed by the seer’s words and throws him in prison. History shows an increase in conflict with enemies of Judah as well as a less prosperous nation for several years following these events. Once again, Asa has no sense of conviction for his errors and has others suffering within his kingdom for his mistakes. His once zealous heart for honoring God in all areas of his life and the kingdom, becomes a heart honoring only himself and his own ways.
This is always a recipe for personal disaster. The lesson for us here is two-fold. First, are we seeking God in all conflicts and difficulties we are facing? Asa continued in his self-centered journeys, and it cost him dearly. Psalm 139:24 says, “See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.” We can pray this verse to the Lord and let His Spirit lead us in the right path in every circumstance. Second, are our hearts open in letting others speak truth into us even when it hurts? Romans 3:23 says, “for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” In other words, we have all sinned. We have all made mistakes. The question is whether or not we have taken those to the throne of grace for forgiveness and correction. The grace of Christ gives us a new start every time we miss the mark. FirstJohn 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” We don’t have to be angry or misled like Asa. The final years of Asa’s reign serve as a reminder to us that we must never allow ourselves to become numb to what the Spirit is doing. We must continue to let the Holy Spirit speak to us through sermons, scripture, prayer, and other believers so we can stay on track and never grow cold.
Questions
- What do you think allowed Asa to grow cold and distant from seeking God?
- Are you walking closely with God and seeking His ways in every area of your life? If not, take a moment to pray Psalm 139:24 to Him and let Him speak to your heart about what He wants for you.
- Who do you have around you that will speak righteous truth into your life? When was the last time someone did that to you?
A Quote
George Williams, an 18th century Bible commentary writer wrote, “Spiritual victories teach the natural heart nothing. New victories cannot be won by remembrance of old faith; there must be a fresh exercise of faith in every crisis. The victorious Asa became the defeated Asa through his self-made plan of disaster.”
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12 responses to “2 Chronicles 16”
What stood out to me today was vs 9-10 (GNB) The LORD keeps close watch over the whole world, to give strength to those whose hearts are loyal to him. You have acted foolishly, and so from now on you will always be at war.” 10 This made Asa so angry with the prophet that he had him put in chains. It was at this same time that Asa began treating some of the people cruelly.”
Meyer says “What an exquisite thought is suggested by the allusion to the eyes of the Lord running to and fro throughout the whole earth! At a glance He takes in our position; not a sorrow, trial, or temptation visits us without exciting his notice and loving sympathy. In all the whole wide earth there is not one spot so lonely, one heart so darkened, as to escape those eyes.”
How comforting are those words! God keeps close watch over each one of us. In our walk that is good and when our walk is hard. The issue is not God’s strength or willingness but our loyalty.
As I am aging (sounds uninviting) but factual, what is my end goal? Yes to retire some day (maybe) but I have a desire to share the gospel and I am learning more every single day about how to. Our “golden” years should not only be vacationing or playing with grandchildren but it should for sure, should include furthering the Kingdom of God. That is my end goal, sharing, helping make disciples, learning more about God and His Word to help others learn more about God and His Word.
God thank You for the picture of You watching over me. Thank You that as I get older, I am getting closer to being with You for all eternity and that makes me do a happy dance!! WOOHOO!!! Passing from death is just passing into a amazing eternal life with You!! God thank You for keeping a close watch over me and that when I stray off the path that You help me to come back to Your ways. God today, in these minutes of this day, help me to make sure that Your gospel is a part of my words, that I can love those that You love, speak life to all I meet and give You the glory for all. God thank You for Your loyalty to me . God I give You praise, honor and glory for these minutes of this day in Jesus name amen.
WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So true about the “golden years”!
12 “Yet even in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but sought help from physicians.”
A reminder that even in concern for my health I must not forget to seek the Lord. It is so natural for me to lean on the understanding of the world’s wisdom rather than turning to God!
What caused Asa to grow cold toward God? That is a good question. It would be helpful to know for sure to make sure to avoid it.
One way I know to avoid it is to keep running toward Jesus even if are legs don’t move quite as fast as our youth. I pray that I, and us all, finish the race strong as Paul says in 2 Timothy 4:7
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
Amen!
Yep!
As we’ve read the narrative of King Asa and come to his final days, we see a man who did so much right, but sadly did not finish well. His latter years were marked by foolishness, rage, oppression and disease. (when experiencing similar emotions, let’s be reminded we may be going in the wrong direction) At anytime he could have returned to the Lord, but he did not. What a wake up call to commit ALL our ways to the Lord, exercising our faith in him and no other.
We see King Asa relying on human alliances rather than trusting in God. This teaches us the importance of placing our faith in the Lord rather than in our own strength or the strength of others. As it is written, “For the eyes of the LORD roam to and fro over all the earth to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are fully devoted to Him” (2 Chronicles 16:9). When we trust in God, we tap into His limitless power and wisdom.
When I was a young mom, my family and I had a fairly active discipleship schedule. Sunday school. Tuesday morning Bible study. Wednesday night church. (Just to name a few!)
Our spiritual diet was rich and consistent.
That is, from about August to May. Once summer started, a lot of that great weekly programming slowed down for a while. I did not realize how much we depended on such things until I started noticing something striking:
Every summer, around late July/early August, my entire family would get increasingly cranky — for “no apparent reason.”
Thankfully, the reason did at last become apparent: we were missing our daily discipleship diet. Spiritually malnourished.
Call it “a case of the holy ‘hangries.’”
I was reading today’s chapter while also responding to texts from my oldest daughter. She’s trying to get over being sick — the kind you get at this time of year when you’re a kindergarten teacher.
And when I hear that, I go into full-on, total “mom mode” with my thirty-something child:
“Have you found anything that’s giving you relief? Whenever I felt like that, my mom used to give me ginger ale and crackers.”
Turns out she was the kind of sick where you feel too crummy to eat — and then you feel extra crummy because you’re just not eating.
My next suggestion was Gatorade (to replenish electrolytes) and chicken soup.
To which she replied, “Oo that actually does sound good. Maybe that’s what I’ll have for dinner tonight. I do have some grapes with me in the meantime — Google says they have electrolytes!”
My sweet girl! Sounds like her poor body was so shut down it couldn’t even see, let alone supply what it needed. When you’re not doing well and running on fumes, it’s hard to get better — and even harder to go forward.
All this was going on… while Asa’s predicament was just a click away.
Which got me to wondering:
The passage points out that Asa didn’t rely on God (v. 7). What if he had let himself get so spiritually malnourished… it left him spiritually diseased?
Talk about “a case of the holy hangries!”
Asa got a lot worse than “cranky.” And the results were catastrophic.
Neglecting to nourish our dependence on God doesn’t always feel dramatic. Sometimes it starts out as a soft ache — the kind we shrug off — until all of a sudden it’s “July.”
Dear Lord, give us this day our daily bread, that we may always meet our “spiritual RDA” — Recommended Divine Allowance!
Love You sister ❤. Great read RDA
That one was Divinely inspired— I’m so glad you liked it! 😘
Thanks for sharing the story of your daughter along with RDA. In all my suffering with this cold, congestion, no appetite and on top of that, I twisted my left knee. It’s excruciating pain, but as I cry out (literally) to the Father, I cry harder because it does not compare to the pain of my sin that Jesus took to the cross on my behalf. Having a dramatic moment this morning. Prayers appreciated. 🤧