2 Chronicles 14–16

We come to the account of Asa's happy reign, introduced by the pure grace of God. As 1 Kings 15:4 says, "But for David's sake the LORD his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem" — and that lamp was Asa. All is blessing for Asa in the first part of his reign — and we shall see the cause for this — but in 2 Chronicles 16 we shall also find the cause of his decline.

He did what was right in the sight of the Lord. He took away the foreign altars, the high places and the images, and cut down the groves. He also commanded Judah to seek the Lord. The land was quiet. The Lord blessed him and the land for the faithful work that had been done. … It was a remarkable work for one so young. Asa was probably not yet twelve years old when he became king.

Man cannot live without religion. If he does not have the religion of the true God, he will invent a false religion to satisfy his conscience and answer his instincts. When man's own will becomes his god, Satan masters him and triumphs. And on the other hand, what rest there is in separation from evil and in the worship of the holy God, the true God! The Word insists on this point here: "In his days the land had rest for ten years."

His name, "healing," or "cure," reads like a prophecy of the reform, and the rest that followed it, brought about by him during the earlier part of his reign. He made a most excellent beginning.

He was no mere image-breaker. If he had the zeal to break down the images, he also had the wisdom to build fortified cities. Exposing evil is good, but it is truth in the soul that protects it from the enemy's invasion.

How did Asa make use of this rest? He did not act like David, who thought of resting while his own men were in the field. Instead, he used the quiet God granted him to defend himself against the enemy outside.

Believers today are also wise to use times of peace well. They can store up the Word of God in their hearts as a protection from the attacks of the enemy, which are sure to come in time. So Asa's prosperity urges us to learn to prosper spiritually while we still have the chance.

It would have been good for the sixteenth-century churches if they had been as wise after the Reformation. In the rest that followed, they could have built and fortified themselves in their defence of "the faith once for all delivered to the saints." But sadly, they slept. When the armies of worldliness, ritualism and rationalism appeared at their borders, they were unprepared and powerless to drive them back.

Abijah, who came to the throne next and had more faith, struck a severe blow against Jeroboam and Israel. It was the same with Asa in 2 Chronicles 14. Ethiopia's vast armies fell before him, and he was blessed when he listened to Oded the prophet in 2 Chronicles 15. But in 2 Chronicles 16 he relied on Syria against Israel, and God struck him with a lingering death.

Of Hezekiah we read, "And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD." Yes, while everything around him was wrong, he did what was right. And note: not in his own sight, not in his own opinion, but in the sight of the Lord. This, then, is the foundation principle of our lesson. God can raise up a man, can enable His child, to do what is right in the sight of the Lord, while everything around is wrong.

Idolatry was the cause of the trouble and conflicts among the people in Israel. King Asa got right down to the root of the trouble by removing idolatrous altars, images and groves. Then, having removed what was offensive to God, he commanded his people to get right with God, to seek Him, and to do His will.

His faithfulness involved the constructive work of commanding Judah to seek the Lord and to observe the law. But some destructive work was no less important. He removed the high places and incense altars, which came in during Solomon's time and which Rehoboam and Abijah kept going.

His name, "healing," or "cure," reads like a prophecy of the reform he brought about in the earlier part of his reign, and of the rest that followed… But he did not stop there; he did more… He was no mere image-breaker. If he had the zeal to break down the images, he also had the wisdom to build fortified cities. To expose evil is very well, but to supply the soul with truth is what protects it from the invasion of the enemy.

What instruction Asa's attitude gives us! When God gives us rest, it is so that we may concentrate all our activities on preparing ourselves against the attacks of the enemy. The enemy will not be slow to return. Our means of defence and our fortresses are the Word and nothing but the Word. Let us use the time when no storms are battering us. Let us ground ourselves in the Word and draw from it our strength to withstand.

In one point only he had dealt in a somewhat compromising way with the cities he had acquired in Israel. No doubt he was yielding to some political idea… "But the high places were not taken out of Israel." Cautions like this never have the results the Christian was hoping for.

A sad decline in his last days — the king of Judah finds his refuge in the king of Israel instead of in the Lord. For the moment all seems to go well, because God does not judge everything at once… In his old age he became diseased in his feet.

On the whole it seems most probable that they were wooden symbols of a goddess, in the form of images or pillars, or mere stems of trees set into the ground. In 2 Kings 23:7 we read that women wove "hangings" for the groves. But these were literally "houses" or "tents," which implies that they enclosed the groves, probably for immoral purposes, since immorality was almost constantly associated with idolatry. The many references to the idols, images, and groves show how far Israel had departed from the living God and fallen into idolatry.

The Israelites were to destroy all the high places of the pagan nations, and so show their hatred of their wicked ways. But human nature is no better in those who are near to God than in those who are far from Him. The time soon came, sadly, when Israel chose high places for themselves. Some of these were for idolatrous worship, and some for the worship of Jehovah. But all the high places were offensive in His sight, whatever the motives of those who set them up. They were the expression of self-will, of hearts not subject to His commandments.

Keeping up groves and high places in Israel was always the evidence that the people had not properly prepared their hearts to seek the Lord God of Israel. He is the only true God, and He had put His name at Jerusalem.

The cause of the trouble and conflicts between the brothers in Israel was the introduction of idolatry. King Asa got right down to the root of the trouble by removing idolatrous altars, images and groves. Having removed what was offensive to God, the king commanded his people to get right with God, to seek Him, and to do His will.

He was no mere image-breaker. If he had the zeal to break down the images, he also had the wisdom to build fortified cities. To expose evil is very good, but it is truth put into the soul that guards it from the enemy's invasion. They redeemed the time, as Ephesians 5:16 tells us to do: "making the best use of the time, because the days are evil." So God was with them.

In Judah, Asa was the first king who, at the beginning of his reign, passed judgment on the high places and broke them down. Jeroboam had done the opposite: he made the high places a religious institution for the ten tribes, and even set up a special priesthood there, against the worship of the Lord at Jerusalem. This is always what follows when men abandon the God who has revealed Himself in His Word. Man cannot live without religion. If he does not have the religion of the true God, he will invent a false religion to satisfy his conscience and answer his instincts. Atheism itself is a religion. It hands man over, bound hand and foot, to superstition — that is to say, to the worship of demons and to anarchy. When man's own will becomes his god, Satan masters him and triumphs.

He takes away the strange gods; for we keep finding them again. It takes energy to cast them out and to keep them from returning.

Idolatry was the cause of the trouble and conflicts between the tribes in Israel. King Asa got right down to the root of the trouble by removing idolatrous altars, images and groves. He first removed what was offensive to God. Then he commanded his people to get right with God, to seek Him, and to do His will.

Man cannot live without religion. If he does not have the religion of the true God, he will invent a false religion to satisfy his conscience and answer to his instincts. Atheism itself is a religion too. It hands man over, bound hand and foot, to superstition — that is, to the worship of demons and to anarchy. When man's own will becomes his god, Satan masters him and triumphs... And, on the other hand, what rest there is in separation from evil and in the worship of the holy God, the true God!

He sought the God of his fathers in obedience to His commandments, in contrast to the ways of the ten tribes (v. 4). So the Lord established the kingdom under him. Judah brought him presents, because they recognized the value of his honorable example... Christians cannot count on material wealth as the fruit of their devotion to the Lord. Yet that devotion will give them true spiritual wealth, which is far better.

Asa's name, meaning "healing" or "cure," reads like a prophecy of the reform he carried out, and the rest that followed, in the earlier part of his reign. He made a most excellent start... He was no mere destroyer of idols. If he had the zeal to break down the images, he had also the wisdom to build fortified cities. Exposing evil is very good, but filling the soul with truth is what protects it from the enemy's attack... So God was with them. The king's words and example encouraged the people, and they threw themselves gladly into the blessed work of building and fortifying.

How obvious the spread of idolatry, how much it had grown, that it took a law to put it down! ... Did you ever know idolatry, or any sin, put away by commandment? It may hide its head. Idolaters may appear to throw their idols away to the moles and the bats, but it still exists, and repressive laws only strengthen it. Its seat is in the heart and the idol is only the outward symbol, the visible index of the heart's enmity against God.

There was beautiful harmony between king and people. All was done willingly by every one. It was not as with [Asa], who "commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers" (2 Chron. 14:4). Instead of commanding, the king consults with the people here.

The Word alone must govern God's people in all matters relating to worship, as indeed in everything else. God would choose His own centre of worship, and there His people must come with their burnt offerings and sacrifices... But all the high places were offensive in His sight, whatever the motives of those who set them up. They were the expression of self-will, of hearts not subject to His commandments.

In Judah he was the first king who, at the beginning of his reign, passed judgment on the high places and broke them down... Man cannot live without religion. If he does not have the religion of the true God, he will invent a false religion to satisfy his conscience and answer to his instincts... And on the other hand, what rest there is in separation from evil and in the worship of the holy God, the true God! The Word insists on this point here: "In his days the land was quiet ten years" (v. 1). "The kingdom was quiet before him" (v. 5). "The land had rest... the Lord had given him rest" (v. 6). "The Lord... has given us rest on every side" (v. 7).

His name means "healing," or "cure." It reads like a prophecy of the reformation he carried out in the earlier part of his reign, and of the rest that followed. He was no mere image-breaker. If he had the zeal to break down the images, he also had the wisdom to build fortified cities. To expose evil is very well, but to furnish the soul with truth is what protects it from the invasion of the enemy.

When God gives us rest, it is so that we may put all our activity into arming ourselves against the attacks of the enemy. The enemy will not be slow to return. Our means of defence and our fortresses are the Word and nothing but the Word.

He takes away the strange gods; for we continually find them again. It takes energy to cast them out and keep them from returning.

So it had been with Asa, too. In 2 Chronicles 14:5 we have seen that he "removed out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the sun-images." Then, in 2 Chronicles 15:17, we read that "the high places were not removed from Israel."... All this is easy to explain. Let us remember that God never contradicts Himself. Under the reign of these kings, purification had been only partial and temporary. Evil sprang up again everywhere, because nothing had ever reached the conscience of the people.

This book emphasises grace as the only means of maintaining the royal line. At a time of complete decline in the kingdom, it always highlights the good that grace has produced, even if it lasted only a moment. It shows that grace covers a multitude of sins. It is different when the subject is responsibility, as in the book of Kings. There God reveals the evil in its full extent and shows us why judgment was necessary.

He did what was right in the sight of the Lord. He took away the strange altars, the high places and the images, and cut down the groves. He was not satisfied with this work, but he also commanded Judah to seek the Lord. The land was quiet. The Lord blessed him and the land for the faithful work he had done.

We come to the account of Asa's happy reign, introduced by the pure grace of God, as 1 Kings 15:4 says: "For David's sake the LORD his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem" in the person of Asa.

Man cannot live without religion: if he does not have the religion of the true God, he will invent a false religion to satisfy his conscience and answer to his instincts... When man's own will becomes his god, Satan masters him and triumphs. What trouble takes hold of the fool who has said in his heart, "There is no God!" What agitation, what despair, what deadly sorrow! And, on the other hand, what rest there is in separation from evil and in the worship of the holy God, the true God!

He was no mere destroyer of idols. If he had the zeal to break down the images, he also had the wisdom to build fortified cities. To expose evil is very well, but to furnish the soul with truth is what protects it from the invasion of the enemy.

When God gives us rest, it is so that we may concentrate all our activities on arming ourselves against the attacks of the enemy. The enemy will not be slow to return. Our means of defence and our fortresses are the Word and nothing but the Word. Let us use the time when we are not battered by storms to ground ourselves in the Word and draw from it our strength to withstand.

How well it would have been for the churches of the sixteenth century if they had been as wise after the Reformation. During the rest that followed they could have built and fortified themselves in their position of defence of "the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints." But sadly, they slept. When the armies of worldliness, ritualism and rationalism appeared at their borders, they were unprepared and powerless to drive them back. They were not, like Judah, ready and able to resist the enemy when he came.

During the ten quiet years the king had learned to rely on God, and to prepare for the coming of the enemy. Asa's five hundred and eighty thousand men seemed a powerful force made up of "mighty men of valor." But the advancing army of Zerah the Ethiopian seemed much stronger, for he had a million men and three hundred chariots. King Asa went to meet this great army, but he was not relying on his forces; he cried out to the LORD his God.

Notice the great prosperity which followed the work he had done. "The kingdom was quiet before him." He built and fortified cities. They acknowledged that it was all of God.

His faithfulness showed in constructive work. He commanded Judah to seek the Lord and to keep the law. But the destructive work mattered just as much. He removed the high places and incense altars that Solomon's reign had introduced and that Rehoboam and Abijah had kept.

How did Asa make use of this rest? He did not act like David, who thought about resting while his own men were in the field. Instead, he used the quiet that God granted him to defend himself against the enemy outside.

What instruction Asa's attitude gives us! When God gives us rest, it is so that we can put all our energy into arming ourselves against the enemy's attacks. He will not be slow to return. Our means of defence and our fortresses are the Word and nothing but the Word. Let us use the time when no storms are beating on us to ground ourselves in the Word and draw from it our strength to stand.

He did more than smash idols. If he had the zeal to break down the images, he also had the wisdom to build fortified cities. Exposing evil is good, but it is truth filling the soul that keeps the enemy out. They made the best use of the time, as Ephesians 5:16 tells us to do: "making the best use of the time, because the days are evil." So God was with them.

The work was not only building cities to defend God's people. It was also preparing God's army, a host the Lord could use against His enemies. We are not only builders in God's service. We are also part of the Lord's army, contending "for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 3). That means we must stand against the enemies of God.

The churches of the Reformation had a quiet spell afterwards. It would have been well for them if they had been as wise and used it to build and fortify their position, defending "the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints." But they slept. So when worldliness, empty ritual and human reasoning arrived at their borders, they had no power to drive them back. Unlike Judah, they were not ready or able to resist the enemy when he came.

Asa forgot his experience with Zerah and how God had won that victory (see his beautiful prayer, 2 Chronicles 14:11). He forgot that the Lord who struck down Zerah could also strike down Baasha. So he feared the rival king.

He was no mere destroyer of idols. If he had the zeal to break down the images, he also had the wisdom to build fortified cities. To expose evil is very good, but furnishing the soul with truth is what protects it from the invasion of the enemy. They redeemed the time, as we are told to do in Ephesians 5:16, "Making the best use of the time, because the days are evil." So God was with them.

When God gives us rest, it is so that we may put all our activity into arming ourselves ahead of time against the attacks of the enemy. He will not be slow to return. Our means of defence and our fortresses are the Word and nothing but the Word… However, the fortified cities are not enough, even though the enemy may not enter them. Asa has an army trained for war… To avoid defeat in battle we must carry weapons in the right hand and in the left. Above all we must know how to use the two-edged sword, which is the Word of God. Only in this way can we, after having overcome everything, stand firm when conflict comes.

A shield. 1 Kings 10:16; 2 Chronicles 9:15; 2 Chronicles 14:8.

We have not got the sword yet; the defensive armour comes before the offensive. In that state (having a good conscience, and the spirit of grace and peace) I now come to the shield from Satan. I am to look up to God with entire confidence; this is the shield of faith. Then comes the helmet of salvation. I can hold my head up; and… I take the sword. The sword of the Spirit is God's word.

Asa also gathered an army of 300,000 from Judah and 280,000 from Benjamin, all capable warriors (v. 8). However, after ten years of his reigning the king of Ethiopia came to attack him with an army of one million men and 300 chariots (v. 9). So he had 420,000 more men than Asa had. But Asa was not discouraged.

Asa's faith rises to blessed heights on this occasion. He himself commands a fine army of over half a million "mighty men of valour." Even so, he takes the place of complete dependence on God. He makes the conflict a matter between God and the enemy. Such faith can never be disappointed.

Asa is a man of faith. In God's presence he has learned that he can have no confidence in the flesh. But he has also learned that there is strength outside himself, which he may always turn to. His daily contact with the temple of God at Jerusalem taught him this. At the entrance of the sanctuary, before his eyes, stood the pillar of Boaz. Its name means: "In Him is strength!"… This whole passage is the lesson of our strength. The most powerful enemy has no strength against God, and only faith is needed to prove it. Satan himself had to admit this when his hatred attacked Christ. At the cross, where he thought he was at last rid of Him, he met God's power in the weakness of God.

The next person mentioned is ZERAH the Ethiopian, who brought an army of 1,000,000 and 300 chariots against Asa the king of Judah. Asa called to the Lord for help in true devotion, and said that his rest was on Him. God answered his faith. The Egyptian armies were defeated, and Judah took "very much spoil." Notice that Scripture does not say that Zerah was a Pharaoh. He is thought to have been the general of Osorkon II, the fourth king of the twenty-second dynasty.

It was one thing for Shishak to invade the land of Judah because they had sinned against the Lord (2 Chron. 12:2), and quite a different matter when Zerah came against them unprovoked, at his own expense, as it were. God, who loves and defends His people, gave him the punishment he deserved. So he was defeated, and his immense army of more than a million men was wiped out.

But faith had to be tested. A powerful army under the leadership of Zerah, an Ethiopian, came against Judah. The battle was to take place in the open field, in the valley of Zephathah. Before the forces ever clashed Asa cried to the Lord.

Asa also gathered an army of 300,000 from Judah and 280,000 from Benjamin, all capable warriors. But after he had reigned ten years, the king of Ethiopia came to attack him with an army of one million men and 300 chariots. So he had 420,000 more men than Asa had. But Asa was not discouraged.

What, then, is the source of his confidence? His being right? His religion, giving him the assurance, as it gave his father Abijah, that God must be with him? That is not where Asa's secret lies. Asa is a man of faith. In God's presence he has learned that he can have no confidence in the flesh. He has also learned that there is strength outside himself, and he can always turn to it. He knew this from his daily contact with the temple of God at Jerusalem. At the entrance of the sanctuary, right before his eyes, stood the column of Boaz, which means: "In Him is strength!"

Asa's faith rises to blessed heights on this occasion. He himself commands a fine army of over half a million "mighty men of valour." Even so, he takes the place of complete dependence on God. He makes the conflict a matter between God and the enemy. God never disappoints such faith.

The Ethiopians flee and cannot recover. This was because Israel was not Asa's army but God's army: they were crushed before the Lord and before His army. Asa's victory meant more than the defeat of the enemy. It also meant the real conquest of cities, spoil, flocks, and riches. So for us, every victory over the Enemy that rests on self-judgment brings new and precious gains. They come out of the treasure of Christ's riches, which no one can measure.

It is difficult to account for this sudden defect in Asa's faith. Not long before, with God's help, he had destroyed the immense army of Zerah the Ethiopian. Now he faces an enemy not half as dangerous. His faith fails, and he looks for rescue to human strength.

What instruction Asa's attitude gives us! God gives us rest for a reason. We are to put all our effort into arming ourselves against the enemy's attacks. The enemy will not be slow to return. Our means of defence and our fortresses are the Word and nothing but the Word. Let us use the calm times, when no storms beat on us, to ground ourselves in the Word. From it we draw our strength to stand. However, the fortified cities — which the enemy is shut out of — are not enough; Asa also had an army trained for war.

Fortified city in the lowlands of Judah. Joshua 15:44; 2 Chr. 11:8; 2 Chr. 14:9-10; 2 Chr. 20:37; Micah 1:15.

It was one thing for Shishak to invade the land of Judah because the people had been unfaithful to the Lord (2 Chron. 12:2). It was quite another matter when Zerah came against them unprovoked, at his own expense, as it were. He received his just punishment from God, who loves and defends His people.

Abijah relied on the merits of his religion to win the battle. Asa does not. He first sits down and works out whether he, with ten thousand men, can withstand the one coming against him with twenty thousand. The result of his reckoning leaves him in no doubt; he goes out against the enemy. What, then, is the source of his confidence? Being in the right? His religion, giving him the assurance, as it gave his father Abijah, that God must be with him? That is not where Asa's secret lies. Asa is a man of faith. In God's presence he has learned that he can have no confidence in the flesh. He has also learned that there is strength outside himself, which he may always turn to. He came to know this through his daily connection with the temple of God at Jerusalem. At the entrance of the sanctuary, before his eyes, stood the pillar called Boaz, which means: "In Him is strength!"

Asa's faith rises to blessed heights on this occasion. Though he himself commanded a fine army of over half a million "mighty men of valour," he takes the place of complete dependence on God. He makes the conflict a matter between God and the enemy. Such faith can never be disappointed.

The Lord could have struck the Ethiopians down without His people lifting a finger against them. But He graciously allowed them a part in the conflict. So when the enemy fled before the Lord, they fled before His host too. What is more, the Lord allowed His host to plunder the enemy, to be more than conquerors.

He reminded Asa that the army of the Ethiopians and Lubims had been huge, far greater than Israel's, with many chariots and horsemen. Yet because Asa had relied on the Lord then, God gave him a decisive victory.

Before the forces ever clashed Asa cried to the Lord. His prayer is most beautiful and simple. It still feels fresh, and it has helped all God's trusting people in every age... What confidence and trust! He put the whole matter upon the LORD. Their enemies were His enemies. In His name, resting on Him, they went forth. May we know and practice the same confidence. Such a prayer could not remain unanswered.

What, then, is the source of his confidence? His being right? His religion, giving him the assurance, as it gave his father Abijah, that God must be with him? That is not where Asa's secret lies. Asa is a man of faith. In God's presence he has learned that he can have no confidence in the flesh, but that there is strength outside himself that he can always turn to... In front of him, at the entrance of the sanctuary, stood the pillar of Boaz, which means: "In Him is strength!"

During the ten quiet years the king had learned to rely on God, and to prepare for the coming of the foe.

Asa's faith rises to blessed heights on this occasion. He himself commanded a fine army of over half a million "mighty men of valor." Yet he takes the place of complete dependence on God, and makes the conflict a matter between God and the enemy. Such faith can never be disappointed.

The enemy may be as the sand on the sea shore for multitude: that is nothing — and faith knows it. He can give strength to one sword to subdue a host.

This prayer showed the king's dependence and reliance on God. It showed that he saw Zerah's attack as a challenge to the God of Israel. In saying "let not man prevail against You," Asa placed the whole issue on the Lord... The Lord could have struck down the Ethiopians without His people lifting a finger. But in His grace He let them have a part in the conflict... And the Lord let His army plunder the enemy, so they were more than conquerors.

The Ethiopians flee; "they could not revive." The reason is that Israel was not Asa's army but God's army: "They were crushed before Jehovah and before His army" (v. 13). Asa's victory was not only the defeat of the enemy. It also won cities, spoil, flocks, and riches... So for us, every victory over the Enemy, based on self-judgment, brings new and precious gains. They are drawn out of the treasure of Christ's measureless riches.

He reminded Asa that the army of the Ethiopians and Lubims had been huge, far greater than Israel's, with many chariots and horsemen. Yet Asa had relied on the Lord then, and God gave him a decisive victory. "For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him" (v. 9)... How badly does our lack of faith affect our normal life!

It was one thing for Shishak to invade the land of Judah because the people had been unfaithful to the LORD (2 Chron. 12:2). It was quite another matter when Zerah came against them unprovoked, at his own expense. God loves and defends His people, so He gave Zerah his just punishment. He defeated him and wiped out his immense army of more than a million men.

What confidence and trust! He put the whole matter upon the LORD. Their enemies were His enemies. In His name, resting on Him, they went forth. May we know and practise the same confidence. Such a prayer could not remain unanswered. The LORD struck the Ethiopians and gave His people a great victory.

That is not where Asa's secret lies. Asa is a man of faith. In God's presence he has learned that he can put no confidence in the flesh. But there is strength outside himself, and he may always turn to it. His daily connection with the temple of God at Jerusalem taught him this. At the entrance of the sanctuary, right before his eyes, stood the column of Boaz, which means: "In Him is strength!"

The Ethiopians flee; they could not recover. This was because Israel was not Asa's army but God's army: "They were broken before the LORD and His army" (v. 13). Asa's victory was not only the defeat of the enemy. It also won cities, spoil, flocks, and riches (vv. 14-15). So for us, every victory over the Enemy is based on judging ourselves. And each victory brings new and precious gains, drawn out of the treasure of the unsearchable riches of Christ.

The LORD could have struck the Ethiopians without His people lifting a finger. But in His grace He gave them a part in the conflict. If the enemy fled before the LORD, they also fled before His host. What is more, the LORD allowed His host to plunder the enemy, to be more than conquerors.

He reminded Asa that the army of the Ethiopians and Lubim had been huge, far greater than Israel's, with many chariots and horsemen. Yet Asa had relied on the LORD then, and God gave him a decisive victory. "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" (2 Chron. 16:9). So Hanani sought to persuade Asa that God longs to do the very best for those who put their whole confidence in Him.

The Ethiopians flee; they could not recover. This was because Israel was not Asa's army but God's army: "They were broken before the LORD and His army" (v. 13). Asa's victory did not only defeat the enemy. It also won cities, spoil, flocks, and riches. So for us, every victory over the Enemy that rests on self-judgment brings new and precious gains. They are drawn from the treasure of the unfathomable riches of Christ.

Asa's faith rises to blessed heights on this occasion. He himself controlled a fine army of over half a million "mighty men of valor." Yet he takes the place of entire dependence on God. He makes the conflict a matter between God and the enemy. Such faith can never be disappointed.

In saying "let not man prevail against You," Asa cast the issue entirely on Jehovah, and He answered the faith of the king. The Lord could have struck the Ethiopians without His people lifting a finger against them. But He graciously allowed them to have a part in the conflict. If the enemy fled before the Lord, they also fled before His host. Moreover, the Lord allowed His host to spoil the enemy, to be more than conquerors.

Some identify Zerah with one of Shishak's successors. If that is right, the invasion probably came from Asa's refusal to keep paying the tribute that Shishak had imposed on his grandfather Rehoboam. But it was one thing for Shishak to invade Judah "because they had been unfaithful to the LORD" (2 Chron. 12:2). It was quite another matter when Zerah came against them unprovoked, "at his own expense," as it were. God loves and defends His people, so Zerah met his just punishment. He lost the battle, and his immense army of more than a million was utterly destroyed.

King of Ethiopia, or a general in the Egyptian army, who came against Asa with a million troops and three hundred chariots. His army was struck down by Jehovah, and Asa took much spoil.

It is difficult to account for this sudden defect in Asa's faith. With God's help he had recently destroyed the whole immense army of Zerah the Ethiopian. Now he faces an enemy not half so strong. His faith fails, and he depends for rescue on a human arm.

Abijah relied on the merits of his religion to win his battle. Asa did not. He first sits down and works out whether he, with ten thousand men, can face the one coming against him with twenty thousand… Asa is a man of faith. In God's presence he has learned that he can have no confidence in himself, but that there is strength outside himself that he may always turn to.

The Ethiopians flee; "they could not revive." Israel was not Asa's army but God's army. That is why "they were crushed before Jehovah and before His army" (v. 13). Asa's victory was not only the defeat of the enemy. It was also the positive conquest of cities, spoil, flocks, and riches (vv. 14-15). So for us, every victory over the Enemy that rests on self-judgment brings new and precious gains, drawn out of the treasure of the measureless riches of Christ.

It was one thing for Shishak to invade the land of Judah "because they had transgressed against the Lord" (2 Chron. 12:2). It was quite another matter when Zerah came against them unprovoked, at his own expense, as it were. He met his just punishment from God, who loves and defends His people. God defeated him and completely destroyed his huge army of more than a million men.

The Lord could have struck the Ethiopians without His people lifting a finger against them. But in His grace He gave them a part in the conflict. The enemy fled before the Lord, and they fled before His army too. What is more, the Lord let His army plunder the enemy, to be more than conquerors.

At the same time they defeated all the cities around Gerar. This was Philistine territory. It truly belonged to Judah, but Judah had never taken it. From these cities they took a great amount of plunder too, including much livestock (vv. 14-15).

Ancient city on the south of Gaza in the possession of the Philistines. It was visited by both Abraham and Isaac.

After the victory, Asa and his people "returned to Jerusalem." That was the city of God, close to Jehovah's temple. There, in fellowship with Him, they go on to renew their strength.

It was one thing for Shishak to invade Judah "because they had transgressed against the Lord" (2 Chron. 12:2). It was quite another matter when Zerah attacked them unprovoked, at his own expense, so to speak. God, who loves and defends His people, gave him the punishment he deserved. He defeated Zerah and completely destroyed his huge army of more than a million men.

Asa's victory did more than defeat the enemy. It also won cities, spoil, flocks, and riches (vv. 14-15). So for us, every victory over the Enemy that rests on self-judgment brings new and precious gains. They come out of the treasure of the boundless riches of Christ.

The Lord could have struck the Ethiopians without His people lifting a finger against them. But in His grace He let them share in the fight. If the enemy fled before the Lord, they fled before His host too. What is more, the Lord allowed His host to plunder the enemy, to be more than conquerors.

Judah defeated all the cities around Gerar. This was Philistine land, but it truly belonged to Judah. Judah had never taken it. From these cities they took a great amount of plunder also, including much livestock (vv. 14-15).

After the victory, Asa and his people "returned to Jerusalem." There they are in the city of God, close to the LORD's temple, in fellowship with Him. There they renew their strength.

The results of the victory are here consecrated to the Lord, and so it should always be. If our successes lead us to depend on ourselves, to be pleased with ourselves, or to build up our own comfort, then victory becomes a snare. It turns us away from God instead of bringing us closer to Him.

But the Lord knew the danger that threatened Asa. He had begun well. He was faithful to the Lord, and he and the people had seen a wonderful proof that the Lord hears and answers prayer. Would he continue and end as well as he had begun?… The message was needed, and it came at the right time. The danger for God's people is always greatest after they win a victory and enjoy outward success and prosperity.

When Asa came back to Jerusalem in triumph, the Spirit of God came on Azariah ("whom the Lord helps") the son of Oded. He went out to meet the king, not as a flatterer at court, but with a warning that was both solemn and cheering… People have rightly said that we are never in greater danger than right after some great success, even when that success truly comes from God, in answer to real faith. David is a sad example. In the chapters before the one that records his sin with Bathsheba (2 Sam. 11), he wins one brilliant victory after another over his enemies… Then, as if resting in those victories, he lets his watchfulness slip, and "the mighty" falls.

Since Christ finished His great sacrificial work and went up on high, the Holy Spirit is God's gift of love to all believers alike. But the Old Testament is different. There we sometimes read of the Spirit of God coming upon men for some special service. This is God's sovereign act, and it has nothing to do with whether the man is converted. So the Spirit of the Lord came upon Othniel (Judges 3:10), and upon Azariah the prophet in the days of Asa (2 Chron. 15:1). These two were true believers. But we also read that the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and even upon the king himself (1 Sam. 19:20-24). None of these were believers, for murder was in their hearts at the time.

This prophecy is Azariah's, or rather his father Oded's, since Azariah is his messenger (v. 8). It has the character of all spoken prophecy. It speaks to the king first, then to the two faithful tribes, Judah and Benjamin. Azariah sets out the terms of the covenant of law: "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" (v. 2). Both sides had to keep this covenant. God always keeps it on His side, for He is faithful.

We must say, dear friend, that it shows a sad lack of spiritual understanding to bring such passages of Scripture to bear in any way on whether Christ's members endure to the end. These passages, and countless others in the Old Testament, along with similar ones in the New Testament, open up a subject of deep importance: God's moral government. To be only a subject of God's government is one thing. To be a subject of His unchangeable grace is another. We should never confuse the two.

Judah had the temple, which was God's dwelling place. They had the God-given priesthood and the sacrifices. In a word, they stood on true ground and had the truth. But that is not what drew so many to them from Israel. What drew them was the Lord's presence and divine power at work alongside the truth. So today it is not enough to say that we have the truth. Truth as truth will never win souls.

When Asa came back to Jerusalem in triumph, the Spirit of God came on Azariah ("whom Jehovah helps"), the son of Oded. He went to meet the king — not as a court flatterer, but with a serious yet cheering warning... It was "a word in season". It has been truly said that we are never in greater danger than right after some great success, even when that success truly comes from God, in answer to genuine faith. David is a sad example. In the chapters before the one that records his sin with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11), he wins one brilliant victory after another over his enemies... Then, as if resting in those victories, he lets his watchfulness slip, and "the mighty" falls.

Azariah presents the conditions of the covenant of law (v. 2). Both sides had to keep this covenant. The Lord always keeps His side, for He is faithful. But if Israel were unfaithful, they had to fall under the judgment of God, who must forsake them.

Your reference to 2 Chronicles 15:2 can be connected with passages like Ezekiel 18. These, and countless other scriptures in the Old Testament, as well as similar passages in the New Testament, unfold the deeply important subject of God's moral government. To be a subject of God's government is one thing. To be a subject of His unchangeable grace is another. We should never confuse them.

This has nothing to do with the question of salvation, or with the eternal life the believer already has in Christ. To bear a real testimony, to bear fruit to God, and to have the victory at all times, we need a close walk with the Lord. Without it, God's people are helpless and are bound to dishonour their Lord.

It is important to remember that, while all our blessings are purely and simply on the ground of grace, and therefore unconditional, yet if we are to be in the enjoyment of these blessings, there must be a suitable condition of soul. Hence the need of continual exercise of heart before God, in case we are robbed of what is our proper portion.

It must be seen that the Lord is with us; for He is the magnet of His people's hearts. How then may we make sure of the Lord's displayed presence? Azariah proclaims the condition: "Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: The LORD is with you while you are with Him." (v. 2.) It is always so. To be with God is to share His judgment of ourselves and of everything around us, to stay truly separate from evil, and to submit to His word. If we walk with Him in this way, He will never fail to show that He is with us.

No wonder Israel were in trouble. They had forsaken the true God. They had no priest to teach them the things of God. They did not know His word. Whenever they turned to God, in their troubles, God heard them, and answered their cries. How rich is God's mercy; how wonderful His grace.

While he was with the Lord, the Lord was with him. But he forsook the Lord and turned to human help, making a sinful alliance with the king of Syria. After that, the Lord's presence and power were no longer clearly with him.

This refers especially to the time of the Judges, when everyone did what was right in his own eyes. In that book we are told that many times, when in trouble, they turned to the Lord and He delivered them. But the general condition was so low that God troubled them because of their self-will.

God, the priesthood, and the law had disappeared, so to speak; every man had been a law to himself. It was the reign of wickedness.

The priest had to carry the judgement of the people before the Lord. He also had to explain the Lord's rules to the people. He was to be the always-ready channel between the Lord and the assembly. He was not only to know the mind of God for himself; he had to be able to interpret that mind to the people. All of this called for constant watching, constant waiting, and constant time over the inspired page.

The history of the Judges never mentions the high priest, or any other priest, or even a Levite, giving counsel or acting in any public way. That silence runs from the time of Phinehas the son of Eleazar down to Eli. The knowledge of God was lost. His people broke and forgot the relationship He had kept with them by the ark of the covenant.

Israel and Judah had lost much of the knowledge of truth. The darkening influence of idolatry had long hidden from them truth revealed earlier. God calls again, and reminds Asa, Judah, and Benjamin of His covenant and their responsibility.

Azariah sets out the conditions of the covenant of law: "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." Both sides had to keep this covenant. The Lord always keeps His side, for He is faithful. But if Israel were unfaithful, they could only fall under the judgment of God, who must forsake them.

No wonder Israel was in trouble. They had forsaken the true God, they had no priest to teach them the things of God, and His word was unknown to them. Whenever they turned to God, in their troubles, God heard them, and answered their cries. How rich is God's mercy; how wonderful His grace.

The Old Testament speaks about "a teaching priest" (2 Chr. 15:3) and of "the Levites that taught" (2 Chr. 30:22). The New Testament speaks of "faithful men, who will be able to teach others also" (2 Tim. 2:2). Again, one of the marks of a good overseer is that he should be "able to teach." The teaching takes in the whole revelation of God and puts the soul into the full light and blessing of Christianity.

Azariah then reminds them of how, in days gone by ("has been," verse 3, should be "was" — in the days of the Judges, evidently) when, in apostasy and distress, the people turned to the LORD, God of Israel, and sought Him, He was found by them.

Azariah recalls the former days when all the people had been unfaithful. He points especially to the time of the Judges, when Israel's disobedience brought complete disorder. God, the priesthood, and the law had disappeared, so to speak. Every man was a law to himself. It was the reign of lawlessness.

Adversity generally drives to God a saint who has wandered. It is one of the means grace employs. It was so with David. It is sometimes used to bring the wicked to repentance, as in the case of Manasseh.

It is little wonder that Israel were in trouble when they had forsaken the true God, when they had no priest to teach them the things of God, and when His word was unknown to them. Whenever they turned to God, in their troubles, God heard them, and answered their cries. How rich is God's mercy; how wonderful His grace.

Azariah presents the conditions of the covenant of law: "The LORD is with you, while you are with Him; and if you seek Him He will be found by you, but if you forsake Him He will forsake you." Both sides had to keep this covenant. The LORD always keeps His side, for He is faithful. But if Israel proved unfaithful, they would have to fall under the judgment of God, who must forsake them.

This has nothing to do with the question of salvation and eternal life, which the believer has in Christ. Bearing a real testimony, fruit to God, and victory at all times calls for a close walk with the Lord. Apart from this, God's people are helpless and must dishonour their Lord. Verses 3-6 picture the results of turning away from the Lord, like those seen in Israel in the time of the judges.

It was "a word in season." We are never in greater danger than just after a great success — even when that success truly comes from God, in answer to genuine faith.

Azariah then recalls the former days when all the people had been unfaithful. He points above all to the time of the Judges, when Israel's disobedience produced the most complete disorder... God, the priesthood, and the law had disappeared, so to speak; every man had been a law to himself. Wickedness ruled.

Azariah then reminds them of what happened in the past. ("Has been" in verse 3 should be "was" — in the days of the Judges: compare Judges 5.) The people had turned away from God and were in distress. Then they turned to Jehovah, God of Israel, and sought Him, and they found Him.

God's government deals with nations as well as with people. All around Israel in the days of their trouble, God was bringing disturbance among the nations: "nation was broken against nation, and city against city," and peace was nowhere to be found. If men will not have God, they must suffer at the hand of God for their self-will and idolatry.

How many times the people in their anguish had cried out to the Lord and returned to Him! And each time they had found God to be a Deliverer. There is "no peace" in abandoning God — no rest, no peace for the wicked, says Isaiah — but trouble upon trouble. Yet from the moment the king returned, as Asa did, there was peace and rest.

It was a needed message at the right moment. The danger for God's people is always greatest after they win a victory and enjoy outward success and prosperity... Verses 3-6 picture the results of turning away from the Lord, like those seen in Israel during the time of the Judges.

Do we not also need to listen to this call, even though we live under grace? God's government is hidden today, but it is no less real. Under it there is a present reward for what we do, not only a future one. This reward is peace, rest, and strength.

But the Lord knew the danger that threatened Asa. He had begun well. He was faithful to the Lord, and he and the people had seen a wonderful proof that the Lord hears and answers prayer. Would he continue and end as well as he had begun? The Spirit of God came at this important time on Azariah. When Asa came home victorious, the prophet met him and gave him his message. It was a needed message, and it came at the right time. The danger for God's people is always greatest after they have won a victory and are enjoying outward success and prosperity.

Azariah then recalls the earlier days when the whole people had been unfaithful. He points especially to the time of the Judges, when Israel's disobedience brought about the most complete disorder… God, the priesthood, and the law had disappeared, so to speak. Every man had been a law to himself. It was the reign of wickedness… There is "no peace" in forsaking God — no rest, no peace for the wicked, says Isaiah — but trouble on top of trouble. On the other hand, from the moment the king turned back to Him, as Asa did, there was peace and rest.

God's government deals with nations as well as with individuals. All around Israel in the days of their trouble, God was stirring up unrest among the nations: "Nation was crushed by nation and city by city." There was no peace to be found. If men will not have God, they must suffer at God's hand for their self-will and idolatry.

In God's government of the nations He may use one nation as His rod to punish another. We see this again and again in the Old Testament. But it will go badly for the nation He uses if it grows proud of that role. God rules with justice, so just as surely that nation will be humbled in its turn.

No wonder Israel was in trouble. They had forsaken the true God. They had no priest to teach them the things of God. His word was unknown to them. Whenever they turned to God in their troubles, God heard them and answered their cries. How rich is God's mercy; how wonderful His grace.

After the call comes encouragement: "But you, take courage! Do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded" (v. 7). Do we not also need to heed this call, even though we live under grace? God's government is hidden now, yet it is no less real, and it gives a present reward for what we do, not only a future one. That reward is peace, rest, and strength. Asa had experienced this, but the rest of his history will show us how much he needed that call — and we need it as much as he did.

And Asa, hearing these words, believed what the prophet had said and then acted on them. This is the true path to blessing — learning, believing and obeying. He removed the abominable idols. He renewed the altar before the porch of the LORD, which had fallen into disuse.

The Alexandrian manuscript and the Latin Vulgate read "Azariah son of Oded" where the text reads "Oded the prophet."

"Be strong therefore," he says, "and do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded." The New Translation reads, "But as for you, be firm." Asa had probably met opposition in his work of reform. He was in danger of failing to carry it through to completion. So he was urged to be firm, because there would be a sure reward for his work of restoring the uncorrupted worship of Jehovah in his kingdom.

As soon as Asa had heard the words of this prophecy, "he took courage." Here we find a new mark of strength. It is not victory over the Ethiopians, as before, but practical purification... So it must be for us too. We must firmly banish from our lives everything that is abominable in the sight of God, every defilement, so that we may enjoy unmixed fellowship with Him... The Christian life does not allow us to let things go.

Asa does not limit himself to purifying the cities of Judah, as he had earlier. He also put away the abominations "from the cities that he had taken in the hill country of Ephraim." After the king's victory God had enlarged his sphere of activity. Asa was now responsible to see the same principles of holiness adopted there as in the territory of Judah.

This was the altar on which Solomon offered burnt offerings when he brought his Egyptian bride into the house that he had built for her (2 Chron. 8:12). It had evidently been removed, or allowed to fall into disuse or decay, before being "rebuilt" by Asa.

I have no doubt that this means renewing the sacrifices regularly offered on the altar as the law directed, just as in many other passages. This altar, built by Solomon, was still whole and did not need rebuilding... In short, worship of Jehovah as the Word directs had been neglected under the previous reigns. Now it was re-established according to God's mind. Where separation from the defilement of the world is true and energetic, the worship of God's children soon returns to its honoured place.

Once worship was re-established, Israel's unity was realised in the small measure that suited a time of division and ruin. God's favour towards His faithful people was plain to see, and the sight of it worked on the consciences of those who until then had belonged to the ten tribes.

The idols that were in Judah and Benjamin he puts away. How far idolatry had spread, how much it had grown, to need a law to put it down! In his zeal he decrees that "whoever would not seek the LORD, the God of Israel, should be put to death." Did you ever know idolatry, or any sin, put away by commandment? It may hide its head... but it still exists, and repressive laws in fact strengthen it. Its seat is in the heart, and the idol is only the outward symbol.

Once worship was re-established, Israel's unity took shape again — in the feeble measure that suits a time of division and ruin. God showed His favour to His faithful people, and the sight of it worked on the consciences of those who until then had belonged to the ten tribes. From their very beginning those tribes had been bound up with Jeroboam's idolatry.

This is what we have called the attraction of power. As pointed out before, Judah had the temple, God's dwelling place, along with the divine priesthood and the sacrifices. In a word, they were on the true ground, and they had the truth. But this is not what drew so many to them from Israel. What drew them was that the Lord displayed His presence and divine power along with the truth. So now it is not enough to say that we have the truth. We shall find that truth as truth will never win souls. It has been said that you cannot meet Satan with mere truth. Unless the truth is held in communion with a living Christ, you will be powerless against his schemes. Christ Himself is the truth. If He is left out, the truth becomes only a formal creed. It may contain nothing but the truth, yet it has neither life nor power.

It is a mistake, then, to expect others to be drawn to us because we have the truth. It must be seen that the Lord is with us, for He is the magnet of His people's hearts. How, then, may we make sure of the Lord's displayed presence? Azariah announces the condition: "Hear me," he says, "Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: The Lord is with you while you are with Him." So it always is. To be with God is to share His judgment of ourselves and of everything around us, to be in true separation from evil, and to be in subjection to His word. If we are walking with Him like that, He will never fail to show that He is with us.

Instead of fighting Israel, king Asa drew in a remnant who valued the Lord being with the king. On the renewed altar they offered sacrifices to the Lord. This was a partial, if not a full, restoration of the worship God had sought from His people. Even if it was weak compared with the early days, how very pleasing this must have been to the Lord. It is never too late to return to the Lord, even if it is in evident weakness.

But if the saints are easily scattered, they quickly rally when the Lord's hand is seen. Even in Asa's time, when division was complete, they fell to him in great numbers out of Ephraim, when they saw that the Lord was with him.

In this great gathering in the fifteenth year of Asa's reign, they offered to the Lord 700 bulls and 7,000 sheep taken as plunder. How good it was to draw the people's attention to the value of the sacrifice. Every case of recovery in Israel came with sacrifice. It reminds us how important the sacrifice of Christ is, for it is the source of all blessing for His people.

This was one of the brightest revivals in the history of the kings of Judah, from the days of Solomon until that time. But the sequel shows that the end was not so bright. Asa's heart turned away from the Lord, and when he turned to human strength a dark cloud overshadowed his end. While he was with the Lord, the Lord was with him. But then he forsook the Lord and turned to human help. He made an unholy alliance with the king of Syria. After that, the Lord's presence and power could no longer be seen with him.

Another result of Asa's faithfulness was the regathering of Israel: he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, together with the people from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon who had settled among them. They came over to him from Israel in great numbers when they saw that the Lord his God was with him. Worship had been re-established, and Israel's unity appeared again — in the weak form that fits a time of division and ruin.

This is what we have termed the attraction of power. In a word, they were on the true ground and had the truth. But that is not what drew so many to them from Israel. What drew them was that the Lord displayed His presence and divine power along with the truth. So now it is not enough to say that we have the truth; for we shall find that the truth as truth will never win souls.

No doubt, if the heart were cold and careless toward God, it would matter little about the place of worship; all places would be alike. But take this as a fixed principle. Every loyal, loving heart in the whole land, from Dan to Beersheba, would gladly hurry to the place where Jehovah had put His Name, and where He had chosen to meet His people.

On that day they sacrificed to the Lord seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep out of the spoil they had brought. The results of the victory are given over to the Lord here, and so it should always be. But suppose our successes lead us to depend on ourselves, to be pleased with ourselves, or to build up our own comfort. Then victory becomes a trap. It turns us away from God instead of bringing us closer to Him.

How good it was to turn the people's attention to the value of the sacrifice. Every recovery in Israel came with sacrifice. That reminds us how important the sacrifice of Christ is, since it is the source of all blessing for His people.

They were also far too showy about it. "They swore an oath to the Lord with a loud voice and with shouting and with trumpets and with horns." Such demonstrations were no new thing in Israel. Israel had made such noise before at Sinai and elsewhere, and always with the same results — more saying than doing, much promise and little performance, high hopes and little to show for them. Yet there was clear sincerity, and even reality, though mixed with much that was only surface. God can tell what comes from Himself, even when it is mixed with what is merely human, and He rewarded them.

They had broken the covenant. They admit it and humble themselves. They return to it, and they feel the blessing at once. Jehovah "was found by them," and He has never hidden Himself from those who seek Him, even in the darkest moments of human history. To find the Lord! What a treasure! Why should they not rejoice! What rest when He is found!

The results of the victory are here consecrated to the Lord, and so it should always be. If our successes make us self-reliant, self-satisfied, and eager for our own comfort, victory becomes a trap. It turns us away from God instead of bringing us closer to Him.

How good it was to turn the people's attention to the value of the sacrifice! Every recovery in Israel came with sacrifice, and that reminds us how important the sacrifice of Christ is: it is the source of all blessing for His people.

I have no doubt that here, as in many other passages, it means restarting the sacrifices the law required on the altar. Solomon built this altar. It was still whole and needed no rebuilding... In short, the worship of the Lord that follows the Word had been neglected under the earlier kings. Now it was set up again as God intended. Wherever God's children truly and firmly separate themselves from the filth of the world, their worship soon takes back its honoured place.

It is a mistake to expect others to be drawn to us because we have the truth. People must see that the Lord is with us, for He is the magnet of His people's hearts. Azariah states the condition: "Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: The LORD is with you while you are with Him." It is always so. To be with God means agreeing with His judgment of ourselves and of everything around us, keeping clear of evil, and obeying His word. If we walk with Him like that, He will always show that He is with us. And the more plainly His presence is with us, the more power goes out to attract the hearts of other believers.

Every renewal of the covenant accompanies a true work of conscience in the people. They had broken the covenant. They admit it and humble themselves. They return to it and feel the blessing at once... The LORD "was found by them." He has never hidden Himself from those who seek Him, not even in the darkest moments of human history. To find the Lord! What a treasure! Why should they not rejoice!

They had sworn with all their heart and sought the Lord with all their soul. There is no doubt they meant it, but they did not suspect the treachery of their own hearts. Still, God respected the good intentions they had, and gave them rest all around for the time being.

Asa, hearing these words, believed what the prophet had said and then acted on them. That is the true path to blessing — learning, believing, obeying. The abominable idols were removed, and he restored the altar in front of the porch of the LORD, which had fallen out of use. A great scene of sacrifice followed. In connection with it they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD.

A known covenant must therefore have existed between God and the people. That covenant is set out in Exodus 24 and Deuteronomy 29, and what it contains is the same as what we read here... They entered into covenant to have the LORD for their God and to renounce all other gods. The historian describes Asa's zeal. In places he uses the very words of the law of Moses for what that law requires: "to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment."

On this occasion they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD with all their heart and with all their soul. They also said that anyone who would not agree to this should be put to death (vv. 12-13). Like various other covenants, this was simply a renewal of the covenant of law that Moses first gave. And as in those cases, the people soon broke it... Only in the New Testament do we find the law set aside because it cannot work, and the pure grace of God brought in as the only principle that can really produce fruit for God.

It was very commendable that they should seek the Lord with such zeal. But they had not realised their own weakness, or the weakness of their fathers, who could not keep the law at all. There is no power in man to keep the law or to enter into such a covenant with God. We can only confess that we cannot do it. We must throw ourselves on the sovereign mercy and grace of a God who is rich in mercy.

This severity hardly suited a people who had been guilty of that same neglect only a short time before... They were also very demonstrative. Loud displays like this were nothing new in Israel. They had been heard before at Sinai and elsewhere. The results were always the same: more saying than doing, much promise and little performance, great hope and little to show for it. But there was clear sincerity, and even reality, though mixed with much that was only on the surface. God can recognise what is His own even when it is mixed with what is only of the flesh, and He rewarded them.

Every renewal of the covenant goes together with a real work of conscience in the people. They had broken the covenant. They admit it and humble themselves. They return to it and feel the blessing at once... The Lord was found by them. Never, even in the darkest times of human history, has He hidden Himself from those who seek Him. To find the Lord! What a treasure!

So a known covenant must have existed between God and the people. Exodus 24 and Deuteronomy 29 describe that covenant, and its substance is the same as the one recorded here… In describing Asa's zeal, the historian sometimes uses the very words of the books of Moses for what those books require: "to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, and to keep the law and the commandment."

On this occasion they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul. They added that anyone who would not agree to this should be put to death (vv. 12-13). Like the other covenants they made, this was simply a renewal of the covenant of law first given by Moses. And as in those cases, so here: before long they broke it… Only in the New Testament do we find the law set aside because it is ineffective, and the pure grace of God brought in as the only principle that can truly bring forth fruit for God.

The tide of reformation ran high — too high, we may fear. They determined "that whoever would not seek the LORD, the God of Israel, should be put to death, whether young or old, man or woman." Such severity hardly suited a people who had been guilty of that very neglect only a short time before… Such displays were nothing new in Israel. The people had made them at Sinai and elsewhere, always with the same results — more saying than doing, much promise and little performance, great expectation and little result.

How clear the spread of idolatry, how much it had grown, to need a law to put it down! In his zeal he decrees that "whoever would not seek the LORD, the God of Israel, should be put to death." Did you ever know idolatry, or any sin, put away by a command? It may hide its head… but it still exists, and harsh laws only strengthen it. Its seat is in the heart. The idol is only the outward symbol, the visible sign of the heart's hostility to God.

It was very commendable that they should seek the Lord with such zeal. But they had not seen their own weakness, nor the weakness of their fathers, who could not keep the law at all. Man has no power to keep the law, or to enter into such a covenant with God. We can only confess that we are completely unable to do it, and cast ourselves on the sovereign mercy and grace of a God who is rich in mercy.

Their religious enthusiasm ran so high that they determined to put to death every person who did not seek the LORD. And when they sought Him with their whole desire, they found Him, and He gave them rest. These are precious and encouraging words. He is the LORD, who does not change. It is still true today and always will be true. Those who seek Him with their whole desire will find Him.

It is a mistake to expect others to be drawn to us because we have the truth. Others must see that the Lord is with us; for He is the magnet of His people's hearts. How may we make sure of the Lord's displayed presence? Azariah states the condition: "Hear me," he says, "Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: The Lord is with you, while you are with Him."

So a known covenant must have existed between God and the people. Exodus 24 and Deuteronomy 29 describe that covenant, and its substance is the same as the covenant recorded here... They entered into covenant to have the Lord for their God, and to renounce all other gods, verses 12-21. In places, the historian describes Asa's zeal in the very words of the Pentateuch. The Pentateuch asks for exactly this: "to seek the Lord God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment."

In Daniel 3:5-15 the word is qeren and means "horn or cornet." In the four other places the word is shophar, which is often translated "trumpet." 1 Chronicles 15:28; 2 Chronicles 15:14; Psalm 98:6; Hosea 5:8.

The tide of reformation ran high — too high, it is to be feared. They decided that anyone who would not seek the Lord God of Israel should be put to death, whether young or old, man or woman. This severity hardly suited a people who had themselves been guilty of just such neglect a short time before. They were excessively demonstrative also. "And they swore to the Lord with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with horns." Such demonstrations were nothing new in Israel. They had been heard before at Sinai and elsewhere. The results were always the same — more saying than doing, much promise and little performance, much expected and little seen. But there was clear sincerity, and even reality, though mixed with much that was only on the surface. God can recognise what is of Himself, even when it is mixed with what is only of the flesh, and He rewarded them.

How clear the spread of idolatry was, how greatly it had grown, to need a law to put it down! Did you ever know idolatry, or any sin, put away by commandment? It may hide its head: idolaters may seem to throw their idols to the moles and the bats, but it exists and is rather strengthened by repressive laws. Its seat is in the heart, and the idol is only the outward symbol, the visible sign of the heart's hostility towards God.

Like various other covenants, this was only a renewal of the covenant of law first given by Moses. As in those cases, so here, the covenant was soon broken... They had sworn with all their heart and sought the Lord with all their soul. There is no doubt they meant it, but they did not suspect the treachery of their own hearts. Still, God respected the good intentions they had, and gave them rest all around for the time being.

When they sought Him with their whole desire He was found by them and gave them rest. These are precious and encouraging words. He is the LORD, who does not change. It is still true today and ever will be true. He will be found by those who seek Him with their whole desire.

The Lord took account of their zeal, "for they had sworn with all their heart and had sought Him with their whole desire," so that "He was found by them, and the LORD gave them rest all around." To show they were in earnest about rejecting idolatry, Asa removed his mother Maachah from being queen, because she had made an idol; he cut her idol down, crushed it, and burned it in the Kidron Valley.

And when they sought Him with their whole desire, He was found by them and gave them rest. These are precious and encouraging words. He is the LORD, who does not change. It is still true today and ever will be true. He will be found by those who seek Him with their whole desire.

The LORD "was found by them." Never, even in the darkest moments of man's history, has He hidden Himself from those who seek Him. To find the Lord! What a treasure! Why should they not rejoice! What rest when He is found! "The LORD gave them rest all around." In the previous chapter we saw the strength that follows rest. In this chapter we see the rest that follows strength. So in a faithful life, strength and rest keep renewing each other.

"When a man's ways please the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him" (Prov. 16:7). Asa proved this, and so did his son Jehoshaphat. Both kings had quiet and rest all around, because they did the will of God (2 Chron. 14:7; 2 Chron. 15:15; 2 Chron. 20:30). But of Solomon we read, sadly, "The LORD stirred up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite."

The tide of reform ran high — too high, I am afraid… Such harshness hardly suited a people who had been guilty of that very neglect only a short time before… much promise, and little performance; great expectation, and little of it realised. But there was clear sincerity, and even reality, though mixed with much that was only on the surface. And God, who can tell what comes from Himself even when it is mixed with what is merely human, rewarded them.

There is no doubt they meant it, but they did not suspect the treachery of their own hearts. Still, God respected the good intentions they had, and gave them rest all around for the time being (v. 15). Only in the New Testament do we find the law set aside because it does not work. There God brings in His pure grace as the only principle that can bear fruit for Him.

The same thing happened under Hezekiah, Joash, Ezra, and Nehemiah. But we must add that the covenant was broken again each time. A man who still does not know himself has to learn what he is by being put under responsibility. Even so, joy is the result of every restoration, even one that is partial and temporary.

Maachah, his grandmother, most likely had some oversight as "queen-mother." (1 Kings 15:13 calls her the mother of Asa, and 2 Chronicles 15:16 does the same. In these passages "mother" means grandmother.)

On the whole it seems most probable that they were wooden symbols of a goddess. They took the form of images or pillars, or plain tree trunks set in the earth… Immorality was almost constantly associated with idolatry. The Greek Old Testament translates the name Asherah here in 2 Chronicles 15:16 as Astarte, the Syrian goddess.

Asa does not content himself with repelling evil publicly; he purifies his own house. Both must be done together. Otherwise our Christian life will be only an empty show… Maacah was in fact Asa's grandmother, and she had probably been made regent, with the title of queen, when Abijah died. See how firmly Asa sets natural ties aside! He makes no allowance for them when the honour of his God is at stake. Nothing stops him. He takes away all hope that Maacah could hold any influence at all over God's people. In front of everyone he treats her as an enemy of Jehovah. May we imitate him! We are far too ready to go easy on Satan when the sin is in our own families.

A man's own family circle is the real test of his faithfulness… Gideon too began his work for God by tearing down the altar of Baal that his father had set up. And in the early church a man could not serve as an elder or a deacon unless he managed his own home well.

Also, Asa showed no favouritism to his own close relative — his grandmother — who had made an idolatrous image of Asherah. He removed her from the place of Queen Mother. Not even her age would make any difference in this case. Such evil cannot be excused, no matter who is guilty of it.

In Old Testament times people treated it as a defiled place. Asa burned his mother's idol there (1 Kings 15:13). Josiah also burned the symbols of idolatry there.

He even removed his mother from being queen. No doubt this was a very painful trial for the son, but she was an idolatress.

What a change in Asa from first to last! At the start he did not spare even his own mother. Later he put Hanani in prison and oppressed some of the people. He is so forgetful of God, of His mercy, of His promise and of His claims on them, that he seeks help from Syria.

Israel was to destroy all the high places of the pagan nations. That would show how much they hated their wicked ways. But human nature is no better in those who are near to God than in those who are far from Him. The time soon came, sadly, when Israel chose high places for themselves. Some of these were for idol worship, and some for the worship of the Lord. But every high place offended Him, whatever the motives of those who set it up. They were the expression of self-will, of hearts that would not obey His commandments.

Though Asa removed the high places from Judah (ch. 14:5), he did not remove these from the rest of Israel (v. 17). Of course, over the ten tribes he did not have the authority he had over Judah. Some from those tribes had chosen to recognise him.

This seemed to be of little importance, for he had removed all the abominations from these same cities. But when it is a matter of separation from evil, nothing is unimportant. Without doubt Scripture describes Asa's heart as "perfect all his days." His heart understood what suited the Lord's holiness. But in practice he fell short of it. Tolerating the high places was a grain of sand compared with all his activity. But a grain of sand can stop even the best built machine. A flaw in an iron beam will break the most solid bridge.

Remarkable is God's word about Asa; though he did not remove the idolatrous high places, yet his heart was perfect with the Lord all his days. (1 Kings 15:14; 2 Chron. 15:17.) Perfection is always in relation to the truth revealed. Noah was perfect. Job was "blameless and upright." God said to Abraham, "walk before me, and be blameless." But Israel and Judah had lost much of the knowledge of truth.

Did you ever know idolatry, or any sin, put away by commandment? It may hide its head. Idol-worshippers may seem to throw their idols to the moles and the bats. But it still exists, and repressive laws only strengthen it. Its seat is in the heart, and the idol is only the outward symbol, the visible index of the heart's enmity against God.

So much had been done. Idolatry was removed, the Lord's altar renewed, the sacrifices to God restored. Yet it could still be said, "But the high places were not removed from Israel" (verse 17). While the high places stood, the people were in danger of going back to idol worship. Despite this, the Spirit of God noted, "only Asa's heart was perfect all his days." It gave the Lord pleasure to record the state of His servant's heart.

Asa never went back to idolatry, and that is probably why the Spirit of God has recorded that "Asa's heart was perfect all his days." There was still failure. He looked to the enemy of Israel for help instead of to the Lord. He would not humble himself under God's rebuke. He imprisoned Hanani the prophet, and he mistreated some of the people. Then, when his feet were diseased under God's discipline, he turned to the physicians and not to the Lord.

On the negative side, Asa judged the glaring evils in Judah. But he did not stop there. He also did good work on the positive side. He brought into the house of the Lord the things his father had dedicated and the things he himself had dedicated: silver, gold and vessels. The silver symbolizes redemption. So it speaks of Asa's appreciation of the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Gold speaks of the glory of God. So it shows his appreciation of what brings glory to God. The vessels were containers that illustrate the faith of holding the truth in love. May we who are believers today care deeply about honoring our God and Father. We must not ignore the negative side, but the positive is much more fruitful.

Giving precious things to God's service was not a new practice. The treasuries of Egypt's temples were full of such objects. Israel dedicated its gifts to the Lord, and He accepted what they gave as wave offerings. The giver lifted up the gift and waved it heavenwards, as before God, "as an acknowledgement that He to whom it was offered is Lord and Giver of all."

It seems Abijah had not carried through his promise in dedicating these things. Asa fulfilled this for him, and added his own contribution.

Despite this, the Spirit of God noted, "only Asa's heart was perfect all his days." It gave the Lord pleasure to record the state of His servant's heart. He was pleased to tell of Asa bringing into the house of God the things which his father dedicated, and the things which he himself dedicated. God never forgets anything that is done for Him, and He showed His appreciation of king Asa by giving him peace, for "there was no war until the thirty-fifth year of his reign."

Baasha's move against the kingdom of Judah brings out the lack of faith in Asa's heart: he had no confidence in God. His tireless zeal against idolatry had no reality in his soul… He goes to the king of Syria for help; there is not even the appearance of going to God. Asa has brought silver and gold into the house of God; now he gives these treasures to Ben-hadad, and adds to them treasures from his own house.

God will not give His glory to another, but Asa in effect gave God's glory (the gold) to Ben-hadad! … Too often, in our day, believers use things that belong to God (as Asa used the gold and silver from the house of the Lord) to serve their own selfish ends.

It gave the Lord pleasure to record the state of His servant's heart. He was pleased too to tell of Asa bringing into the house of God the things his father dedicated, and the things he himself dedicated. God never forgets anything done for Him. He showed His appreciation of king Asa by giving him peace, for "there was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of the reign of Asa."

Jehovah "was found by them," and never, even in the darkest moments of man's history, has He hidden Himself from those who seek Him. To find the Lord! What a treasure! What rest when He is found! "Jehovah gave them rest all around." In the preceding chapter we saw the strength that follows rest. In our present chapter we see the rest that follows strength. So it is that in a faithful life, strength and rest keep renewing each other.

Letting the high places stand was a grain of sand compared with his overall activity. But a grain of sand can stop even the best-built machine. A flaw in an iron beam will break the most solid bridge. And Judah's full security rested on Asa's careful faithfulness to his God. From this point on, after ten years of rest and prosperity, we notice decline in this man of God.

Baasha's move against the kingdom of Judah brings out the lack of faith in Asa's heart: he had no confidence in God. His unceasing activity in zeal against idolatry had no reality in his soul. The sun rose in the form of Baasha's invasion, and this outward piety withers away. There was no depth of earth. He goes to the king of Syria for help; there is not even the appearance of going to God.

But although Asa's faithfulness continued, his trust in God failed afterwards. Baasha was jealous that Israelites were going over to Judah, so he builds a city to stop it. And Asa, instead of looking to the Lord, allies himself with Syria. The alliance produced the effect he wanted, but it stirred up Gentiles against Israel.

The dates in 2 Chron. 15:19 and 16:1 do not fit the date of Baasha's death (1 Kings 16:8). So of course they do not fit Baasha's war against Asa either. Commentators have tried to remove the difficulty in two ways. Some suppose that the numeral 35 refers not to the year Asa came to the throne, but to the separation of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel. Others correct the numeral in Chronicles. The latter is clearly the only satisfactory solution. There is plainly a copyist's mistake here.

This verse, compared with 1 Kings 15:33 and 16:8, presents a chronological difficulty. According to those references, Baasha must have been dead ten years before the thirty-sixth year of Asa's reign. And we cannot always explain these seeming differences by a supposed copying error. The only apparent way out is to date "the thirty-sixth year" from the start of Judah as a kingdom separate from Israel. That would place the event in the sixteenth year of Asa's actual reign, just after the events of the previous chapter.

Critics have made much of the supposed wrong date, the thirty-sixth year of Asa's reign. Compare 1 Kings 15:33 with the first verse of this chapter to see the apparent discrepancy. Suppose Baasha invaded Judah soon after the events recorded in the previous chapter. Then this was the thirty-sixth year after the ten tribes revolted. This presents a possible solution. Others think it is the error of a scribe.

Baasha king of Israel threatened Asa and began to build Ramah, a fortified city only a few miles from Jerusalem.

Baasha, king of Israel, had become alarmed at the thought of some from Israel defecting to Judah. Therefore he came and built Ramah as a buffer between the two companies. What a picture! Those who have left the Lord's center will do all they can to keep their followers from returning to the Lord's place for them. This was not a direct attack upon Judah, but Asa considered it an offense.

Baasha could not attack Asa without putting himself in danger. So he wanted to stop his subjects from leaving him and joining God's testimony. This principle appears again and again: those who, like Baasha, still keep up a profession of true religion, though mixed with deadly errors, cannot bear a testimony near them that attracts souls.

Baasha's move against the kingdom of Judah brings out the lack of faith in Asa's heart. He had no confidence in God. His unceasing activity in zeal against idolatry had no reality in his soul. Then Baasha's invasion rose like the sun, and this outward show of godliness withers away, because there was no depth of soil. He goes to the king of Syria for help; there is not even the appearance of going to God.

It is difficult to account for this sudden defect in Asa's faith. Not long before, with God's help, he had destroyed the immense army of Zerah the Ethiopian. Now, facing an enemy not half so strong, his faith fails. He looks to human strength to rescue him.

Sadly, by tolerating a certain evil, Asa gave an opening for this hostility. Baasha could have thought: Asa claims to be closer to God than we are, yet he does the same things we do when they suit his ambitions! Asa fears Baasha. He has given way on one point, so he can no longer treat the world as a system he must never compromise with and never ask help from. He knows he has no strength of his own, just as when the Ethiopians attacked. But he no longer has the same assurance that all his strength is in God.

God knew His servant Asa. There was clearly backsliding that no one could see from the outside. So God allowed Baasha to come against him, to prove what was in his heart. Asa was such a good man, and his heart was perfect all his days. Yet there was just that departure from first love that the Lord could discern.

One hardly knows anything sadder than this account of Asa. No doubt he was the Lord's, but he was out of communion, and he relied on his own resources. And he begins by robbing God. Then he asked a worldly man to do something plainly dishonourable... If we get out of communion, there is no telling what we may do. It is sad to think that the flesh has more room to work in a believer than in the unconverted.

Asa has brought silver and gold into the house of God; now he gives these treasures to Ben-hadad, and adds to them treasures from his own house. All this is the glory of the kingdom departing from the house of David.

It is difficult to account for this sudden defect in Asa's faith. He had only recently, with God's help, completely destroyed the immense army of Zerah the Ethiopian. Now, faced with an enemy not half so dangerous, his faith fails. He depends for deliverance on human strength... It was the beginning of Asa's downfall. Though he got the deliverance he wanted, it cost him the rebuke of God and wars to the end of his reign.

To block this plan, Asa relies on Ben-hadad, the king of Syria. He sends him presents, courts his alliance, and uses him to drive Baasha away... A league with the world may bring us advantages at first, but afterwards we taste its bitter fruits... His father had allied himself with the enemies of God's people; Asa acknowledges and seeks after this alliance!

Ben-hadad, king of Syria, moved only by his love of silver and gold, agreed to break a treaty he had with Israel and take sides with Judah... Asa would no doubt feel himself justified, as many do who think the end justifies the means. He gained his object through friendship with the world! If instead of this he had sought the grace and guidance of the Lord... certainly God would have acted in the best way possible.

Alliance with the world prevents our overcoming the world. If he had not done this, the Syrians would have fallen into Asa's hands. 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." Solemn and precious word!

It is hard to explain this sudden failure in Asa's faith. Only a short time before, with God's help, he had wiped out the huge army of Zerah the Ethiopian. Now, facing an enemy not half so dangerous, his faith fails, and he leans on human strength to save him.

Asa fears Baasha. Since he has given way on one point, he can no longer treat the world as a system he must never compromise with and never ask help from. He knows well that he lacks strength, just as he did when the Ethiopian attacked. But he no longer has the same assurance that all his strength is in God.

It is hard to find anything sadder than this account of Asa. No doubt he belonged to the Lord, but he was out of communion with God, and relied on his own resources. And he begins by robbing God. Then he asked a worldly man to do a plainly dishonourable thing... If we get out of communion there is no saying what we may do.

God will not give His glory to another (Isa. 42:8), but Asa in effect gave God's glory (the gold) to Ben-Hadad! So Asa made the fatal mistake of enlisting the world's help to fight against his own brothers, the children of Israel... But too often, in our day, believers use shocking means of fighting against other believers who have offended them. They also use things that belong to God (as Asa used the gold and silver from the house of the Lord) to get what they selfishly want.

How sad to hear a godly king say such things! Abijam, Asa's father, had walked "in all the sins of his father" — and now Asa identifies himself with him.

Asa would no doubt feel himself justified, as many do who consider that the end justifies the means... He gained his object through friendship with the world! Suppose instead he had asked the Lord for grace and guidance, to be freed from the threat of the ten tribes of Israel. God would certainly have intervened in the best possible way.

Instead of looking to the Lord, Asa allies himself with Syria. The alliance produced the effect he wanted, but it stirred up the nations against Israel. And that was not all: alliance with the world stops us from overcoming the world. Had he not done this, the Syrians would have fallen into the hands of Asa.

This was the beginning of Asa's downfall. The deliverance he wanted did come — Ben-hadad listened to King Asa, and Baasha stopped building Ramah. But it cost Asa the rebuke of God, and wars to the end of his reign.

Naphtali's land was mountainous and fertile. It lay in the north, with the upper Jordan on the east and Asher on the west. Ijon, which was farther north than Dan, was in their land. Joshua 19:32-39. When Baasha, king of Israel, attacked Judah, Asa sent gold and silver to Ben-hadad, king of Syria, for help. He responded at once.

Only his love for silver and gold moved Ben Hadad, king of Syria. He agreed to break a treaty he had with Israel and take sides with Judah (vv. 3-4). He attacked some of the cities of Israel including the storage cities of Naphtali. This had the effect Asa wanted. No doubt Asa felt justified, as many do who think that the end justifies the means (vv. 5-6).

At first Asa's unfaithfulness seems to bear excellent fruit. Baasha stops building Ramah. Asa and his people carry its stones away to build fortresses against Israel. The king seems to have escaped a great disaster by taking this path. But he loses all the blessing of a walk of faith, and he will prove this in a sad way. Oh, how much happier he was when he felt he had no strength at all, and still stood against the countless army of Zerah!

Asa, instead of looking to the Lord, makes an alliance with Syria. It produced the effect he wanted, but it stirred up Gentiles against Israel. And this was not all; alliance with the world prevents our overcoming the world. If he had not done this, the Syrians would have fallen into Asa's hands. 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."

How remarkable is the government of God. Whatever wrong step we take to reach a goal, it not only fails to reach it, but it brings its own chastening with it. The very thing we least desire comes upon us. God would have stopped not only Israel, but Syria too. Instead, the army of the king of Syria escaped out of his hands.

Asa is so forgetful of God, of His mercy, of His promise and of His claims on them, that he seeks help from the Syrian. So we see this amazing, even monstrous thing: Judah seeking Gentile help against Israel, and buying it with the Lord's treasures. This tells their evil condition before God. If they were ready to worship the Gentiles' God, why not ask the Gentiles for help?

So Asa made the fatal mistake of getting the world's help to fight against his own brothers, the people of Israel. Instead of making a treaty with Syria, how much better it would have been for Asa to seek the restoration of Israel! But too often today, believers use shocking ways to fight other believers who have offended them.

The pull to meet a worldly trial in a worldly way is immense. We easily think that spiritual means cannot meet the world's attacks on us. So we are in danger of turning to earthly means to escape. ... Be sure, if we do not feel the danger, it is because we are ourselves under the world's influence.

At first Asa's unfaithfulness seems to bear excellent fruit. Ben-hadad accepts silver and gold taken out of the house of the Lord as tribute. He breaks his alliance with Baasha. He uses the chance to attack the cities of Ephraim and to make himself master of the store cities of Naphtali. Baasha stops building Ramah. Asa and his people carry its stones away to build fortresses against Israel. By taking this path the king appears to escape a great disaster. But he loses all the blessing of a walk of faith, and he will sadly prove it.

This had the effect Asa wanted. No doubt Asa felt himself justified, as many do who think the end justifies the means. Asa was able to attack Ramah and reduce it to nothing. He gained his object through friendship with the world! Suppose he had instead asked for the grace and guidance of the Lord, to be freed from the threatened attack of the ten tribes. God would then have stepped in, in the best way possible. We too may find great blessing through depending on the Lord. Then we are in great danger of depending on our own ability to get what we want.

How remarkable is the government of God. Whatever wrong step we take to reach an aim, it not only fails to reach it, but it brings its own chastening with it. The very thing we least desire comes upon us. God would not only have hindered Israel, but Syria. Instead of this, the army of the king of Syria escaped out of his hands.

A sad decline in his later days — that the king of Judah finds his refuge in the king of Israel instead of in the Lord. Nevertheless, all goes, apparently, well for the moment, for God does not judge all at once. "When Baasha heard of it, he stopped building."

It is difficult to account for this sudden defect in Asa's faith. Not long before, with God's help, he had destroyed the huge army of Zerah the Ethiopian. Now he faces an enemy not half as strong, and his faith fails. He depends for rescue on human strength. It was the beginning of Asa's downfall. He did get the rescue he wanted, for "Ben-hadad listened to King Asa," and Baasha "stopped building Ramah, and let his work cease." But it cost him the rebuke of God and wars to the end of his reign.

When war threatened Asa from Baasha and Israel, the faith of Asa sadly faltered. Baasha built Ramah to stop any traffic between Judah and Israel. Why did Asa not simply bring this matter to the Lord in prayer? Asa made the fatal mistake of enlisting the world's help to fight against his own brothers, the children of Israel. Instead of making a treaty with Syria, how much better it would have been for Asa to seek the restoration of Israel! But too often today, believers use shocking means to fight other believers who have offended them.

Later Baasha king of Israel threatened Asa. Baasha began to build Ramah, a fortified city only a few miles from Jerusalem. To stop this, Asa paid a large sum of money to Ben-hadad king of Syria to invade Israel. This worked for the time being. The building of Ramah stopped, and Asa carried away its stones and built Geba and Mizpah.

At first Asa's unfaithfulness seems to bear excellent fruit. Baasha leaves off building Ramah; Asa and his people carry its stones away to build fortresses against Israel. By taking this path the king seems to have escaped a great disaster. But all the blessing of a walk of faith is lost to him, and he will make sad proof of this. Oh, how much happier he was when he felt himself to be without strength and yet withstood the vast army of Zerah!

This had the effect that Asa had desired, and Asa would no doubt feel himself justified, as many do who consider that the end justifies the means. Asa was able to attack Ramah and reduce it to nothing. He gained his object through friendship with the world! ... We too, after we have found great blessing through depending on the Lord, may find ourselves in great danger of then depending on our own ability to gain our ends.

He failed badly by enlisting the help of the Lord's enemies against his own brothers the Israelites. Nor was that all, for he took the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of the house of the Lord to pay for this help from Syria... Instead of making a treaty with Syria, how much better it would have been for Asa to seek the restoration of Israel! But too often, in our day, believers use shocking means of fighting against other believers who have offended them. They also use things that belong to God (as Asa used the gold and silver from the house of the Lord) to serve their own selfish ends.

It was the beginning of Asa's downfall. He got the deliverance he wanted, but it cost him the rebuke of God and wars to the end of his reign... Instead of calling on Ben-hadad for help, he might have subdued him, as "has escaped you" implies. David had reigned over Damascus. Only in the days of Solomon's decline did Syria begin to exist as a separate and independent kingdom... it was in God's heart to use Asa to destroy this heathen power. In days to come that power caused His people so much sorrow and distress.

How remarkable is the government of God. We may take a wrong step to reach some end. It will not reach that end, and it brings its own chastening with it. The very thing we least desire comes upon us. God would have hindered not only Israel, but Syria.

Nebuchadnezzar puts Gedaliah in charge of the people left in the land, to tend the vines and work the fields... Gedaliah lived at Mizpah, a strong city that Asa, king of Judah, had built with the stones of Ramah.

Though Asa had gained his ends in hiring Syria to help him, God did not congratulate Asa! Rather, He sent Hanani the prophet to him to strongly reprove him for having relied on the king of Syria instead of on the Lord.

By taking this path the king seems to have escaped a great disaster. But he has lost all the blessing of a walk of faith, and he will prove it, to his sorrow. Oh, how much happier he was when he felt he had no strength of his own, and still stood against the countless army of Zerah!

It is hard to explain this sudden failure of Asa's faith. Not long before, with God's help, he had wiped out the immense army of Zerah the Ethiopian. Now, facing an enemy not half as dangerous, his faith fails, and he leans on human strength to save him. It was the beginning of Asa's downfall. He got the deliverance he wanted, but it cost him the rebuke of God and wars to the end of his reign.

Instead of calling on Ben-hadad for help, Asa could have conquered him, as the words "escaped out of your hand" imply... God had it in His heart to use Asa to destroy this pagan power, which in later days caused His people so much sorrow and distress. But he missed his opportunity.

How remarkable is the government of God. Whatever wrong step we take to reach an end, it not only fails to reach it, but brings its own chastening with it. The very thing we least want comes on us. God would have stopped not only Israel but Syria too. Instead, the army of the king of Syria escaped out of his hand.

The king's heart was no longer perfect. It had been perfect about idols, but not about the world. You cannot hope for blessing while you keep one of the great principles of Christian holiness and abandon the other. Joy, peace, and strength are gone.

The pull to meet a worldly trial in a worldly way is immense. People easily think that you cannot meet the world's attacks on you by spiritual means, so the danger is that we turn to earthly means to escape... Be sure of this: if we do not feel the danger, it is because we are under the world's influence ourselves.

It is difficult to account for this sudden defect in Asa's faith. Only a short time before, with God's help, he had destroyed the huge army of Zerah the Ethiopian. Now, facing an enemy not half as dangerous, his faith fails, and he looks to human strength to save him. Had not his father Abijah trusted the Lord and defeated an earlier army of Israel twice the size of his own? It was the beginning of Asa's downfall.

But faith had to be tested. A powerful army led by Zerah, an Ethiopian, came against Judah… Before the two sides ever clashed, Asa cried to the Lord. His prayer is beautiful and simple… "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." What confidence and trust! He put the whole matter in the LORD's hands. Their enemies were His enemies.

"So the army of the king of Syria has escaped out of your hand." Asa could have subdued Benhadad instead of calling on him for help; that is what "escaped out of your hand" implies… It was in God's heart to use Asa to destroy this pagan power, which in later days caused His people so much sorrow and distress. But he missed his opportunity.

Baasha's attack on the kingdom of Judah brings out the lack of faith in Asa's heart. He had no confidence in God. His tireless zeal against idolatry had no reality in his soul. Then the sun rose, in the form of Baasha's invasion, and this outward religion withers away, because there was no depth of soil. He goes to the king of Syria for help; there is not even the appearance of going to God.

Asa was such a good man, and his heart was perfect all his days. Yet there was that departure from first love which Jehovah could see.

He had lost his strength; now he loses his rest. These were the two great blessings at the start of his reign… The king's heart was no longer perfect. It had been perfect toward idols, but not toward the world. You cannot hope for blessing if you keep one of the great principles of Christian holiness and abandon the other.

In time of trouble, the heart is often ready to turn anywhere for help other than to God. But faith always looks to God, and to God only… When Asa, king of Judah, relied on Jehovah, God delivered him from a great army of Ethiopians. But when he relied on the king of Syria instead of the Lord his God, the prophet rebuked him for it, and constant wars followed.

It is hard to explain this sudden failure in Asa's faith. Not long before, with God's help, he had destroyed the huge army of Zerah the Ethiopian. Now, facing an enemy not half as dangerous, his faith fails, and he leans for rescue on human strength.

Asa got what he wanted by hiring Syria to help him, but God did not congratulate him! … So Hanani tried to persuade Asa that God very much wanted to do the very best for those who put their full confidence in Him.

In 2 Chronicles 16 the eyes of the LORD are pictured running to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong for those whose heart is perfect towards Him. This is the faithfulness of God, taking notice of all things in His ways of government. In Zechariah, the eyes rest on the stone that is laid in Zion. That is where the seat of that government stands — the government that sees everything, everywhere.

His "eyes" run to and fro through the whole earth, beholding the evil and the good. Nothing can possibly escape His notice, whether it happens in the far east or the far west, at either pole or at the equator. The One who has again and again shown "Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is perfect toward Him" is the One who controls the future of the nations and of the whole earth.

Those whose hearts are perfect are not those perfect in flesh, but those who know there is nothing good in them. "Stop regarding man," and begin with yourself.

Simply rely on the Lord in everything, just to do His will quietly, and He will show Himself strong on your behalf.

But the believer has nothing to fear from the keen, piercing glance of that eye of sevenfold brightness. To him it is soft, tender and affectionate, "like doves beside streams of water." It is his happy privilege to watch where it looks. "I will counsel you with my eye upon you."

How remarkable is the government of God. Whatever wrong step we do to accomplish an end, not only does it not accomplish it, but it brings its own chastening with it. The very thing we least desire comes upon us. God would not only have hindered Israel, but Syria. Instead of this, the host of the king of Syria escaped out of his hands.

When Hanani charged him with folly, he put the seer in prison for his faithfulness. "And Asa inflicted cruelties upon some of the people at the same time" — the seer's sympathisers, probably. His small-minded anger, at what he knew only too well to be the truth, shows a low condition of soul from which he apparently never recovered. His end was as humiliating as his beginning had been brilliant.

Instead of seriously taking the message to heart as from God, Asa became angry with Hanani and put him in prison (v. 10). Being a believer, why did he not recognise that Hanani was not speaking his own thoughts, but had been God's mouthpiece? So Asa in his later years spoiled a testimony that had been bright and commendable.

The prophet brought Asa the word of God. Instead of humbling himself under it, Asa becomes angry and puts Hanani in prison. Sadly, along with him he was imprisoning his own conscience. The king's heart was no longer perfect. It had been perfect about idols, but not about the world… And there is more. In seeking the help and friendship of the world, Asa became an enemy of the word of God in the person of the man who carried it.

Whatever wrong step we take to reach an end, it does not reach it. Worse, it brings its own chastening with it… Asa stood convicted of his folly as well as of his sin. He was angry with the seer and put him in a prison house. One evil leads on to another, so Asa oppressed some of the people at the same time. But God oppressed him, or at least chastised him: he was diseased in his feet. The same unbelief that sent him to Ben-hadad now sent him to men when he should have looked to the Lord.

When the prophet Hanani reproves him, he puts him in prison, and at the same time oppresses some of the people. See how plainly the king and the people are drifting from God: those who stay faithful to Him are the ones he imprisons and oppresses. These were some of that remnant which God always, even in the darkest times, kept for Himself.

Here we find Asa very angry with Hanani, because Hanani had rebuked him for his DISOBEDIENCE. So Asa puts Hanani in prison, an act of gross INJUSTICE… Such cases show us how often anger rises in our hearts when someone rebukes us, or faithfully reproves us, for a sin we have committed. Let us be on our guard against this. It is enough to have committed the sin. It is far worse to add a second sin, and perhaps a third, when a servant of God reproves us for it — as Asa did.

What a change in Asa from first to last — from the time when he did not spare even his own mother (2 Chron. 15:16) to the time when he put Hanani in prison and oppressed some of the people. So forgetful of God, of His mercy, of His promise and His claims on them…

It is easy to see why the chronicler should write of his acts "first and last" (2 Chron. 16:11). "You were running well. Who hindered you?" You could ask that of many besides the Galatians and Asa. A good beginning matters, but it is not everything. We are called to run with endurance the race that is set before us.

Baasha's attack on the kingdom of Judah brings out the lack of faith in Asa's heart: he had no confidence in God. His tireless zeal against idolatry had no reality in his soul... What a change in Asa from first to last, from the time when he did not spare even his own mother (2 Chron. 15:16) to the time when he put Hanani in prison and oppressed some of the people. He had grown so forgetful of God — of His mercy, of His promise, of His claims on the people — that he asks the king of Syria for help. So we get this astonishing, even monstrous thing: Judah seeking Gentile help against Israel, and buying it with the Lord's treasures.

How remarkable is the government of God. Whatever wrong step we take to reach a goal not only fails to reach it, but brings its own chastening with it. The very thing we least desire comes upon us... I do not say that Asa was not a man of God, but I do say that there was great and grievous failure.

These books mention other books and histories again and again — works the author of Chronicles refers to. They include a book of the kings of Judah and Israel (2 Chron. 16:11; 25:26; 28:26; 32:32). In all, just twelve sources appear. The author whom the Spirit of God used must remain unknown to man, but God knows him.

At the judgment seat of Christ everything will come out in the light of God. "The rest of the acts of Josiah and his goodness... and his deeds first and last, behold they are written." So God records our goodness as well as our badness. No unfortunate last deeds will wipe out our first deeds, done when love was fresh and warm. God will remember everything and judge its worth. "The LORD is a God of knowledge, and by Him actions are weighed" (1 Sam. 2:3). Not "counted," as if quantity were everything with God, but "weighed"; quality is the chief thing with Him.

Asa's history reveals his weaknesses; God, in His comments on his character, gives no hint of them (2 Chron. 20:32; 21:12). He loves to commend whatever is lovely in His servants' lives, and only when necessary exposes their failures and follies. May we in this, as in everything else, be "imitators of God"! (Eph. 5:1.)

But does God finally give up His servant? We think not. I have no doubt this was God's dealing with His servant in chastening, "For whom the Lord loves He chastens." He was reluctant to give Asa up, despite his failure. He meant the chastening for blessing, if only Asa had bowed under God's hand and humbled himself in His sight.

After Asa's bad treatment of the prophet, the Lord gave him three years to consider and change his ways. Only then did He allow Asa to become diseased in his feet (v. 12). It is sad that he did not turn back to the Lord in that time. But also, when his feet were so diseased, why did he not then at least seek the Lord's mercy? Instead, he sought physicians. The Lord gave him two more years after the attack of his ailment before He took him away in death.

One failure produces another; he "oppressed some of the people the same time." God visits him, and he is greatly diseased in his feet. His physical condition illustrates the condition of his soul. He once walked well. Did he grasp the truth being taught? "Yet even in his disease he did not seek the LORD, but sought help from physicians."

And yet, in his old age, even Asa "was diseased in his feet." I suppose the lesson here is for us who are getting old. With diseased feet, one cannot walk right. "He will keep the feet of His saints" (1 Sam. 2:9). May He keep our feet healthy and clean even to old age.

It is not that God objects to physicians, for Luke was a "beloved physician" (Col. 4:14), but to seek the help of physicians (perhaps many of them), in preference to consulting the Lord, is a sad lack of faith. If a believer needs to consult a physician, he should pray that the Lord will give that physician wisdom to treat his case.

Scripture proves many times over that God sent diseases as a punishment for the sins of His people. For a cure they should have looked to Him who was disciplining them. Of Asa it is said, "he did not seek the LORD, but sought help from physicians," which probably means those associated with magic.

But God oppressed him, or at least chastised him, for he was diseased in his feet. The same unbelief that sent him to Ben-hadad now sent him to men, when he should have looked to the LORD. We must remember the great point in Israel: they had God to care for them. Men now look to God to bless the means at hand. Israel was different. Their looking to God in every trouble was a special testimony.

Sad to say, this discipline did not produce fruit! He had lost communion with God. He had rejected His word. He was angry with the prophet and with those faithful to him. So he falls into moral hardening: "Yet even in his disease he did not seek the LORD, but sought help from physicians." God sent this to bring his heart closer to Himself, and Asa uses it as an excuse to move further away. When it is a matter of his own health, he trusts weak, fallible instruments. The grace of God no longer speaks to his heart.

He began well. His beginning was very bright indeed; and had he gone on in simplicity and in the energy of faith, what a different story he would have left on record. Instead, he came into port like a ship that had met a great storm — disabled and broken, without mast or sail. He could have come in with flags flying and all sail set. How it reminds us of that word which says, "Let not him that girds on his armour boast himself as he that takes it off."

How very sad to see such an end after such a good start, and after such a long reign of peace and prosperity! But such is man. The same story is told of other kings of Judah, and of many a good man since. Solomon had an excellent start, but a sad ending through allowing his wives to take away his heart from God. Asa never went back to idolatry. That is probably why the Spirit of God has recorded that Asa's heart "was wholly true all his days" (older translations read "perfect"). … As the sun set on the good king's life it cast a dark shadow, softened by his early faithfulness to Jehovah.

The Lord gave Asa three years, following his bad treatment of the prophet, to consider and change his ways, before He allowed Asa to become diseased in his feet. It is sad that he did not turn back to the Lord in that time. But also, when his feet were so diseased, why did he not then at least seek the Lord's mercy? … The Lord gave him two more years after his illness struck before He took him away in death. Even those two extra years did not turn him back to the Lord. So he died in the forty-first year of his reign.

He relied on the king of Syria, and not on God. Asa is angry, and puts the prophet in prison. One failure produces another. Then God visits him, and his feet become severely diseased. His physical condition pictures the condition of his soul. He had once walked well.

It is because Asa is dear to Him that Asa himself becomes the object of His discipline. … Sadly, this discipline did not produce fruit! He has lost communion with God. He has rejected His word. He is angry with the prophet and with those who are faithful to him. So he falls into moral hardening. The very thing God sent to bring his heart closer to Him he now uses as an excuse to move even further away. When it comes to his own health, he puts his trust in weak, fallible instruments.

God does not object to physicians, for Luke was a "beloved physician" (Col. 4:14). But to seek help from physicians rather than consult the Lord is a sad lack of faith. If a believer does need to see a physician, he should pray that the Lord will give that physician wisdom to treat his case.

At his death people lavished plenty of incense on him, but there was no sweet fragrance for God. Spices serve to cover or to delay the decay of a body, and the world's incense cannot take the place of God's favour. Is this not often so with Christians who have sought the favour of men? … The more unfaithfulness was mixed into a man's life, the more praise he gets — praise no one would ever speak around the coffin of a faithful man.

Reading the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah, we were struck by this. These kings did what was right in the sight of the Lord, yet they went astray and turned their backs on their God. It did not happen in youth, but in middle life and old age.

How very sad to see such an end after such a good start, and after such a long reign of peace and prosperity, but such is man... He failed by looking to the enemy of Israel for help instead of to the Lord. He failed by not humbling himself under God's rebuke. He failed by imprisoning Hanani the seer, and by oppressing some of the people. Then when diseased in his feet, under God's government, he "did not seek the LORD, but sought help from physicians" (verse 12). As the sun set on the good king's life it cast a dark shadow. Three things relieved that shadow: his early faithfulness to the LORD, the various spices from the bed on which his body lay, and the "very great burning for him" (verse 14).

In Scripture this term does not mean someone who mixes drugs for medicine. It means someone who mixes ointments and the like — what we would now call a "perfumer." The margin of Exodus 30:25 translates it that way, where the holy anointing oil is an ointment blended by the apothecary's art. The same was said of the holy incense. Asa was buried in a tomb filled with sweet odours and spices prepared by the apothecaries' art.

That is to say, he would have a funeral suited to his dignity as a king, and after the usual manner of the Jews — a bed of spices prepared to burn the king's body, and laments over him. The reason for this is that God, even in His judgment, carefully remembers whatever good there may have been.

Asa's history reveals his weaknesses: God, in His comments on his character, gives no hint of them (2 Chron. 20:32; 21:12). He loves to commend whatever is lovely in His servants' lives, and only when necessary exposes their failures and follies.

In his death, although much incense was lavished on him, there was nothing of sweet-smelling savour for God. Spices serve to cover or to delay the decay of a body, and the world's incense cannot take the place of God's favour. Is this not often so with Christians who have sought the favour of men? Men praise them after their death in proportion to the confidence they have placed in men and refused to God. Such incense is only testimony given to a believer's weaknesses.

There was much in his reign that the people had cause to appreciate, and they laid him in a bed filled with spices and ointments, and made a very great burning for him. The people would not be as concerned about Asa's relationship with God as about his outward success in reigning.

These two Israelites, as true children of Abraham, claim the body of the Lord and consecrate it with the faith of the patriarch. As true subjects of the King of Israel, they also honour it with the honours of a son of David (2 Chr. 16:14). They spend large and costly perfumes on it. They lay it in the garden, in a new, untainted tomb, where the smell of death had never passed.