After the Children of Israel were divided into the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, the two nations were ruled by many kings. Some were good; some were bad. Most of them were evil, wicked men who bowed down to idols and forgot the true God.
One of the good kings of Judah was a man named Asa. When he became king, he tore down the images of the idols, destroyed the altars on which the people burned their sacrifices, and cut down the groves where the altars and images were placed.
God renewed with Asa the promise He had made to Solomon. “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” (Second Chronicles 15:2 ESV).
That seems simple enough. If he obeyed God, He would be with him. If not, He would forsake him. Forsaking him would be evident. There would be no question that He had left him and the people to fend for themselves.
Asa gathered the people together and they offered 700 oxen and 7,000 sheep as sacrifices to God. They entered into a covenant with God, “with all their heart and with all their soul” (verse 12).
The agreement was that they would give themselves wholly to God. Those that did not seek the Lord would be put to death, no matter who they were (verse 13). They rejoiced when they made this oath; they were happy to make such a promise. Because of their obedience, there was peace.
Later, Asa decided to go to war against the nation of Israel, so he sought the help of the king of Syria, Benhadad. A prophet of God condemned Asa’s actions because he sought the help of a heathen king and not the help of God.
There is a lesson here for us, dear sisters. When trials come, on whom should we depend? We should seek God’s help in all things.
The prophet told Asa, “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. You have done foolishly in this, for from now on you will have wars” (verse 9).
God does not treat us the same way today. He does not bring disaster on us when we disobey Him. He does not strike us with an illness the way He did Asa. Instead, He continues to give us time and opportunities to change.
God does, however, make us the same promise. If we obey Him, He will save us. If we don’t, eternity with Him will not be ours. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil” (Second Corinthians 5:10).
We depend too much on ourselves and our own knowledge and not enough on our Heavenly Father. What a blessing it would be to see those in authority, like King Asa, turn to the Creator and ask for His help and guidance.
The writer of Hebrews says, “Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:14-16).
Sandra Oliver