2 Chronicles 15:1-7
1 The Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded, 2 and he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: The Lord is with you while you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you. 3 For a long time Israel was without the true God, and without a teaching priest and without law, 4 but when in their distress they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him, he was found by them. 5 In those times there was no peace to him who went out or to him who came in, for great disturbances afflicted all the inhabitants of the lands. 6 They were broken in pieces. Nation was crushed by nation and city by city, for God troubled them with every sort of distress. 7 But you, take courage! Do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded.”
King Asa reigned in Judah at a time when there was no peace. Israel as a nation was rebellious disobedient to God so God’s judgement was upon them (vv. 3-6). They were often invaded and crushed by nations around them. It was stressful to be a ruler in such circumstances. So God sent the prophet, Azariah to encourage the king. “The Lord is with you WHILE you are with him. IF you seek him, he will be found by you. IF you forsake him, he will forsake you.” (v.2) BUT you, take courage! Don’t be weak because your work will be rewarded. (v.7)
I am reminded that hard times do not mean that God has left me hanging. He is with me while I am with him. His presence is near as I believe and live it… in thought, in Word and in deed. As I think, so it shall be. Awareness is key to courage. God said it is not good for man to be alone. This was why He created Eve for Adam, to be his helper. The Lord is also my helper. He is with me so I can be brave. How do I know he’s near? I need to ‘seek’ him. How to do that? Intentionally being thoughtful of him – in things I do or say. Will my words please him? Will my deeds honor him? Seek or forsake – this is a 2-way street. When I seek God, He will meet me where I am. If I turn away, then I’m forsaken.
(vv. 8-16) And so Asa took courage and did many brave reforms. He tore down idols, even those of his mom and deposed her from the throne. He restored fear of God to all his people. King Asa rallied the nation to vow and bow before the Lord to be loyal to him with all their heart. And people celebrated that they found the Lord. And the Lord grant them peace and rest from wars for 35 years (v.15,19).
Alas, all’s well but did not end well. In the 36th year of his reign, Asa decided to bribe Ben-hadad, king of Syria with treasures from the temple in order to fight against king Baasha of Israel. The Syrian king defeated Baasha. So the Lord sent Hanani another prophet to rebuke Asa:
“Because you relied on the king of Syria, and did not rely on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Syria has escaped you. Were not the Ethiopians and the Libyans a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on the Lord, he gave them into your hand. 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.”
The king got angry and imprisoned Hanani for the bad prediction. He even became a cruel king. 4 years later, Asa got very sick – a disease in his feet. Even then, he did not turn to God but asked help from his doctors.
Asa started as a humble fearful king who learned to bravely obey and rely on the Lord. He was rewarded with peace and rest in the land. Yet he forgot the Lord and let his fear of man overcome his fear of God. God sent him warning but he got proud and self-reliant. What a sad ending to a good beginning.
In life, there will always be ups and downs. Let me remember that courage is best lived out by the presence of the Lord, intentionally abiding in His Word – obeying and relying on his promises.
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.
A blameless heart is one who seeks and obeys the Lord – in word and in deed. So help me, God.
