2 Chronicles 15-16
Scripture Thought (What I Learned):
Chapter 15: Judah Shall Prosper
The spirit of God came upon Azariah, who was the
son of Oded. Azariah goes to meet Asa and he says to Asa, Benjamin and all of
Judah; “…The Lord is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he
will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.” (2
Chronicles 15:2)
“Now
for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without
a teaching priest, and without law. But when they in their trouble did
turn unto the Lord God of Israel, and sought him, he was
found of them. And in those times there was no peace to him that went
out, nor to him that came in, but great vexations were upon all the
inhabitants of the countries. And nation was destroyed of nation, and city of
city: for God did vex them with all adversity. Be ye strong therefore, and let
not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded.” (2 Chronicles 15:3-7)
Without
the true God, and without an authorized representative of God, the people were
without law. When the people turned away from God bad things happen and even in
their lowest state, if they turned to God, he would turn back to them and
restore them, and lift them back up!
Upon
hearing this, Asa takes courage and removes the abominable idols from all the land
of Judah and Benjamin and from all the cities that he had taken in the
mountains of Ephraim. He restored the altar of God. In the third month and in
the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign they made an offering to the Lord of 700
bulls, 7,000 sheep and with this they entered into a covenant with the Lord to seek
him with all their heart and soul. Anyone who did not seek the Lord would be
put to death. The heart of Asa was loyal all his days and he brought good
things into the house of the Lord. There was no war until the 35th year
of his reign.
Chapter 16: Asa Lacks Faith
In the 36th year of
Asa’s reign, Baasha the king of Israel came up against Judah and built Ramah. So
Asa takes gold and silver from the treasury of the house of the Lord and sends
it to Ben-Hadad, who is king of Syria with a message for him to make a treaty
with him. So that he would have to break a treaty with Israel and cause them to
withdraw.
So, Ben-Hadad agreed with King
Asa and made a treaty with him and caused that his armies go against the cities
of Israel; Ijon, Dan, abel Main and all the cities of Naphtali. When Baasha
heard this, he stopped building the city of Ramah and fled. Asa, took all of Judah
and carried away the materials in Ramah and used them in the building of Geba
and Mizpah.
At the same time a seer by the
name of Hanani comes to Asa and says to him; “…Because thou hast relied on the
king of Syria, and not elide on the Lord thy God, therefore is the host of the
King of Syria escaped out of thine hand…” (2 Chronicles 16:7)
Because Asa did not rely on the
Lord, he failed to see that the bigger enemy was actually Syria and not Israel.
God would have helped him and even wanted to give Asa that victory and glory.
“For the eyes of the Lord run to
and for throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of
them whose heart is perfect toward him…” (2 Chronices 16:9)
So if we turn to go, with a pure
and perfect heart, he will show his strength to you. But because Asa did not
rely on the Lord, he was foolish and wars would follow. Because of the Seer’s
message, Asa was angered and throws him into prison. Asa also oppressed some of
the people. The rest of the acts of Asa are written in yet another LOST BOOK of
the Bible. He reigned for a total of 39 years. Asa became diseased in the feet
and he did not turn to the Lord, but instead to the physicians, Asa dies. He is
buried in his own tomb, in the City of David.
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