What gives us the strength to be faithful and trust God to the end? All of us want to be faithful of our whole lives. We want to be strong in our faith and even stronger as we come to the end of our walk with the Lord. But how can we trust him all the way to the end of our lives and what motivation does God give us to trust him? We are going to look at the life of one of the kings of Judah named King Asa and see what God is teaching about the long road of faithfulness to him. Please open your copies of God’s word to 2 Chronicles 14.
Finding Rest (2 Chronicles 14:1-15)
The reign of Asa begins by describing that he did what was good and right in the sight of the Lord. He began the process of tearing down the foreign altars and idolatrous high places (2 Chronicles 14:3). He had the pagan pillars and pagan poles torn down in the land. Further, he commanded the people to seek the Lord and obey his commands (2 Chronicles 14:4). The result is that the nation would be at peace and rest during Asa’s rule because the Lord gave him peace (2 Chronicles 14:6). Asa recognizes that this peace has come from the Lord because they have devoted themselves to seek him (2 Chronicles 14:7). So Asa is able to fortify and strengthen the cities in the nation of Judah. But as strong as Asa and his nation was, an army led by Zerah the Cushite decides to take up battle positions against the nation of Judah. Though Asa has a staggering army of 300,000, Zerah has been able to gather an army of one million men (2 Chronicles 14:9).
I want to make an important observation before we continue forward in this account. Just because you are seeking the Lord and just because the Lord is blessing you with peace and rest for seeking him does not mean you are not going to be put to the test. Just because you are serving the Lord does not mean that life will be smooth sailing. Even though Asa is tearing down the idols in the land and seeking God’s favor, a great threat arises against Asa and the people of Judah.
Look at 2 Chronicles 14:11 to see what Asa is going to do now that he is being put to the test. In verse 11 we read that Asa called to the Lord his God. Notice what he proclaims about the Lord. “O Lord, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty” (14:11). Asa understands something that is so important and is a fundamental foundation to our faith. There is no one like the Lord to help when you are weak and in need. Now Asa asks the Lord to help them because they rely on him and because they represent the name of the Lord. Do not let these mere mortals prevail against you. This is the prayer of faith. The prayer is not about us but it is about God. God, you help the weak and we are weak. God, we need you to help us because we rely on you and there is no one to help like you. God, we represent you and we do not want mere mortals to claim victory over you and who you are. The result of this prayer is that the Lord gave the people victory (2 Chronicles 14:12-15). They were crushed before the Lord and his forces and the people of Judah carried away the plunder from the victory.
Continue To Be Faithful (2 Chronicles 15:1-19)
Now the Lord has a very important message for Asa and the people of Judah and Benjamin. The Lord sends Azariah as a prophet to them with a four point message. First, the Lord is with you when you are with him (2 Chronicles 15:2). I want to think about this important message. The Lord is with you if you are with him. Friends, there is never a time when you are with God but he is not with you. We must understand this truth. There is never a time when you are serving the Lord but the Lord is not there for you. If you are seeking the Lord, he is there.
Second, if you seek the Lord, you will find him. If you are truly looking for the Lord, you will find the Lord. The Lord does not hide himself from those who are genuinely seeking. However, if you leave the Lord, he will leave you (2 Chronicles 15:2). The Lord is with you when you are with him. Seek the Lord and you will find. But also understand that if you forsake the Lord, then he is not with you. Friends, the Lord is not going to be with you if you are going your own way from the Lord. The Lord is not going to be with you, help you, and support you while you ignore what he has said for you to do. Now we need to observe a disconnection in our lives. We think that we have not forsaken the Lord even when we are disobeying the Lord. We think because we still have a positive mental attitude toward the Lord that this means we did not forsake him. But when we are not doing what the Lord has told us to do, then we are forsaking him. It does not matter if we think well of the Lord. We leave the Lord when we disregard what he has told us to do.
Third, the Lord has proven himself in the past to you (2 Chronicles 15:3-6). God reminds the people that for a long time they were without the Lord and without a true priest to teach them the law. But when in their distress they turned to the Lord, he was found by them. The Lord brought troubles on the surrounding nations and not on them when they turned to the Lord.
Fourth, be strong and do not give up (2 Chronicles 15:7). Asa has been doing the Lord’s work. He has been tearing out the idolatry from the land and telling the people to seek the Lord. It is a hard work to call for people to repent. But Azariah’s message to Asa is to take courage. Do not give up. Do not let your hands be weak. You will be rewarded for your work.
This message further encourages Asa to serve the Lord by removing more idols from the land and repairing the altar to the Lord (2 Chronicles 15:8). Asa gathers all the people under his rule and making offerings to the Lord (2 Chronicles 15:9-11). Not only this, they enter into a covenant to seek the Lord with all their heart and soul (2 Chronicles 15:12). Notice that the people are so devoted to seeking the Lord that they declare that if they do not seek the Lord, then they should be put to death (2 Chronicles 15:13). Asa removes his grandmother from being the queen mother because she made a detestable image for worship of Ashram and destroyed that image. Imagine the courage to go against your own grandmother. Though Asa did not remove all the high places, his heart was fully committed to the Lord all his life. He brought in the contributions to the Lord into the temple and there was peace until the 35th year of Asa’s reign. God proved to be true. The people eagerly were seeking the Lord with all sincerity and the Lord was found by them and gave them rest (2 Chronicles 15:15). It is a hard work to tear out the idols that in our in our hearts, in our homes, in our culture, and in our country. It is hard to remove the loves in our lives that compete with our love for the Lord. But we must be encouraged to tear out any object or desire that rivals our love for the Lord.
Faith Tested Again (2 Chronicles 16:1-14)
I noted this earlier and I want to note it again. Just because the king and the people are seeking the Lord and made a covenant with him does not mean that faith is not going to be tested and challenged. In the 36th year of Asa’s reign, the nation is going to be tested again. The king of Israel now goes up against King Asa of Judah. But notice Asa’s response this time. This time he empties the treasuries of the Lord and pays the king of Syria to break his covenant with Israel. This looks like a success. The king of Syria breaks his covenant with Israel which stops the king of Israel. All seems to be good now, right? Not at all.
God sends a messenger to Asa in verse 7. Notice how the message begins, “Because you relied on the king of Syria, and did not rely on the Lord your God…” (2 Chronicles 16:7). What happened to Asa? Where did his great faith go? You will notice that the Lord reminds Asa of his prior faithfulness in verse 8. “Yet when you relied on the Lord, he delivered them into your hard” (2 Chronicles 16:8). In short, you forgot! You forgot that when you seek the Lord, he will be found. You forgot that the Lord is with you when you are with him. You forgot that there is no one to help like the Lord our God. You forgot that if you leave the Lord, he will leave you. In short, you forgot. Look at verse 9 to see what Asa had forgotten.
“For the eyes of the LORD roam throughout the earth, so that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.” (2 Chronicles 16:9 NASB)
Please let those words sink into your hearts. The eyes of the Lord roam all over the earth, looking for people whose hearts are fully devoted to him so that he may strengthen and strongly support them. Friends, God is watching. God is looking for his people. God is looking to see belongs to him that needs his support and strength. God is watching and strengthening those who are fully committed to him. What looked like a success in Asa’s life was actually a failure. From now on, Asa’s rule will be full of wars because he did not rely on the Lord.
Unfortunately, Asa does not receive this message well. In verse 10 we do not see Asa repent and turn his heart back to the Lord. Instead, Asa gets angry with the messenger of the Lord and puts him in prison. The glorious rule of Asa now turns to mistreating his own people and put God’s messenger in prison. Now I want us to see the grace of God in 2 Chronicles 16:12. Three years later God puts another test for Asa after his failure. Asa was afflicted with a disease in his feet that grew more and more severe. What is Asa going to do now? Will he learn the lesson of his failure? Will he remember that he can rely on the Lord? Look at the rest of verse 12.
“Though his disease was severe, even in his illness he did not seek help from the Lord, but only from the physicians” (2 Chronicles 16:12 NIV).
Did Asa learn? Did Asa change? No, Asa failed again. Asa’s troubles did not turn him back to the Lord. His troubles only pushed him further away from the Lord. Even at the end of his life he only looked for help from the physical and did not seek help from the Lord. The words that Asa said earlier in his life were forgotten again. “Lord, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the might. Help us, Lord our God, for we rely on you…” (2 Chronicles 16:11).
Messages
Friends, we must allow God’s past help carry us through tomorrow’s difficulty. God made this point to Asa. I helped you in the past and you should have trusted me to help you again (cf. 2 Chronicles 16:8). God’s past deliverance and strength is to be a constant reminder to us that he will be our strength and help again today and in the future. God said he is looking to give strength to those who are devoted to him. God said that he is with you when you are with him (cf. 2 Chronicles 15:2). The New Testament teaches us the same hope and gives us the same foundation for our faith.
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. (James 4:8 ESV)
And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 5:10-11 ESV)
Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. God himself will restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. Trust him to the end.