With all the kings mentioned in the Old Testament, it is impossible to remember who is who. However, each time a man becomes king, there is a short description stating his name, how old he was when he became king, how long he reigned, his mother’s name, and one line that describes the character of the new king.
The one line is either, “He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord,” or “He did evil in the eyes of the Lord.”
This one line gives us a heads up on what we are about to read. In the case of one evil king, Jehoram, we are told: “He passed away, to no one’s regret.” (II Chronicles 21:20b) Not the most positive obituary!
Some kings start out good but then, after many year’s of God’s blessing and favor, they make one bad decision without first seeking God. Sometimes a king will allow one area of sin to remain in his kingdom while serving God in every other area. Asa was one such king who traveled a long way with God before getting off track. We learn that his sin was not so much deliberate disobedience as it was choosing the easy way rather than the right way.
During the early years of battle, King Asa sought after God with his whole heart. Then, because Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God, God blessed him with many years of rest, “No one was at war with him during those years, for the Lord gave him rest.” (II Chronicles 14:6b)
I can’t help but wonder if King Asa grew so accustomed to a life without battles that he forgot his great need for God or simply forgot about God.
I know I have spent more time on my knees in the valley than I might during a time of personal peace.
Many years pass before King Asa’s next big threat confronts him in the thirty-sixth year of his reign. This time, King Asa resorted to self-reliance instead of seeking God.
Baasha, king of Israel, the rival northern kingdom was threatening the peace of Judah. King Asa, now a wealthy king, convinced King Ben-Hadad to break his alliance with King Baasha by making a treaty with himself instead and bribed him with silver and gold out of the treasuries of the Lord’s temple, thus disabling King Baasha to cause harm to Judah.
Because King Asa took the easy way, he was confronted by a man of God, Hanani, who told him, “You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war.” (II Chronicles 16:9b)
When confronted with his sin, King Asa becomes angry. Instead of repenting he throws Hanani in prison. Pride was ultimately King Asa’s downfall.
Three years later, in the thirty-ninth year of King Asa’s reign, he was afflicted with a disease in his feet. Still, King Asa rebelled, “Though his disease was severe, even in his illness he did not seek help from the Lord, but only from the physicians. Then in the forty-first year of his reign Asa died and rested with his fathers.” (II Chronicles 16:12-13)
How humbling to consider the many times we face trials and conflicts in our daily lives only to seek man-made solutions instead of seeking our Father.
In the New Testament, Jesus teaches about choosing the right way instead of the easy way when speaking about heaven, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14)
Regardless of whether we are in our first year of living for God or our thirty-ninth year, I pray we will choose the right way every day — to our final breath. Somewhere on the other side of a small gate down a narrow road our Reward will meet us with arms open wide.
Stay the Course…
Sheila
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