Two Greats & A Grand, Down the Line (Part 1)

Well, a couple weeks ago, I was once again sitting in my Sabbath School discussing the lesson study with my peers. Our subject this time was Asa, king of Judah. I felt that there were so many good lessons to be learned that I just had to share the story with all of you…so here goes!

Don’t know who Asa is? No worries. Let’s do a little genealogy here. You know who David was, right? Good. David begat Solomon, and Solomon begat Rehoboam (remember, we talked about him last week!). Rehoboam then begat a really bad king named Abijah, who only ruled Judah for three years. And….(drum roll here!) Abijah begat Asa. So there you go. David was Asa’s great-great-grandfather!

One of the really cool things about Asa is that for the most part, he is remembered for doing good things. Many kings totally defied God, and that trend just kept continuing. But not with Asa. When he became king, he vowed to do what God said. And that wasn’t an easy choice. By the time Asa ascended the throne, Judah was one sad nation. Idols and altars dotted the countryside, all dedicated to foreign heathen gods. Male and female prostitutes were quite prevalent, and the whole country was in a mess. Asa had one big job on his hands.  

But with God’s help, Asa successfully made sweeping reforms in Judah. I think 2 Chronicles 14:3-7 says it best:

^“3 He [Asa] removed the foreign altars and the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles.^[a] 4 He commanded Judah to seek the LORD, the God of their ancestors, and to obey his laws and commands. ⁵ He removed the high places and incense altars in every town in Judah, and the kingdom was at peace under him. ⁶ He built up the fortified cities of Judah, since the land was at peace. No one was at war with him during those years, for the LORD gave him rest.

⁷ “Let us build up these towns,” he said to Judah, “and put walls around them, with towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours, because we have sought the LORD our God; we sought him and he has given us rest on every side.” So they built and prospered.”

So there you go. Asa was doing all that he could to follow God’s will and to restore the country’s allegiance to the one true God. One thing that I’d like to point out is what Asa did when God gave him peace from his enemies. During that time, Asa didn’t just sit back, relax, and take a nap. He constructively used the peacetime that he had and built up Judah. In other words, he prepared for the attack which he was sure would come at some point. Asa doing all that reminds me of a favorite proverb:

“Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth.” ~Proverbs 10:4

Asa had used his peacetime well, and now it was time for all to see just how well prepared Asa was.  

Zearah the Cuhite marched against Judah, and came as far as Mareshah. (within twenty-five miles of Jerusalem). Asa and his army marched out to Mareshah to meet the invading force. As Asa looked over the thousands upon thousands upon thousands of soldiers in Zerah’s army, he must have been a little afraid. After all, Asa only had 580,000 soldiers! That was true, but Asa had a secret weapon that Zerah didn’t: God. So as Asa is contemplating this whole situation, he does exactly the right thing. Let’s read about it in 2 Chronicles 14:11—

“Then Asa called to the LORD his God and said, “LORD, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, LORD our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army. LORD, you are our God; do not let mere mortals prevail against you.””

Wow. That’s powerful stuff! And that’s not just your generic prayer of “and please dear Jesus keep me safe today”! Asa is calling on God for some big-time assistance, and from the prayer, it seems pretty obvious that Asa is expecting God to deliver. What I read between the lines is that Asa had a very close and intimate relationship with God. He wasn’t just praying to God as a last resort; he had made God first in everything else he did and this time wasn’t any different.

The LORD struck down the Cushites before Asa and Judah. The Cushites fled, and Asa and his army pursued them as far as Gerar. Such a great number of Cushites fell that they could not recover; they were crushed before the LORD and his forces. The men of Judah carried off a large amount of plunder. (v. 12-13)

God delivered. Big-time. I feel like this is a prime example of how God’s tiny minority won the day…with His help. God loves to help us in situations like this, but too often we forget to ask. Or we only remember to ask for divine intervention as a last resort. That’s not how God wants it to be. He is more than willing—in fact, eager—to help us win the battles we face in our lives, but we must do our part, too. We must in peacetime “build up the walls”, and get ready for the battle that’s looming ahead. We must now cultivate that personal and intimate relationship with God, so when the hard times come we have Someone to turn too.

In conclusion, let’s see what God’s prophet Azariah son of Oded had to say to Asa and all of Judah after they returned triumphant from battle:

“[Azariah] went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you…But in [Israel’s] distress they turned to the LORD, the God of Israel, and sought him, and he was found by them…But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.”

When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Azariah son of Oded the prophet, he took courage.” ~2 Chronicles 15:2, 4, 7, 8

What encouraging words! And they are still true today. If we seek God today, we will still find him. And when He is our God, He will still fight for us in our battles. So be strong and don’t give up! Take courage! If God is for us, who can be against us?

Next week we’ll be continuing our discussion on Asa. Come back then!