13 And Asa slept with his fathers, dying in the forty-first year of his reign.
Yet even in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but sought help from physicians. In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was diseased in his feet, and his disease became severe. He got a severe disease in his feet and even still refused to seek the Lord or seek help from physicians. We think – “I’ve been here before – I know the solution” – rather than thinking – “let’s pray”. Since we have experienced so much, we can begin to feel confident that we can handle our challenges on our own. As a result of his pride, God told him from then on, he would experience war.įor 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.”Īs we grow older, we grow wiser. He put a seer in prison for giving him instructions that he did not like. King Asa became quite difficult in his old age. Resist the temptation to get prideful with old age. God wants us to continually rely on him in both the good and bad times. Sometimes when we are in the midst of a peaceful time in our lives - when things are going right– it can be easy to ignore God and find more joy in our blessings, than in God. 8 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. “ 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. Asa used his silver and gold to get Syria to help him and it worked! But this displeased God greatly. As a result, instead of relying on God, he relied on his riches. God had blessed King Asa greatly with riches from winning his battles. When God gives you blessings – do not rely more on the blessing than God.
But Asa was brave and in front of everyone, he did what was right, even when it came to his family. Life can be difficult when our family does not understand our faith. Nevertheless, the heart of Asa was wholly true all his days. Asa cut down her image, crushed it, and burned it at the brook Kidron. But the high places were not taken out of Israel. Instead, he sought to honor the Lord and had her removed from being queen.Įven Maacah, his mother, King Asa removed from being queen mother because she had made a detestable image for Asherah. Do what is right – even when it comes to family.Īsa sought to honor God with all of his heart and soul and so when he saw his mother – the Queen – doing detestable things, he did not cave to family pressure or expectations. If we choose to walk away from God, then we can expect consequences for that decision. We must remain close to the Lord if we want to see God at work in our lives. 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.Īzariah wanted Asa to know that he could not experience that kind of victory again if he did not stay close to God. Right after King Asa’s victory, the Spirit of God came upon Azariah and he said these words to Asa: He can do anything! And when we rely on God – he is there! 2. This battle seemed impossible, so Asa cried out to the Lord for help and told God “we rely on you”. O Lord, you are our God let not man prevail against you.” 12 So the Lord defeated the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this multitude. That sounds wonderful BUT Zerah, the Ethiopian, came out against him with an army of ONE MILLION men!Īsa cried to the Lord his God, “O Lord, there is none like you to help, between the mighty and the weak. God puts us in circumstances where we have to rely on him.Īfter 10 years of peace, Asa had an army of 580,000 men. He had no war in those years, for the Lord gave him peace.Ħ Lessons from the Life of King Asa 1. He built fortified cities in Judah, for the land had rest. Unlike his father, King Abjiah, who did evil in the eyes of the Lord, –King Asa was known for “doing what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord.” King Asa was the third king of the southern kingdom of Judah. The life story of King Asa is found in 2 Chronicles 14-16 and 1 Kings 15. Let’s learn from King Asa, so we can avoid making the mistakes he made at the end of his life. Today – we are going to take a look at a man who did not end well. We may start well – but will we finish well?
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