Asa, The Good King

2 Chronicles 14:1-6  

1 And Abijah rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. Asa his son succeeded him as king, and in his days the country was at peace for ten years.

Asa King of Judah

"2 Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. 3 He removed the foreign altars and the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles.  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."

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Asa was a good king. He did everything he could to bring his people back to worship of the true God.  But before he came on the scene, things were going the wrong way big time!  Let’s take  short trip back in time and find out what happened.

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Solomon’s Error.

Not long after King Solomon’s reign, things in Israel went downhill fast. As you can see in the genealogy below, Israel went from one united kingdom to two very divided ones.  How could things have gone so horribly wrong?

Things had already started to decline due to Solomon marrying a lot of foreign wives. He allowed them to influence him into worshipping their idols, drawing him away from the True God. 😞  This no doubt lead to his children and subjects following along with him.  He even went so far as to build shrines to the “gods” of Ammon and Moab! 🤯

Needless to say, God was NOT PLEASED with Solomon.  He said the following to him in 1 Kings 11:11-13

“So the Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned from the Lord God of Israel.   Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, "Because you have done this, and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. Nevertheless, I will not do it in your days, for the sake of your father David; I will tear it out of the hand of your son."

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Rehoboam Becomes King.  

Before his death, he appointed his son, Rheoboam, to be king in his place.  Unlike his father in the beginning of his reign, this kid was not wise at all.  His mother was Naaman, an Ammonitess, which may explain a few things.  (The Jewish people were strictly forbidden not marry anyone from Ammon.  See Deuteronomy 23:3)  Anyway, he was the last king to rule a united Israel but he was such a bully that he caused a great rift in the kingdom.  

Solomon also appointed the man who would ultimately become Rehoboam’s nemesis: “Jeroboam” the son of Nebat.  He was initially appointed to be head over the forced labor over the territory of Joseph.  Well, one day he was met by the prophet, “Ahijah” who told him that the Lord was going to give him the northern ten tribes of Israel.  Apparently, the news must have spooked him because he fled to Egypt.  When King Solomon died, however, he returned to find Solomon’s son, “Rehoboam,” reigning.  

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Ten Tribes Rebel.

The Northern tribes revolted at that time, no doubt due to the bully king, and Jeroboam found himself somehow in charge of these rebels.  After fortifying the cities of Shechem and Penuel, he erected golden calves at Bethel and Dan, earning him the reputation as the “King who made Israel sin.  Without a doubt, he was one of the most evil and infamous kings and Rehoboam’s great nemesis.

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(For more on the topic of this evil king, you may follow the link below:

https://emmausroadministries.international/2020/02/04/our-lamb-was-not-consumed/)

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Rehoboam was succeeded by his son, Abijah.  During his three-year reign he tried, unsuccessfully, to reunite the Southern two Kingdoms consisting of Judah and Benjamin, with the Northern ten tribes.  

Abijah marched north with his armies, intending to fight against Jeroboam and win back these tribes, but was ultimately unsuccessful.  He and his troops engaged in battle with Jeroboam’s armies in the battle of Mt. Zemarim.  Though surrounded and outnumbered, Abijah rallied his troops with a phrase which has since become famous: "God Himself is with us for a Captain."  He went on to capture the Israelite cities of Jeshanah, Ephron, and Bethel.  It says in 2 Chronicles 13:18, “Judah prevailed because they relied upon the Lord God of their fathers.”

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Sadly, at the end of his reign, he went off the rails and ended up having God cut short his reign.  He committed some atrocities against his own men and was not fully zealous for God in destroying idol worship or tearing down shrines and graven images.  Apparently his transgressions were even worse than the idolatrous Jeroboam prompting God’s judgment to happen swiftly.

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The Fifth King.  

Though he was the third king in the kingdom of Judah, he was fifth in line from King David.  For those of you who know anything about the meaning of numbers in the Bible, “Five” is the number of grace!  As you read in the opening scripture, Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.  As a result, God blessed, prospered, and protected him from his enemies.  

(For more on the topic of numbers, you may follow the link below to a series on that topic. Very revealing!:

https://emmausroadministries.international/2020/07/02/numbers-have-meaning/)

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As you read in the opening scripture, Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.  As a result, God blessed, prospered, and protected him from his enemies.  Let’s follow his story:

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2 Chronicles 14:7-8

“Therefore he (King Asa) said of Judah, “Let us build these cities and make walls around them, and towers, gates, and bars, while the land is yet before us, because we have sought the LORD our God; we have sought Him, and He has given us rest on every side.” So they built and prospered. And Asa had an army of three hundred thousand from Judah who carried shields and spears, and from Benjamin two hundred and eighty thousand men who carried shields and drew bows; all these were mighty men of valor.”

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In chapter 15, the prophet and wise man, Azariah, a son of Obed, advised King Asa to adhere very closely to the law of Moses.  Asa listened to him and began to purge the country of idols, idol worship, and shrines as well as the high places, with its accompanying immoralities.

He removed the abominable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities which he had taken in the mountains of Ephraim; and he restored the altar of the LORD that was before the vestibule of the LORD.  

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Asa went further than any other king in purging the land of the evils of paganism. 

When Zerah the Ethiopian came out against them with an army of a million men and three hundred chariots, he called on God to help them.  Let’s continue his story:

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2 Chronicles 14:9-15  

So Asa went out against him, and they set the troops in battle array in the Valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. And Asa cried out to the LORD his God, and said, “LORD, it is nothing for You to help, whether with many or with those who have no power; help us, O LORD our God, for we rest on You, and in Your name we go against this multitude. O LORD, You are our God; do not let man prevail against You!  So the LORD struck the Ethiopians before Asa and Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. 

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And Asa and the people who were with him pursued them to Gerar. So the Ethiopians were overthrown and they could not recover, for they were broken before the LORD and His army. And they carried away very much spoil. Then they defeated all the cities around Gerar, for the fear of the LORD came upon them; and they plundered all the cities, for there was exceedingly much spoil in them. They also attacked the livestock enclosures, and carried off sheep and camels in abundance, and returned to Jerusalem.”

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Look what happens every time we trust the Lord:  HE SHOWS UP!  He delivers, protects, provides, whatever you need, He supplies.  He even fights your enemies for you.  What a God!!! 🙌🏻

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God Shows Up!

Church, when we pray, God hears us   He shows up and even fights our enemies for us. He did those things for Asa because he was faithful to God.  

But…..because of Jesus, if you belong to Him, even if you happen to be unfaithful, He saves and protects.  No one by any means is promoting unfaithfulness, mind you, but God doesn’t look at you to evaluate you; He looks at Jesus because you are his with Christ IN God!  

Want proof of what God sees when He looks at you?  Look no further than the Tekhelet of the high priest’s garments.  You can read all about it in the article below:

https://emmausroadministries.international/2020/10/11/tekhelet-part-2-high-priests-garment-series/

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Though Asa went off course at the end of his life, I think we all agree that he was overall a good king.