Join us on a journey through the reign of King Asa, one of Judah’s long-serving monarchs. Discover the initial peace and prosperity he enjoyed due to his faithful adherence to God’s commandments. Contrast this with the later challenges he faced, and the pivotal choice that led to a dramatic shift in his fortunes, offering timeless insights into faith, trust, and the consequences of human decisions.
Welcome to Add Bible, an audio daily devotion from the Ezra Project. We join Allen J. Huth as he shares Bible passages and comments from over 30 years of his personal Bible reading journals.
SPEAKER 01 :
Today we are going to cover three chapters in 2 Chronicles. These are the chapters of the reign of King Asa, chapters 14, 15, and 16. So let’s listen in to Faith Comes by Hearing’s reading of 2 Chronicles 14, 15, and 16.
SPEAKER 05 :
2 Chronicles 14 Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David. And Asa his son reigned in his place. In his days the land had rest for ten years, and Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. He took away the foreign altars and the high places, and broke down the pillars, and cut down the Asherim, and commanded Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, and to keep the law and the commandment. He also took out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the incense altars, and the kingdom had rest under him. He built fortified cities in Judah, for the land had rest. He had no war in those years, for the Lord gave him peace. And he said to Judah,
SPEAKER 04 :
Let us build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours because we have sought the Lord our God. We have sought Him and He has given us peace on every side.
SPEAKER 05 :
So they built and prospered. And Asa had an army of 300,000 from Judah, armed with large shields and spears, and 280,000 men from Benjamin that carried shields and drew bows. All these were mighty men of valor. Zerah the Ethiopian came out against them with an army of a million men and 300 chariots and came as far as Moreshah. And Asa went out to meet him, and they drew up their lines of battle in the valley of Zephathah at Moreshah.
SPEAKER 04 :
And Asa cried to the Lord his God, O Lord, there is none like you to help between the mighty and the weak. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this multitude. O Lord, you are our God. Let not man prevail against you.
SPEAKER 05 :
So the Lord defeated the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. Asa and the people who were with him pursued them as far as Gerar, and the Ethiopians fell until none remained alive, for they were broken before the Lord and his army. The men of Judah carried away very much spoil, and they attacked all the cities around Gerar, for the fear of the Lord was upon them. They plundered all the cities, for there was much plunder in them. And they struck down the tents of those who had livestock, and carried away sheep in abundance and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem. The Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded, and he went out to meet Asa and said to him,
SPEAKER 06 :
Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. 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. For a long time Israel was without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law. But when in their distress they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought Him, He was found by them. In those times there was no peace to him who went out or to him who came in, for great disturbances afflicted all the inhabitants of the lands. They were broken in pieces. Nation was crushed by nation and city by city, for God troubled them with every sort of distress. But you take courage. Do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded.”
SPEAKER 05 :
As soon as Asa heard these words, the prophecy of Azariah the son of Oded, he took courage and put away the detestable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities that he had taken in the hill country of Ephraim, and he repaired the altar of the Lord that was in front of the vestibule of the house of the Lord. And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin and those from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who were residing with them, for great numbers had deserted to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him. They were gathered at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa. They sacrificed to the Lord on that day from the spoil that they had brought, seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep. And they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and with all their soul. But that whoever would not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, should be put to death, whether young or old, man or woman.” They swore an oath to the Lord with a loud voice and with shouting and with trumpets and with horns. And all Judah rejoiced over the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and had sought Him with their whole desire. And He was found by them, and the Lord gave them rest all around. Even Maacah, his mother, King Asa removed from being queen mother because she had made a detestable image for Asherah. Asa cut down her image, crushed it, and burned it at the brook Kidron. But the high places were not taken out of Israel. Nevertheless, the heart of Asa was wholly true all his days. And he brought into the house of God the sacred gifts of his father, and his own sacred gifts, silver and gold and vessels. And there was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of the reign of Asa. In the thirty-sixth year of the reign of Asa, Baasha, king of Israel, went up against Judah and built Ramah that he might permit no one to go out or come in to Asa, king of Judah. Then Asa took silver and gold from the treasures of the house of the Lord and the king’s house and sent them to Ben-Hadad, king of Syria, who lived in Damascus, saying,
SPEAKER 04 :
There is a covenant between me and you as there was between my father and your father. Behold, I am sending to you silver and gold. Go, break your covenant with Baasha, king of Israel, that he may withdraw from me.
SPEAKER 05 :
And Ben-Hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel. And they conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel-Mayim, and all the store cities of Naphtali. And when Baasha heard of it, he stopped building Ramah and let his work cease. Then king Asa took all Judah, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber, with which Baasha had been building, and with them he built Geba and Mizpah. At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him,
SPEAKER 03 :
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. 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. For 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.
SPEAKER 05 :
Then Asa was angry with the seer, and put him in the stocks in prison, for he was in a rage with him because of this. And Asa inflicted cruelties upon some of the people at the same time. The acts of Asa, from first to last, are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa was diseased in his feet, and his disease became severe. Yet even in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but sought help from physicians. And Asa slept with his fathers, dying in the forty-first year of his reign. They buried him in the tomb that he had cut for himself in the city of David. They laid him on a bier that had been filled with various kinds of spices prepared by the perfumer’s art, and they made a very great fire in his honor.
SPEAKER 01 :
In 1983, I read 2 Chronicles 15 and 16 on the same day, and I wrote, “‘Seek the Lord, and He will let you find Him. If we seek Him, He will bless us.'” And then I continued, God searches the whole world to find and support people whose hearts are completely his. In 1997, I read 2 Chronicles 13-16 on the same day. And concerning these chapters I wrote, Asa does what is good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. He commanded Judah to seek the Lord. 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. And I was quoting chapter 15 verse 2. I went on to write, whoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel was put to death. Chapter 15, verse 12. In 2009, I also read 2 Chronicles 13-16 on the same day, and I wrote, Asa reigned over 40 years. He did good and right in the sight of the Lord his God. He trusted God in battle. Asa understood the Lord is with you when you are with him. Asa’s heart was blameless all his days. Oh, that that could be said about me, for the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth, that he may strongly support those whose heart is completely his. That ends my journal entries about these three chapters. King Asa started out strong. He reigned for 40 years, much like David and Solomon, one of the longest reigns of the kings of Judah. Initially, he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and God gave him rest and God gave him prosperity. In chapter 15, verse 2, the word says, Asa is a perfect example of that. When he depended on the Lord, God gave him everything. Back to chapter 14, verse 11. And Asa cried to the Lord his God, O Lord, there is none like you to help. Between the mighty and the weak, help us, O Lord our God. For we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this multitude. O Lord, you are our God, let not man prevail against you. So the Lord defeated the Ethiopians before Asa. But then it all changes in chapter 16. Rather than depend on the Lord to fight his battles, he makes a covenant with Syria. In chapter 16, verse 7, the word says, 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. Verse 9 says, You have done foolishly in this, for from now on you will have wars. Asa gets mad at the messenger and puts the seer in a prison. In the 39th year of his reign, Asa was diseased in his feet, yet even in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but sought help from physicians. What can we learn from the reign of King Asa? As long as he stayed with the Lord, God stayed with him. But as soon as he abandoned the Lord, God abandoned him. What a lesson for our lives. We don’t know why it happened in his life. We don’t know why it happens in ours. So many start strong and finish weak, like King Asa. Through these chapters, I hope we learn to start strong and finish strong, staying side by side with the Lord. Father, once again, we thank you for the lessons of life learned in 2 Chronicles. Regardless of how our walk has started with you, may we finish strong in you. Oh yes, Lord, it’s a battle to stay consistent in this walk with you. But Holy Spirit, help us, strengthen us, guide and direct us so that we may finish strong for Jesus. Amen. Thanks for listening to AdBible. Our host stations are hearing from you listeners. People are calling in to say thanks for adding AdBible to their program selection. Thank you for tuning in to this program. AdBible is sponsored by the Ezra Project, a ministry started in 2002 to connect God’s people to God’s Word. We speak in churches, provide audio and written resources at EzraProject.net, and find radio as a way to reach deeply committed Christians. You can learn more about the Ezra Project by searching us from your phone, tablet, or computer. You may really enjoy the short video describing how the Lord led us to start this ministry and how he has blessed it for decades. I encourage you to also find the video tab and check out our newest message, AI. It’s not what you think it is, but it is a very relevant message in a world engulfed in artificial intelligence. Get a biblical view of it at EzraProject.net. And hey, while you’re on the Ezra Project website, consider a financial gift by selecting the donate button for a one-time gift or monthly support. Your support keeps this program on the air and provides AdBible to thousands of listeners around the world. I know you’re going to enjoy it. And want to share it with others.
