Asa Reigns in Judah

 

 

2 Chronicles 14:1-8

 July 2, 2023

 

 Asa Reigns in Judah

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 rested 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, “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.” 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.

 

Dad’s King David was a man of God, O’ yes, he dropped the ball as a dad, but his son Solomon when he was young, was blessed with wisdom and wealth, but the Scripture tells us that he did not honor God’s command to not marry outside his people and his foreign wives turned his heart away from the commandments of God.   He modeled his dad in the time and instruction he gave his sons, and we have this account of Solomon's son in 2 Chronicles 12:1, “When the rule of Rehoboam was established and he was strong, he abandoned the law of the Lord, and all Israel with him.”  

 

Dad what kind of man is a dad like Rehoboam going to produce; 1 Kings15:3, gives this insight about his son Abijah, ^“He committed all the sins his father had done before him; his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his forefather had been.”

 

How did Judah get a king like Asa from such a dad like Abijah?  We find part of the answer in Chapter 15:1,2, “The Spirit of God came^[a] upon Azariah the son of Oded,  and he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “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.”

 

Dad’s the message Azariah has given to King Asa is the message God is giving to you, and your sons and daughters.  I will speak from experience it’s not easy, it will make you take a stand against the culture we live in, but you have the indwelling of God's Spirit living in you, and if you seek Him, he will be found. 

 

Note: I am assuming that you have given Jesus Christ the authority over your life.  

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice