Paul, in his letter to Timothy, exhorts him to keep running well. Paul was nearing his death. Paul could look into his past and confidently say that he had fought the good fight and had kept the faith till the end.
2 Timothy 4:7 - I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
It is easy to make a good start. Finishing well is a challenging matter! There are thousands of people today who decide to quit smoking/alcohol. They start well. They do without for few days. But then, they start all over again. Starting with a weight-loss diet and exercises program is exciting, but results can we achieved only if we are able to hang into it for long.
Let us today meditate on one character in the Bible who started his race well. However, he failed to finish it properly. What can we learn from his mistakes?
There were 20 rulers who sat on the throne of the divided kingdom of Judah. Asa was the third king of the divided kingdom and the fifth king of the house of David. Three chapters in the book of Chronicles (2 Chronicles 14-16) are dedicated to discussing the reign of king Asa with a parallel section described in 1 Kings 15:9-24.
He started well. Bible records in 2 Chronicles 14:2 - Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God.
What were the right things that he did?
1. He removed pagan worship How you finish matters
Worshipping idols and pagan gods is directly violating the first commandment of God.
Asa was careful to remove all forms of false worship from the land of Judah.
2 Chronicles 14:3-5 - he removed the altars of the foreign gods and the high places, and broke down the sacred pillars and cut down the wooden images. He commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers, and to observe the law and the commandment. He also removed the high places and the incense altars from all the cities of Judah.
Reward from the Lord:
Our obedience to God and His commandments always have a reward
Jeremiah 42:6 - ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you will be My people; and you will walk in all the way which I command you, that it may be well with you.’
a. The Lord blessed Asa with rest in his land on all sides.
2 Chronicles 14:6 - And he built fortified cities in Judah, for the land had rest; he had no war in those years, because the Lord had given him rest.
b. They built fortified cities and walls and prospered. This is a sign of a prosperous reign.
2 Chronicles 14:7 - Therefore he said to 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.
2. Asa put his trust in the Lord
There was a time when Asa’s faith was put to test. Zerah the Ethiopian came out against Judah. Zerah was the commander of Egypt’s Nubian forces. The Egyptians were attempting to plunder Jerusalem like Shishak did thirty years earlier (2 Chronicles 12:1-12).
Asa did have a good military base with 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. (2 Chronicles 14:8)
However, the Ethiopians were even enormous in number. They had an army of a million men and three hundred chariots. They militarily outnumbered by more than two to one. Asa looked to his source for victory; he cried out to God for deliverance. The battle was all set and Asa made a lovely prayer, “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!” (2 Chronicles 14:11). What faith-inspiring words!
Asa did not consider the strength of the chariots or horses. He did not seek help from neighbouring nations. Rather, he trusted the Lord. He was aware that God alone could help him.
Psalm 20:7 - Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will remember the name of the Lord our God.
Reward from the Lord
The Lord honoured his faith and struck the Ethiopians such that they fled. Asa had a tremendous victory. They plundered all cities with exceedingly much spoil. They carried off sheep and camels in abundance (2 Chronicles 14:12-15).
3. He heeded the godly instructions from the prophet of God
There was a prophet named Azariah, the son of Oded. The Spirit of the Lord came upon him and he spoke words of encouragement to Asa (2 Chronicles 15:1-6)
Asa took courage on hearing those words and 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. (2 Chronicles 15:8). Sacrifices were offered unto the Lord (2 Chronicles 15:11). The people entered into a covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul (2 Chronicles 15:12-15)
Already Asa had done lot of spiritual cleansing in Judah. But he realized that more cleansing was needed. One can recollect the words of Paul as he exhorted the Corinthian Christians to “Cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 7:1). Holiness, both within ourselves and in the body of Christ, is an ongoing effort that needs to be worked out (Rev 22:11).
Reward from the Lord
Israelites from the northern kingdom began streaming to the southern kingdom, when they saw that God was with Asa.
2 Chronicles 15:9 - Then he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and those who dwelt with them from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon, for they came over to him in great numbers from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.
Jeremiah 29:13 says, “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” God is always true to His words.
2 Chronicles 15:15 - He was found by them, and the Lord gave them rest all around.
4. He put God ahead of worldly relationships
2 Chronicles 15:16 - Also he removed Maachah, the mother of Asa the king, from being queen mother, because she had made an obscene image of Asherah; and Asa cut down her obscene image, then crushed and burned it by the Brook Kidron.
Maachah was King Asa’s grandmother and most likely Absalom’s granddaughter. The queen mother held special powers at the palace. There were other women who played dominant roles in Israel’s history, such as Jezebel (2 Kings 9:22) and Athalia (2 Kings 11:1). Through her idolatory, Maachah attempted to counteract the religious reforms in Judah. Asa stripped his grandmother of her privileged status.
Reward from the Lord
The land enjoyed additional years of peace. There was no war till the thirty-fifth year of the reign of Asa (2 Chronicles 15:19)
Sudden Failure of Asa
Now we come to the closing years of Asa’s reign. After 20 years of peace and prosperity, now, their safety was threatened by Baasha, king of Israel. (2 Chronicles 16:1). Baasha fortified Ramah, which was located 5 to 10 miles north of Jerusalem. His intentions were to prevent people from going down to Judah.
At this point, one would have expected Asa to look unto the Heavens for help, just like how he did when the Ethiopians attacked Judah. However, what did Asa do?
2 Chronicles 16:2,3 - Then Asa brought silver and gold from the treasuries of the house of the Lord and of the king’s house, and sent to Ben-Hadad king of Syria, who dwelt in Damascus, saying, “Let there be a treaty between you and me, as there was between my father and your father. See, I have sent you silver and gold; come, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me.”
As Israel strengthened her borders and dangers threatened, Asa panicked due to the possibility of an invasion. Asa sought military alliance with the king of Syria. In order to secure his favor and support, he delivered to the Syrian king silver and gold from the house of God.
This act by Asa seemed successful on the outside. As a result of the extra help from the Syrians, the king of Israel was forced to abandon his attack (2 Chronicles 16:1-6).
But what had actually happened?
The King had forgotten the Lord! It seems like he had forgotten the message of Azariah (2 Chronicles 15:1 – 2). Had years of peaceful reign caused him to forget the One from whom came the help?
This is true in our lives as well. When we are in difficulty, we sincerely seek the Lord. But once God turns our situation around, we quickly forget him. And Satan attacks us at that point when we least expect.
Asa failed miserably. He did not even consider seeking the will of God. God was not pleased with his ill-considered and unwise decision.
God’s manoeuvres to bring back Asa’s faithfulness:
1. He sent a prophet Hanani to warn him of his wrong ways (2 chronicles 16:7-9). It was the message of judgement for the foolish act of Asa.
2 Chronicles 16: 9 - In this you have done foolishly; therefore from now on you shall have wars.
God loved Asa and therefore sent a prophet with a clear message to help him repent. But Asa’s heart was stubborn. Nevertheless, it was a chance for Asa to repent.
Remember how David was quick to repent when Nathan, the prophet, reprimanded him for committing adultery with Bathsheba.
2 Samuel 12: 13 - David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”
And the Lord was also quick to forgive - And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die.
In contrast, what was Asa’s reaction when he heard the message of God through the prophet Hanani?
- Asa threw Hanani into prison
- He also oppressed some of the people of the land (2 Chronicles 16:10)
Getting rid of the messenger will not help get rid of the message. God’s Word always stands true!
Whenever, we backslide from our faithfulness, the Lord sends His people and His Word to restore us back in the path of righteousness. At that time, we should remember that it is from the Lord and be quick to repent. If we are stubborn, our end will be disastrous.
2. The Lord allowed a physical distress to Asa.
2 Chronicles 16:12 - And in the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa became diseased in his feet, and his malady was severe; yet in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but the physician
In just three years, Asa was severely diseased in his feet. God allowed it expecting that He would seek Him at least in his severe malady. But the Bible records that even in his disease he sought only the physicians and not the Lord. I am sure that the Lord would have healed him supernaturally had he sought Him. However, he did not use the opportunity. He succumbed to his disease in two years. His end was miserable.
We have a lot to learn from the life of Asa. He started his race well. But it is more important how you finish your race. We must learn to trust in the Lord in every situation. Many begin their race with audacious faith but over a period of time, their faith wanes and they look out for human help. They even fail to use their God given opportunities to turn back to him. So was the case with Asa. And His end was miserable. Let us learn to lean only upon the Lord!
