Although the folly of king Rehoboam brought about the division of the kingdom of Israel, the cause was the idolatry of his father Solomon (1 Kings 11:9–12), and the consequences of the division were very sad, for instead of brethren dwelling together in unity, as it will be with Israel under the new covenant, “there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually” (2 Chr. 12:15). When Abijah succeeded Rehoboam, war continued between the two houses of Israel, and in battle “there fell down slain of Israel five hundred thousand chosen men” (2 Chr. 13:17). Do we not find the same thing among God’s people today? Because of our unfaithfulness, there has been division among God’s people, and instead of standing together in conflict against the common foe, God’s people are so often engaged opposing each other. Instead of engaging in conflict with brethren, we should give heed to God’s word to Rehoboam when the division occurred, “Thus says the Lord, Ye shall not…fight against your brethren…for this thing is from me” (1 Kings 12:24). God has allowed the divisions among brethren because of our sin and folly, and it is for us to bow our heads and hearts before Him in shame, and to go on quietly before Him seeking His will in the midst of the sad and solemn consequences of our failure.
Ten Quiet Years
Instead of engaging in conflict with his brethren, king Asa “did that which was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God: for he took away the altars of the strange gods, and the high places, and brake down the images, and cut down the groves: and commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment” (2 Chr. 14:2–4). The cause of the trouble and conflicts between the brethren in Israel was the introduction of idolatry, and king Asa got right down to the root of the trouble by removing idolatrous altars, images and groves. Having removed what was offensive to God, the king commanded his people to get right with God, to seek Him, and to do His will.
These ten years of rest were from Jehovah, and the king very wisely used the time to prepare against times of conflict, for “he built fenced cities in Judah,” with towers, walls, gates and bars, and “they built and prospered” (verses 6-7). As then, so it is now, God’s people are in a scene where foes have to be met, and our times of rest are to be spent in building, so that we may be strong through reliance on the Lord, and doing what is pleasing in His sight. There was not only the building of cities in defence of God’s people, but also of the preparation of God’s host, an army that the Lord could use against His enemies. We are not only builders in the service of God, but we are part of the Lord’s host, contending earnestly “for the faith once delivered to the saints” (Jude 3), and to do this we have to stand resolutely against the enemies of God.
How the Enemy was Met
During the ten quiet years the king had learned to rely on God, and to prepare for the coming of the foe. If Asa’s five hundred and eighty thousand seemed to be a powerful force composed of “mighty men of valour,” the advancing army of Zerah the Ethiopian appeared to be very much stronger, for he had a million men and three hundred chariots. King Asa went to meet this great army, but he was not relying on his forces, for he “cried unto the Lord his God and said, Lord it is nothing with Thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O Lord our God; for we rest on Thee, and in Thy Name we go against this multitude. O Lord Thou art our God; let not man prevail against Thee” (verses 9–11).
This prayer to God manifested the king’s dependence and reliance on Him, and that he viewed the coming of Zerah as a challenge to the God of Israel. In saying “let not man prevail against Thee,” Asa cast the issue entirely on Jehovah, and He answered the faith of the king, for “the Lord smote the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled…for they were destroyed before the Lord, and before His host; and they carried away very much spoil” (verses 12-13). The Lord could have smitten the Ethiopians without His people lifting a finger against them, but He graciously allowed them to have a part in the conflict, for if the enemy fled before the Lord, they also fled before His host. Moreover, the Lord allowed His host to spoil the enemy, to be more than conquerors.
The Words of the Prophet
The time of triumph can be a time of elation and danger, so “the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded,” who spoke to king Asa, saying, “Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The Lord is with you, while ye be with Him; and if ye seek Him, He will be found of you; but if ye forsake Him, He will forsake you” (15:1-2). The history of Israel and Judah shows how necessary this divine warning was, for God cannot tolerate evil in those who are near to Him while judging those who are afar off.
Israel’s history is reviewed in the words, “Now for a long while Israel was without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law; but in their trouble they turned to Jehovah the God of Israel, and sought Him, and He was found of them” (verses 3-4). It is little wonder that Israel were in trouble when they had forsaken the true God, when they had no priest to teach them the things of God, and when His word was unknown to them, Whenever they turned to God, in their troubles, God heard them, and answered their cries. How rich is God’s mercy; how wonderful His grace.
God’s government deals with nations as well as with individuals, and all around Israel in the days of their trouble, God was bringing disturbance among the nations, “nation was broken against nation, and city against city,” and peace was not to be found. If men will not have God, they must suffer at the hand of God for their wilfulness and idolatry. Then the prophet exhorted the king and his people, “But as for you, be firm and let not your hands be weak; for there is a reward for your deeds.” God may not directly interfere in the affairs of men, but His government is always active, and it every remains true for an individual or for a nation that God rewards according to our deeds (Rom. 2:1–11).
Response to the Words of the Prophet
On hearing the words of the prophet, the king took courage, “and put away the abominations out of the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities that he had taken from mount Ephraim.” It would appear that the idolatry that had been removed at the beginning had again raised its head, or had not been thoroughly dealt with. The effect of a true word of prophecy was to deal with the existing evil, and then to give the Lord His true place among His people, for the king “renewed the altar of Jehovah, that was before the porch of Jehovah.” Earlier there had been the exhortation, yea, the commandment, to Judah “to seek Jehovah,” now there is the renewal of the altar which gave the means of returning to the true worship of Jehovah.
Having renewed the altar, the king “assembled all Judah and Benjamin, and the strangers with them out of Ephraim and Manasseh, and out of Simeon; for they fell away to him out of Israel in abundance, when they saw that Jehovah his God was with him.” Instead of fighting with Israel, king Asa attracted a remnant from Israel who valued the Lord being with the king. On the renewed altar there were sacrifices offered to the Lord, a partial, if not a full, restoration of the worship that God had sought from His people, and even if in weakness compared with the early days, how very pleasing this must have been to the Lord. It is never too late to return to the Lord, even if it be in evident weakness.
After knowing the blessedness of approach to God by sacrifice the people entered into a covenant with God to seek Him “with all their heart and with all their soul, and that whoever would not seek Jehovah the God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman” (verses 12-13). It was very commendable that they should seek the Lord with such zeal, but they had not realized their own weakness, nor the weakness of their fathers, who were utterly unable to keep the law. There is no power in man to keep the law, to enter into such a covenant with God, we can only confess our utter inability to do so, and cast ourselves on the sovereign mercy and grace of a God who is rich in mercy.
The Lord took account of their zeal, “for they took the oath with all their heart, and sought Him with their whole desire,” so that “He was found of them. And Jehovah gave them rest round about.” To show that they were in earnest in regard to the rejection of idolatry, “Maachah, the mother of Asa the king, he removed from being queen, because she had made an idol for the Asherah; and Asa cut down her idol, and stamped it, and burned it in the valley Kidron.”
In spite of all that had been done in the removal of idolatry, and the renewal of Jehovah’s altar and the sacrifices to God, it could yet be said, “But the high places were not removed from Israel” (verse 17), and so long as the high places existed there was the danger of the people returning to idolatrous worship. Spite of this, the Spirit of God noted, “only Asa’s heart was perfect all his days.” It gave the Lord pleasure to record the state of his servant’s heart, and to tell of his bringing into the “house of God the things which his father dedicated, and the things which he himself dedicated. Nothing that is done for God is ever forgotten by Him, and He showed His appreciation of king Asa in giving him peace, for “there was no war until the thirty-fifth year of his reign.”
The war with Baasha
It was in the thirty-sixth year of king Asa that the king of Israel came against him. We would have thought that after all the experience of Asa that he would immediately have consulted the Lord about the matter, but it was not so. Instead, he relied on human aid, taking silver and gold from the treasures of Jehovah’s house, and from his own house, to purchase the help of the king of Syria. God knew His servant Asa, and there was evidently backsliding that could not be discerned outwardly, and God allowed Baasha to come against him to prove what was in his heart. Although Asa was such a good man, his heart perfect all his days, there was just that departure from first love that Jehovah could discern.
Although the scheme of Asa, in securing the help of the king of Syria, seemed to be successful (16:4–6), Jehovah sent His prophet to give His mind on the matter, “Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria, and hast not relied on Jehovah thy God, therefore has the army of the king of Syria escaped out of thy hand.” Then the prophet Hanani reminded Asa of how the huge army of the Ethiopians and Libyans had been defeated when he had relied on the Lord, “For the eyes of Jehovah run to and fro through the whole earth, to show Himself strong in the behalf of those whose heart is perfect toward Him. Herein thou hast done foolishly; for from henceforth thou shalt have war” (verses 7–9). It was a solemn rebuke for a good king which Asa should have taken humbly from the Lord. Alas! instead of humbling himself in self-judgment before the Lord, “Asa was wroth with the seer, and put him in prison; for he was enraged because of this. And Asa oppressed some of the people at the same time” (verse 10).
Asa’s Last Years
How very sad to see such an end after such a good start, and after such along reign of peace and prosperity, but such is man, and the same story is written of other kings of Judah, and of many a good man since. Solomon had an excellent start, but a sad ending through allowing his wives to take away his heart from God. There was no returning to idolatry with Asa, and it is probably because of this that the Spirit of God has recorded that “Asa’s heart was perfect all his days.” There was failure in looking to the enemy of Israel for help instead of to the Lord, and failure in not humbling himself under the divine rebuke, and in imprisoning Hanani the seer, and in oppressing some of the people. Then when diseased in his feet, under God’s government, he “did not seek Jehovah, but the physicians” (verse 12). As the sun set on the good king’s life it cast a dark shadow, relieved by the early fidelity to Jehovah, and by the diver’s spices from the bed on which his body lay, and by the “very great burning for him” (verse 14).
Many a one in the Christian profession has been like Asa, starting well, and continuing well until near the close of his life. It was the same with the saints in Galatia, to whom the Apostle Paul wrote, “Ye ran well; who has stopped you that ye should not obey the truth” (Gal. 5:7). The last years of king Asa are a solemn warning for us all. God would have us start well, continue well, and finish well, passing from the condition of a spiritual babe in Christ to young manhood in God’s family, and reaching to maturity, and desiring, even to the end, to know of Christ and to be like Him while waiting to see Him face to face.
R. 19.12.70