The Chronicle of the King of Judah
Asa was one of the Kings of Judah. At one point in his life he was a smart King and inquired of the Lord. But by the 36th year of his reign Asa got dumb. And then? Dumber. The story goes something like this...
Baasha, the King of Israel, attacked Asa by building a fort and closing the border between Israel and Judah. He wanted to keep Asa from leaving or entering. So Asa called Ben-Hadad, the King of Aram, and asked him for help.
Mistake #1.
You see, Ben-Hadad had a deal with Baasha, the King that was attacking Asa. So Asa sent a bunch of gold and silver (that he got from the Temple) to Ben-Hadad to bribe him. He wanted Ben-Hadad to break his deal with Baasha so he'd quit fighting against Asa. And, of course, Asa wanted Ben-Hadad to strike up a deal with him instead. Which he did.
And on the story goes. Ben-Hadad takes some cities and defeats Baasha. Asa sets up his own blockades. Etc. Etc.
Just after that, Hanani the seer came to Asa King of Judah and said, "Because you went for help to the King of Aram and didn't ask God for help, you've lost a victory over the army of the King of Aram.Okay. In case you're confused, this is what happened. Instead of trusting God to help Asa defeat the united forces of Baasha and Ben-Hadad, Asa did it his own way. And that resulted in him being confronted by war for the rest of his days, INCLUDING defeat by the very army he bribed for help.
Gulp.
God is always on the alert, constantly on the lookout for people who are totally committed to him. You were foolish to go for human help when you could have had God's help. Now you're in trouble - one round of war after another.So how does Asa respond to the prophet? Well... he got angry, lost his temper, put Hanani in stocks and even started abusing people!
Way to go Asa. (I would never try to make things happen on my own. That would be dumb!) Even dumber? Making the same mistake a second time!
In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa came down with a severe case of foot infection. He didn't ask God for help, but went instead to the doctors. Then Asa died.
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, May 16, 2006 at 9:29 PM.
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10:27 AMcool crown ... :-)
I remembered this after reading this story ...
Ezekiel "the watchman" 33
'The righteousness of the righteous man will not save him when he disobeys, and the wickedness of the wicked man will not cause him to fall when he turns from it. The righteous man, if he sins, will not be allowed to live because of his former righteousness.' If I tell the righteous man that he will surely live, but then he trusts in his righteousness and does evil, none of the righteous things he has done will be remembered; he will die for the evil he has done. And if I say to the wicked man, 'You will surely die,' but he then turns away from his sin and does what is just and right- if he gives back what he took in pledge for a loan, returns what he has stolen, follows the decrees that give life, and does no evil, he will surely live; he will not die. None of the sins he has committed will be remembered against him. He has done what is just and right; he will surely live."
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