Today in God's Word—February 2023
East Tallassee Church of Christ
February 24, 2 Chronicles 14
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. - 2 Chronicles 14:7
After Abijah's brief reign, his son Asa ascended to Judah’s throne. Under Asa, Judah enjoyed two blessings they had not known for a long time. They had a good king who obeyed God, and a decade of peace.
After many years of warfare between Israel and Judah, Abijah's stunning defeat of Jeroboam's army stopped the fighting between the two nations that were once a united Israel. Northern kingdom Israel lost over half of the 800,000 men it deployed in that battle. The people were weary of war. So when Asa succeeded his father, both sides of the war-torn divided nation must have been glad for the break from the ongoing conflict.
Experts disagree whether nature or nurture is the dominant factor in shaping children into the adults they become. In Asa's case, it's hard to see how he became a man so different from his forefathers and the environment in which he was raised. But after generations of idolatry, Asa “did what was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God."
While his grandfather and father had been idolaters who led the nation farther away from God, Asa did the opposite. He destroyed the idols and the places where the people had sacrificed to the idols. Asa commanded the people to seek the LORD the God of their fathers, and to obey the law God had given them. He had a heart for God and God's people. He was much more like his great-great- grandfather David than any other Davidic king had been.
Asa used the decade of peace to build up his defenses with fortified cities. He also grew Judah's army to 580,000 valiant men during the peaceful years. He told the people they were still living in the land because they had (at last) sought the LORD. Asa told them the peace and prosperity they enjoyed was a gift from God.
Judah's army had grown, but they were still dwarfed by the million men Zera of Ethiopia brought when he attacked Judah. Before the battle in the Valley of Zephathah at Mareshah, King Asa prayed a fervent, humble prayer to 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.” Asa's prayer echoed David’s words. His praise and plea to the LORD could have come directly out of the Psalms. And his spirit facing the giant Ethiopian army was just like David's when he went out as a youth to fight the Philistine giant Goliath. Being outmanned or outsized didn't matter when David and later Asa had God on their side, fighting for them. The text is clear: "the LORD defeated the Ethiopians." The army of Judah chased the Egyptians and plundered their cities before returning to Jerusalem.
Asa's example should encourage you if you've come from an ungodly or otherwise dysfunctional home. You are not a prisoner of that background. You can rise above it. Asa also teaches good leadership techniques. He opposed evil and encouraged people to do right. He gave God the glory for the progress they had made, and he was humble enough to ask for help when he knew the challenge they faced was too great for them. God's people in any age and time are blessed to have leaders like that.
Copyright © 2023 by Michael B. McElroy. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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