Bible In One Year-Day 169 (Wednesday, June 18, 2014)

Commentary: 2Chronicles16-18. King Asa happened to be the great grandson of King Solomon. Since the reigns of Solomon, the evil trend has been for them to start well but end badly. Asa was not exempted. He had rest in the first 36 years of his reign because his heart was loyal to the Lord and he trusted Him for victory on different occasions;

2 Chronicles 14:6 “And he built fenced cities in Judah: for the land had rest, and he had no war in those years; because the LORD had given him rest.”

A particular scenario was his battle with the Ethiopians. His men of war were just one third of the Ethiopians’ yet he defeated them because God was with him. God made reference to this when Asa erred in his decision (2Chronicles16:8). Prior to this, God had sent His prophet, Azariah, to him to inform him that he should let his heart remain steadfast in Him. The Test of his faith came when Baasha, king of Israel, came against him. Unfortunately, Asa forgot the goodness of the Lord to him which he was enjoying and he sought for help from a wrong place. This brought problem into his life which lingered for five years until he died;

2 Chronicles 16:9 “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.”

Unfortunately, with all he went through in the last days of his life he did not seek the Lord.

2 Chronicles 16:12 “And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not to the LORD, but to the physicians.”

Ordinarily we would say he was right for seeking the physicians, but the truth is that the sickness was not what a physician could take care of because it was a spiritual issue. What he needed was to repent and be healed. Since the Bible referred to him not seeking the Lord, it means the solution to his malady was in seeking the mercy of God. Where you seek for help matters, however difficult it is; battles that defy medical assistance could spring up from there. The people we associate with also matters. If God is not happy with such and you enter into agreement with them, it can withdraw the hand of God. The chapter Satan opened in the last days of Asa’s life was not a good one. When we sin against God, we should not run away from Him but run back to Him;

1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Through repentance, Satan’s hold is destroyed. David knew the secret; the devil was defeated in the last days of his life

Let us seek for the old path where we could find rest. Let us listen to the trumpet’s sound, wherewith we could escape the calamity to come. Our reading for today is 2Chronicles19-21. Keep the fire burning and alive.