How do I respond when confronted?
Today I read the story of King Asa from 2 Chronicles 14-16. And I started to get excited and made notes about all the amazing things that happen when a person seeks God with their whole heart. I was all set to write about that, but then I noticed a subtle change in King Asa’s life that led to his abandonment of God, and I was sad for him. I was telling Danny about it this morning, and I told him that twice in his life prophets came and had a message for him. Asa walked with God and the first 10 years of his reign were peaceful. But then then an Ethiopian army with 1,000,000 soldiers advanced against him and he cried out to God! God defeated the greater army and gave King Asa a great victory.
So, the first prophet came after this great victory, on his way home from the battle. ‘Then the Spirit of God came upon Azaraiah son of Oded and he went out to meet King Asa as he was returning from the battle. “Listen to me, Asa!” He shouted. “Listen, all you people of Judah and Benjamin! The Lord will stay with you as long as you stay with him! Whenever you seek him, you will find him. But if you abandon him, he will abandon you. For a long time, Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach them, and without the Law to instruct them. But whenever they were in trouble and turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him out, they found him. During those dark times, it was not safe to travel. Problems troubled the people of every land. Nation fought against nation, and city against city, for God was troubling them with every kind of problem. But as for you, be strong and courageous, for your work will be rewarded.”’ (2 Chronicles 15:1-7).
So, when King Asa heard this message, he was encouraged, and found the strength to keep getting rid of idolatry in the land. During the 15th year of Asa’s reign, the people gathered in Jerusalem, made sacrifices for their sin, and entered into a covenant to seek the Lord with all their heart. “All in Judah were happy about this covenant, for they had entered into it with all their heart. They earnestly sought after God, and they found him. (2 Chronicles 15:15).
And there was no more war until the 35th year of his reign.
But the second time, King Baasha of Israel came against Asa, and Asa sought help from the King of Aram, not from God. Not only that: he took the treasures from the temple that he had dedicated to God and gave them to the king of Aram!
So, a prophet came and confronted him. ‘At that time Hanani the seer came to King Asa and told him, “Because you have put your trust in the king of Aram instead of in the Lord your God, you missed your chance to destroy the king of Aram. Don’t you remember what happened to the Ethiopians and Libyans and their vast army with all their chariots and charioteers? At that time you relied on the Lord, and he handed them over to you. The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. What a fool you have been! From now on you will be at war.”’ (2 Chronicles 16:7-9)
When Asa heard this message, he became enraged and put Hanani in prison in stocks. He also began to oppress the people. Then, when he got a disease in his feet, he didn’t turn to God, only to the doctors. He died in the 41st year of his reign. So, the last six years of his life were lived apart from God, and in anger.
So, this is the thought I had while I was telling this story to my husband: at first, I was discouraged by all the failures of the kings of Israel. But then I remembered: these things are given to us as examples! ‘These things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our instruction on whom the end of the ages have come.’ (I Corinthians 10:11). This was talking more specifically about the Israelites coming out of Egypt and their rebellion against God, but the same thing applies here too! God is telling us how He will treat us based on how we treat him. and my story doesn’t have to end the way King Asa’s did. Here’s what I noticed:
1.Seeking God must be a lifestyle. It’s not a one-time event. We can’t expect God to save us out of our troubles if we never pay any attention to him the rest of the time. Did you notice how Asa was so passionate about removing evil from the land? He even deposed his own grandmother, which must have taken some courage. He was devoted to God for at least 15 years, possibly more, but somewhere along the way he changed. I also started my life loving God, but somewhere along the way I put Him aside. I spent many years with very little thought of God myself, so I am saying this from experience, the years without God are empty.
2.Seeking God is contagious to those around you. When Asa was walking with God, his joy and passion for God spread to the entire nation. The people of Judah wanted to walk with God, and they found Him for themselves!
3. God warns us in advance. The first prophet told Asa: The Lord will stay with you as long as you stay with him. And if you abandon him, He will abandon you. So, because Asa ended up abandoning God, God wasn’t there for him.
4.People who abandon God tend to be angry and abusive. Did you see Asa’s response when he didn’t like the prophet’s message? He threw the prophet in jail and oppressed people. These are the same people he encouraged to seek the Lord years earlier… or their children. His actions are sending the wrong message to people he was supposed to be leading with justice. His sin has layers, and so does ours. It affects everyone we are in contact with.
5.God expects us to remember what He has done for us. When the prophet Hanani said: “don’t you remember what God did for you last time?’ The implication is that he should always remember! But this is where I found myself once: I forgot what God had done for me, because I stopped seeking Him. I got careless with my faith, and then when my world fell apart, I was not ready. But now, years later, my desire is to stay so close to God that I never forget again what He has done for me.
6.If we return to Him, He will return to us. This is not part of Asa’s story, because we have no evidence that he returned to God. But this is the best news of all! The Bible is filled with promises that those who return to God will be accepted. Don’t believe the lie that what you’ve done is too much for God to forgive. I believed that lie for a long time. It wasn’t until I started reading my Bible that I realized the enemy was lying to me!
‘The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit. You will not despise a broken and humbled heart, God.’ (Psalm51:17)
A broken spirit is simply the opposite of a proud, hardened heart. Asa could have humbled himself and walked with God again. God would have accepted him back, because that is his promise. A broken spirit agrees with God that their sin is ugly and needs to go. Once you confess it to Him, and accept His forgiveness, your new life starts today. And the adventures you were created for with God begin now: so, open your Bible and get to know God for yourself. Stay close to Him so you don’t drift away. Our stories don’t have to end up like Asa’s!
