Turning Away From Reconciliation....

How do you respond to God’s workings? King David always responded to truth by accepting it, repenting if necessary and making things right by doing it God’s way. King Asa, didn’t finish well. He was loyal to God His entire life, until the end. In an effort to keep the King of Israel from attacking his territory, he paid off the King of Aram to defend him. God was not happy with his decision to not consult Him with this problem. Asa didn’t know how to deal with his lack of trusting God, so he withdrew. He didn’t seek out the Lord for anything in his last years. He eventually died from a foot disease that God could’ve easily cured. How you handle guilt and shame, shows directly how much pride you have in your heart. Humble yourself and go to God with it, and you’ll have resolution. Keep it inside, and stop seeking God, and you’ll eventually find yourself in an bottomless pit, that eventually will snuff all the life out of you. Imagine all the problems and pursuits people have these days. They seek acceptance, significance, or love from others because they refuse to go to God in order to deal with it. Running away from the only means of true reconciliation is the biggest irony in life. Don’t be the one who chooses this route. It will only be to your demise. And it will add to the broken-heartedness of our loving Lord.

1 In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign, King Baasha of Israel invaded Judah and fortified Ramah in order to prevent anyone from entering or leaving King Asa’s territory in Judah.2 Asa responded by removing the silver and gold from the treasuries of the Temple of the Lord and the royal palace. He sent it to King Ben-hadad of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus, along with this message: 3 “Let there be a treaty between you and me like the one between your father and my father. See, I am sending you silver and gold. Break your treaty with King Baasha of Israel so that he will leave me alone.” 4 Ben-hadad agreed to King Asa’s request and sent the commanders of his army to attack the towns of Israel. They conquered the towns of Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, and all the store cities in Naphtali. 5 As soon as Baasha of Israel heard what was happening, he abandoned his project of fortifying Ramah and stopped all work on it. 6 Then King Asa called out all the men of Judah to carry away the building stones and timbers that Baasha had been using to fortify Ramah. Asa used these materials to fortify the towns of Geba and Mizpah.7 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 army of the king of Aram. 8 Don’t you remember what happened to the Ethiopians and Libyans and their vast army, with all of their chariots and charioteers? At that time you relied on the Lord, and He handed them over to you. 9 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.”10 Asa became so angry with Hanani for saying this that he threw him into prison and put him in stocks. At that time Asa also began to oppress some of his people. Summary of Asa’s Reign 11 The rest of the events of Asa’s reign, from beginning to end, are recorded in The Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 12 In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa developed a serious foot disease. Yet even with the severity of his disease, he did not seek the Lord’s help but turned only to his physicians. 13 So he died in the forty-first year of his reign. 14 He was buried in the tomb he had carved out for himself in the City of David. He was laid on a bed perfumed with sweet spices and fragrant ointments, and the people built a huge funeral fire in his honor. 2 Chronicles 16