Tues.’s Devo -Asa’s Reign

Read: 2 Chronicles 14:1-16:14; Romans 9:1-24; Psalm 19:1-14; Proverbs 20:1 Abijah died and his son Asa became the next king of Judah. Asa was a good king who removed the foreign altars and pagan shrines. He commanded the people of Judah to seek the Lord and obey his laws. God allowed Asa’s kingdom to live in peace and he was able to build up the fortified towns in Judah. He also built new towns and fortified them with walls, towers, gates and bars. He had a skilled army of 300,000 in Judah and 280,000 in Benjamin. *** Zerah from Ethiopia brought his army of one million men. Asa cried out to the Lord and the Lord defeated the Ethiopians. They were destroyed by God’s army and Asa’a army carried away the spoils. *** The prophet Azariah went to meet Asa as he was returning from the battle. He told him that God would stay with him as long as they stayed with the Lord. But if they abandoned the Lord, he would abandon them. There was so much unrest in all the other nations that it was unsafe to travel outside of Judah. God was troubling the other nations but God was blessing Judah. God wanted them to know that he saw them and would reward them for their walk and their courage. *** This word encouraged Asa to cleanse his land further of idols and the towns he had captured in Ephraim. He prepared the altar of the Lord in the Temple. *** Asa called to gather his the people under his influence and held a great feast during the days of Passover and Pentecost. He sacrificed 7,700 animals and had the people enter into a covenant to seek the Lord with all their hearts and soul. If they refused to seek the Lord then they would be put to death. They praised the Lord and blew the trumpets and all Judah was happy and there was peace in the kingdom. *** Asa deposed his own grandmother, Maacah from her position as queen mother because she made an obscene Ashram pole. He burned the pole in the Kidron Valley. Asa followed the Lord throughout his life and brought silver and gold into the Temple of God and there was no more war until the 35th year of his reign. The next year, King Baasha of Israel invaded Judah and fortified Ramah to keep anyone from entering or leaving Judah. *** Asa took the gold and silver he had put in the Temple and sent it to King Ben-hadad of Aram to make an alliance with him over his alliance with Israel. It was to pay him off to align with Judah and break their covenant with Israel. This would make Israel back off of them. Ben-hadad could be bought so he sent an army to attack the towns of Israel and conquer some of the towns of Israel. When King Baasha of Israel found out Aram had covenanted with Judah, he backed off of Ramah and used the materials he had planned to use in Ramah to fortify Geba and Mizpah instead. *** God sent King Asa a message through Hanani rebuking him for asking Ben-hadad of Aram to help him instead of the Lord. Had he forgotten his battle with the Ethiopians and how the Lord helped him under the worse odds? God had planned to help them defeat the Arameans, not align with them. *** Asa got so upset over what Hanani told him that he put him in prison in stocks. He also lashed out at others under him. *** In Asa’s 39th year he develop a serious foot disease and refused to ask the Lord to heal him. He turned to his physicians instead. He died two years later and was celebrated by the people in his death. *** Asa had gotten proud in his latter years and was offended when God tried to discipline him. His pride and offense turned his heart from the Lord which affected his kingdom and his health. *** In Romans, Paul explained that just because they claimed to be a descendant of Abraham, they were not automatically saved from eternal damnation. The Scriptures say that Isaac was the son through whom Abraham’s descendants would be counted although Abraham had other sons. When Isaac married and had two sons, one was blessed and chosen and Esau was rejected. God decides who he will have mercy on and who he will not. God is the creator of all and has the right to choose his heirs. We are humbled and blessed to be chosen and redeemed by him. *** Lord, thank you for pouring your mercy and grace on us. We are so grateful. May our lives reflect our thankful hearts.