Category: King Asa

Lawful Advice from Asa’s Life #10

Sunday, June 11, 2023

“And [King Asa] commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment” (2 Chronicles 14:4 KJV).

What lawful advice can be gleaned from King Asa’s life?

Attending to the management of the local church or ministry, the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul guided young Pastor Timothy (and thus, us!): “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also…. And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will” (2 Timothy 2:2,24-26).

Timothy should take what Paul taught him, and pass on that exact same information to other men, men who could then repeat the cycle. In no way was the doctrine to be changed. Someone who serves the Lord will not be combative or contentious, but calm and willing to humbly tolerate a great deal of senselessness as he tries to share the Word of God’s Grace with people who will probably reject it anyway. Regardless, the minister endeavors to supply those people with the sound doctrine Bible that they can then (hopefully!) believe and ultimately use to deliver themselves from Satan’s snare or trap (Bible ignorance).

In today’s Scripture, Asa had pointed ancient wayward Judah in the right direction—get back to the Law of Moses, or face the dire consequences! Today, we are under the Dispensation of the Grace of God given to Paul (Ephesians 3:1,2). Our options are clear: get back to the Grace of God, or reap an even worse harvest than we have already have! Romans through Philemon will facilitate us, first and foremost, in having a clear Gospel message (1 Corinthians 15:3,4), and, secondly, possessing the grace life resulting from that finished crosswork of Jesus Christ. In the end, even righteous Asa succumbed to the evil world system he fought against, so let us be careful not to depart from Pauline doctrine upon receiving it!

Lawful Advice from Asa’s Life #9

Saturday, June 10, 2023

“And [King Asa] commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment” (2 Chronicles 14:4 KJV).

What lawful advice can be gleaned from King Asa’s life?

Re-read 1 Corinthians 14:37,38: “If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord. But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant.” There were innumerable self-proclaimed “spiritual” people in Corinth, supposedly led by the Spirit of God (just like today!). Also, there were countless self-promoting “prophets” in Corinth, people allegedly speaking for God (as right now!). However, the test was simple: if the information did not conform to Pauline revelation, it was not of the Spirit of God! Additionally, the Apostle anticipated a negative reaction, so he added, “But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant.” Those who disregarded God’s advice were to be left in their darkness, for it was deliberate error.

“I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you. For though ye have ten thousand instructers in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me” (1 Corinthians 4:14-16). The Corinthian saints were paying attention to all types of religious leaders—especially Greek philosophers from nearby Athens, the intellectual capital of the ancient world. Consequently, 1 Corinthians chapters 1–3 ordered the Corinthians to cease exalting human wisdom and stop incorporating it into their Christian lives. They were instead to follow the Apostle Paul as he followed Jesus Christ (see 1 Corinthians 11:1). The professing church, these last 2,000 years, could have saved itself an unfathomable amount of deception, headache, heartbreak, disappointment, and discouragement had it obeyed the Lord’s words through Paul. “But if any man be ignorant!”

As someone once wrote, “Either it is back to Paul, Paul, Paul—or it is onward to apostasy, apostasy, apostasy!” Once King Asa and Judah departed from the Law, they reaped great difficulty. Similarly, unless we return to Pauline revelation, the Lord’s heavenly ministry, the troubles afflicting the church today are nothing compared to what lies ahead….

Lawful Advice from Asa’s Life #8

Friday, June 9, 2023

“And [King Asa] commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment” (2 Chronicles 14:4 KJV).

What lawful advice can be gleaned from King Asa’s life?

Although Asa and his Jewish people were under the Law of Moses, and we are under the Grace of God, the all-encompassing principle remains the same: if we are truly seeking the LORD God of the Bible, then we will accept, believe, and apply to our lives His Word and words to us. Whether in the centuries before Christ, or right now in our day, far too many people are either deliberately or inadvertently pursuing a life without Divine wisdom. They hope to create an existence that seems suitable or respectable in their own eyes. In the decades before Asa, the Jewish people did just that, following whatever “felt good.” Howbeit, when Asa came to power, he knew his nation was in deep trouble, so he reformed his people and brought them back to JEHOVAH God (if only for a while).

The professing church of this present moment finds itself in a similar mess. Like Judah of old (prior to Asa), it has sought and worshipped other gods. For centuries, it has “preached another Jesus, another spirit, and another gospel” (2 Corinthians 11:4). The preaching of Jesus Christ according to prophecy (pre-Paul) and the preaching of Jesus Christ according to mystery (Paul) have been totally confounded or combined, yielding a distorted view of the Scriptures and two billion “Christians” (?) who struggle to grasp or explain even the simplest of Bible concepts. Are we humble enough to confess our failures, and the failures of our church leaders, so we can proceed to solving our problems?

Like today’s Christendom, believers at Corinth had formulated their own “Christianity.” The Holy Spirit’s admonition through Paul was: “If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord. But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant” (1 Corinthians 14:37,38). As Moses was Asa’s way to reform Judah, so Paul is our method to save ourselves from countless years of “doing our own thing.” Let us see how….

Lawful Advice from Asa’s Life #7

Thursday, June 8, 2023

“And [King Asa] commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment” (2 Chronicles 14:4 KJV).

What lawful advice can be gleaned from King Asa’s life?

The Holy Spirit came upon Azariah son of Oded, empowering him as a prophet or spokesman for God. Azariah addresses King Asa in chapter 15, verses 1-7 (which read). Take notice of verse 3: “Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law.” Azariah heartens Asa to take additional steps to reform Judah and Jerusalem, for idolatry has crept back into (or never entirely left) the hearts and minds of the Jewish people. “And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from mount Ephraim, and renewed the altar of the LORD, that was before the porch of the LORD” (verse 8). Asa’s reforms continue into chapter 16.

Asa was aware of his place on the Bible timeline. He knew Moses, the Law of Moses, was the standard operating system for his people: it was God’s revelation to them. However, toward the end of his reign, Asa began drifting from the LORD. Baasha, King of Israel (Northern Kingdom), came up against Judah (Southern Kingdom)—for some of the northern tribes had moved south to align with Asa (see 2 Chronicles 15:9). Asa sought military help from, and bribed, Benhadad King of Syria (see 2 Chronicles 16:1-6), which displeased the LORD because Asa did not rely on Him for victory (verses 7-10). Furthermore, angry Asa went so far as to imprison the prophet who told them this grim news from the LORD! In his last years, his foot disease plagued him severely, but he requested help from doctors instead of the LORD (verses 11,12) and finally died (verses 13,14).

Provided we know our place in God’s dealings with man, and not be seduced from it, we will learn valuable lessons from Asa….

Lawful Advice from Asa’s Life #6

Wednesday, June 7, 2023

“And [King Asa] commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment” (2 Chronicles 14:4 KJV).

What lawful advice can be gleaned from King Asa’s life?

Asa’s religious improvements (chapters 14–16) in Judah were the first of five reformations documented in the Book of 2 Chronicles. His believing sons King Jehoshaphat (chapters 17–20), King Joash (chapters 23 and 24), King Hezekiah (chapters 29–32), and King Josiah (chapters 34 and 35) oversaw the others.

For the first 10 years under Asa, the land of Judah had peace (2 Chronicles 14:1). However, as any Bible student knows, Asa understood his kingdom (sinners) would eventually relapse into unbelief and idolatry like their ancestors decades prior. Consequently, Asa made preparations for when Judah would sin, incur God’s wrath, and face war with invading Gentiles.

Observe the verses after today’s Scripture: “[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. [7] Therefore he said unto Judah, Let us build these cities, and make about them walls, and towers, gates, and bars, while the land is yet before us; because we have sought the LORD our God, we have sought him, and he hath given us rest on every side. So they built and prospered. [8] And Asa had an army of men that bare targets and spears, out of Judah three hundred thousand; and out of Benjamin, that bare shields and drew bows, two hundred and fourscore thousand: all these were mighty men of valour.”

When war finally broke out with one million (!) Ethiopian troops threatening Judah (verse 9), “…Asa cried unto the LORD his God, and said, LORD, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O LORD, thou art our God; let no man prevail against thee. So the LORD smote the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled” (verses 11,12). Read the rest of the chapter for details of Judah’s victory.

Now, we see what we can take from this….

Lawful Advice from Asa’s Life #5

Tuesday, June 6, 2023

“And [King Asa] commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment” (2 Chronicles 14:4 KJV).

What lawful advice can be gleaned from King Asa’s life?

The Law of Moses was a complicated set of directives, with Israel’s obedience to God resulting in blessings and sin leading to curses: “And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God…. But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:…” (Deuteronomy 28:1,2,15).

Of course, the first two of the 600-plus rules of the Law of Moses were as follows: “And God spake all these words, saying, I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments” (Exodus 20:1-6).

By the time Asa got on David’s throne, the Kingdom of Judah (Southern Kingdom) had repeatedly violated these Divine orders for decades and merited curses. Asa’s obedience to the LORD, though, postponed the Divine wrath so Judah could temporarily flourish with blessings….

Lawful Advice from Asa’s Life #4

Monday, June 5, 2023

“And [King Asa] commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment” (2 Chronicles 14:4 KJV).

What lawful advice can be gleaned from King Asa’s life?

Asa assumed David’s throne in Jerusalem after the administrations of his (Asa’s) father Abijah/Abijam, his grandfather Rehoboam, and his great-grandfather Solomon. If you study the Scriptures, you will gather how Kings Solomon, Rehoboam, and Abijah/Abijam had all corrupted the Israelites with pagan idolatry for a combined total of at least 20 or 30 years (see 1 Kings 11:1-10; 1 Kings 14:21-24; 1 Kings 15:1-3).

First Kings chapter 15 (roughly parallel to today’s Scripture): “[9] And in the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel reigned Asa over Judah. [10] And forty and one years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom. [11] And Asa did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD, as did David his father. [12] And he took away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. [13] And also Maachah his mother, even her he removed from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove; and Asa destroyed her idol, and burnt it by the brook Kidron. [14] But the high places were not removed: nevertheless Asa’s heart was perfect with the LORD all his days. [15] And he brought in the things which his father had dedicated, and the things which himself had dedicated, into the house of the LORD, silver, and gold, and vessels.”

As monarch, Asa did what he could to purify his people’s land, recalling again the Law of Moses: “Ye shall utterly destroy all the places, wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree: And ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place” (Deuteronomy 12:2,3). Asa’s reforms in this regard gave the Kingdom of Judah a period of respite from Divine judgment….

Lawful Advice from Asa’s Life #3

Sunday, June 4, 2023

“And [King Asa] commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment” (2 Chronicles 14:4 KJV).

What lawful advice can be gleaned from King Asa’s life?

In Genesis 12:1-3, we read of the Abrahamic Covenant: “[1] Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: [2] And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: [3] And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” This agreement depended solely on what God would do for Abraham (grace), not what Abraham would do for God (law). Abraham would not make a great nation for God. God would make a great nation of Abraham.

Unfortunately, when Israel exited Egypt under Moses centuries later, they chose to abandon God’s grace and make themselves His people (law). Exodus chapter 19: “[3] And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; [4] Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself. [5] Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: [6] And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. [7] And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the LORD commanded him. [8] And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD.”

Asa knew Israel’s legal obligation to JEHOVAH God, and he wanted Israel to be well aware of it also….

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Lawful Advice from Asa’s Life #2

Saturday, June 3, 2023

“And [King Asa] commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment” (2 Chronicles 14:4 KJV).

What lawful advice can be gleaned from King Asa’s life?

Let us first notice how Asa was mindful of the LORD’S words to Israel through Moses centuries prior. Deuteronomy 17:14-20: “[14] When thou art come unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that are about me; [15] Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the LORD thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother. [16] But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the LORD hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way. [17] Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.

“[18] And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites: [19] And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them: [20] That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel.”

Asa knew Bible study was important, especially for a monarch. He had a copy of the Scriptures and read it, encouraging his people to do the same (see today’s Scripture), for their obedience to the Law meant the difference between a blessing and a curse….

Lawful Advice from Asa’s Life #1

Friday, June 2, 2023

“And [King Asa] commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment” (2 Chronicles 14:4 KJV).

What lawful advice can be gleaned from King Asa’s life?

Read today’s Scripture in context: “[1] So Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David: and Asa his son reigned in his stead. In his days the land was quiet ten years. [2] And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God: [3] For he took away the altars of the strange gods, and the high places, and brake down the images, and cut down the groves: [4] And commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment. [5] Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the images: and the kingdom was quiet before him.

“[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. [7] Therefore he said unto Judah, Let us build these cities, and make about them walls, and towers, gates, and bars, while the land is yet before us; because we have sought the LORD our God, we have sought him, and he hath given us rest on every side. So they built and prospered. [8] And Asa had an army of men that bare targets and spears, out of Judah three hundred thousand; and out of Benjamin, that bare shields and drew bows, two hundred and fourscore thousand: all these were mighty men of valour.”

Asa was King David’s great-great grandson, ruling the Kingdom of Judah from the city of Jerusalem some 900 years before Christ’s earthly ministry. Unlike his father, King Abijah, Asa was a decent, righteous monarch because he believed in and followed the LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. By studying Asa’s life, we are able to gain some lawful advice, thereby appreciating why he appears in this the Book of 2 Chronicles….