2 Chronicles 14:1 – 15 “Asa Reigns in Judah (1 Kings 15:9-15)
“Then Abijah rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David. And his son Asa reigned in his place, and in his days the land was at peace for ten years.
And Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God. He removed the foreign altars and high places, shattered their sacred pillars, and chopped down the Asherah poles. He commanded the people of Judah to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, and to observe the law and the commandments. He also removed the high places and the incense altars from all the cities of Judah, and under him the kingdom was at peace.
Because the land was at peace, Asa built fortified cities in Judah. In those days no one made war with him, because the LORD had given him rest. So he said to the people of Judah, “Let us build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, with doors and bars. The land is still ours because we have sought the LORD our God. We have sought Him and He has given us rest on every side.” So they built and prospered.
Asa had an army of 300,000 men from Judah bearing large shields and spears, and 280,000 men from Benjamin bearing small shields and drawing the bow. All these were mighty men of valor.
Then Zerah the Cushite came against them with an army of 1,000,000 men and 300 chariots, and they advanced as far as Mareshah. So Asa marched out against him and lined up in battle formation in the Valley of Zephathah near Mareshah.
Then Asa cried out to the LORD his God: “O LORD, there is no one besides You to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on You, and in Your name we have come against this multitude. O LORD, You are our God. Do not let a mere mortal prevail against You.”
So the LORD struck down the Cushites before Asa and Judah, and the Cushites fled. Then Asa and his army pursued them as far as Gerar. The Cushites fell and could not recover, for they were crushed before the LORD and His army. So the people of Judah carried off a great amount of plunder and attacked all the cities around Gerar, because the terror of the LORD had fallen upon them. They plundered all the cities, since there was much plunder there. They also attacked the tents of the herdsmen and carried off many sheep and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.”
King Abijah has died, and his son Asa has succeeded him. Asa makes a very hopeful beginning, carrying out spiritual cleansing throughout Judah and Benjamin. How much cleansing is necessary? “He removed the foreign altars and high places, shattered their sacred pillars, and chopped down the Asherah poles. He commanded the people of Judah to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, and to observe the law and the commandments. He also removed the high places and the incense altars from all the cities of Judah, and under him the kingdom was at peace.”
Wait! Isn’t this the same kingdom of Judah about which Abijah made such fantastic claims? Um, er, well, yes, it is. It seems that Abijah vastly exaggerated the faithfulness of the Judeans when he made that speech to Jeroboam and his huge army. Even as Abijah was pontificating on that mountaintop, Judeans were busy worshiping at foreign altars and high places that included sacred pillars and Asherah poles and incense altars throughout the cities of Judah. These facts make God’s deliverance of Abijah and his army even more remarkable; certainly, God knew who was truly worshiping Him and who was merely playing games.
Asa is an amazing figure, precisely because he grew up in the midst of this moral and spiritual mess and yet managed to become a true worshiper of the God of Israel. But now after ten years of peace during which time Asa and the Judeans have fortified their cities, an enormous army is besieging Judah. Asa fully realizes that if he relies on his army alone, Judah is doomed. “Then Asa cried out to the LORD his God: “O LORD, there is no one besides You to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on You, and in Your name we have come against this multitude. O LORD, You are our God. Do not let a mere mortal prevail against You.”
Asa cries out to God in faith and desperation, and God hears and delivers. God destroys many of the Cushites and Asa and his men chase the remainder all the way down to Gerar in the Negev desert, gathering a great deal of plunder as they go.
APPLICATION: Those familiar with the history of the State of Israel are aware that God has delivered Israel many times, even up to today. During the Six Day War in 1967, Israel destroyed 3 Arab armies in 6 days, despite surprise attacks. Because of these earlier successes, Israel underestimated her enemies; meanwhile, the Arabs had been acquiring new equipment and beefing up their armies. In 1973 Soviet – backed Arab armies attacked Israel on the Saturday of the Yom Kippur weekend, the holiest celebration in Judaism. Initially, the Israelis were taken completely by surprise and suffered heavy casualties. At one point, things looked so black that Prime Minister Golda Meir and her secretary were both considering suicide. But eventually the tide turned.
“Despite the war’s nightmarish opening, the IDF succeeded, after the ground steadied under its feet, in staging one of the most dramatic turnarounds in military history, a feat too complex to be described here. The war ended with the Israeli army on the roads to Damascus and Cairo. It was a victory not only over Egypt and Syria but over the Arab world, from North Africa to Iraq, which sent fresh contingents to the battlefronts, even as Israeli troops were being steadily eroded. In Iraq’s case, two tank brigades blocked the Israelis who had reached artillery range of Damascus.”
(The trauma of Israel’s Yom Kippur War was fully justified – The Jerusalem Post (jpost.com) ABRAHAM RABINOVICH, October 5, 2022
When I traveled to Israel in 1979, memories of the Yom Kippur War were fresh in people’s minds. Many Israelis were certain that only divine intervention saved Israel from complete annihilation. Psalm 121:4 says, “Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.” Sometimes we assume that God stopped honoring these verses when Israel went off into exile; however, consider the fact that it was God who later moved Cyrus, a Persian leader, to encourage Jews to return to Jerusalem and to rebuild the temple.
God continues to watch over Israel for His Name’s sake, because of His promises. Are there many Israelites who are atheists? Yes. But there are also many who continue to worship the God of Israel. Do I approve of everything the Israelis do? No. But God continues to preserve Israel anyway and continues to fulfill ancient prophecies concerning Israel because of His covenants. The Eternal God stands beyond human history.
God’s favor is nothing to be toyed with! Sometimes we assume that because God has helped us in the past, we can misconduct ourselves and then beg for God’s help at the last minute without exhibiting any evidence of repentance. But God is not be either mocked or manipulated. Since God knows our thoughts and our hearts better than we do ourselves, it is ludicrous to assume that we can dupe God. We cannot treat God as if He were some cosmic vending machine.
Do you want God’s favor for your life? Then seek God, pray to Him, worship Him, and confess your sins to Him. God already knows your sins, but when you confess to Him, he can forgive you and can work in your life. What if you have unsaved loved ones who are bent on going their own way? Proverbs 21:1 tells us that “The king’s heart is as a water course in the hand of the Lord, and He turns it where He wills.” Beg God to turn people’s hearts back to Him. God will never over – ride anyone’s free will; however, He can engineer circumstances so that people will see their need of Him and turn to Him themselves.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to turn to You at all times, not just when we are in trouble. We confess that we are sinners and that by ourselves, we cannot make up for our sins. Thank You for sending Your Son Jesus Christ to die for our sins so that all who believe in that sacrifice will have eternal life. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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