ASA—A REALLY GOOD START
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Opening Prayer
Father, as I open your Word today, prepare my heart to receive what you purpose to teach me and help me put what I read into practice.
Read 2 CHRONICLES 14:2—15
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
2 Chronicles
2 Chronicles 14
2 Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God.
3 He removed the foreign altars and the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles.
4 He commanded Judah to seek the LORD, the God of their ancestors, and to obey his laws and commands.
5 He removed the high places and incense altars in every town in Judah, and the kingdom was at peace under him.
6 He built up the fortified cities of Judah, since the land was at peace. No one was at war with him during those years, for the LORD gave him rest.
7 “Let us build up these towns,” he said to Judah, “and put walls around them, with towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours, because we have sought the LORD our God; we sought him and he has given us rest on every side.” So they built and prospered.
8 Asa had an army of three hundred thousand men from Judah, equipped with large shields and with spears, and two hundred and eighty thousand from Benjamin, armed with small shields and with bows. All these were brave fighting men.
9 Zerah the Cushite marched out against them with an army of thousands upon thousands and three hundred chariots, and came as far as Mareshah.
10 Asa went out to meet him, and they took up battle positions in the Valley of Zephathah near Mareshah.
11 Then Asa called to the LORD his God and said, “LORD, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, LORD our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army. LORD, you are our God; do not let mere mortals prevail against you.”
12 The LORD struck down the Cushites before Asa and Judah. The Cushites fled,
13 and Asa and his army pursued them as far as Gerar. Such a great number of Cushites fell that they could not recover; they were crushed before the LORD and his forces. The men of Judah carried off a large amount of plunder.
14 They destroyed all the villages around Gerar, for the terror of the LORD had fallen on them. They looted all these villages, since there was much plunder there.
15 They also attacked the camps of the herders and carried off droves of sheep and goats and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.
Reflect
‘… my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever.’1
‘Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord’ (v. 2). There are three different acts that illustrate Asa’s godly leadership. First, he removed all the trappings of pagan religion, and he legislated to support Judah’s historic worship of the Lord. That is, he cleared the ground to make it easier for Judah to live in the way that God intended for them and for him to build up the kingdom that had been entrusted to him (vv. 3—5). Second, he built up the kingdom by using all the resources God had provided to ensure both safety and prosperity. He strengthened the defenses by building defensive walls and by training and equipping the army. Most of the army would have been ordinary workers called up only when necessary, and their military training likely enabled them to be more efficient in their regular work, helping to build up the nation’s prosperity (vv. 7, 8). Third, when faced with an enemy seemingly impossible to defeat and a task seemingly impossible to achieve, he turned immediately to God, recognizing that what Asa and Judah could not do on their own, God could.
Asa took seriously his responsibility to use any and all of the resources that God had provided to equip and defend his people. However, he also knew that against an army the size of the Cushite enemy, defeat would be inevitable, even with all the resources he had built up. Nevertheless, Asa trusted God, knowing that Judah would not be able to defeat Cush on its own but believing that God’s help could be available and effective. Verses 9—15 proved him to be right!
Apply
When resources seem insufficient and answers are slow in coming, do I still trust God?
Closing prayer
Lord, no matter what my circumstances or my ability to relate to them, help me remember that you are my strength and help in trouble.
1 Phil 4:19, 20.
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