13:11 They present burnt offerings and fragrant incense to the Lord every morning and evening. They place the Bread of the Presence on the holy table, and they light the gold lampstand every evening. We are following the instructions of the Lord our God, but you have abandoned him.
It reminded me that we are really to think of and pursue God always - not just in the morning during our 'quiet time', but we should honor Him morning, noon and night. I was reminded again that I 'compartmentalize' God too much. I truly desire to seek Him and see Him in all things. But that takes discipline on my part. I want to honor Him in the evening as well, and will now have to show that I am willing to follow through on what He has shown me.
Asa was a king who followed God....at least at first. The other thing I'm seeing is that somehow it seems much easier to follow God at first, but then it seems that most stray away. These chapters tell the story of an Ethiopian attacking Judah with a million men - far outnumbering them. So this is what King Asa did:
14:11 Then Asa cried out to the Lord his God, “O Lord, no one but you can help the powerless against the mighty! Help us, O Lordour God, for we trust in you alone. It is in your name that we have come against this vast horde. O Lord, you are our God; do not let mere men prevail against you!”
12 So the Lord defeated the Ethiopians in the presence of Asa and the army of Judah, and the enemy fled.
Although I'm not sure when all that took place (I'm thinking it was early in his reign), this next story takes place in the 36th year of his reign. He took money out of the temple treasury to pay another King to destroy one of his enemies. This was the response he got from one of God's prophets:
16:7 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.
This prophet reminded him of the unbelievable odds he had been up against before, and how when he had relied upon God, he was delivered. But instead of King Asa seeing the truth of his words and repenting, he became angry. We see his heart had turned away.
This verse is now my prayer today:
God, as Your eyes search the earth today, may my heart be fully committed to You, and may You strengthen it.
When he turned away, he began to oppress his people. His leadership failed when he turned away from God.
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