READ: 2 Chronicles 15, 16; Psalms 7; Acts 7:37-60
SCRIPTURE: 2 Chronicles 15: 1 The
Spirit of God came on Azariah son of Oded.
2 He went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and
Benjamin. The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will
be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.
OBSERVATION: When Asa returned
victoriously to Jerusalem, God sent his prophet Azariah to remind a fundamental
biblical truth about the importance of remaining in God. The Bible repeatedly
tells us that all who seek God find him (Deut.4:29; 1 Chron.28:9; 2
Chron.24:20; Jer.29:13; Mt.7:7). One should not take God's favour for granted.
When Asa listened to the word of God, he began his second wave of reformation
in his kingdom (15:8). Then he led his people to make "a covenant to seek
the Lord" and "an oath to the Lord." We read the result of this
covenant and oath in 2 Chro.15:15. Their enthusiastic obedience to seek God
brought great joy and peace among them. Asa led them from the front to seek and
obey God. The Bible says, "Asa's heart was fully committed to the Lord all
his life" (1 Kings 15:14). He did not worship other gods and never entered
into idol worship.
However, we see a change in 2 Chro.16. Although he was faithful to seek God for a long period, when Baasha, the king of Israel, came against him, he did not seek God but sought help from Ben-Hadad, the king of Aram (Syria). Therefore, God sent a prophet to reprimand Asa as he did not trust in the Lord. Compared to Zerah, the Cushite's vast army, Baasha was neither strong nor had a powerful army (2 Chron.16:8). However, this time, Asa was not ready to humble himself before God. Instead, we read about his anger and arrogance. In his final days, when Asa suffered from a severe disease, "he did not seek help from the Lord, but only from the physicians" (2 Chron.16:12).
Here, the Bible does not condemn the
practice of taking medicines and seeking the help of doctors. Instead, it
presents a picture of Asa's stubbornness—a sign of his refusal to seek God even
when he desperately needed it— to seek help "only from" physicians.
Many Christians have a good start to their spiritual journey; They experience
great revivals in their life when they sincerely seek God. However, over a
period, they start to rely on themselves instead of seeking God. Their
self-reliance may give them some temporal gains and victories, as it had
happened with Asa. Nevertheless, it always leads to an unpleasant end. We
should not forsake God for anything. Jesus calls us to stand firm till the end.
APPLICATION: God reveals
himself to me when I seek him with all my heart and all my soul. If I forsake
him, I lose many blessings of the Lord. In the past, I may have experienced
many great things with the Lord. However, how I seek him today matters most to
God. I will not rely on human strength and worldly wisdom. I seek God with all
my heart.
PRAYER: Father God, thank you for the reminder and call to remain in you. Lord, help me to seek you and remain in you. Jesus, help me to keep my faith in you until I finish the race. Amen.
- Arputharaj Samuel
+91 9538328573
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