Wednesday, March 16: 2Chronicles 16- Not the way to end.

 

It is pure speculation as to what happened and why Asa turned from the Lord at the end of his life. I can spin a thousand possibilities but the text will neither confirm or deny them. The text is silent regarding the ‘what happened and why.’ And the fact that I can spin so many possibilities makes me all the more wary because some of the scenarios could fit my life!

God does tell us what Asa did that was unfaithful.

First, he reached out to an enemy of God for rescue. From a purely political point of view Asa’s decision makes sense. What his decision lacks is even a morsel of faith in God. (I find myself wondering again why someone who had been faithful in everything for 31-years now turns his back on God??? I am perplexed by this.) As it turns out, from a purely human political point of view, things turned out pretty well.

After this comes a word from God questioning Asa’s faithlessness and explaining that a greater victory was forfeited because he was faithless. At this Asa gets angry with God and acts recklessly, harboring his grudge against the Lord the rest of his life. Never again did Asa turn to the Lord. How sad.

Mistake #2, in my opinion, was harboring his anger and hardening his heart against God. God can handle our anger. David certainly expressed anger against God and others in the Psalms. David questioned God in the Psalms. What David and others didn’t do was stay there. David routinely opened himself to the Lord’s correction (David believed God’s judgments were always right) and eventually he sought a reconnection with the Lord. Asa missed the mark here. He never did turn back to the Lord and so he lived a miserable final 5 years. How sad!

I circle back to my life and I hear a warning.  If it happened to Asa, it could happen to me. Stay close to the Lord, guard your heart, watch out for pride.…

O, Lord, my God, save me from myself. Save me from the sin and corruption that continues to live in me.  Bring me home safely that I might hear, “Well done good and faithful servant.” Amen.