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King Asa, Solomon’s great-grandson, started out well and pleased the Lord for most of his reign. He had a surrendered heart. “Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God” (2 Chron. 14:2). When trouble came his way and a mighty army came against him, he prepared to defend Judah with his army. But his hope was not in his army. Asa got on his knees before God and asked Him to do what he couldn’t do. Asa didn’t tell God what to do; He simply worshiped Him as Almighty God and asked Him for help. Because Asa turned to the Lord, God intervened and delivered them.

Asa had a good heart. He got rid of anything that would hurt his or his people’s relationship with God. “He removed the foreign altars and the high places” (14:3), anything that seduced them away from being fully devoted to God. He deposed the queen mother, who was influencing the people to idolatry.

Sadly, somewhere along the way, and ever so gradually, Asa began to drift from his devotion to the Lord. He did NOT remove the high places from Israel. In other words, he began to overlook and justify sin. He was totally committed and obedient to the Lord EXCEPT he didn’t remove the high places. All the devil needs to get a foothold in our lives is a little compromise.

Asa’s slow drift from the Lord came to a head in 2 Chronicles 16. When the security of Judah was threatened by King Baasha of the Northern Kingdom, instead of turning to God, as he had done so often before, Asa looked for a human solution. He paid the King of Syria to attack Baasha’s northern kingdom. And his plan worked! Baasha withdrew. But from God’s perspective all was not well.

God sent the prophet Hanani to Asa to say essentially: Because you turned to human solutions rather than putting your trust in the Lord, from now on you will be at war constantly.

There will always be a cost when we do things our way. IF at this point Asa had repented of his unbelief and partial commitment to God, he would still have had to face the consequences of his actions, but God would have used discipline to accomplish ultimate good in Asa’s life. But Asa never did repent. When the prophet Hanani confronted him about his sin, Asa became angry and put Hanani in prison. God, in His grace, tried to give Asa a wake-up call by afflicting his feet with a disease. “Though his disease was severe, … he did not seek help from the Lord, but only from the physicians” (v.12).

God wants us to know that He wants to strengthen, support, empower and guide those whose hearts are fully devoted to Him. King Asa was a good king, but his life went downhill because he was only partially devoted to God. God is not pleased with partial devotion. He longs to see a heart that is fully committed to Him.

Unless we remain sensitive to God and His voice and, like David, give the Holy Spirit permission to examine our hearts on a regular basis, we risk the very real possibility of drifting and cooling in our love and devotion to the Lord.

God is looking for the fully devoted heart—those who turn FIRST to the Lord rather than to human solutions, those who trust God and are obedient to His Word.

Study Questions

IN - PURSUE RELATIONSHIP

Tell of something which you began with great zeal but over time you lost interest. Why did you lose interest?
In your daily life when does "I follow the rules EXCEPT when..." have unwanted consequences?

UP - PURSUE GOD

Read 2 Chronicles 14:2-12; 15:8-16:3

What actions showed King Asa’s commitment to God? What actions relied on human solutions? How do small decisions and our devotion to God matter?
Why do you think King Asa take the high places down in Judah but not captured territories of Israel? (Compare 14:5; 15:8-9; and 15:17.)

OUT - PURSUE MISSION

In groups of 2 or 3 share where you have seen each other trust in God.
In those same groups, share where you tend to exhibit pride instead of surrender. Pray for each other.

Personal Reflection

Is there an "except" in your devotion to Jesus? This week, take a close look in your life and list the things for which you rely on God and the things for which you rely on your own strength. What steps can you take to fully trust God in all aspects of your life? Share this with someone you trust to encourage you to follow through.

The Word (NIV)

2 Chronicles 14:2-6 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.

2 Chronicles 15:8,11-16:3 ⁸When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Azariah son of Oded the prophet, he took courage. He removed the detestable idols from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the towns he had captured in the hills of Ephraim. He repaired the altar of the Lord that was in front of the portico of the Lord’s temple.

¹¹At that time they sacrificed to the Lord seven hundred head of cattle and seven thousand sheep and goats from the plunder they had brought back. ¹²They entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, with all their heart and soul. ¹³All who would not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, were to be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman. ¹⁴They took an oath to the Lord with loud acclamation, with shouting and with trumpets and horns. ¹⁵All Judah rejoiced about the oath because they had sworn it wholeheartedly. They sought God eagerly, and he was found by them. So the Lord gave them rest on every side.

¹⁶King Asa also deposed his grandmother Maakah from her position as queen mother, because she had made a repulsive image for the worship of Asherah. Asa cut it down, broke it up and burned it in the Kidron Valley. ¹⁷Although he did not remove the high places from Israel, Asa’s heart was fully committed to the Lord all his life. ¹⁸He brought into the temple of God the silver and gold and the articles that he and his father had dedicated.

¹⁹There was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.

16 In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and fortified Ramah to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the territory of Asa king of Judah.

² Asa then took the silver and gold out of the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and of his own palace and sent it to Ben-Hadad king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus. ³“Let there be a treaty between me and you,” he said, “as there was between my father and your father. See, I am sending you silver and gold. Now break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so he will withdraw from me.”

This Week's Writers: Elsa Henderson, Jorel Quemuel, Gene Gibbs, Karen Gibbs, David McMillin