The three chapters in 2 Chronicles which describe the life of Asa each cover a particular period of his reign. The first ten years are covered in chapter 14, the next twenty-five years in chapter 15, and the final six years in chapter 16.
The first ten years of his reign were peaceful, ‘In his days the land was quiet ten years … the kingdom was quiet before him … the land had rest … the Lord our God, we have sought him, and he hath given us rest on every side’, vv. 1, 5-7. We do not have to look far for the reason, ‘Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God: for he took away the altars of the strange gods … and commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment’, vv. 2-4. Because idolatry had been suppressed, and God had been given His proper place in national life, He gave His people the conditions necessary to strengthen and build the kingdom. The lesson is very clear – if we are to build strong and effective lives for God, we must make sure from the beginning that He has first place. Anything, or anyone, that displaces Christ in our lives, is an idol.
Ten years of peace ended with invasion by Ethiopia under Zerah. The invaders were a million strong, outnumbering the army of Judah by almost two to one. Faced by such an immense army, Asa’s faith in God remained steadfast. He did not seek help from other sources. His words are worthy of quotation: ‘Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O Lord our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O Lord, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee’, v. 11.
Asa was consistent in peace and war; he trusted God in both. The Christian has to face unseen powers of darkness, but we do have the assurance that ‘greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world’, 1 John 4. 4. The Lord Jesus is superior to any enemy that may confront us. But it is very important to notice Asa’s governing statement; ‘Thou art our God’. We cannot expect to experience the power and presence of the Lord Jesus in our lives unless we are prepared to say with Thomas, ‘My Lord and my God’, John 20. 28.
