Week 20 2 Chronicles 14-16
The chronicler whittled down the story of king Asa to three episodes. The first and last stories are pretty important and pretty similar – both look at how Asa reacted to international conflicts.
In the first story an overwhelming Ethiopian army mobilized against Judah. Asa did two things: a) he deployed his armed forces and b) he prayed: Lord, no one but you can help the powerless against the mighty! Help us, O Lord our God, for we trust in you alone.
In the last story the northern tribes of Israel invaded Judah. Asa did one thing: a) he paid a mercenary army from Damascus to defend Judah.
In both cases Judah came out on top. But after the second operation a prophet came to Asa and criticized him: don’t you remember the Ethiopians? At that time you relied on the Lord, and he handed them all over to you. So there was a reliance issue.
In Battle #1 Asa relied on the Lord.
In Battle #2 Asa relied on Benhadad.
My first impression is that Asa mostly relied on the Lord (but then had that one foul-up with Benhadad). But the chronicler adds a little footnote that makes me wonder. Asa had a foot disease and when it: became life-threatening, he did not seek the Lord’s help but sought help only from his physicians. So maybe after a strong start Asa’s reliance on the Lord declined incrementally over a long forty-one year reign.
Note: quotes from 2 Chronicles 14:11 16:8 & 12 (NLT)