Royalty and Ruin

A Remarkable Victory Gained by Trusting God

The opposing armies now stood face to face. It was a time of test and trial to those who served the Lord. Had they confessed every sin? Did Judah have full confidence in God’s power to deliver? From every human viewpoint the huge force from Egypt would sweep everything before it. But in time of peace Asa had not been giving himself to amusements and pleasure; he had been preparing for any emergency. He had an army trained for conflict, and he had tried to lead his people to make peace with God. Now his faith did not weaken. RR 39.6

Having sought the Lord in prosperity, the king could now rely on Him in adversity. “It is nothing for You to help,” he pleaded, “whether with many or with those who have no power; help us, O Lord our God, for we rest on You, and in Your name we go against this multitude.” Verse 11. RR 40.1

God rewarded King Asa’s faith dramatically. “The Lord struck the Ethiopians before Asa and Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. ... They were broken before the Lord and His army.” Verses 12, 13. RR 40.2

As the victorious armies were returning to Jerusalem, “Azariah the son of Oded ... went out to meet Asa, and said to him, ... ‘The Lord is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.’” “Be strong and do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded!” 2 Chronicles 15:1, 2, 7. RR 40.3

Greatly encouraged, Asa soon led out in a second reformation. He “removed the abominable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin.” “Then they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul.” “And He was found by them, and the Lord gave them rest all around.” Verses 8, 12, 15. RR 40.4

Some mistakes marred Asa’s long record of faithful service. On one occasion, when the king of Israel entered Judah and seized Ramah, a city only five miles from Jerusalem, Asa sought deliverance by an alliance with Ben-Hadad, king of Syria. Hanani the prophet sternly rebuked this failure to trust God. He appeared before Asa with the message, “Were the Ethiopians and the Lubim not a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet, because you relied on the Lord, He delivered them into your hand. ... You have done foolishly; therefore from now on you shall have wars.” 2 Chronicles 16:8, 9. RR 40.5

Instead of humbling himself before God, “Asa was angry with the seer, and put him in prison. ... And Asa oppressed some of the people at that time.” Verse 10. RR 40.6

“In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa became diseased in his feet, and his malady was severe; yet in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but the physicians.” Verse 12. The king died in the forty-first year of his reign and was succeeded by Jehoshaphat, his son. RR 40.7