Hello again in 2023! I am truly amazed at how fast time is moving. It seems like just the other day I was writing about January and the chicken, yet here I am in 2023! Truly, teach us to number our days O God so that we may apply our hearts to wisdom.

As custom, I love to begin writing on this special day of February 04^th every year to commemorate the day and year I purposed to blog consistently; and more specifically for God in 2019.

I hope you have had a lovely January! From my end, I have had a beautiful January.

This year, I would like to begin with a blog post that will take me all throughout my life.

Towards the end of last year, God and I had a lengthy talk regarding my life and that talk included a king who reigned in Judah called Asa.

In the short profile I did of the Kings of Judah last year, one scripture constantly rang through my mind when I got to the profile of Asa:

The end of a matter is better than its beginning; patience of spirit is better than haughtiness of spirit. Ecclesiastes 6:8

The truth is that, as I was studying this passionate life lived for God for the beginning part of his reign, I saw so many similarities between Asa and I. Subsequently, understanding why God highlighted to me in the course of our extensive talk: Remember Asa.

As I begin this post I would like to place a disclaimer that this will be a long post, mainly because: I will be preaching to myself.

The story begins in II Chronicles, but before we dive into the verses, allow me to share a short profile of King Asa.

Asa was the third king of Judah after the division of Israel into two kingdoms and he was a good king. Aside from being a good king, he was also a powerful and passionate king. Given the idolatrous atmosphere and evil corruption that had entrenched itself both in Judah and Israel at that time, he was one of the rare kings who obeyed God wholeheartedly. For that reason, scripture says that God blessed Asa with rest and prosperity on every side because he obeyed Him and kept His commandments. God muted all of Judah’s problems and He surrounded them with peace round about.

2 Chronicles 14

1 So Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David: and Asa his son reigned in his stead. In his days the land was quiet ten years.
2 And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God:
3 For he took away the altars of the strange gods, and the high places, and brake down the images, and cut down the groves:
4 And commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment.
5 Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the images: and the kingdom was quiet before him.

His first order of business was to bring down the foreign idols and altars of strange gods that had been erected by previous kings in the kingdom (including his own father); altars that did not ascribe to the worship of the God of his fathers

Here, I found that Asa was extremely intentional on the kind of worship that He wanted to present to God as an offering, one of dedication and thanksgiving.

2 Chronicles 14

6 And he built fenced cities in Judah: for the land had rest, and he had no war in those years; because the LORD had given him rest.
7 Therefore he said unto Judah, Let us build these cities, and make about them walls, and towers, gates, and bars, while the land is yet before us; because we have sought the LORD our God, we have sought him, and He has given us rest on every side. So they built and prospered.

I love that! And God gave him rest on every side. What a beautiful testimony!

During this time of rest, Asa had time to build Judah’s defenses. He used this time to prepare for war beforehand for when trouble would arise. He strategized and implemented his strategy. (T.R.O.E). The commentary in my Bible says, “Decisions about how to face temptations must be made with cool heads long before we feel the heat of temptation.” That, is wisdom!

✓ The First War

Asa was threatened with war by the Ethiopians at the beginning of his reign.  However, he did not have a large army. The Bible says that he had three hundred thousand men from the tribe of Judah and two hundred and eighty thousand men from the tribe of Benjamin – all valiant men of war.

However, when the Ethiopians came against Judah, Asa realized that he was clearly outnumbered. The Ethiopians had an army of one million men of war and three hundred chariots. Talk about losing before you begin the war! But not Asa.

Asa knew his God and he understood that no army was so large that God could not deliver them into their hands. Asa understood his covenant with God as an Israelite. He may probably have been shaken by that vast Ethiopian army but that did not cause him to shrink back from asking for God’s help.

His need to ask God for help was not driven by cowardice, but by understanding that his help could only come from God. Reading Asa’s prayer to God, made me wonder if he might have read the psalms, particularly Psalms 91 where the psalmist wrote:

“A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand. But it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you look and see the reward of the wicked.”

Reading his prayer also, made me admire the depth of understanding he had of God.

2 Chronicles 14:11

“Lord, there is none beside You to help in the battle between the powerful and those who have no strength; so, help us, O Lord our God, for we trust in You, and in Your name, we have come against this multitude…”

Sort of like he was saying, “Hey Lord, only You can help us in this battle against this mighty army. We have no power in and of ourselves. We are going to battle in Your name. And because we know that Your name is that strong tower which when the righteous run into, they are safe, we, therefore, shall go bearing it in battle trusting that we shall be safe.”

And in case you’re thinking “what a deep prayer!” wait till you read how he ended it:

“…O Lord, You are our God; let no man prevail against you.”

“Do not let men exalt themselves against You because You are God, and more than this, You are our God, and we are Your people.”

Glorious! Just glorious!

“O Lord, You are my God; let no man prevail against me! Amen!”

Asa had resigned himself totally to God. He recognized that there was no way in his own strength he would have defeated that vast Ethiopian army. And so like a child, he lay the whole battle at God’s feet.

Interestingly, Paul uses a similar analogy in his letter to the Corinthians. Reminding us that it is in our weaknesses where God magnifies His strength and power.

My Bible commentary on this verse says “it is those who think they can do it all on their own who are in greatest danger.”

When Asa faced the Ethiopian army, God gave Judah victory so much so that the people of Judah even carried their plunder!

✓ Asa’s Alliances

Asa welcomed people around him who encouraged him to godliness. Azariah, the son of Oded encouraged Asa to follow God without turning to the right or to the left.  He told Asa:

2 Chronicles 15: 2

“Listen to me Asa, and all of Judah and Benjamin: the Lord is with you, while you be with Him; and if you seek Him, He will be found of you, but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.”

That was a simple and clear message.

Let me take a moment and take this as a prophecy over my life (Refer 21/01/2023). “In this next phase of your life, Agnes, you cannot afford to surround yourself with people around you who do not understand God’s will for your life, discouraging you to walk in it or even talking you out of it.”

As Azariah was encouraging Asa, he also reminded him of the faithless situation that had been existing in Israel for forty-one years since Jeroboam became the king of Israel. Azariah used Israel as an example to demonstrate to Asa the evil that would come upon Judah if they turned away from God and forsook Him. Finally, he finished his exhortation by telling them to keep up the good work for there would be a reward for it.

2 Chronicles 15

7 Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded.

✓ Revival

What happened next? Asa wrought forth a full-swing revival in the whole kingdom!

The Bible says that when Asa heard the words of those prophecy which Azariah had spoken, he took courage and removed the abominable idols from the land of Judah and Benjamin.

After this, he sacrificed at one go — seven thousand sheep and seven hundred oxen of the spoil they had brought to the Lord as burnt offering. I remember one time listening to a pastor preaching a message on the story of Asa and he said, “when you are spiritually revived nothing is too much to let God have it.” And that stuck with me!

Asa’s zeal and passion for God infected all the people of Judah. There was a nation wide seeking of God and returning to Him so much so that all who did not seek God were put to death. Talk about revival!

2 Chronicles 15

12 And they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul;
13 That whosoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman.
14 And they sware unto the LORD with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets.
15 And all Judah rejoiced at the oath: for they had sworn with all their heart, and sought Him with their whole desire; and He was found of them: and the LORD gave them rest round about.

Thereafter, Asa even demoted his unbelieving mother from the throne as queen because she had erected images of Asherah.

Notice: he was uncompromising even with his own parents. His devotion to God came first and he made his loyalty to God the highest priority!

Man! You’ve got to admire such a dedication and passion for God. Because I do!

He loved and obeyed God so passionately that he even caused those around him to love and obey God! And that is my deepest and true desire in life, that the life that I live will cause others to be drawn to the One true and Living God.

After all the reforms he had made in the kingdom, he finished by dedicating the silver and gold that was set aside for God’s use in the temple, as well as his own things to God.

The Bible says (and I would like to have this in bold because this to me, is the beautiful result of obedience and total consecration to God)…

“There was no more war in Judah for thirty-five years in Asa’s reign.”

Glorious! Just glorious!

✓ Backsliding: Remember Asa

Now, before I proceed any further, I would like to pause here for just a minute and express my heart over the next unfolding events because truly, my face becomes pale, my heart faints for fear, and words fail me whenever I begin reading the next chapter of Asa’s reign and life.

So far, I am in love with Asa’s uncompromising dedication to God. He did not care whom he offended especially if they did not honor God because to him, God was first priority! And he made that clear both in private and in the kingdom.

The next few passages is where my heart breaks into pieces. My heart shatters reading the ending of this glowing, radiant and beaming life loved passionately for God. I do not understand what quite happened. I do not understand….but also, it’s like I do. Only, I do not want to imagine how in the world it could happen.

This is the highlight of my post because this is what God spoke to me: Agnes, Remember Asa! Remember Asa!

And in just these two words, I see the heart of God crying out to me, pleading with me saying, “Asa loved me passionately, unreservedly and deeply at the beginning, but after many years of rest and peace, he forgot what I had done for him, he disregarded how I had delivered him from his enemies. He did not need Me anymore because he now had “connections, he knew people”.”

The Bible says,

2 Chronicles 16 (Amplified Bible)

1 IN THE thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign, Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah, and built (fortified) Ramah intending to intercept anyone going out or coming in to Asa king of Judah.
2 Then Asa brought silver and gold out of the treasuries of the house of the Lord and of the king’s house and sent them to Ben-hadad king of Syria, who dwelt at Damascus, saying,
3 Let there be a league between me and you, as was between my father and your father. Behold, I am sending you silver and gold; go, break your league with Baasha king of Israel, that he may withdraw from me.

Remember the silver and gold that he had dedicated from the treasuries of the house of the Lord? As well as his things too? He gave them to Ben-Hadad the king of Aram; making a treaty with him, sort of like a bribe so that Ben-Hadad would break his treaty with Baasha the king of Israel.

In other words, when Baasha came against Judah, instead of Asa going back to God as he had done previously with the Ethiopians, he said “I have connections!” (shyko’s translation)

Recall what Azariah had told him? “The Lord is with you while you are with Him…but if you forsake Him, He will also forsake you!”

How I see it, I do not think that Asa’s confidence in God had slipped away. I think he had let the rest he had experienced get into his head so much that he did not see the need to enquire of God: pride is the appropriate word. And I write this in fear and trembling considering my own walk with God.

Asa, now, had connections.  He sought human solutions.

Now, I absolutely do not believe that it was a sin for Asa to consult somebody to help him solve his problem, what I find here though, is that he was trusting more in human help than he was in God to the point he left God completely out of the problem solving process!

God in His mercy sent Hanani a prophet to rebuke him. And I honestly and truly believe that if he had accepted the rebuke of God, God would have forgiven him and even given him victory over Baasha.

2 Chronicles 16

7 At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, Because you relied on the king of Syria and not on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Syria has escaped you.
8 Were not the Ethiopians and Libyans a huge host with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied then on the Lord, He gave them into your hand.
9 For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are blameless toward Him. You have done foolishly in this; therefore, from now on you shall have wars.

Tragic statement: “therefore, from now on you shall have wars.”

God was not rebuking him because he hated him, but because he loved him and saw the danger of where he was going if he did not turn back.

Hebrews 12 (Amplified Bible)

5 And have you [completely] forgotten the divine word of appeal and encouragement in which you are reasoned with and addressed as sons? My son, do not think lightly or scorn to submit to the correction and discipline of the Lord, nor lose courage and give up and faint when you are reproved or corrected by Him;
6 For the Lord corrects and disciplines everyone whom He loves, and He punishes, even scourges, every son whom He accepts and welcomes to His heart and cherishes.
7 You must submit to and endure [correction] for discipline; God is dealing with you as with sons. For what son is there whom his father does not [thus] train and correct and discipline?
8 Now if you are exempt from correction and left without discipline in which all [of God’s children] share, then you are illegitimate offspring and not true sons [at all]. [Prov. 3:11, 12.]

Instead of taking the rebuke of the Lord like David did when Nathan the prophet rebuked him over his sin with Bathsheba, Asa threw Hanani into prison.

My Bible commentary says that “this was a clear indication of where his heart truly was.” And that to me is also a tragic statement.

Asa’s story ends so tragically that my heart truly breaks even as I type these words. And the reason being, is that I see so much of myself in Asa: his passion and zeal for God, his desire to see those around him come to the Lord, his total consecration to God, and sadly, even the tendency of backsliding in fervency and dedication.

And most likely that is why God told me: Agnes! Remember Asa!

The Bible says that Asa became diseased in his feet; a severe disease. Furthermore, it tells us that even in his disease, Asa did not seek the Lord, but only physicians. In that statement, it’s like I can almost see the heart of God crying out to him reminding him —

Psalm 50

14 Offer to God the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and pay your vows to the Most High,
15 And call on Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall honor and glorify Me.

But he completely ignored God’s ability to help. The man who once cried out to God so passionately saying, “Help us O Lord our God, for we trust in You.”

Truly, I do not know what went wrong after such a beautiful and glorious beginning. Subsequently, I do not sit here judging or even criticizing this man, but humbled by his story and praying with all my heart that God will remind me of his story every single day of my life – so that I surrender every single aspect of my life to Him.

Heavenly Father,

As I conclude the study of the life of King Asa, I am both humbled and deeply shaken at how a life so full of passion for You can turn cold and distant. Lord, indeed, You are the only one who can make a man stand. To begin a journey is easy, how we end it on the other hand speaks a lot about what we truly value in life. Indeed, Lord You were right when You whispered to me: Remember Asa. I see so much of myself in Asa: his passion and love for You Lord, his desire for righteousness and godliness even amongst those surrounding him. I do not take lightly your warning, and I do not take lightly as well the Azariah’s you have placed in my life so far. Help me O Lord my God to stand; every single day of my life – to live kneeling in worship to You and standing in service to You (Ephesians 6:11).

Make me sensitive to Your rebuke. And like David I pray, cleanse me from hidden and secrets faults. Keep me from presumptuous sins and do not permit them not have dominion over me. Lord, I do not want to fall away from You at any point in my life: whether I am young or old. Keep my feet from sliding backwards because I know myself. I desire to grow progressively in faith every day and to finish stronger than I began. Help me to remain faithful, fervent and passionate for You and about You till the very end of my life on earth. O Lord, You are my God; let no sin or man prevail against me! Be Thou my help and shield at all times. Amen!

♣

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Okay… Let’s just be honest, whenever most people hear anything about religion, their first reaction and instinct is probably to cringe or brush off the whole matter entirely.

Why? Most likely because it is a subject that is associated with extreme cases of fanaticism, it brings about a lot of conflicts and controversies, and even offends easily.

Religion is famously known for: manipulation, stagnation, repression, ignorance, bigotry and is too often a threat to liberty. And rightly so. I do agree. With that said, I recommend you to read two of my posts as well as encourage you to do a personal, extensive, and honest research on your own regarding this matter. Why?

As intellectuals (critical thinkers), I believe we owe it to ourselves to interrogate, examine, and ask hard questions regarding matters touching on faith rather than choosing to ignore them or even worse— follow blind faith. Click here for the first post.

Who speaks the truth with regards to a genuine, sincere and true relationship with God? Is it Buddha? Muhammad? Jesus? Zoroaster? Confucius? Joseph Smith? Guru Nanak? Krishna? Among others? Find out on this second post:

My heart overflows with a goodly matter; I speak the things which I have made touching the king: My tongue is the pen of a ready writer. Psalms 45:1

Thank you for reading this blog. Feel free to share it with others whenever and wherever.🙂

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