The King Whose Trust in God Wavered in His Old Age

The life and reign of King Asa.

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After studying Baasha, one of the longest-reigning kings of the northern kingdom, we come to Asa, one of the longest-reigning kings of the southern kingdom.

King Asa teaches God’s people a valuable lesson about the importance of relying upon God - no matter what we face in this life.

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The Overview of King Asa’s Reign.

Near the end of King Jeroboam’s reign in the northern kingdom, Asa becomes king over Judah. He reigns for 41 years (1 Kings 15:9-10). During his reign, he did what was right in the Lord’s eyes, following the example of his forefather King David (1 Kings 15:11).

Asa did much to rid the land of idolatry. He banished “the perverted persons,” got rid of all the idols his forefathers had made - he even removed his grandmother, Maachah, from her position of “queen mother” because she made an idol of Asherah. Asa also got rid of that idol (1 Kings 15:12-13).

Although Asa did not remove all the places of idol worship throughout the land - signifying that all the people did not turn wholeheartedly to the Lord - he remained loyal to the Lord his whole life (1 Kings 15:14).

Asa ensured the precious items dedicated to the Lord were brought into the Lord’s house (1 Kings 15:15).

The bitter rivalry between the northern and southern kingdoms continued throughout the reigns of Asa and Baasha. When Baasha stopped people from crossing the border between the two kingdoms, Asa emptied the treasury of the Lord’s house and his own treasury to persuade the king of Syria to send his armies against Israel. This stopped Baasha’s fortification on the border, and Asa carried away the materials for his fortifications (1 Kings 15:16-22).

Asa accomplished many things, but his effectiveness as king was slowed in his old age when he developed a disease in his feet (1 Kings 15:23). When he died, Asa was buried along with his forefathers in Jerusalem (1 Kings 15:24).

King Asa’s First 10 Years of Peace.

When Asa comes to the throne, Judah is peaceful for 10 years, a “rest” given to him by the Lord (2 Chronicles 14:1, 6).

Asa puts this time of peace to good use.

He does what is “good and right” in the sight of God, he removes idol places of worship and tears down pagan pillars and images. Asa also commanded the nation “to seek the LORD God of their fathers, and to observe the law and the commandment.” Every idol altar and high place was removed from each city (2 Chronicles 14:2-5).

In addition to focusing on the spiritual condition of the nation, Asa also built up the military fortifications of the land.

And he built fortified cities in Judah, for the land had rest; he had no war in those years, because the LORD had given him rest. Therefore he said to Judah, "Let us build these cities and make walls around them, 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. And Asa had an army of three hundred thousand from Judah who carried shields and spears, and from Benjamin two hundred and eighty thousand men who carried shields and drew bows; all these were mighty men of valor. (2 Chronicles 14:6-8)

Asa strikes me as a young king who had “his head screwed on straight.” He didn’t allow a time of peace and prosperity to make him complacent - as so often happens. Rather, he knew the time of peace was a blessing from God because of their faithfulness to Him, and he used that time to build up the strength of the nation.

The Battle Against the Ethiopians.

After 10 years of peace and prosperity, the enemy came knocking on the door in the form of a massive army.

Then Zerah the Ethiopian came out against them with an army of a million men and three hundred chariots, and he came to Mareshah. (2 Chronicles 14:9)

Judah’s army is roughly outnumbered 2-1. Asa faced a major test at this moment, and he relied on the Lord to deliver them.

So Asa went out against him, and they set the troops in battle array in the Valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. And Asa cried out to the LORD his God, and said, "LORD, it is nothing for You to help, 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. O LORD, You are our God; do not let man prevail against You!" (2 Chronicles 14:10-11)

The Lord delivered the army of the Ethiopians into Asa’s hand - “breaking them” so that they could not recover (2 Chronicles 14:12-13). Judah defeated them completely and carried off much spoil of war, including valuable livestock (2 Chronicles 14:14-15).

King Asa had demonstrated his faith in the Lord during a time of peace and a time of war. Now, he would be tested yet again - further spiritual reform was needed in the nation. Would Asa continue to tackle this issue with the same sense of urgency?

King Asa’s Religious Reforms.

The Spirit of God came upon Azariah, and he went to Asa with a message from God.

“Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. 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. For a long time Israel has been without the true God, without a teaching priest, and without law; but when in their trouble they turned to the LORD God of Israel, and sought Him, He was found by them. And in those times there was no peace to the one who went out, nor to the one who came in, but great turmoil was on all the inhabitants of the lands. So nation was destroyed by nation, and city by city, for God troubled them with every adversity. But you, be strong and do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded!” (2 Chronicles 15:2-7)

Asa has been faithful to the Lord up to this point, the Azariah encourages Asa to continue to be faithful. The nation had been a long time without the true God, without teachers, and without the law of God - but when they turned back to God and searched diligently for Him, He was found by them.

They only had turmoil and destruction during the times they did not seek after God, because God sent trouble upon them - just as He said He would (Deuteronomy 28:15-68).

So Asa is encouraged to “be strong” and to do what’s right, and he would be rewarded. This sounds a lot like what Paul told Christians after defending the truth of Jesus’ resurrection and ours (1 Corinthians 15:58).

And so, Asa acted courageously and went throughout the whole land of Judah and Benjamin - even the territory he had conquered in Ephraim - removing the idols. He also restored the Lord’s altar in front of the temple (2 Chronicles 15:8).

In Asa’s 15th year as king, he gathered the nation together to offer sacrifices to the Lord, and to devote the nation to the Lord.

Then they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul; and whoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel was to be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman. Then they took an oath before the LORD with a loud voice, with shouting and trumpets and rams’ horns. And all Judah rejoiced at the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and sought Him with all their soul; and He was found by them, and the LORD gave them rest all around. (2 Chronicles 15:12-15)

In turning the nation back to God, Asa even went so far as to remove his grandmother from her position as “queen mother” because of her idolatry. Asa showed no family favoritism in putting a stop to idolatry (2 Chronicles 15:16).

However, Asa could only influence the southern kingdom of Judah - the northern kingdom of Israel still wickedly continued in their idolatry. But Asa remained loyal to the Lord (2 Chronicles 15:17).

His dedication to the Lord even extended to his valuables (2 Chronicles 15:18). Because of their devotion to the Lord, the land had no more war until Asa’s 35th year on the throne.

King Asa’s Troublesome Final Years.

Beginning with King Asa’s 36th year on the throne, he makes some decisions that undermine all the good he has done up to this point.

When Baasha, king of Israel, builds a fortification on Judah’s border and refuses to allow anyone to cross, Asa gets an idea.

Then Asa brought silver and gold from the treasuries of the house of the LORD and of the king's house, and sent to Ben-Hadad king of Syria, who dwelt in Damascus, saying, "Let there be a treaty between you and me, as there was between my father and your father. See, I have sent you silver and gold; come, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me." (2 Chronicles 16:2-3)

His proposal works - the king of Syria attacks the northern border of Israel and Baasha is forced to withdraw from his border with Judah (2 Chronicles 16:4-5). Asa even seizes the building materials used by Baasha and moves them to be used in his own building projects (2 Chronicles 16:6).

Seems like a pretty savvy political move by King Asa, right? Turns out, that’s not how God saw it.

The Lord sent Hanani the prophet to Asa with a scathing rebuke.

"Because you have relied on the king of Syria, and have not relied on the LORD your God, therefore the army of the king of Syria has escaped from your hand. 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. For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. In this you have done foolishly; therefore from now on you shall have wars." (2 Chronicles 16:7-9)

Asa failed to rely on the Lord in this situation as he had previously. God would have demonstrated His strength on this occasion if Asa had proven his loyalty to God. Yet because he failed to trust God, not only had the armies of Syria escaped from his hand, he would no longer enjoy peace as he had previously.

Asa becomes so enraged with what he’s told by God’s prophet, he throws Hanani in prison and cruelly treats some of the people as well. Perhaps these were those who voiced their opposition to how Asa was treating the prophet of God (2 Chronicles 16:10).

In King Asa’s 39th year, he developed a severe disease in his feet. But Asa did not seek help from the Lord, only from the doctors (2 Chronicles 16:12). And two years later, Asa died in the 41st year of his reign. He was buried in Jerusalem, and his funeral was a great ordeal (2 Chronicles 16:14).

Crowning Principles.

Do not become complacent during the good times.

Unlike his father Abijah, Asa’s trust in God remained strong even during times of peace and prosperity. Asa viewed these times of relative calm to refocus the nation on God and to strengthen the areas of his kingdom that had grown weak.

What Asa does is so rarely seen today in nations, businesses, and even churches it’s worth taking a moment to consider. A time of peace and prosperity is not a time to put things on cruise control and kick back and enjoy the ride. Rather, it’s time to “double down” on our trust in God and use the blessing He has given us to be as productive as we can for His kingdom. This is exactly what Paul taught Christians to pray for (1 Timothy 2:1-4).

Continue to trust God, even in your old age.

Asa did not take the prophet’s rebuke of his failure to trust the Lord very well. He probably thought his decision had been a good one - he trusted in his own wisdom, and he was wrong. He failed to trust God.

Later, when the health problems of old age set in, he once again failed to turn to the Lord for help. He only turned to doctors for help with his serious problems with his feet.

He spent most of his life trusting in the Lord, and then near the end of his life, he believed he could handle his problems on his own. God says he was foolish to think this way, and we are just as foolish if we think we reach a point where we are wise enough to not depend on God, or know enough people to help us with a problem that we don’t need the Lord’s help.