Asa: The Tale of Two Lives

2 Chronicles 14-16 

The Ten Signposts of the Bible
CAMDE—400—CALY
Creation. Abraham. Moses. DAVID. Elijah. 400. Christ. Apostles. Letters. Yet-to-Come.

The nation of Israel remained united for seventy-three years: thirty-three years under King David and forty years under Solomon. However, Solomon’s weakness for foreign women and their false gods led to the kingdom’s downfall, beginning during the reign of Solomon’s son, Rehoboam.  

The kingdom split in 931 BC. The northern kingdom (Israel) had nineteen kings over a period of 209 years, from 931 to 722 BC, before it fell to the Assyrians in 722 BC. Its people were taken captive and dispersed throughout the Assyrian Empire. 

The southern kingdom (Judah) was ruled by twenty-two kings over a period of 345 years, from 931 to 586 BC, before falling to the Babylonians in 586 BC. Its people also were taken captive and dispersed throughout the Babylonian Empire. 

The northern kingdom had no godly kings. Each one followed the idolatry introduced by its first king, Jeroboam. The southern kingdom, however, had a mixture of good and bad kings, which led to periodic reforms and seasons of returning to God. 

Over the next few days, we will consider six of Judah’s godly kings and the impact they had on the nation. We begin with Asa, who reigned for forty-one years, from 911 to 870 BC. First, let me set the context. 

When Jeroboam and Rehoboam were not fighting each other (1 Kgs. 14:30), they were both promoting idolatry throughout their kingdoms. Jeroboam set up golden calves in the north, while Rehoboam built altars to false gods and established male religious prostitutes. As Scripture says, Judah “did according to all the abominations of the nations that the LORD drove out before the people of Israel” (1 Kgs. 14:24). 

In Rehoboam’s fifth year, Shishak the king of Egypt invaded Judah with 1,200 chariots, 60,000 horsemen, and innumerable troops. They captured fortified cities and carried away all the treasures of the temple and from the king’s house (1 Kgs. 14:25-27). Sin always has consequences. 

After Rehoboam died, his son, Abijah reigned for three years. Then Abijah’s son, Asa took the throne. 

Asa did what was “good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God” (2 Chron. 14:2). He tore down idolatrous places of worship and “commanded Judah to seek the LORD…” (2 Chron. 14:3–4). In response, God granted Judah a season of peace. 

Then Zerah the Ethiopian came against Judah with a vastly superior force.  Asa cried out to the LORD, in one of the great prayers of the Bible:

2 Chronicles 14:11-12
And Asa cried to the LORD his God, “O LORD, there is none like you to help, between the mighty and the weak. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this multitude. O LORD, you are our God; let not man prevail against you.”  So the LORD defeated the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled.

Although idolatry was so widespread in Judah that Asa could not remove all the shrines during his reign, his heart remained “wholly true all his days” (2 Chron. 15:17).  He even removed his mother from her position as queen mother because she had made a “detestable image” (2 Chron. 15:16).  What a bold example he set! 

God blessed Judah with peace for thirty-five years during Asa’s reign. Then there came a  change. To that point, Asa had been “wholly true all his days.” However, when Baasha, king of Israel, came against Judah and built a strategic city blocking access in and out of Judah, Asa took treasures from the temple to secure the help of Ben-hadad, king of Syria. Syria attacked Israel from the north, forcing Baasha to abandon the siege city and turn his attention to the Syrians. From Asa’s perspective, the plan worked—but not from God’s. 

God sent a prophet to Asa with this message:

2 Chronicles 16:7-9
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 did not rely on the LORD your God, the army of the king of Syria has escaped you. Were not the Ethiopians and the Libyans a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on the LORD, he gave them into your hand. For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. You have done foolishly in this, for from now on you will have wars. 

Asa was so angry with the prophet that he put him “in the stocks in prison, for he was in a rage with him because of this. And Asa inflicted cruelties upon some of the people at the same time” (2 Chron. 16:10). Asa oppressed those who disagreed with him. 

Unfortunately, Asa did not finish strong. Two years before his death, he was inflicted with a severe disease that began in his feet and spread upward. Recall his earnest prayer when the Ethiopians came against him: “O Lord, there is none like you to help, between the mighty and the weak. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you.” Yet “even in his disease he did not seek the LORD, but sought help from physicians” (2 Chron. 16:12). More than likely, these were Egyptians physicians who claimed to expel illnesses through charms, incantations, and mystical arts. That’s how Asa’s story ends—dismissing God in favor of mystic physicians. 

What happened to Asa? It seems that something in him snapped. His life is a powerful reminder that we can trust God today and, sadly, turn from him tomorrow. Asa’s story reminds us of the importance of finishing well—continuing to grow spiritually and remaining steadfast in our faith to the very end.

PERSONAL TIME WITH GOD
Read and reflect on 2 Chronicles 14-16 .  Where do you see pride or compromise influencing your decisions right now?

Talking to God: Ask God to open your eyes to any compromise in your life. 

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