An error seems to have crept in, in stating the year when Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah and built Ramah. The account in 1 Kings does not give the time this occurred, but as Baasha died in Asa's 26th year (1 Kings 16:88In the twenty and sixth year of Asa king of Judah began Elah the son of Baasha to reign over Israel in Tirzah, two years. (1 Kings 16:8)), it may be well to mention for "thirty fifth" in the last verse of chapter 15, we should read, "twenty fifth"; and in the first verse of our chapter, "twenty sixth" should be substituted for "thirty sixth."
Had it been important that the year should be exactly stated, we are sure that God would have seen to it that no mistakes were made by the men who copied the scriptures in ancient times from book to book.
Baasha built, or strengthened, Ramah to stop the God-fearing Israelites from going to Jerusalem, and it was right that Asa should seek to prevent this work. Satan is ever ready to interfere with the blessing of God's people, but God is able to thwart his designs, and does from time to time, especially when His people ask Him.
Asa, however, does not now seek God's intervention. The regard for God, which had notably marked his earlier years, was not active, and his thought was to seek help from man, even from the sun worshipers of Syria.
To Ben-hadad—"son of the Sun-god" (apparently the official title of Syrian kings), Asa sent silver and gold, taken from the treasures of the temple and from his own house that Soloman had built, with a plea that the Syrians should attack Israel, and thereby stop Baasha from carrying out his plan at Ramah.
Ben-hadad listened to the appeal, and sent the captains of his forces against the nearest (northermost) cities of Israel, and Baasha, as expected, stopped the building of Ramah. Then Asa took all Judah, and they carried away the stones and timber from Ramah, and built or rebuilt with them Geba and Mizpah, cities of Benjamin.
But God would not leave Asa without rebuke, and sent Hanani the seer to him to tell him that he had failed, in relying on the help of the king of Syria, instead of putting his trust in God, and loss was thereby his portion. This was inevitable. The Ethiopians and Libyans, with their million-strong army, were far more dangerous foes than Baasha, but when Asa relied upon God, He delivered them into his hand,
"For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him." (Verse 9.)
What strength for the faint-hearted! What a resource for the feeble, who trust in Jesus! All that is needed is full trust, to make Him the reliance of the heart, and the Christian has naught to fear as he goes from day to day through a scene of the enemy's activities. An unseen, but faithful God, is his friend, his resource, his protector.
Asa was in no mood to receive the rebuke, and he put the seer in the prison, enraged with him; besides he oppressed some of the people at the same time. How untrustworthy man is, at best!
God spoke yet again to Asa, as he neared the end of his long reign: a disease in his feet assailed him, and it became extremely bad. Would he now recognize God's dealing with him, acknowledge his waywardness, and that the affliction was a messenger from Him to speak to his conscience and heart? No, "in his disease he sought not to the Lord, but to the physicians."
The physicians were powerless in a case like his; this dealing of God's could not be averted by man's power.
It will be plainly seen that this illness of Asa's was not a case for "faith healing", but the opposite; it shows that illness may be a chastening from God, a means of blessing to those who are exercised thereby. Asa, however, was not exercised, and in the third year of the reign of the wicked Ahab of Israel, he died.