Healing or Cure
1 Kings 15:9-249And in the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel reigned Asa over Judah. 10And forty and one years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom. 11And Asa did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, as did David his father. 12And he took away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. 13And also Maachah his mother, even her he removed from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove; and Asa destroyed her idol, and burnt it by the brook Kidron. 14But the high places were not removed: nevertheless Asa's heart was perfect with the Lord all his days. 15And he brought in the things which his father had dedicated, and the things which himself had dedicated, into the house of the Lord, silver, and gold, and vessels. 16And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. 17And Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and built Ramah, that he might not suffer any to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. 18Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king's house, and delivered them into the hand of his servants: and king Asa sent them to Ben-hadad, the son of Tabrimon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying, 19There is a league between me and thee, and between my father and thy father: behold, I have sent unto thee a present of silver and gold; come and break thy league with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me. 20So Ben-hadad hearkened unto king Asa, and sent the captains of the hosts which he had against the cities of Israel, and smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abel-beth-maachah, and all Cinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali. 21And it came to pass, when Baasha heard thereof, that he left off building of Ramah, and dwelt in Tirzah. 22Then king Asa made a proclamation throughout all Judah; none was exempted: and they took away the stones of Ramah, and the timber thereof, wherewith Baasha had builded; and king Asa built with them Geba of Benjamin, and Mizpah. 23The rest of all the acts of Asa, and all his might, and all that he did, and the cities which he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? Nevertheless in the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet. 24And Asa slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father: and Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his stead. (1 Kings 15:9‑24); 2 Chron. 14-16
Contemporary Prophets: Azariah son of Oded, Hanani, Jehoram
Better is a poor and a wise child, than an old and foolish king, who will no more be admonished. Ecclesiastes. 4:13
Asa’s name means “healing” or “cure,” and indicates the reformation and consequent rest effected by him during the earlier portion of his reign. He made a most excellent beginning.
But he did not stop there; he did more:
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. 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 hath given us rest on every side (6-7).
He was no mere iconoclast. If he had the zeal to break down the images, he had also the wisdom to build fortified cities. To expose evil is very well, but to furnish the soul with truth is what protects it from the invasion of the enemy. They redeemed the time, as we are bidden to do in Eph. 5:1616Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5:16), “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” So God was with them. Encouraged by the king’s words and example, the people entered heartily into the blessed work of building and fortifying.
Well would it have been for the sixteenth century churches had they been as wise after the Reformation, during the rest that followed, and built and fortified themselves in defense of “the faith once for all delivered to the saints.” But alas, they slept; and when the hosts of worldliness, ritualism, and rationalism appeared at their borders, they were utterly unprepared and powerless to repel them. They were not, like Judah, prepared and able to resist the enemy when he came.
And there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian with an host of a thousand thousand, and three hundred chariots; and came unto Mareshah. Then Asa went out against him, and they set the battle in array in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. And Asa cried unto the LORD his God, and said, LORD, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O LORD, thou art our God; let not man [Enosh, frail, mortal man] prevail against thee. So the LORD smote the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled (9-12).
The monuments do not make clear just who this Zerah was. A king called Azerch Amar was reigning over Ethiopia about this time, and the inspired chronicler may have given the Hebrew form of his name.
The greatness of Egypt, which Shishak had raised, diminished at his death. His immediate successors were of no note in the monuments. Zerah seems to have taken advantage of Egypt’s weakness to extort permission to march his enormous force, composed of the same nationalities (Ethiopians and Lubians) as those of the preceding invader, Shishak, through Egypt into Judah (Fausset).
Others identify him with Osorkon II, one of Shishak’s successors. He was son-in-law to Osorkon I, king of Egypt, and ruled in right of his wife. He was, if this be true, an Ethiopian ruling his own country jointly with that of his wife’s (Egypt). And the invasion would then probably be caused by Asa’s refusal to continue paying the tribute imposed on his grandfather Rehoboam by Shishak. But it was one thing for Shishak to invade the land of Judah “because they had transgressed against the LORD” (2 Chron. 12:22And it came to pass, that in the fifth year of king Rehoboam Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, because they had transgressed against the Lord, (2 Chronicles 12:2)), and quite a different matter when Zerah came against them unprovoked. He met his just punishment from God, who loves and defends His people; he was defeated therefore, and his immense army, numbering more than a million, was utterly destroyed.
Asa’s faith rose to blessed heights on this occasion. Though he was in control of a fine army of over a half million “mighty men of valor,” he took the place of entire dependence on God, and made the conflict a matter between God and the enemy. Such faith can never be disappointed.
On Asa’s triumphant return to Jerusalem the Spirit of God came on Azariah (“whom Jehovah helps”) the son of Oded, and he went to meet him, not as a court flatterer, but with a solemn yet cheering word of admonition (2 Chron. 15). He said, “Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The LORD is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.” It was “a word in season”; for it has been truly said that we are never in greater danger than immediately after some great success, even though it be truly from God in answer to genuine faith. David is a sad example. In the chapters preceding that which records his sin with Bathsheba (2 Sam. 11) we read of his continued series of brilliant victories over his enemies. He defeated and subdued the Philistines, Moab, Hadarezer king of Zobah, the Syrians, the Ammonites, and Amalek. Then, as if resting in these victories, his watchfulness was relaxed and the mighty fell. And Asa, his descendant of the fifth generation, was graciously warned of God lest he should also fall into similar condemnation.
Azariah then reminded them that in days gone by (“hath been,” 2 Chron. 15:33Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law. (2 Chronicles 15:3), should be “was”—evidently referring to the days of the Judges) when in apostasy and distress, the people turned to Jehovah God of Israel (see Judg. 5). They sought Him and He was found of them. “Be ye strong therefore,” he said, “and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded.” Asa had probably met with opposition in his reformatory work, and was in danger of failing to continue it to its completion. So he was exhorted to be firm, for there would be a sure reward for his deeds of restoration of the uncorrupted worship of Jehovah in his realm.
And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet [the Vulgate and Syriac manuscripts read, “Azariah son of Oded”], he took courage, and put away the abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from mount Ephraim, and renewed the altar of the LORD, that was before the porch of the LORD (2 Chron. 15:88And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from mount Ephraim, and renewed the altar of the Lord, that was before the porch of the Lord. (2 Chronicles 15:8)).
This was the altar on which Solomon offered burnt offerings when he brought his Egyptian bride into the house that he had built for her (2 Chron. 8:1212Then Solomon offered burnt offerings unto the Lord on the altar of the Lord, which he had built before the porch, (2 Chronicles 8:12)). It had evidently been removed, or allowed to fall into disuse or decay before being rebuilt by Asa.
His great victory over Zerah had its effect on many among the revolted tribes (for nothing wins God’s people like God’s blessing), and “they fell to him out of Israel in abundance, when they saw that the LORD his God was with him” (15:9). Stimulated by these additions to their ranks, the people entered into a covenant “to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul.” The tide of reformation ran high—too high, it is to be feared; for they determined “that whosoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman.” This severity was hardly appropriate coming from a people who had only a short time before been themselves guilty of just such omission. They were excessively demonstrative also. “And they sware unto the LORD with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets.” Such demonstrations were no new thing in Israel. They had been heard before at Sinai and elsewhere, and always with like results—more saying than doing; much promise, and little performance; great anticipation, and scant realization. But there was evident sincerity, and even reality, though mixed with much that was superficial. God, who can discern what is of Himself even when mingled with what is only of the flesh, rewarded them. “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” (15).
Asa was no respecter of persons. He spared not his own mother (or grandmother), but deposed her for her idolatry. “And also concerning Maachah the mother of Asa the king, he removed her from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove: and Asa cut down her idol, and stamped it, and burnt it at the brook Kidron.” It is in a man’s own family circle that his faithfulness is put fairly to the test. Levi was “proved at Massah,” where he “said unto his father and to his mother, I have not seen him; neither did he acknowledge his brethren, nor knew his own children” (Deut. 33:8-98And of Levi he said, Let thy Thummim and thy Urim be with thy holy one, whom thou didst prove at Massah, and with whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah; 9Who said unto his father and to his mother, I have not seen him; neither did he acknowledge his brethren, nor knew his own children: for they have observed thy word, and kept thy covenant. (Deuteronomy 33:8‑9)). Gideon too began his work for God by breaking down the altar of Baal that his father had set up. And in the apostolic church men could not serve as elders or deacons if they had not properly regulated homes. And He who was called “Faith-fill and True” said, when occasion required, “Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?” (Matt. 12:4848But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? (Matthew 12:48).)
“In the six and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa, Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah, and built Ramah, to the intent that he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah” (2 Chron. 16:11In the six and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah, and built Ramah, to the intent that he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. (2 Chronicles 16:1)). This verse, when compared with 1 Kings 15:3333In the third year of Asa king of Judah began Baasha the son of Ahijah to reign over all Israel in Tirzah, twenty and four years. (1 Kings 15:33) and 16:8, presents a chronological difficulty. Baasha must have been dead ten years before the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign, according to the above references. And we cannot be always falling back, in these seeming discrepancies, on a supposed error in transcription. The only apparent way out of the difficulty is to take “the six and thirtieth year” to date from the beginning of Judah as a separate kingdom from Israel. This would make the event to occur in the sixteenth year of the actual reign of Asa and shortly after the occurrences of the preceding chapter. Ramah was on the high road from the northern kingdom. It would be natural for Baasha to take immediate steps to fortify this key city on the frontier, and thus check any further secessions to Asa from his dominion.
Then Asa brought out silver and gold out of the treasures of the house of the LORD and of the king’s house, and sent to Benhadad king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying, There is a league between me and thee, as there was between my father and thy father: behold, I have sent thee silver and gold; go, break thy league with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me (2 Chron. 16:2-32Then Asa brought out silver and gold out of the treasures of the house of the Lord and of the king's house, and sent to Ben-hadad king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying, 3There is a league between me and thee, as there was between my father and thy father: behold, I have sent thee silver and gold; go, break thy league with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me. (2 Chronicles 16:2‑3)).
It is difficult to account for this sudden defect in Asa’s faith. He had only recently, with God’s help, completely destroyed the immense army of Zerah the Ethiopian. Now, before an enemy not half so formidable, his faith fails, and he depends for deliverance on an arm of flesh. Had not his father Abijah, in dependence on the Lord, defeated a former army of Israel double the size of his own? It was the beginning of Asa’s downfall; for though the desired deliverance was obtained (for “Benhadad hearkened unto King Asa,” and Baasha “left off building of Ramah, and let his work cease”), it cost him the rebuke of God and wars to the end of his reign.
And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said unto him, Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria, and not relied on the LORD thy God, therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thy hand. Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubim a huge host, with very many chariots and horsemen? yet, because thou didst rely on the LORD, he delivered them into thine 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 [or sincere] toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars (16:7-9).
“Therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thy hand.” Instead of calling on Benhadad for help, Asa could have subdued him, as “escaped out of thy hand” implies. David had reigned over Damascus, and only in the days of Solomon’s degeneracy did Syria begin to exist as a separate and independent kingdom (see 1 Kings 11:23-2523And God stirred him up another adversary, Rezon the son of Eliadah, which fled from his lord Hadadezer king of Zobah: 24And he gathered men unto him, and became captain over a band, when David slew them of Zobah: and they went to Damascus, and dwelt therein, and reigned in Damascus. 25And he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, beside the mischief that Hadad did: and he abhorred Israel, and reigned over Syria. (1 Kings 11:23‑25)). Its first king “was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon... and he abhorred Israel, and reigned over Syria.” This continued to be the attitude of Syria toward Israel; but it was in God’s heart to use Asa to destroy this heathen power, which in future days caused His people so much sorrow and distress (see 2 Kings 8:11-1311And he settled his countenance stedfastly, until he was ashamed: and the man of God wept. 12And Hazael said, Why weepeth my lord? And he answered, Because I know the evil that thou wilt do unto the children of Israel: their strong holds wilt thou set on fire, and their young men wilt thou slay with the sword, and wilt dash their children, and rip up their women with child. 13And Hazael said, But what, is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing? And Elisha answered, The Lord hath showed me that thou shalt be king over Syria. (2 Kings 8:11‑13)). But he missed his opportunity; and when charged by Hanani with folly, he committed the seer to prison for his faithfulness. “Then Asa was wroth with the seer, and put him in a prison house; for he was in a rage with him because of this thing. And Asa oppressed some of the people the same time” – the seer’s sympathizers, probably (2 Chron. 16:1010Then Asa was wroth with the seer, and put him in a prison house; for he was in a rage with him because of this thing. And Asa oppressed some of the people the same time. (2 Chronicles 16:10)). His petty anger (at what he knew only too well to be the truth) betrayed a low condition of soul from which he never evidently recovered; and his end was humiliating as his beginning had been brilliant. “And Asa, in the thirty and ninth year of his reign, was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not to the LORD, but to the physicians” (12). In all this record, let us hear and take to ourselves the Lord’s word, “He that hath an ear to hear, let him hear.”
It is easily seen why the chronicler should write of Asa’s acts “first and last” (2 Chron. 16:1111And, behold, the acts of Asa, first and last, lo, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. (2 Chronicles 16:11)). “Ye did run well: who did hinder you?” might be asked of many besides the Galatians and Asa. Important as a good beginning is, it is not all: we are called to run with endurance the race that is set before us. But when God’s people become diseased in their feet, they cease to run well; and though they may try various expedients, such as ritualism, revivalism, the union of churches, etc., to recover themselves, they are every one of them physicians of no value. “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation,” wrote a notable backslider (Psa. 51:1212Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. (Psalm 51:12)). It is Jehovah who says through His prophet, “I will heal their backslidings.”
There was a great funeral made over Asa, and he appears to have been sincerely lamented by his people.
Asa’s history reveals his weaknesses: God, in His comments on his character, gives no hint of them (2 Chron. 20:32; 21:1232And he walked in the way of Asa his father, and departed not from it, doing that which was right in the sight of the Lord. (2 Chronicles 20:32)
12And there came a writing to him from Elijah the prophet, saying, Thus saith the Lord God of David thy father, Because thou hast not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat thy father, nor in the ways of Asa king of Judah, (2 Chronicles 21:12)). He loves to commend whatever is lovely in His servants’ lives, and only when necessary exposes their failures and follies. May we in this, as in all things else, be “imitators of God” (Eph. 5:11Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; (Ephesians 5:1)).