If you have a test at school, is it all right to have a secret helper? Of course not, and if you do, you are cheating! But King Asa had a helper, and it was not cheating. Here is the story.
Asa was a young king, and he began his reign by telling all his people how important it is to obey the Lord God, and he showed them how. First of all, he set to work to chop down the false altars and idols. Next he built cities with strong walls, towers, gates and bars. Then he made his soldiers strong with shields and spears. Good work, King Asa!
It was a happy time for the king and his people. They had ten years of enjoying the good things God gave them. It was a time of peace, with no sad lists of soldiers killed in war.
And then came fear.
A great army of a million soldiers came to fight them! King Asa had a big army, but this enemy was almost twice as big, and they came to fight and kill and win.
What can you do when you face an enemy twice your size? Here’s the answer for King Asa and for you too. “Call upon Me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me” (Psalm 50:1515And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. (Psalm 50:15)).
King Asa prayed. Lord, it is nothing for Thee to help, whether with many or with them who have no power. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rest on Thee and in Thy name we go against this great enemy. O Lord, Thou art our God. Let not this enemy conquer against Thee!
Did you notice how his prayer ended? He did not say, Let not this enemy conquer against us. He said, Let not this enemy conquer against Thee! The battle was not between the two armies. The enemy was coming against GOD! Now who wins?
The Lord God struck the invaders, and King Asa and his army chased them all the way back to the city of Gerar and overthrew them. They were destroyed before the Lord and His army. In fact, King Asa’s men not only conquered them, they ended up far richer than they were before! They found great numbers of cattle and sheep and camels, and they brought them back for their own people, along with spoils taken from the cities.
Did you notice that this story began with King Asa destroying the worship of idols and false gods? Maybe you don’t worship idols, but what do you worship? Something of your own choosing? You cannot truly go into the holy presence of God except by the blood of Jesus. “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:77But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (1 John 1:7)). If you know Him as your very own Savior, you can come boldly into God’s presence by the blood of Jesus. And when Satan and all his army come against you, you can be more than a conqueror! Would you rather go down to defeat now and forever, without Christ?
King Asa’s soldiers and all his people were gloriously triumphant! The prophet Azariah came out to meet them, to encourage and warn them. He reminded them that trusting in God brings victory and forsaking God brings defeat. Now they knew the secret of success.
King Asa listened to Azariah and brought together a huge, eager crowd. They took away the idols, offered a sacrifice of seven hundred bulls and seven thousand sheep, and then made a very solemn promise with true hearts and souls: We will seek the Lord God, and if anyone doesn’t do this, he will be put to death!
This was a loud promise, with shouts and trumpets and rams’ horns, and everyone was rejoicing. And the Lord God gave them rest from war.
Do you think the king kept his promise? Read the next story and see.
Think About God’s Word!
1. Who did Asa tell the Lord that the million-man army had come to fight?
Project: David also faced some very serious dangers in his life. One of them is described in 1 Samuel 30. What was his trouble and how did he deal with it?