Lesson 295 - Senior
Memory Verse
"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" (II Chronicles 15:2).
Cross References
I Asa's Good Beginning
1. He destroyed idolatry, [2CH:14:1-3]; [2CH:15:8], [2CH:15:16-17].
2. He exhorted Judah to seek God, [2CH:14:4].
3. He gave to God silver and gold, [2CH:15:18]; [MAL:3:8-12].
4. He obeyed the Prophet, [2CH:15:1-8].
5. He made a covenant with God, [2CH:15:9-15].
6. He prayed, [2CH:14:11].
II The Results of Asa's Right Doing
1. The land had rest, [2CH:14:5-6]; [2CH:15:19]; [DEU:28:1-14].
2. They built and prospered, [2CH:14:7-8].
3. God answered Asa's prayer, [2CH:14:9-15].
III Asa's Failure
1. Asa makes a league with the ungodly, [2CH:16:1-6]; [2CO:6:14], [2CH:15:17-18]; [PS:118:8-9].
2. God condemns the league, [2CH:16:7-9]; [PS:33:16]; [PS:146:3]; [ISA:31:1].
3. Asa is angry at the Word of the Lord, [2CH:16:10]; [1PE:2:20].
4. Asa turns to the physicians, [2CH:16:11-12]; [JER:17:5-8]; [JOB:13:15].
5. Asa dies, [2CH:16:13-14]; [EZE:33:13].
IV Our Trust in God for Healing
1. Healing is provided in the Atonement, [ISA:53:4-5].
2. The elders are to be called, [JAM:5:13-15]; [ACT:19:11-12].
3. Healing is promised us, [MAK:16:18].
Notes
Asa's Campaign Against Idolatry
Asa started his reign with a campaign against idolatry. "He took away the altars of the strange gods, and the high places.” However, we read that "the high places were not removed” [1KG:15:14]). It is evident that Asa made a distinction between the high places where altars were erected to strange gods, and the high places that had been used to offer sacrifices to the true God. (See [1SM:9:12]; [1SM:10:5]; [1KG:3:4].) "The high places were not removed: nevertheless Asa's heart was perfect with the LORD all his days.” This indicates that God would have all the high places removed and sacrifices made only at the Temple in Jerusalem. (See [DEU:12:13-14].) It also lets us know that Asa never turned to idolatry. The statement that Asa's heart was perfect all his days refer only to the matter of idolatry and does not refer to his entire conduct or to Christian perfection as we know it today.
Prosperity and Trials
"Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people” [PRO:14:34]). God has promised great and numerous blessings to those who hearken unto His voice: "Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. . . . Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store” [DEU:28:3], [DEU:28:5]). Judah enjoyed these blessings under the reign of Asa, and at the beginning of his reign God gave them peace for ten years. "So they built and prospered” [2CH:14:7]).
When one enjoys the blessings of God and everything is coming his way, and he is riding, as it were, on the crest of the wave, he may think that things will always be favourable. Such is not always the case. Trials sometimes come –- unexpected and unprovoked. An army one million strong confronted Asa. When Judah was apparently in the midst of peace and prosperity, this huge host of the Ethiopians came against them. But Asa had not forgotten God; he had fortified himself in the time of plenty. Often men forget God under favourable circumstances, but it is possible to build up a spiritual reserve so that when the testing time comes one will not be overthrown. (See [JUD:1:20-21].) It is true that the testing time should cause heart-searching and renewing of vows, but if one's confidence has remained steadfast, he can say: "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” [2CH:14:11]).
"So the Lord smote the Ethiopians before Asa” (II Chro-nicles 14:12). It means much to be prayed up and in good standing so that in times of emergency our faith channels are clear. It is well to know when sickness or distresses come that there is nothing between us and God, and that we are in His hands. The Lord turned this battle into a great victory for Asa. The people that were with him carried away exceedingly much spoil, and sheep and camels in abundance. Just so, our trials will be turned into victories if we keep ourselves in God's care. "Count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations” [JAM:1:2]). "That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory” [1PE:1:7]).
Enduring to the End
When Asa returned to Jerusalem with the spoils, the Prophet Azariah met him with this message from God: "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” [2CH:15:2]). This message is a warning to all who would make Heaven their home: that it is necessary to "endure unto the end” [MAT:24:13]). The word of the Lord through the Prophet Ezekiel is very emphatic concerning this subject: "When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it” [EZE:33:13]). Eternal life depends upon continuing steadfastly until the end.
From the pages of history the Prophet showed Judah the period when Israel was without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law. It was a dark picture indeed -– a time when there was no peace. We read that the "highways were unoccupied, and the travellers walked through byways. The inhabitants of the villages ceased” [JUG:5:6-7]), for Israel dwelt in dens and caves. All this came to pass because they had forsaken the Lord: "The LORD is with you, while ye be with him; . . . but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you” [2CH:15:2]).
Wholehearted Service
King Asa and the people accepted the words of the Prophet and entered into a covenant to serve the Lord. Seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep, which the Lord had given them in the battle were offered upon the altar, and the covenant was sealed, "that whosoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel should be put to death” [2CH:15:13]). It was a drastic oath, but God honoured it. God was pleased: "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” [2CH:15:15]). When you shall search for Him with all your heart the promise of God is, "I will be found of you” [JER:29:13-14]). Anything short of wholehearted service is displeasing to God. To be spewed out of God's mouth is the indictment against the lukewarm.
Failure
It was in the thirty-sixth year of his reign that Asa began to slip. Think of it! Thirty-five years of faithful service, thirty-five years of running well, thirty-five years filled with good deeds – and then to fail! This emphasizes the necessity of daily consecration, of watching, and of prayer. "Ye did run well; who did hinder you?” [GAL:5:7]). What is the matter, Asa? Did you forget to pray? Did you get so big and self-sufficient that you thought you could handle the situation without the help of God? Are you now so rich that you can buy your way out instead of looking to the Lord? Are you now so far away from God that the message of the Prophet makes you angry? Humble yourself, Asa, and the Lord will hear you. But Asa did not humble himself. He hardened himself, and put the Prophet in prison, and oppressed some of the people, too.
Divine Healing
Thus the Sacred Writ would end the acts of Asa except to add: "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” [2CH:16:12]). Once again Asa shows a lack of trust in God and a distinct leaning to the arm of flesh. Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD” [JER:17:5]). Some people think the Lord heals through the work of physicians; others feel that divine healing is optional -- to be resorted to if one has faith, or to be shunned as one sees fit. But the implication given here is that Asa did wrong: first, in not seeking the Lord; and second, in turning to the physicians.
The Bible clearly teaches divine healing in both the Old and New Testaments. "I am the LORD that healeth thee” [EXO:15:26]). "Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases” (Palm 103:2-3). "Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. . . . Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up” [JAM:5:13-15]). May God help his people to put their trust in Him and not lean upon the arm of flesh. "Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, . . . Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD” [JER:17:5-7]). Would you be like Asa who sought the physicians, or like Job who said, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him” [JOB:13:15])?
Questions
1. Over what country did Asa rule?
2. Describe the first years of Asa's reign.
3. How long did Asa reign before any evil is told of him?
4. How large was the Ethiopian army that came against Asa?
5. Name two instances in which Asa failed to trust God.
6. To what is a man likened who trusts in man? in the Lord?
7. Find Scriptural proof that it is possible to backslide and be lost.
8. Give Scriptural proof that we can profit from our trials as Asa did from his battle with the Ethiopians.
9. Find four expressions in the lesson that show that Judah wholeheartedly sought God.
10. Compare Job's afflictions and trust in God with that of Asa's.