And he (Azariah,
the son of Oded) went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, 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.
Asa was the king
of Judah from 912-872 B.C. He reigned for 41 years and was known
as a good king who served the Lord with great zeal. He reformed
many things. He broke down idol worship to foreign gods, he put
away male prostitutes and even removed his own mother from being
queen because she worshipped an idol. The scriptures say that as
long as he sought the Lord the Lord would prosper his reign. This
is what happened.
But Asa was not totally faithful in his calling. There came a time
in his life when he made a decision to no longer trust in the God
of Israel. He lost his confidence in God as his deliverer. The
prophet Hanani came to Asa to inform him that God's blessing was
no longer on his life because of an ungodly alliance he made.
Were not the Cushites and Libyans a mighty army with great numbers
of chariots and horsemen? Yet when you relied on the LORD, he
delivered them into your hand. For the eyes of the LORD range
throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully
committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on
you will be at war (2Chr.16:8-9).
There are no guarantees that if we began well we will finish well.
The life of Asa tells us this. It is only through the grace of God
that we can be faithful to our calling. Each of is capable for
falling away from God. Pray that God will keep you faithful to the
purposes He has for your life. He strengthens those whose hearts
are fully committed to him.
