Dr. Paul Manuel—2008
Some people are always in the market for what will make life easier—a shorter workweek, a higher-paying job...a less-demanding church. In an appeal to those looking for something in that third category, I came across this advertisement.
Has the heaviness of your old-fashioned church got you weighed down? Try us! We are the New and Improved Lite Church of the Valley. Studies have shown we have 24% fewer commitment expectations than other churches. We are the home of the 7½% tithe. We promise a 35-minute worship service with an 8-minute sermon. Next week's exciting text is Jesus' parable, "The Feeding of the 500." We have only 6 Commandments—your choice! We use just 3 gospels in our contemporary New Testament, with the politically correct title, Good Sound Bites for Modern Human Beings. We take an offering every other week, all major credit cards accepted, of course. As we move into the future, we are eagerly anticipating that 800-year Millennium. Yes, the New and Improved Lite Church of the Valley could be just what you are looking for. We are everything you want in a church...and less!Some people are always in the market for what will make life easier. This is not a new trend, of course. Even in ancient Israel, people wanted something easier, less-demanding than what God expected, and idolatrous worship offered that alternative. Other gods levied few, if any, demands on their devotees, which made them attractive to those who did not have the time or want to expend the effort that serving the true God entailed. Political leaders, especially kings, had to decide which deity, if any, their administration would actively promote and what other deities, if any, their administration would simply tolerate. While most kings chose poorly, some chose well, like King Asa, the monarch in our message this morning.
When you are young, ten years is a long time. As you get older, ten years is not so long, especially when you begin to group years and think in terms of decades. Realizing that this Sabbath marks our tenth year here, I wondered if ten years had any particular significance in scripture, so I looked at all the references to that period. My research was not very encouraging.2 There are only a few passages, and the first entry marks an event that did not turn out well.
Gen 16:3 ...after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian maidservant Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife.What was he thinking? ...Two other ten-year occurrences also do not end well.
Judg 12:11 ...Elon the Zebulunite led Israel ten years. 12a Then [he] died....
Ruth 1:4 [Naomi's two sons, after marrying] Orpah and...Ruth...lived [in Moab] about ten years. 5a [Then both sons] died....This is not a good pattern.... The next ten-year mark in scripture was a costly one for God's people.
2 Kgs 15:17b Menahem...became king of Israel land]...reigned...ten years.... 19a Then [the] king of Assyria, invaded the land....[and exacted] a thousand talents of silver [as tribute {= 1 talent = 95 lbs. = 1520 oz. x $12 oz. = $18,240}, a tax Menahem helpfully passed on to his subjects].The last mention of a decade in the Bible is the only good one. Please turn to 2 Chr 14.
2 Chr 14:1 ...Abijah rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David. Asa his son succeeded him as king, and in his days the [land] was at peace [lit. "quiet"] for ten years [910-900 B.C.E.].What made that era different, and does it offer any guidance for us? Unlike the others, this was A Decade of Devotion—A Period of Peace for God's people.3
Reading on from v. 1, we note how...
I. The Reasons for Peace Reflect the King's Commitment to God.
2 Chr 14:2 Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God. 3 He removed the foreign altars and the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. 4 He commanded Judah to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, and to obey his laws and commands. 5 He removed the high places and incense altars in every town in Judah, and the kingdom was at peace [lit. "quiet"] under him.The civil war that led to the formation of two kingdoms, Judah in the south and Israel in the north, continued on and off for many years. Only after Abijah, Asa's father, won a decisive victory did military engagements between the two factions abate. It is in the aftermath of this struggle that Asa assumes the throne of Judah and benefits from the gains his father had made. Unlike his father, though, whose dedication to God received mixed reviews from the biblical writers, Asa is a devoted king. In fact...
A. Asa's character determines the king's priority (2Chr 14:2).According to v. 2, he "did what was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God." This is a common expression the author uses to differentiate the eight righteous Judean kings from the eleven unrighteous Judean kings, about whom he says they "did evil in the eyes of the LORD."4 In all cases, though, it is not the author's judgment but God's.
There is something about Asa that separates him from the majority of kings who will rule the Southern Kingdom, the same thing that identifies him with the minority of Judean monarchs. It is the king's attitude about worship, specifically his compliance with one of the most important commands in scripture, stated clearly in the Decalogue. Which command is that? ...We find it at the head of that
list, although it appears throughout the Pentateuch:5
Exod 20:3 You shall have no other gods before me.Whatever the biblical authors say about the accomplishments of a particular king, from recording his exploits in battle to listing his building projects to giving the number of his wives, the most common piece of information and the one that ultimately decides the evaluation of his reign is whether or not he heeded this command. More than anything else, it is what marks a king and his tenure in office as good or bad, as a success or a failure in God's eyes.
America does not have a king, someone who inherits the reins of authority. Unlike the people of Judah, you choose your leaders, in the church and in the country. While the specific qualifications for those posts differ, there is one trait that should be a common criterion in your selection for either position. That is personal integrity, because the strength and quality of an official's character will usually determine the strength and quality of his governance. This requires you to know something about an individual before he takes office, to examine his performance, because the choices he has made in the past will probably not be much different from the choices he will make in the future. For that evaluation you must look beyond an individual's rhetoric, what he says he will do, and examine his record, what he actually has done.6 You must ask: Is there a credibility gap between speech and deed that requires caution or more careful examination?7
This is, in fact, a frequent admonition in scripture: God's people must look beyond a leader's words8 and consider his works.9 As the apostle Paul says...
1 Thess 5:21 Test everything [and h]old on to the good.You must decide if an individual who is trying to win your support, is really telling you what he believes and intends to do or is simply telling you what he thinks you want to hear.10
Some day, we may know God's evaluation of our leaders even as we know His evaluation of Judah's leaders. For now, we will have to be satisfied with the latter. We can say that King Asa is a success, and his character determines the king's priority. Moreover...
B. Asa's conduct demonstrates the king's sincerity (2 Chr 14:3, 5).When Asa assumes the throne, there are pagan elements from previous administrations that are already well-established. His great-grandfather, King Solomon, toward the end of his reign, promoted the worship of false gods in the theocratic state.
1 Kgs 11:4a As Solomon grew old, his [many foreign] wives turned his heart after other gods.... 5a He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians.... 7a ...[He] built a high place for Chemosh the detestable god of Moab, and for Molech the detestable god of the Ammonites.Rehoboam, Solomon's son, broadened this movement away from God so that...
1 Kgs 14:23 [The people] set up for themselves high places, sacred stones and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every spreading tree.When Abijah, Asa's father, assumed the throne, he made the conflict with the Northern Kingdom his most pressing concern and allowed those ungodly elements to remain in Judah undisturbed. By the time Asa is king, state-sponsored paganism has a 25-year history and a strong lobby in the government. In modem parlance, it is an entrenched special interest with considerable political clout. Allowing matters to remain as they are would certainly be the easier course for a new administration, but Asa puts his commitment to God before political expediency: "He removed" the pagan centers of worship.11
Why does the biblical author mention the reforms twice and in separate verses, 3 and 5? Notice that what the king does is similar—both verses mention "high places"—but the actions are not identical. These verses probably represent different stages of reform, each of which requires a different level of public cooperation. V. 3 describes the changes that are easiest for the king to make on his own, the ones in and around the capital, purging what his great-grandfather Solomon permitted. V. 5, following as it does the king's public appeal in v. 4, represents changes that require and receive public support from those outside the capital "in every town in Judah," purging what his grandfather Rehoboam permitted. Asa puts his commitment to God before political expediency as well as before the family's history, and his conduct demonstrates the king's sincerity.
When the epitaph of your life is written, what will mark you as a success or a failure in God's eyes? ...It will not be your accomplishments—your achievements in business or the size of your bank account or the number of vehicles you own. More than gmything else, what will mark you as a success or a failure is whether or not you put God above everything else. As Moses exhorts the Israelites,
Deut 6:5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.Similarly, Jesus says...
Luke 14:33 ...any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.God expects exclusive and extensive devotion from His people.12 Nothing less is worthy of Him, so nothing else will do.13
When Asa assumes the throne, he must alter the tone of politics in Jerusalem, which he does not by being hopeful of change but by being faithful to God. Breaking the pattern of previous administrations, the king charts a new direction, a direction the Lord encourages by bringing peace to the region. As we will see next time, it is a respite that enables Asa to turn the people of Judah again to their God.
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Initially, a politician may aspire to office because he wants to help people. Once in office, though, the temptations of power and greed may cause him to embrace a less altruistic motive. It is a change he would deny publicly, but privately he may wonder what price he will have to pay.
A politician awoke in a hospital bed after a complicated operation and found that the curtains were drawn around him. "Why are the curtains closed," he asked the nurse. "Is it night?" "No," she replied. "It's just that there's a fire across the street, and we didn't want you to wake up and think...that the operation was unsuccessful."Thankfully, some politicians do have and maintain good motives, like King Asa of Judah, whose administration sees A Decade of Devotion—A Period of Peace for God's people.
When Asa assumes the throne of Judah, he sets a new course for the Southern Kingdom. Please turn to...
2 Chr 14:2 J Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God. 3 He removed the foreign altars and the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. 4 He commanded Judah to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, and to obey his laws and commands. 5 He removed the high places and incense altars in every town in Judah, and the kingdom was at peace [lit. "quiet"] under him.Unlike his father and grandfather, whose dedication to God receives poor reviews from the biblical writers, Asa is a devoted king. In fact...
A. Asa's character determines the king's priority (2 Chr 14:2).He understands the importance of the first command in the Decalogue where the Lord says...
Exod 20:3 You shall have no other gods before me.That recognition is largely what earns him a positive evaluation and prepares him for what he will encounter while on the throne.
The people of Judah do not have the option of choosing their leader. Fortunately for them, Asa is a good successor to the throne, because his character determines the king's priority. Moreover...
B. Asa's conduct demonstrates the king's sincerity (2 Chr 14:3,5).Asa puts his faith in God to work for God. He eliminates many of the foreign religious elements previous monarchs had permitted, even encouraged. Whatever pressures his new administration encounters, and they probably include the strong lobby of entrenched paganism, Asa puts his commitment to God before political expediency: "He removed" the idolatrous centers of worship.
In many ways, as the king goes, so goes the nation. Unless there is some compelling reason to change,14 most people will follow the direction of their leaders.[15] If the king forsook the true God to serve false gods, so did the people, but if the king chose to serve the Lord, the people generally followed, as they do in Asa's case,16 and during this respite from war...
II. The Results of Peace Refresh the People's Commitment to God.
Look again at v. 4...
2 Chr 14:4 He commanded Judah to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, and to obey his laws and commands.... 6 He built up the fortified cities of Judah, since the land was at peace [lit. "at rest"]. No one was at war with him during those years, for the LORD gave him rest.17In the examples of national change, when it occurs, it starts from the top. That is, when the king decides to serve God, his example usually inspires the people to serve God.
Theodore Roosevelt regarded the power and prestige of the American presidency as a platform to promote a particular agenda, and he coined a phrase to describe that exceptional degree of influence: "bully pulpit." It is a modern term but not a modern concept.King Asa uses his "bully pulpit" as head of the Judean monarchy in the same way, as a platform to promote a particular agenda: service to God.18 Here...
A. Asa's command compels the people's loyalty (2 Chr 14:4).It helps, of course, if the king has credibility, if what he expects from the people matches what he expects from himself. In this case, people know Asa has a single standard-God's standard—expecting the same commitment from them as he has made himself. Therefore, when "[h]e command[s] Judah to seek the LORD... and to obey his laws...." (v. 4), the king's appeal represents more than the power of the monarchy; it has a personal element of reliability that also induces people's compliance.
Solomon's pagan worship sites started a national movement away from God, movement his son Rehoboam continued to the point that "he and all Israel with him abandoned the law of the LORD" (2 Chr 12:1). By the time Asa is on the throne, God's word is still a familiar concept to people, but it is not part of their lives.19 With a decline in the word of God comes a decline in the worship of God, as participation in the temple is also not part of many people's lives. Therefore, the king has to reacquaint them with all of this, which he does by reminding them about God's word and by renewing with them God's covenant, an event the author describes later.20
There will come a time in Judah's history, when people will no longer recognize God's word, when references to His laws will mean nothing. It is usually a gradual process, as the distractions of life turn them from God and eventually take them from God.21 King Asa may see the beginning of that trend and the need to reverse it before the people stray too far.
Likewise, you must not allow the distractions of life to turn you from God, because they will eventually take you from God. It is usually a gradual process. You grow lax in an area, perhaps in your attendance at church or Sabbath School or Bible study. You have a reason, of course—there is always a reason—and there is no immediate problem that arises, no lightening from heaven, so you do nothing to change. On the contrary, you enjoy the freedom it brings to do other things, important things:
- Take a much-needed nap,
- Finish some project at home,
- Go shopping,
- Get caught up on the laundry,
- Relax in front of the TV.
A man I know had a disagreement with the minister of the church he and his wife were attending. He stopped going, and his wife, not wanting to attend without her husband, also stopped going. For the husband, it was an act of protest; he had a good reason. Time passed, and nothing changed. The disagreement remained unresolved, and the couple continued not to attend the church. In fact, they did not attend any church. They were enjoying the freedom to do other things and had grown accustomed to having that space in their schedule. They had forgotten the admonition in...
Heb 10:25a Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing....Still, no immediate problem arose for them, no lightening from heaven, so the couple did nothing to change. That is their current state, but it will not remain so. Having given ground in one area, sooner or later, they will become lax elsewhere.
So, where does what God considers important, like church, fit in your schedule? There was a period, not too long ago, when the Sabbath and even Sunday, was an all-day affair. It still is in some cultures, but not in ours, and we are definitely poorer for it. Have you confined your church involvement to a time slot on Sabbath morning? Is even that firm, or do you let other things displace it? ... You have a good reason, or course. Usually, it starts with the phrase: "This is the only time...
- This is the only time the school offers these activities for the kids.
- This is the only time the family gets together.
- This is the only time the sale is on.
- This is the only time I have to work on my tan.
Here is a radical notion: Instead of reducing the church's role in your life, look for ways to expand it? You must do more than arrest the trend. Like treading water, which only lasts as long as you can hold your position, eventually, you will tire and sink. So with your role in the church, you must reverse the trend. You must go in a particular direction, preferably to a place of safety, like swimming toward shore. If you do not grow toward God, you will shrink from God.
After reinvigorating the people's relationship to God by renewing their covenant with God, Asa does not sit back, heave a huge sign of relief, and say, "Well now, that's done." The king capitalizes on their singular focus by mobilizing their joint effort to address an item of national and personal concern, as...
B. Asa's construction bolsters the people's security (2 Chr 14:6).Judah is currently not in conflict with any of its neighbors, but there is no certainty how long that situation will last. The nation's enemies still look for weakness they can exploit. King Asa cannot prevent an attack, but he can take advantage of this respite and prepare for one, so "He built up the fortified cities of Judah, since the land was at peace" (2 Chr 14:6a), and it seemed to provide an effective deterrent: "No one was at war with him during those years, for the LORD gave him rest" (2 Chr 14:6b).22
When God gives us respite, whether at the completion of a church project or in the aftermath of a church conflict, it is important that we not sit back, heave a sigh of relief, and stop. Quite the contrary, it is important that we take advantage of the opportunity and move forward. Sometimes a church stops not because something is over but simply because it loses momentum. Whatever energy or inertia once moved events along has dissipated, and things are at a standstill. For whatever reason a church ceases to advance, it must not remain that way, and this passage offers a two-step solution for moving forward:
- Step #1: Confirm your commitment.
As Jesus said,
Matt 6:33a ...seek first his kingdom and his righteousness....As the apostle Paul also said,23
1 Cor 10:24 Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.... 33b [Even as] I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.That is step #1: Confirm your commitment.
- Step #2: Clarify your goals.
2 Chr 14:6 No one was at war with him during those years, for the LORD gave him rest.Few churches today can undertake effectively several projects at once. Usually faced with a number of options, people must decide which one is most urgent or most feasible, then concentrate their energy and resources on reaching that goal before they undertake another. The challenge facing us is similar. We have attempted several things in the past, but only a few have met with success. That should not discourage us. On the contrary, it should motivate us to keep trying. We must rethink our mission and, if necessary, retool our ministry, finding projects that do not ignore our weaknesses but that play to our strengths. Soon after I came to the Cove, someone gave me a card with a verse of encouragement I have not forgotten. It is something Jesus said to his disciples...
Luke 16:10a [NAS] He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much....What matters to God is not the size of our congregation but the strength of our convictions. Will we make His goals our goals and give them the priority they deserve? That is step #2: Clarify your goals.
King Asa went on to reign over Judah for over thirty more years, but the first ten set his rule most sharply in contrast to those of previous monarchs. His character marked him as a man committed to God, and his conduct proved that commitment in specific ways. As a result, his command elicited a positive response from the people, and his construction reinforced that response as God enabled him to strengthen the nation's defenses. It was A Decade of Devotion—A Period of Peace for God's people.
Notice the corollary between Asa's relationship to God and God's response to Asa.25 For the king's devotion, the Lord granted peace, not just the cessation of conflict but the opportunity for productivity. During this time, Asa was able to accomplish several significant goals, two of which we considered.26 He...
- Revitalized the people's piety and
- Reinforced the cities' security
- Rebuilt the monarchy's military and
- Replenished the temple's treasury
For the Bibliography and Endnotes, see the pdf here.
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Jim Skaggs