2 Chronicles 16:1-6
We don't know a lot about Baasha, the king of the northern part of the kingdom. However, we do know he killed King Nadab in order to succeed him on the throne. He brought war to Judah after 35 year's of Asa's peaceful reign. Baasha build the city of Ramah, only five miles north of Jerusalem bring a clear threat to Judah. Asa made a treaty with Syria, sending gold and silve rto buy their loyalty and encourage them to break ranks with Israel. This is odd after seeing Asa's trust in the Lord when he faced Zerah, the Ethiopian general and his vst army. Asa's prayer was of faith and trust in the Lord alone.
But the ploy worked. Syria began to attack Israel. This moved Baasha's focus to defending his own cities rather than building Ramah and attacking Judah.
2 Chronicles 16:7-10
"For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him." Asa knew this and had experienced this grace from God. Yet, he let is eyes and his heart deceive him. It can happen so quickly, so easily. The Lord spoke through the prophet Hanani. This act of distrust allowed the Syrian army to slip from their hand. Trust in the Lord equated to peace in the land; distrust in the Lord – or trust in Syrian equated to war. Asa responded to the word of the Lord by attacking the messenger. Asa seemed to have started down the path of distrust and refused to turn back. His rage and distrust led him to oppression of his people.
2 Chronicles 16:11-14
Asa apparently died from some disease that started in his feet during his thirty ninth year of reign. The Chronicler notes that he didn't seek the Lord for this ailment in his feet but instead consulted physicians; implying he trusted the physicians but failed to seek the Lord regarding this.It took a few years for this to kill him; this was seemlngly a long and painful death. Asa was honored after his death with this very great burning.
©2017 Doug Ford
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