Good and right in the eyes of the Lord
2 Chronicles 14:2-15:9
Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God, for he removed the altars of the foreign gods and the high places, and broke down the sacred pillars and cut down the wooden images. He commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers, and to observe the law and the commandment. He also removed the high places and the incense altars from all the cities of Judah, and the kingdom was quiet under him. And he built fortified cities in Judah, for the land had rest; he had no war in those years, because the Lord had given him rest. Therefore he said to Judah,
“Let us build these cities and make walls around them, and towers, gates, and bars, while the land is yet before us, because we have sought the Lord our God; we have sought Him, and He has given us rest on every side.” So they built and prospered.
And Asa had an army of three hundred thousand from Judah who carried shields and spears, and from Benjamin two hundred and eighty thousand men who carried shields and drew bows; all these were mighty men of valor.
Then Zerah the Ethiopian came out against them with an army of a million men and three hundred chariots, and he came to Mareshah. So Asa went out against him, and they set the troops in battle array in the Valley of Zephathah at Mareshah.
And Asa cried out to the Lord his God, and said, “Lord, it is nothing for You to help, whether with many or with those who have no power; help us, O Lord our God, for we rest on You, and in Your name we go against this multitude. O Lord, You are our God; do not let man prevail against You!”
Now the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded. And he went out to meet Asa, and said to him: “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you. For a long time Israel has been without the true God, without a teaching priest, and without law; but when in their trouble they turned to the Lord God of Israel, and sought Him, He was found by them And in those times there was no peace to the one who went out, nor to the one who came in, but great turmoil was on all the inhabitants of the lands. So nation was destroyed by nation, and city by city, for God troubled them with every adversity. But you, be strong and do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded!”
And when Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and removed the abominable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities which he had taken in the mountains of Ephraim; and he restored the altar of the Lord that was before the vestibule of the Lord.
Then he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and those who dwelt with them from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon, for they came over to him in great numbers from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.
This passage stood out to me today; I’ve been doing a daily reading plan and this morning God paused me; I re read it, and this thought has come from it. It has reflected something of what is relevant to my own struggles these past months.
Asa was a pretty good king in Judah for a while and we are told that he did what was good and right in God’s eyes. How?
1.Removal:
He took away the foreign gods, broke up and cut down the wooden pillars involved in the people’s false worship. He commanded Judah to seek the Lord God, to observe the law and commandments.
2.Build:
The land was at rest so he built cities and fortified them. Maybe think about when you have a breather from all you are doing find out how you can build yourself up in the Lord, use the time to “fortify”- worship, bible reading, praise etc.
3.Warfare
When the enemy comes it is the right thing to call upon God to fight this battle, and put on your spiritual armour ( Eph 6:13-17) and join in.
4.Strength
Seek God and trust that the Lord will reward your faith in Him even when you can’t see it. Be strong in the Lord to remove those things that hinder you and allow Him to restore a place of peace. That takes courage! (Phil 4:13“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”)
Be encouraged today; God is at work, orchestrating all things for our good.