The man who forgot about God started off as a good and godly man. His name was Asa, king of Judah. Idol worship was rampant in the land and Asa worked hard to stop false worship. He removed many places of worship to false gods. He even removed his grandmother, Maacah, from her positon as Queen mother because she worshipped idols. It’s hard for me to imagine going against your mother or grandmother, but King Asa did it. He was committed to obeying God.
The Lord gave the King Asa ten years of peace, but then an Ethiopian king came up against Asa with a one million troop army. Asa’s army had 580,000 solders, so they were outnumbered.
But Asa relied on God, this is what he prayed, “Lord, there is no one besides You to help in the battle between the powerful and those who have no strength; so help us, O Lord our God, for we trust in You, and in Your name have come against this multitude. O Lord, You are our God; let not man prevail against You.” Asa had great confidence in God, and God gave him the victory over this much larger enemy.
The Lord gave Asa twenty-five more years of peace, but then another threat arose. This time King Asa responded differently, he didn’t seek God; instead, he made an alliance with the king of another nation. God was not pleased. This is what God’s prophet, Hanani said to him.
2 Chronicles 16:8-9
8 “Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubim an immense army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on the Lord, He delivered them into your hand. 9 “For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His. You have acted foolishly in this. Indeed, from now on you will surely have wars.” NASU
Asa became furious with Hanani and threw him into prison, because Asa didn’t appreciate the message from God. The Bible doesn’t say what happened to Asa’s faith in God, but Asa went to his death refusing to seek God’s favor. During the final two years of Asa’s life he was severely ill with a disease of his feet, but the Bible says, “yet even in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but the physicians” (2 Chronicles 16:12).
I don’t know why Asa ended poorly, but he reminds us that starting well doesn’t guarantee ending well. Asa became faithless, but God is faithful. Notice 2 Chronicles 16:9 says that God searches for those whose hearts are completely his. God is still looking for people who will be faithful to him. Let’s not let old age, success or failure, praise or criticism distract us from pursuing God. Let’s walk closely with God until the end and keep our hearts fully devoted to the Lord.