Asa-Did Not Ask God For Help

By Mary Vee
I Kings 15, II Chronicles 16

From the Royal Physician's Records

The kingdom of Judah has continued to be ruled by a son of David on the throne. I don't mean a real son of David. This is the way we say a son or grandson or great grandson. It saves time and words to use this short way of speaking.

Years ago ten tribes of Israel broke away from us. They chose their own king to rule them. I guess I could see their reason for doing this, a tiny bit. At the time, Solomon's son Rehoboam did some mean things. But he was young and didn't know any better. As he grew older he became a much better king. Unfortunately the ten tribes had already left us. 

Rehoboam's son, Abijah became king when his father died and Asa became king when his father, Abijah died. 

Those of us living in Judah saw how Asa pleased the Lord when he first became king. As time went by he made some bad choices. When the prophet Hanani spoke with Asa about the bad choice Asa became angry. Life became pretty hard here in Judah after that conversation.

I think Asa knew he did wrong but couldn't admit it. He treated the people in our kingdom cruelly. We all tried to stay away from him as much as possible. 

But one day he became ill. A disease attacked his feet. It was so bad he couldn't walk.

His officials called me in to examine his feet. I tried. I really did. I used every method I knew to ease his pain and to cure the disease.

I heard someone mention to him to ask for God's help. Asa, shook his head. I saw his squinty angry eyes and the determination in his heart not to ask for God's help. 

His feet became worse, sending the disease deeper into his body. For two long years, we physicians worked to save his life, but failed.

Asa had prepared a tomb for himself ahead of time. It had been carved in the City of David. Despite his cruel behavior at the end, the people mourned for him. So many tears shed and weeping throughout Judah for a king who showed his dedication to God when he first reigned.

We placed Asa's body on a special stand and covered it with the best spices and various blended perfumes.

During the funeral a huge fire blazed in Asa's honor. 

I wiped away tears myself, because even though Asa had some bad times where he didn't ask God for help, he had good times in the beginning when he did. He took away idols and helped us worship God.

Our relatives in the tribes living in Israel haven't had this. The kings of Israel have led their people away from God and toward idol worship.

God, please help us to remember you. Help our new king to ask you for help.

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photo courtesy of visualbiblealive.com

1.  Asa knew he did wrong but _____________
2.  One day Asa had a disease affect his ____________
3.  Asa chose to call for _____________ to help.
4.  Could the physician's help Asa?
5.  What did someone ask Asa to do?
6.  Did Asa follow the instructions?
7.  How did the people respond when Asa died?

author's note...have you noticed that for many of the kings, the Bible simply tells us a new king was crowned. We don't hear about the honor given to them at a funeral. But we did for Asa.

Asa- A Good King Who Made a Bad Choice

By Mary Vee
I Kings 15, II Chronicles 15

From Asa's Scrolls

I had reigned over the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and those from the tribes of Simeon, Manasseh, and Ephraim who joined with us for fifteen years. 

During this time my grandmother, Maacah, served as queen mother. She made a repulsive Asherah pole. Why she went against my wishes I don't understand. She knew my feelings on the subject. To prevent her from leading others astray I took away her title and cut the pole down, broke it up and burned it in the Kidron Valley.

The people living in Judah needed to know my serious commitment to God and his commandments.

I had reigned for thirty-five years before war came.

Baasha, king of the other tribes in Israel, continually stirred up battles between us. He became quite angry when men from the tribes he ruled left and came to live in Judah under my rule. Baasha sent an army to fortify Ramah to prevent anyone else from coming or going to Judah.

I knew we could not defeat him by ourselves. His army was so big.. 

I took all the silver and gold from the treasuries of the Lord's temple and from my own palace treasuries and sent it all with a few of my officials to Ben-Hadad who was ruling in Damascus.  I sent this message with my gift: "I have sent this great gift of silver and gold for you. Let's make a treaty between us. Break off your treaty with Baasha, king of Israel and join with Judah."

Ben-Hadad agreed and sent his armies to fight against the towns of Israel. He conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel Beth Maacah and all Kinnereth, in addition to Naphtali.

When Baasha heard the news, he stopped building his forces against Judah and retreated.

Once a messenger reported to me that Baasha had fled, I commanded everyone from Judah, no one would be exempt, to go the the site where Baasha set up a fortress and to knock down the structure. I ordered all the building supplies taken from the fortress to be used to build up the cities of Geba and Mizpah.

Everything seemed to go well. I thought I had done a good job as king of Judah. My plan stopped Baasha.

But....a visitor came to see me after the work had finished. Hanani the prophet asked to speak with me. I of course allowed him in to my court. Surely he came to congratulate me.

He said, "Because you relied on help from Ben-Hadad, king of Aram and not on the Lord your God, the army of Aram has escaped from your hands. Didn't you fight the mighty armies of Cushites and Libyans with the help of the Lord and win? The eyes of the Lord go 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."

His message angered me. How dare he say I did wrong? How dare he blame me for future wars. I ordered my guards to throw him in prison. And I must admit, my anger continued to rage so that I put citizens in prison too. 

I had to, didn't I? If I didn't punish the people severely they would think the prophet was right.

author's note....no...he should not have punished the people for his wrong choice.

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1. All seemed to go well for Asa. He first took away the title of queen mother from __________ because she _________.
2. He welcomed men from these tribes who wanted to leave the rule of Israel: ______________, ________________, and ______________.
3. Baasha, king of Israel became angry and decided to __________.
4. Asa, king of Judah made a quick decision. He gathered all the ________ and ________ from the temple and his palace and sent it to _________.
5. King Asa wanted Hadad to help him _______________
6. Did Hadad agree? If so what did he do?
7. Who visited Asa after the battle? What message did he bring?

Asa-God Rewards Obedience

By Mary Vee
II Chronicles 15, I Kings 15

From Asa's Journals

One day after the battle, the prophet Azariah came to me with a special message from God. I didn't know whether to be afraid of expect exciting news. The battle against Zerah the Cushinte and his men had been won solely by the hand of God. 

Now, I want to seek His will because ruling a nation, even if it is small is not an easy task.

He said, "Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you when 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 was without the true God, without a priest to teach and without the law. But in their distress they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him, and he was foud by them. In those days it was not safe to travel about, for all the inhabitants of the lands were in great turmoil. One nation was being crushed by another and one city by another, because God was troubling them with every kind of distress. 

"But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for yor work will be rewarded."

He couldn't have said more encouraging words. The Lord is with us! He is pleased!

I'm going to get back to work removing all the detestable idols from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the towns we captured in the hills of Ephraim, too. 

I'm so excited. After the idols are removed I will have the altar of the Lord repaired, the one that is in front of the portico of the Lord's temple. The silver and gold and the articles that my father and I have dedicated will also be brought into the temple.

I have not been able to remove the high places of false worship in Israel, but my heart is fully committed to the Lord for the rest of my life. And as I know he sees what is in my heart, He will continue to be pleased.

I can't tell you what an energizing feeling this brings to my soul.

Following the war with Zerah the Cushite, we had peace in Judah and Benjamin. 

Here is the most exciting news. In my grandfather Rehoboam's time, many of the people split away from us. During my life time I have seen families from the trive of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon come to live with us in Judah. 

They especially returned to offer sacrifices to the Lord, God of Israel at His temple, with His appointed priests.

Praise the Lord God of Israel for His love to His people.

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photo courtesy of visualbiblealive.com

1. Who was Asa's grandfather?
2. Asa was a king of Judah who did/did not obey God? _____________
3. What message did the prophet Azariah bring Asa?
4. What did Asa do after hearing this message?
5. Who joined the people of Judah because they saw God blessed that tribe?
6. What did the new people do that please God? 

Asa - Attacked by Zerah the Cushite

By Mary Vee
II Chronicles 14

From Asa's Journals

The end of our peaceful time came.

Zerah the Cushite drove his massive army and three hundred chariots all the way to Mareshah. Any man in his right mind knew we did not stand a chance against such a vast army.

I called my army to arms and marched to Mareshah. Knowing the size of his army frightened me, seeing the army terrified me even more. I led my army in a call to the Lord our God. "Lord, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the might. Help us, O lord our God for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army. O lord, you are our God. Do not let man prevail against you."

As I finished the words I felt the peace I longed for. I knew God would care for us. 

And so He did. We barely had to fight. 

Zerah's army stood frightened for a short while then turned and fled. I and my army chased after them as far as Gerar. Zerah's soldiers fell dead all along the way, littering the road with their bodies. The number of surviving soldiers decreased rapidly, cutting off their defenses.

We carried off the plunder from the soldiers. Remember, we did not start this war.

The cities all around Gerar were destroyed. My soldiers took the plunder from there as well. The villages had great wealth. We could hardly carry it all. 

We went out to the pastureland where Zerah's shepherds took the sheep and attacked them as well. We took droves of sheep, goats, and camels and returned to our homes in Jerusalem with the riches from the battle.

Overwhelmed with the victory God gave, us we sang praises to Him and worshiped our Lord.

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1.  Who is king of Judah at this time.
2.  The kingdom of Judah had ten years of ____________ (peace or war)
3.  Who started this battle? _________________
4.  Who had the bigger army?
5.  What did Asa do after he arrived at the battlefield?
6.  What happened to Zerah's army?
7.  What happened to Zerah's villages?
8.  What happened in the fields where Zerah's shepherds cared for the sheep?
9.  What did Asa do after the battle?

Asa - Abijah's Son is Crowned King

By Mary Vee
I Kings 15 and II Chronicles 14

From Asa's Journal

My father reigned in Jerusalem only three years. This hardly provided me the training I needed to take his place. But he died suddenly and I was crowned king.

The kingdom rested in peace for ten years. I can't tell you how good it felt not to have to deal with battles. After all, I needed time to learn my job!

During this time, I learned to listen to the advisors and priests. I ordered the immediate removal of all foreign altars and the high places, then commanded my men to smash the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. The incense altars in every town in Judah also were removed.

I commanded everyone in Judah to seek the Lord, the God of our fathers, and to obey his laws and commands. And as we sought the Lord together, He gave us peace.

During the time of peace, I continued the work started by my grandfather, king Rehoboam. I ordered the cities in Judah to be fortified. We put walls around them with towers, gates, and bars. 

This great land of Judah is ours because we sought the Lord our God. He gave us rest on every side. This became a time of prosperity for Judah.

My army had three hundred thousand men from Judah. Each man equipped with large shields and with spears. We also had two hundred and eight thousand soldiers from the tribe of Benjamin. Each man armed with small shields and with bows. All of the soldiers were brave fighting men.

One year after I became king, Jeroboam, the evil man who stole the hearts of the other ten tribes and steered them away from worshiping our great God, died. His son, Nadab succeeded him as king of Israel.

Nadab continued to lead the people away from God. I thought Jeroboam was evil, but his son Nadab committed greater crimes. Apparently the people of Israel agreed. From the tribe of Issachar a man named Baasha devised a plan to kill Nadab.

Nadab led his army to attack a Philistine city. During the battle, Baasha murdered Nadab and crowned himself king of Israel. The same day he began to reign he killed all of Nadab's family, even his cousins, anyone related to his father, Jeroboam.

The prophets said Jeroboam suffered this punishment because of the great and many sins he committed.

Unfortunately, Baasha followed in Jeroboam and Nadab's footsteps. He continued to lead the ten tribes of Israel away from worshiping and obeying God. 

This will not go well for them. I am reminded by their example of the importance to worship and obey God.

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1. The kings of Judah have been Rehoboam, his son Abijah, and his son _________.
2. The kings of Israel have been Jeroboam, his son Nadab, and the new king ________.
3. Asa got rid of all the ___________
4. He ordered the people to _________________
5. Nadab was an evil king. So much so, a man from the tribe of Issachar planned to ______.
6. Was Baasha, king of Israel, a good or bad king?
7. Was Asa, king of Judah, a good or bad king?