24th.: Asa
The Ethiopians were coming! The Ethiopians were coming!
A million, plus, strong. (2nd Chronicles 14:9)
Israel was not that big.
King Asa was scared.
So he, “cried unto the Lord his God, and said, ‘Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many,
or with them that have no power. Help us, O Lord our God. For we rest on thee.
And in thy name we go against this multitude. O Lord, thou art our God. Let not man prevail against thee.’” (2nd Chr. 14:11).
God helped Israel defeat the Ethiopians (2nd Chr. 14:12a).
Many years later, in Asa’s 36th year as king, the armies of Israel attacked Judah.
But they weren't that many.
Instead of turning to the Lord, Asa hired the Syrian army to help him (2nd Chr. 16:1-5).
God then sent Hanani, the seer, to rebuke Asa, “Because thou has relied on the king of Syria, and not relied on the Lord thy God,
… thou has done foolishly. Henceforth, thou shalt have wars. Then Asa was wroth with the seer” (2nd Chr. 16:7b, 9b, 10a).
Asa had lost his reliance on the Lord.
It is easy for us to seek the Lord, when we are young. But, as the years drift by, we see how the world solves problems,
We then forget to turn to the Lord. But it is better to stay in constant prayer with the Lord, lest we wander from Him.
“… that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard,
go forth, and are choked with cares,
and riches and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to perfection. (Luke 8:14)