Don't Forget Your Helper

Since the reign of Rehoboam, there had been numerous rulers in the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Some of these rulers heeded to the word of God and walked in his ways, whilst others were influenced by surrounding nations, taking on the idols they worshipped.

In 2 Chronicles 14, we see the beginning of the reign of Asa, son of Abijah. This chapter tells us that he did what was good in the eyes of the Lord, taking away the altars and high places that were dedicated to idols. He then commanded the people to follow God's law and commandments.

After a time of peace, Zerah, the Ethiopian, came and fought against Asa. What Asa did in response is what we should all do, he cried out to the Lord.

And Asa cried to the Lord his God, “O Lord, there is none like you to help, between the mighty and the weak. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this multitude. O Lord, you are our God; let not man prevail against you.” (2 Chronicles14:11, ESV)

This should be our response whenever we are met with a challenge, acknowledging our need for God's help, recognising that we can not do it in our own strength. They told God that they were relying on him, there was no plan B, no second option. He alone was the solution to the threat that lay before them.

God gave them victory that day, and later we see, in chapter 15, a word of prophecy being brought by Azariah in which Asa is told that if he seeks the Lord he will find him. The words spoken by Azariah encouraged Asa and he took away the idols in Judah, Benjamin, and all the cities they had overtaken in battle. He repaired the alter of the Lord and the people entered into a covenant with him, promising to seek the Lord with all their hearts. Asa even went to far as to remove his mother from the office of queen mother because she had made an image for Asherah.

When things are going well for us and we see God moving in our lives, it's easy for us to be zealous in our commitment to him. In our excitement we can slowly become complacent because we forget what we have previously been through. We also forget our side of the bargain and think only of the fact that God is blessing us.

Asa was given peace for 35 years, in the 36th year, in chapter 16, Baashan, the king of Israel, blocked entry into Judah by building the city of Ramah.

What was Asa's response to this? Did he cry out to the Lord for help? Did he glorify the Lord? Did he run into battle in God's name?

Asa did none of these things, instead he sent silver and gold to the king of Syria in order to prompt him to break the covenant he had with Baashan, hoping this would cause Baashan to withdraw from Judah.

God in response sent Hanani, the seer, with these words,

 “Because you relied on the king of Syria, and did not rely on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Syria has escaped you. Were not the Ethiopians and the Libyans a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on the Lord, he gave them into your hand. For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless[b] toward him. You have done foolishly in this, for from now on you will have wars.” (2 Chronicles 16: 7b-9 ESV)

Asa initially relied on God, and God in his faithfulness, gave him victory. Subsequently, with Baashan on his perimeter, Asa forgot the Lord and relied on his own cunning to deal with him. 

How often do we start with good intentions, but then, as we taste how sweet life is, under God's blessing, we forget that he is the one who made it that way. We become complacent and think that life is sweet because we have made it that way. Therefore, when problems arise, we think we're able fix them by ourselves. 

Our methods for fixing things mostly lead to thing being worse, take Abraham and Sarah for example, so no matter how well things are going, or how resourceful we believe we are, we will always (and should always) need to seek the Lord and put him at the front of the battle line.