Asa Asa became the third king of Judah after the split of Solomon’s empire into independent kingdoms. Asa succeeded his father, Abijah, after Abijah’s brief kingship (913–910 BC) and reigned for 41 years (910–869 BC). In the beginning of his reign, Asa was a good king. He opposed the worship of false gods in the land, destroyed the Asherah pole that his grandmother Maacah had set up, and removed her remaining political influence (1 Kgs 15:13; 2 Chr 15:16). In these early days, God blessed Asa’s reign with military victory and peace. Asa forced out or defeated all who attempted to conquer, divide, or destroy Judah (2 Chr 14:1-8). Asa’s most astounding conquest was over an Ethiopian leader named Zerah, who attacked Judah with more than a million troops. Because of Asa’s obedience and faithfulness, God gave him a tremendous victory (14:9-15). Unfortunately, Asa’s attitude changed toward the end of his life, and he abandoned his trust in God. Baasha, the king of the northern kingdom, attacked Judah with the support of Ben-hadad, king of Aram, and fortified the city of Ramah. Asa paid the king of Aram to change sides and support him rather than Baasha. This meant that Asa ha...

Trusting in Human Strength God had repeatedly displayed his power to his people throughout their history. He took a barren elderly couple and made them the progenitors of a great nation. He rescued this nation from the clutches of the powerful tyrant, Egypt. He performed numerous miracles in preserving them in the wilderness. And he had secured victory over their enemies many times during the conquest, the period of the judges, and the monarchical period. Yet, throughout their history, the people of Israel demonstrated a lack of trust in the Lord, instead opting to trust in human strength. On one occasion, Asa, king of Judah, sought help from the king of Aram—a perennial enemy of God’s people—giving him the treasures of the Temple and palace so he would attack Baasha, king of Israel (2 Chr 16:1-6). The prophet Hanani chastised Asa, seeing in Aram a human foe who would continue to be a nemesis to the kingdom of Judah. Previous battles demonstrated that God was the only ally Asa needed (16:8). Asa’s reliance on the king of Aram revealed a much deeper spiritual problem. Asa forgot that “the eyes of the Lord search the whole earth” (16:9; see also Zech 4:10). So when Hanani co...