We read how the Southern Kingdom of Judah wasn’t in much better shape. We need to trace back the family tree. Solomon severely backslid causing a son and a grandson not to rule properly. Rehoboam married a half-cousin of his, Maacah, who was a daughter of Solomon’s older half-brother Absalom. Later, they had a son named Abijah who only reigned for three years. Was the incest the reason why Abijah of Judah died so early? Charles II of the Hapsburgs died at only 38. Abijah of Judah was said to have died also at 38. Though Charles II was far more inbred and never even reproduced. After two kings who didn’t prepare to seek their hearts to the LORD, we would have Asa as a reformer. The story of Asa can be found in 1st Kings 15 and 2nd Chronicles 14-16.
I could talk about Asa as the reformer. We are told that Abijah’s heart was not right with the LORD, unlike David his forefather. David has become a standard, humanly speaking. Though we can still name David’s other sins like his polygamous marriages, his being a poor passive father since he had many wives causing family feuds, his affair with Bathsheba, and when he wanted a census without following the rules. David was still that outstanding king even if we can name all his sins. David would even be raised in the Millennial Kingdom as chief. David’s lineage was of great importance. Neither Rehoboam nor Abijah stood the test. Now, we have Asa as a great-great-grandson who was about to follow David’s footsteps. Asa is said to do what was right as his forefather David had done.
Asa’s religious reforms
We could read about the sad state of Israel. There was no teacher and no Levite. Apparently, the Levites were expelled from the Northern Kingdom and sought refuge in the Southern Kingdom. Asa heard the warning from Azariah, the son of Oded. It was time for a great clean-up against idols. It was time to tear down the idols and repair the altar of the LORD. It was time for Asa to return back to the family values of David.
Maacah, his paternal grandmother, had been a bad influence. Maacah was a bad influence on both Rehoboam and Abijah. I guess she learned it from her father Absalom. Now, it was a painful decision but it had to be done. Asa had to remove his dear old granny from her position because she built an idol of grove for the goddess Asherah. The idol was destroyed. Though, Asa did fail to remove the high places or pagan places of worship. The high places, or elevated platforms for pagan worship, were not removed. I couldn’t stay if Maacah loved her grandson or not. It seemed hard for Asa to remove his own grandmother from her position because of her bad influence.
It would be interesting to know that Asa rose during the final two years of Jeroboam. Asa would’ve passed through the short reign of Nadab of Israel. Baasha would later become king after slaying Nadab who reigned for only two years. Later, Baasha’s son, Elah, would only reign also for two years to be slain by Zimri, who only reigned for seven days. There was a war between Baasha and Asa all those days. Also, we also read in 2nd Chronicles 14 of the incredible deliverance the LORD had for Asa. Asa was about to do his duty to defeat Zerah the Ethiopian who had an army.
Asa, like David, also had his moments of weakness
The division between the two kingdoms reminds me of how Taiwan split from China and how North Korea split from South Korea. Obviously, what Baasha is having here is very similar to what the rulers of North Korea and China tend to do. North Koreans defecting to South Korea or Chinese defecting to Taiwan are a threat to both dictatorships. We read that Baasha wants to keep his people bound to his sins. Baasha was no better than the house he overthrew. God, for a reason, allowed Baasha to rise to slay Jeroboam’s house. Some people wanted to move to Judah because of the revival. It’s almost similar to people moving from North Korea to South Korea because the other side is a better place.
Unfortunately, we read of Asa’s weakness. David made the sin of wanting a census in Israel. Okay, nothing is wrong with making a census. Hyper-faith is dangerous. I could’ve been injured during Odette because of hyper-faith. Now, we read that Asa foolishly made an alliance with King Ben-Hadad of Syria. Interestingly, Syria gets involved a lot. Ben-Hadad was a title like Pharaoh. We have the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, as the Ben-Hadad of Syria at that time. This was a severe lack of faith. Asa, who once had faith in God during the Ethiopian invasion, now lost it.
What was worse was Asa’s attitude late in life. Asa was given a message by Hanani the seer to give some friendly criticism. Rather than repent like David did, Asa ended up imprisoning the person who cared about his spiritual well-being. There are times people think that friendly criticism is hostile or friends who criticize are arrogant or act like somebody. Asa ended up responding wrongly by giving the prophet some jail time. Asa would later throw a tantrum inflicting some petty behavior at them.
Later on, we read that Asa near the end of his reign had a foot disease. We can’t be sure what disease was this. It seems to be divine punishment because of what he did to a prophet of God. Later, we read how Joash ended up ordering the death of a prophet, Zechariah (the son of Jehoiada) and paid with his life. Nothing is wrong with going to the doctor. However, Asa also failed to seek the LORD concerning his disease. Yet, the good Asa did was still remembered in spite of his failures. God is still merciful that even He punishes His own, the good they do is never forgotten.
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