We all have heroes- people who do with great success things we admire.  An ancient king is one of my heroes.  Would you think it weird if I told you that I admire someone who destroyed public statues and deposed his own grandmother from her high position in government?  What if I told you that he smashed, ground to powder, and burned revered carvings?  Would you be impressed that he attacked and plundered?  What about the fact that he also repaired, built, fortified, completed, gave generously, trusted, prayed, obeyed, sacrificed, took courage, and as a result received rest, peace, and happiness as a reward?  Let me tell you about earnest King Asa.  

King Asa showed us that being earnest has two dimensions-  wholeheartedly seeking God as well as wholeheartedly removing from our hearts all that is opposed to God.  He shows us that we must reject the influence of things that pull us away from obedience so we can happily, and earnestly seek God.

“Asa did what was pleasing and good in the sight of the Lord his God. He removed the foreign altars and the pagan shrines. He smashed the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherah poles. He commanded the people of Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and to obey his law and his commands. So Asa’s kingdom enjoyed a period of peace. . . for the Lord was giving him rest from his enemies.”  2 Chronicles 14:2-3,6

Note that Israel was set apart to God as his own people.  But they had been influenced by their neighbors and had mixed the truth about God with ungodly beliefs.  This purge wasn’t to clear out false beliefs from the neighboring peoples.  It was specifically to rid God’s own people of destructive, base, evil practices so they could worship and serve God in happiness.

“King Asa even deposed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother because she had made an obscene Asherah pole. He cut down her obscene pole, broke it up, and burned it.”  2 Chronicles 15:15-17. (Asherah was a goddess of fertility.  “Worship of Asherah was noted for its sensuality and involved ritual prostitution.”*) 

Similarly, we must rid ourselves as God’s people in the Church of the influence of man-derived beliefs and happily devote ourselves to the God of the Bible.  Earnest obedience is the path of happiness.  Others can influence us to leave the pure faith and mix it with human thinking, so we must examine our own hearts for wrong thinking rooted in ideas outside the Bible.  Recent surveys* reveal disturbing, unbiblical beliefs that Christians in the church hold:

~44% said that Jesus was a great teacher, but he was not God.
(Jesus plainly stated that he and the Father were one. He was hated because of his claim to be God. [ They replied, “We’re stoning you not for any good work, but for blasphemy! You, a mere man, claim to be God.”  John 10:33]. His followers died because they wouldn’t retract their worship of him as God.)
~38% considered that “religious belief is a matter of personal opinion; it is not about objective truth.” (This is a prevalent, but unbiblical belief. It sounds tolerant, but this error prevents many from entering the Kingdom of God because they don’t know that they have to trust Jesus to forgive their sin. Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, the Life. No one comes to the Father but by me.”  John 14:6

So how do we seek God and obey his commands?
-We recognize the source of our blessings.
“The land is still ours because we sought the Lord our God, and he has given us peace on every side.”  2 Chronicles 14:7

-We build ourselves up and prepare for attack.
Our spiritual enemy, Satan, is on the prowl. We can protect ourselves by gathering together with other believers, by praying, and by studying God’s word to strengthen our faith.
“Asa told the people of Judah, ‘Let us build towns and fortify them with walls, towers, gates, and bars.’ So they went ahead with these projects and brought them to completion.”  2 Chronicles 14:7

-We earnestly pray.
King Asa was attacked by an enemy army one million strong. He was outnumbered more than 2 to 1.  But he knew where his power came from.  And so do we!
“Then Asa cried out to the Lord his God, “O Lord, no one but you can help the powerless against the mighty! Help us, O Lord our God, for we trust in you alone. It is in your name that we have come against this vast horde. O Lord, you are our God; do not let mere men prevail against you!”
So the Lord defeated the Ethiopians in the presence of Asa and the army of Judah, and the enemy fled. . . They were destroyed by the Lord and his army, and the army of Judah carried off a vast amount of plunder.”   2 Chronicles 14:11-12,14

-We trust that God is with us,  he sees our hearts, and rewards our obedience.
“Then the Spirit of God came upon Azariah  and he went out to meet King Asa as he was returning from the battle. “Listen to me, Asa!” he shouted.  The Lord will stay with you as long as you stay with him! Whenever you seek him, you will find him. But if you abandon him, he will abandon you. For a long time Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach them, and without the Law to instruct them. But whenever they were in trouble and turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him out, they found him.. . as for you, be strong and courageous, for your work will be rewarded.”  2 Chronicles 15:1-4,7

-We get encouragement to do the right things by daily reading God’s Word and by gathering together regularly.  This helps us get rid of ideas and habits that don’t please God.  We give our money and time to help our church.
“When Asa heard this message from Azariah the prophet, he took courage and removed all the detestable idols from the land . . . And he repaired the altar of the Lord, which stood in front of the entry room of the Lord’s Temple. . .He brought into the Temple of God the silver and gold . . .  that he and his father had dedicated.  Then Asa called together all the people . . .”  2 Chronicles 15:8-9,18

-We wholeheartedly commit ourselves to God knowing that the blessing is far greater than the cost.
“The people gathered at Jerusalem in late spring,   . . . On that day they sacrificed to the Lord 700 cattle and 7,000 sheep and goats from the plunder they had taken in the battle. Then they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, with all their heart and soul. . . They shouted out their oath of loyalty to the Lord with trumpets blaring and rams’ horns sounding. All in Judah were happy about this covenant, for they had entered into it with all their heart. They earnestly sought after God, and they found him. And the Lord gave them rest from their enemies on every side.”   2 Chronicles 15:10-15

I want this prayer of David to be mine:

“You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.”  Psalm 63:1

*https://www.gotquestions.org/who-Asherah.html
*From a 2022 survey by Ligonier Ministries and Lifeway Research  https://thestateoftheology.com/
unable to find the original source of the image of Asherah pole
King statue original photos before my editing Vita M and Beatriz M on Unsplash  – Copenhagen Cathedral

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