Asa, King of Judah, had experienced a mighty deliverance from his enemies by the intervention of the Lord. His prayer for help is a beautifully humble cry:
“Lord, it is nothing for You to help, whether with many or with those who have no power; help us, O Lord our God, for we rest on You, and in Your name we go against this multitude. O Lord, you are our God; do not let man prevail against You!” 2 Chronicles 14:11
The Lord overthrew his enemies and Asa experienced rest until the 35th year of his reign, until once again an enemy arose. This time is was Baasha, king of Israel. And this time there is no humble cry to the Lord for help. Instead, he plundered the treasuries of the house of the Lord to hire the Syrian army; an army that already had a alliance with Baasha, but was willing to trade allegiance for a bit of gold.
How often does this happen to us? Some type of difficulty arises in our life and we do not seek the heavenly solution, but instead go through all sorts of conniptions to try to engage worldly resources to aid us. How foolish to turn to the world (which by the way, cannot solve it’s own problems) when all of heaven is available to us in our time of need. Yet we turn to the faithless, fickle world.
Asa got what he paid for – Baasha was defeated, but by pursuing worldly methods he forfeited victory over the Syrians.
“…Because you have relied on the king of Syria, and have not relied on the Lord your God, therefore the army of the king of Syria has escaped from your hand.” 2 Chronicles 16:7
This is the lesson for me: The enemy that you join yourself to is one that you will not have victory over. Your compromise will have further reaching implications that you might at first believe.
Let us press on in faith, fully trusting the Lord to deliver us, whatever the situation. “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.” 2 Chronicles 16:9
