2 Chronicles 13, begins today's study with the children of Judah prevailing over Israel "because they relied on the Lord God of (their) fathers". Abijah, king of Judah, and Jeroboam, king of Israel had mustered their troops and faced each other in battle formation. Abijah stood on a mountain and spoke to Jeroboam after the troops had been assembled. He reminded Jeroboam that God had placed David and his sons to be over Israel forever. (Abijah was David's great-great-grandson; his mother was Absalom's granddaughter--chapter 11:21.) Abijah reviewed how Israel had turned to idol worship and pointed out that Judah had not forsaken God. He warned him not to fight against God. Jeroboam attempted to surprise Judah with an "ambush" and when Judah looked around the battle line was at both front and rear. Yet, God once again was the deciding factor and "God struck Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. Abijah pursued Jeroboam and took cities from him, including Bethel. In verse 20, we read that Jeroboam did not recover from this defeat and "the Lord struck him, and he died".
Abijah dies and his son Asa takes the throne of Judah. Asa was one of the few kings that did what was right in the eyes of God. He removed the altars and high places and cut down the wooden images of the foreign gods. He set the conquered Israel on the right path by commanding them to seek the Lord God of their fathers and observe His law and commandments. His reign proved to be "a time of rest"---there was no war "because the Lord had given him rest". Asa recognized that it was God who had blessed Judah with this rest. They were able to build and prosper during this time rather than fight wars.
When the Ethiopians came against them, Asa called on God. His words are recorded in a beautiful passage in 2 Chronicles 14:11, which would be good to commit to memory. "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!" Verse 13, sums up the outcome of the battle: "So the Ethiopians were overthrown, and they could not recover, for they were broken before the Lord and His army".
Today's account of Asa and the time of rest for Israel and Judah serves to drive the point home that seeking God and obeying Him results in blessings. Psalm 81:1-5, rejoices in God our strength and leads into a psalm of worship for our great God! Proverbs 20:22, reminds us not to take matters into our own hands, but to "Wait for the Lord, and He will save you". Verse 23, once again warns us that "Diverse weights are an abomination to the Lord, and dishonest scales are not good". To covet wealth to the point of being dishonest reveals a corrupt heart before God and will not result in being blessed by Him.
In Acts 15:22-41, we read that the new Gentile believers were encouraged by a letter from the whole church that was delivered by chosen men. Is is indeed good news to learn that we do not have to "earn" our salvation, but that it is a gift from God. God's gift of salvation gives us the freedom to love and worship Him, rather than focusing on trying to make ourselves acceptable to Him (which is impossible!). We are all tempted to "do something" to earn our salvation--we have difficulty believing it is a gift . It just seems too simple, too good to be true---we tend to like complicated things that elevate our egos, we want to call the shots and be in control! Evidently, Israel did, too. They continually returned to golden calves, sacred images, high places, and altars of incense. The result for them time and again was God's anger, their defeat and resulting captivity. If we could only move past our ego and pride and humble ourselves and believe God, we like Asa, could enjoy times of rest!
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