Seek Him first

There is an interesting account in the second book of Chronicles about two kings. One was Asa, king of Judah, and the other was
Ben-hadad, king of Aram or Syria. When he was under threat, Asa turned to the pagan king for help instead of calling on the name of the Lord. We read that Hanani, the prophet, came to King Asa and rebuked him, saying in effect, ‘You have not relied on the Lord’. The prophets spoke constantly to the kings, priests, and all the fathers of Israel, admonishing them to put the Lord first; not just in their heart attitude and intent but in their practice, behaviour and everyday lives.

So at this time, Hanani the prophet came to king Asa and reminded him that the Lord had previously wrought a great victory on his behalf against a much stronger foe. The prophet further explained that because Asa was now aligned to the Syrian king, he would be forever compromised and unable to conquer this enemy of the Lord. Hanani said, ‘Because you have relied on the king of Aram and have not relied on the LORD your God, therefore the army of the king of Aram has escaped out of your hand. Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubim an immense army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on the LORD, He delivered them into your hand.’ 2 Chron 16:7-8.

At this point, Hanani injected a sovereign statement regarding the miracle that God is willing to perform for His people if they remain faithful to Him. The prophet declared, ‘For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth, that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His’. Asa had experienced this miracle firsthand when confronted by an army of one million Ethiopians with three hundred chariots. Facing overwhelming odds, Asa had prayed, ‘LORD, there is no one besides You to help in the battle between the powerful and those who have no strength; so help us, O LORD our God, for we trust in You, and in Your name have come against this multitude.’ 2 Chron 14:11.

Despite an amazing demonstration of the Lord’s strength, Asa failed to call on Him a second time when confronted with a lesser enemy. So Hanani continued to address him saying, ‘You have acted foolishly in this. From now on, you will surely have wars.’ And we read that Asa became so angry with Hanani that he threw him in prison which was often the fate of prophets. 2 Chron 16:9,10. Although Asa endured troubled times, it would appear that he still did not learn his lesson because we find that he failed to trust the Lord a third time which finally cost him his life. We read, ‘In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa became diseased in his feet. His disease was severe, yet even in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but the physicians. So Asa slept with his fathers having died in the forty-first year of his reign.’ 2 Chron 16:12.

Where do we seek help? Do we call on the Lord or do we look elsewhere for assistance? Like Asa, have we compromised ourselves by making unholy alliances in our times of need? We can be assured however, that despite our failures, we can still experience the miracle and freedom of God’s provision, if we seek Him first.

Cameron Playsted

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Feature Articles
March 2010

First Place

In and out

Facing our fears

First love

Fronting up!

Are you the one?

Seek Him first

The first and the best

When the axe is blunt

Come home

Familiarity breeds contempt