PerryDox – BeJustAChristian

If you could have any super-power, what would you choose? Let me suggest an unusual one; that once a lesson is learned, you never forget it. Gone would be the days of parents asking, “How many times have I told you?!” The answer would be “Only once!” More importantly, we would never forget God’s lessons. If there is any particular definition of being human, it could be we keep unlearning lessons learned.

King “Asa did what was good and right in the sight of the LORD his God” (2 Chronicles 14.2). He removes pagan altars, high places; shatters pagan sacred pillars and chops down Asherah poles, and even more (14.3). The result is – peace: “No one made war with him in those days because the LORD gave him rest” because “We sought Him and He gave us rest on every side” (14.1,5,6-7).

Then an invasion begins. Did Asa offend God so as to remove divine protection? No. Did the enemy, Zerah the Cushite, somehow overcome the Almighty to pursue war? Impossible. God’s earthly rewards are not guaranteed forever, nor are they without tests. The invading Cushites have 1 million armed men marching into Judah (14.9). The total number of troops landed on D-Day was only around 130,000-156,000. Asa has 300,000. Asa has Yahweh. Asa prays, “LORD, there is no one besides You to help the mighty and those without strength. Help us, LORD our God, for we depend on You, and in Your name we have come against this large army. Yahweh, You are our God. Do not let a mere mortal hinder You” (14.11). Soon after victory, Azariah the prophet encourages and admonishes in the same promise: “The LORD is with you when you are with Him” (15.2). Great prayer; great victory; unforgettable lesson learned, right?

Lessons learned don’t always stay learned. Israel’s King Baasha battles against Judah. Unknown to Asa, this is a gift from God (16.7). Much smaller than the Cushite invasion, God is still needed to win. Asa either forgets, or pride makes him think otherwise. What a mistake thinking we only need God for big problems. Remember Asa’s prayer, “LORD, there is no one besides You to help the mighty and those without strength.” Whether mighty or mighty weak, we need God. Asa fails the test. Instead of relying on God, Asa makes a treaty with a pagan king, Aram’s Ben-hadad. A seer, Hanani, comes to rebuke Asa saying, “Because you depended on the king of Aram and have not depended on the LORD your God, the army of the King of Aram has escaped from your hand” (16.7). The result is, “you will have wars from now on” (16.9). Why? Asa did not depend upon God to win his battles, defeat his enemies, and to solve his problems.

Have many battles are we fighting, how many failures, all because we forget we can’t win without God? Like Asa, do we learn, then unlearn God’s lesson? Depend on God.

Prayer Challenge: Today it is simple. Pray not to unlearn lessons learned.

Tags: Prayer, Praying through the Bible

This entry was posted by PHall on Friday, July 18th, 2014 at 5:54 am and is filed under II Chronicles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.