More than one general has won a battle but afterwards lost the war because of pride or carelessness, and God didn’t want King Asa to fall into that trap.  Many kings, presidents, and other leaders come to power with good intentions; but “the highway to hell is paved with good intentions.”  This old saying, not a Biblical quote, can mean that good intentions are worthless on their own and don’t guarantee positive outcomes. It can also be interpreted that either that good intentions without action are useless, or that actions taken with good intentions can still have disastrous unintended consequences. What helps one group of people might hurt another group. 

We need help.  We need wisdom. We need the Lord.  Seek God first!

All the prophets and God-called leaders through the Bible had one song to sing with many verses—Seek God.  On of God’s spokesperson, Jeremiah shouts God’s words proclaiming this timeless Truth; Seek and you will find Me!  God isn’t hiding, He waiting for us!

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13

Other seers, prophets, and priests advised Israel’s leaders to seek God first;

• “But if from there you will seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul”. Deuteronomy 4:29
• “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near”. Isaiah 55:6
• “The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts”. Psalm 10:4
• “”You have said, ‘Seek my face.’ My heart says to you, ‘Your face, Lord, do I seek'”. Psalm 27:8
• “Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his face continually”. 1 Chronicles 16:11

Then Jesus, Son of God, came to earth from heaven to remind the world of the reason to seek God first with His message of hope: “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well”. Matthew 6:33 He message included: God knows what you need—seek Him who knows all our needs.

On the night before the cross of redemption—Jesus’ mission on earth to save us from our sins—Jesus prayed, seeking God first.  “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”—Jesus, Luke 22:42

Seeking God is surrendering to God. True seeking comes from a surrendered heart to God.  Not my will but Yours, Lord.

2 Chronicles 15

Asa’s Reform

The Spirit of God came on Azariah son of Oded. ² He went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you. ³ For a long time Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach and without the law. ⁴ But in their distress they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him, and he was found by them. ⁵ In those days it was not safe to travel about, for all the inhabitants of the lands were in great turmoil. ⁶ One nation was being crushed by another and one city by another, because God was troubling them with every kind of distress. ⁷ But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.”

⁸ When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Azariah son of Oded the prophet, he took courage. He removed the detestable idols from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the towns he had captured in the hills of Ephraim. He repaired the altar of the Lord that was in front of the portico of the Lord’s temple.

⁹ Then he assembled all Judah and Benjamin and the people from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon who had settled among them, for large numbers had come over to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.

¹⁰ They assembled at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign. ¹¹ At that time they sacrificed to the Lord seven hundred head of cattle and seven thousand sheep and goats from the plunder they had brought back. ¹² They entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, with all their heart and soul. ¹³ All who would not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, were to be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman. ¹⁴ They took an oath to the Lord with loud acclamation, with shouting and with trumpets and horns. ¹⁵ All Judah rejoiced about the oath because they had sworn it wholeheartedly. They sought God eagerly, and he was found by them. So the Lord gave them rest on every side.

¹⁶ King Asa also deposed his grandmother Maakah from her position as queen mother, because she had made a repulsive image for the worship of Asherah. Asa cut it down, broke it up and burned it in the Kidron Valley. ¹⁷ Although he did not remove the high places from Israel, Asa’s heart was fully committed to the Lord all his life. ¹⁸ He brought into the temple of God the silver and gold and the articles that he and his father had dedicated.

¹⁹ There was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

The Lord sent the prophet Azariah to meet Asa and the victorious army and give them a message of encouragement and warning from God.  Azariah’s message was the same as that of King Asa: seek the Lord, obey Him, trust Him, and be strong in Him. (See also 2 Chronicles 14:11; Deuteronomy 4:29).

THE MESSAGE: “The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you. 

ASA’S RESPONSE TO GOD:  Asa then led all of Israel to seek God with him. “They sought God eagerly, and he was found by them.” Asa’s seeking God with surrender to God led to revival and reform: “large numbers had come over to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.”

THE PEOPLE’S RESPONSE:  They sought the Lord with sacrifice and surrender. “They entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, with all their heart and soul. 

GOD’S RESPONSE TO SEEKERS:  Seeking God with all our hearts, minds, and souls in a humbled posture of surrender to God’s will leads to heavenly outcomes: “So, the Lord gave them rest on every side.” Don’t you love that?Peace came to rest on His people.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”—Jesus, John 16:33

In our world of wars, rumors of wars, inflation, taxes and tariffs, sliding scales of economies, slavery of our young with evil atrocities meant to distract and deceive us from God—we must still seek Him first—daily!

The real Enemy thinks he has one more chance to defeat our Lord by winning our souls. His desire is to win a war that has already been won!  But we should realize that God has not and will not ever give up His authority. Jesus, His Son was, is and always will be the Victor! His Holy Spirit lives in us in power to help us 24/7!

Read the “revealing truth” in the revelation Jesus gave to his beloved disciple John for yourselves!  The revelation is the last Song and Verse of the Singer who proclaims—God wins!  It is also Jesus’ last warning to his churches to seek and surrender to God with sincere hearts for there are things to come that will be unimaginable and magnificent for believers in Him. Sing the Song of the Redeemer!

AND…Jesus is coming back to claim all who sought God with surrendered hearts, minds, and souls—all the “whoevers” who never gave up in believing! Our resurrected Jesus on that third day became our Hope of eternal life!  Jesus did for us what no one can do for themselves—Pay the debt of sin we owe! Jesus paid it all!

As we study God’s Word while seeking His wisdom; we learn that at significant times throughout Jewish history, leaders and the people renew their commitment to the Lord, which is a lesson for the church to follow today. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Paul reminds us. Daily surrender with repentance is the way to hear God.

Asa didn’t reorganize the priesthood or remodel the temple, nor did he import new worship ideas from the pagan nations around him. He simply led the people to seek God with Him with sincere hearts in rededication to the covenant that God had already given them.

Pause to reflect on what surrender to God means.  Take all the time you need as will I.

Lord,

It is in surrender that we hear you best.  Without surrender we only hear the feedback of ourselves along with the voices of the world who speak loudly but do not really know you. Help us to be still, undistracted, and surrender fully, so that we may get to know who You are more fully.  May rest with peace come as we give ourselves to you as an offering. May your perfect and pleasing will be done.

In Jesus Name, Amen