Revival Under King Asa

INTRO

Every one of the books of the Bible, even the historical books, point to the coming Messiah. Our phrase for 1 Chronicles was Son of David. For 2 Chronicles, our phrase is Royal Throne. In 2 Chronicles 10, we saw the nation of Israel broken into the northern tribes and the southern tribes. The rest of 2 Chronicles points toward the kings of Judah. Today, we’ll be looking at King Asa.

TEACHING

2 Chronicles 15:1-2: God’s Spirit came on Azariah, who then delivered God’s word to King Asa. Nelson’s Commentarynoted that much of what Azariah said to King Asa could be said of the era of the judges.¹So what Azariah said would sound like much of what was said in the book of Judges—the question was how the person who heard his prophetic words would respond. Would Asa respond like the judges of the past, or would he respond by doing what the Lord wanted him to do?

Remember that in the period of the Old Testament, the Spirit of God came upon people for a time. This was different than both New Testament times and today because the Spirit dwells within those who trust in Jesus Christ to guide, lead, direct, comfort, and speak through them.

Azariah told Asa and the people of Judah and Benjamin, “The Lord is with you when you are with Him” (v. 2). King Asa would rule for 41 years, and he had to choose whether to walk with the Lord or go his own way. The phrases, “When you are with Him” and “If you seek Him,” remind us of 2 Chronicles 7:13-14.

2 Chronicles 15:3-4: For years, Israel had been without God, without a teaching priest, and without instruction. The chronicler, who may have been Ezra, was writing for those coming back from exile who needed to know they could get back to the point where they could experience God. So just like in the time of Asa, they could turn to the Lord and seek Him to experience all He had for them. But if they failed to seek the Lord, He would not be with them.

2 Chronicles 15:5-7: Nelson’s Commentary said the Israelites were constantly in danger of war and being robbed; they experienced crime and were plagued by other nations.² Azariah’s message was similar to Judges 5:6-7, in which Israel faced a similar time until Deborah stepped up, and then they experienced a revival. All it took was for someone like Deborah or King Asa to lead people back to the Lord. Unfortunately, we often wait for others to step up rather than stepping up ourselves. Azariah gave the simple solution—seek the Lord.

2 Chronicles 15:8-9: Asa found strength in these words and removed the detestable idols from the whole land. Over the course of years, the kings had let things go, so Asa had to renovate the land and altar the previous kings did not care about. We are really seeing what looks like what we might call a 'modern-day' revival. When Asa led Judah and Benjamin to seek God, people defected from Israel to join Judah because they saw God was with them.

In his book, Experiencing God, Henry Blackaby encouraged people to watch to see where God was working and then join Him there.³When we have a passionate longing to experience God, other people will want that, too. Is your faith so attractive others want to join you because they see the spirit God in your life? Our passion and zeal for God can draw people to the Lord (Isaiah 60:3). In Matthew 5:14-16, Jesus said we are the light of the world. When we let that light shine, people will give glory to God. Acts 13:47 says we are a light for the Gentiles to bring salvation to all. Isaiah mentions God has called us for a righteous purpose—to be a light for the nations (Isaiah 42:6). Deuteronomy 32:21 implied that when Israel fell away to worship idols, God would make them jealous of other nations. In Romans 11:11-12, Paul said that when Israel stumbled, salvation came to the Gentiles to make Israel jealous.

Rick Thomas offered some questions to determine if our lives can attract other people to God: “Can people actually relate to you?” “Do people want to relate to you?” “Do people who are different desire to be around you?”⁴So how do we create a spirit of jealousy in others so they want to know God as we know Him? In 1 Corinthians 11:1, Paul urged believers to “imitate me, as I also imitate Christ.” Here in the Old Testament, Asa was a model for this. People were attracted to Asa because God was working in his life. As he cleansed his life and cleansed the land, others were drawn to God, who was working in his life.

By looking at Hebrews 10:22, we can see how this could happen in our lives. First, we need to have a true heart, a pure heart, and an undivided heart. Psalm 24:3-4 says people with clean hands and a pure heart can approach the Lord. Next, we have to have a confident faith. We know God is big enough that when we remove the idols from our life, He will fill their absence with His presence. Then our hearts have to be cleansed so we have a clear conscience. When Asa cleaned house by destroying the idols throughout the land, he was freed from guilt. When we are cleansed and freed from guilt, we will have a clear conscience that others will notice. Lastly, we have to have a clean body. John 13:10 says when we enter into a relationship with Christ, we have been cleansed. When we have been cleansed, light shines from us and people will either be attracted by Christ in us—or they will be repelled by His light. First John 1:6-7 says when we walk in the light of Christ, then we begin to have fellowship with others. That’s when we begin to see true unity.

CLOSING

King Asa is a model for what we need to do. We need to clean house so the light can permeate us so that people can truly be drawn to Jesus. Asa led the people to gather in Jerusalem and make offerings to the Lord and then enter into a covenant to seek the Lord God with all of their minds and all of their hearts (2 Chronicles 15:12). A prophet spoke truth to a king who decided to do something about it. He changed the culture, the environment, of his nation by removing the idols. His bold actions led others to seek the Lord. When we do this, it will carry over to those around us.