Asa: Stumbling At The Finish Line

Introduction

Well, as I’ve already announced, tonight’s subject is Asa. King Asa, stumbling at the finish line. I have to admit a lot of trepidation and concern about this sermon. I’ve got to tell you what it’s like. When I was asked by Florida College nine months ago to write a 5,000-word essay on Asa that’s now published in a book, which I will receive this week, and then contemplate presenting this lesson on Thursday morning upcoming in front of many elders and preachers and people from all over the country and students, along with the fact that I’m preaching on Wednesday night at Henderson Boulevard in Tampa, and then on Friday morning, before I return on Saturday, I get to speak to the chapel assembly at Florida College and all the young people there, and so Brett’s all excited about that his dad’s going to speak at chapel.

And I’ve never done that before. So I’ve got a lot of fear going on. And I tell you, just in regard to this lesson, you’re going to get the abbreviated version of this.

This could change a lot between now and Thursday. And I guess my greatest fear is that when I get done with this tonight, you’re going to say, boy, you do need to make some changes before Thursday. And it’s when I’ve been working on something for nine months, like I have this and thinking about it so much, I guess it’s sort of like giving birth, right? After nine months. So this is my attempt to do that. Well, this sermon could actually be really short tonight. And I know you’d like that. Because figuring out why Asa stumbled at the finish line really isn’t that difficult when you consider what we mentioned this morning. That Asa was diseased in his feet in his latter years, and you know you can’t run a race with inoperative feet.

And so we could conclude this whole thing by saying that’s why he stumbled at the finish line because his feet weren’t working properly. But of course, there’s a lot more to it than that, and we’re talking about spiritual concerns and not physical problems. Well, the story of Asa, how familiar are you with it? Let me just tell you that I think this is one of the neglected characters of the Old Testament, and one that we can learn a great deal from if we knew more about him. He is the third monarch of the southern kingdom of Judah that would make him the great grandson of King Solomon, the grandson of Rehoboam. His father, Abijem, had reigned for a very brief time. And now it is his turn to reign, and he has one of the most lengthy reigns over all of Judah.

Only Manasseh reigned longer, 55 years. Asa’s 41 year reign is impressive, and what’s even more impressive is that it’s told in a total of 17 verses in the first Kings account. And begins with a very glowing report of which it is not said of Rehoboam or his father Abijem in verse 11 of 1 Kings 15. And Asa did what was right in the sight of the Lord, like David his father. A remarkably brief account when you consider the kind of man he was and the great reforms that he produced in the nation of Judah. And it seems to me that the example of Asa carries over in the faith of his son, Jehoshaphat. And you might know, and we mentioned him this morning, you might know more even about him than you do his father Asa.

But we’re met quickly in the text in 1 Kings chapter 15 with a very courageous act of Asa. Look at verse 13. He also removed, among the other spiritual reforms that are mentioned in verse 12, he also removed Maiacia, his mother. She is actually Maiacah was the wife of Rehoboam. And that would make him his grandmother. But Maeka, he removed her from being queen mother because she had made an horrid image as an Asherah. And Asa cut down her horrid image and burned it at the brook Kidrod. Being the wife of a king, royal matriarchs often had influence in the affairs of state. Thus she is called the queen mother. What courage it takes to remove the queen mother, the grandmother, from her official capacities because of her immorality.

And so Maiacah is right up there with Athaliah as the most wicked grandmothers. Remember Atheliah killed her own grandsons. The most wicked grandmothers of the Old Testament. And it seems that what Asa understood that if his spiritual reforms were going to stick and influence the nation, that grandma’s got to go. And so Maiacah is removed. But his fear of Basha, king of Israel, would ultimately contribute to his spiritual decline as Asa appeals to Ben Hadad of Aram or Syria rather than relying solely upon the living God. And the king’s account brings this out, but the Chronicles account will deal with it in more detail. Now I have to deal with what I will call not the elephant in the room, but the elephant in the study of King Asa.

We have already observed that he is compared to David, his father. And we will see also in verse 14 that the high places were not taken away. Nevertheless, the heart of Asa was wholly devoted to the Lord all his days. And I have that phrase underlined in my Bible. He was wholly devoted to the Lord all his days. Well, what about this stumbling at the finish line that you talked about? And then when you go over to the Chronicles account, and you might want to begin turning there, we’ll be looking at it shortly. In 2 Chronicles chapter 16, as it speaks of the high places not being removed and Makah being removed, it says in verse 17, nevertheless, Asa’s heart was blameless all his days. Asa was fully committed to the Lord.

And that’s interesting, especially in this context, because his failures are about to be chronicled in chapter 16. And so, how do you reconcile 1 Kings 15 and verse 14 that Asa was wholly devoted to the Lord all of his days, and nevertheless Asa’s heart was blameless all his days with what ultimately transpires. The point is in these two verses, that Asa was fully committed to the worship of God. He never diverted from that path. While some used the high places, he himself did not waver in his worship of God in the manner and place prescribed by him. These statements do not contradict the spiritual troubles that Asa is about to encounter in his latter years. This is just said in contrast to the worship of false gods and false images, and Asa stayed fully committed to the worship of Jehovah.

Now, a side note that we could make here is that just because we engage in the right forms of worship does not mean that our heart is fully attuned to God the way it needs to be, and we can slit spiritually despite attending all the services of the local church. He never deviated from worship of Jehovah unto false gods, and yet we notice his spiritual decline. Now, when you come to the 2 Chronicles text, it is tripled in length from the 1 Kings account. And there are three telling phrases in the beginning of the account in 2 Chronicles chapter 14. Again, I have all of these underlined in verse 1. The land was undisturbed for 10 years during his days. And there are time markers throughout the Chronicles account for the reign of Asa.

The land was undisturbed for 10 years during his days. Verse 6, at the end of that verse, the Lord had given him rest. And finally in verse 7, so they built and prospered. And the point of those phrases is that fidelity to God, faithfulness and loyalty to God brings peace. Asa’s reign was attended with peace because of his faithfulness to God. But now we’re introduced in the Chronicles account to the first major crisis. Zerah. Young people, you’ve heard about Zerah the Ethiopian, right? Well, maybe not. He comes against Asa with a massive army. Your translations, most of them say the army of a million men. Can you imagine it? Literally, in the Hebrew, it is a thousand. There’s some other ways of looking at that expression, and maybe coming up with a number that is less than a million.

People are unsure if there was exactly an army of a million men. I won’t go into all those explanations now. But needless to say that on paper, this was a mismatch. Ethiopia’s army was much larger than the army that Asa could muster, even though it was rather large in size. And realizing this mismatch, what does Asa do? This is important in the Asa story. Verse 11. And I want you to mark this verse because this is one of the great prayers of the Old Testament. We’re talking about prayer in our high school class upstairs. So young people in my high school class notice this prayer. Then Asa called to the Lord his God and said, Lord, there is no one besides thee 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.

O Lord, thou art our God, let no man prevail against you. And then I want you to underscore the words that follow. So the Lord routed the Ethiopians. Before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. And Asa and his armies pursued them. Like so many other glorious battles won in Scripture, including our own battle. Humbly invoke the assistance of the one who can give victory. As we work out our own salvation and fear and trembling, we must remember that it is through God that we achieve victory. For it is God who works in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Paul says in Philippians 2 and verse 13. And so when we come to chapter 15, more reforms are encouraged. As Asa receives a message from Azariah, the prophet.

He says, Listen to me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. He tells them in verse 7, be strong and do not lose courage, for there is reward for your work. And so when Asa heard these words in verse 8, and the prophecy which Azariah, the son of Obed the prophet, spoke, he took courage. He removed abominable idols, he restored the altar of the Lord in verse 8. And there were many who defected to Asa in those days, according to verse 9, because they saw that the Lord God was with him. And so they assembled at Jerusalem in the third month of the 15th year of Asa’s reign. And notice the spiritual emphasis of this gathering as they reaffirmed their covenant commitment to God. They sacrificed to the Lord 700 oxen and 7,000 sheep.

They entered into the covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers, and whoever did not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, should be put to death. Well, you talk about extreme, radical commitment. Whoever should not seek the Lord God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great. Moreover, they made an oath to the Lord with a loud voice, with shouting and trumpets and with horns, and all Judah rejoiced concerning the oath. And then the reforms that we looked at earlier, and there was no more war in verse 19 until the 35th year of his reign. But that’s chapter 15. And now we come to chapter 16, where we say the proverbial wheels fall off. These ominous words. In the 36th year of Asa’s reign.

Basha, king of Israel, came up against Judah and fortified Ramah in order to prevent anyone from going out or coming in to Asa, king of Judah. Following that, Asa makes an appeal to Ben Hadad, King of Syria, King of Aaron, and enlists his assistance in overcoming his adversary to the north, the king of Israel, King Basha. Enter Hananai, the seer. In 2 Chronicles 16 and verse 7, at that time Hananai, the seer came to Asa, king of Judah, and said to him, Because you have relied on the king of Aaron and have not relied on the Lord your God, therefore the army of the king of Aram has escaped out of your hand. We’re not the Ethiopians. Let’s do a little history lesson here, Asa. We’re not the Ethiopians and the Lubim an immense army with many chariots and horsemen.

Yet because you relied on the Lord, he delivered them into your hand. For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth, that he may strongly support those whose hearts are completely his. But you have acted foolishly. From now on, you will surely have wars. How did Asa respond to that? It’s hard to hear that you have acted improper. This reminds me of the time that Nathan comes to David, his great-great-grandfather, and says, You’re the man. And the response of David was, I have sinned against the Lord. He humbles himself. So perhaps his great-great-grandson will again walk in the footsteps of David like he has done in the past. No, sir. He takes it out upon the people. He is enraged and persecutes some of the people.

1. Asa's Story Is One of Unrealized Potential

He oppressed some of the people at that time. And furthermore, he has God Seer thrown into prison. Perhaps he will come to his senses. No. In the 39th year of his reign, Asa becomes diseased in his feet, and even though his disease was severe, yet even in this disease, he did not seek the Lord but the physicians. And then this concluding note, Asa slept with his fathers, having died in the 41st year of his reign. How tragic. Stumbling at the finish line. What do we learn from the story of Asa? And this tragic decline in his later years. Asa’s story, sadly, is one of unrealized potential. You know, something leaped out at me in my study of Asa. Here was a man who was on the cusp of spiritual greatness.

Here was a man whose reforms and leadership in the nation of Judah, like his great-great-grandfather David, might have just placed him right next to David in Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 32 in the great hall of faith. Time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Asa and David. But his name is not there. Is it? What a tragedy. I’ll tell you, this occurs to me. That whenever a person stumbles at the finish line, whenever a person walks away from the Lord, whenever their lives go into spiritual decline, it is always a case of unrealized potential. Oh, what could have been? Oh, what could have been accomplished for the Lord? I know Asa accomplished great things, notable things, and many kings did not live up to his standard.

2. The Steps That Led to His Stumbling

But oh, what more could have been accomplished if Asa had continued to rely upon the Lord as he had evidenced in the early portion of his reign? Interesting. While 1 Kings makes the David connection, that Asa was like David and walked in the ways of David, the chronicler who goes more into the failures of Asa in the latter part of his reign, he doesn’t make the same connection in his telling of the Asa story. Well, here we get to the real issue involved in Asa’s stumbles. What happened? What were the steps that led to his stumbling? And when I think about the likening of this story to a race, and stumbling at the finish line, I could not help but think of the Olympics. The winter Olympics are about to unfold in Russia of all places.

And it’s going to happen. Some speed skater who’s close to gaining victory is going to wipe out. You know what? They go so fast and they’re leaning so much on those turns, he’s going to wipe out and head into the sideboards. And his Olympic dreams are going to be dashed. And I tell you, I watch figure skating just for this reason.

The triple axle triple flip that fails and they go crashing on the ice. Huge disappointment. All the training, all the work, years of preparation. But in terms of the Summer Olympics, an actual running of a race on a track, I think of the tragedy of 1984. Yeah, Martha’s going like this. Mary Decker. The favorite in the 3,000 meters, the American hopeful. Prepared her whole life for this event. She was the favorite to win. The Olympics that year were held in Los Angeles to win an Olympic gold in your home country, but then there was the stumble. She tripped over that barefoot runner from Great Britain, Zola Bud. Would we have ever remembered her name? Had it not been for that tragic stumble. As she tripped on the foot of Zola Bud and down she goes crashing, and then she epitomized the agony of defeat.

But this stumbling by Asa at the finish line was no accident. There were some very real steps that led to his tragic stumble. And most often, it is not a single episode, or a single event, or a single moment of spiritual crisis that leads to the implosion. It is often something that happens over time. A gradual descent away from God. A stumbling in which one continues. And I think that’s evidenced that in the sunset years of the life of Asa. He failed in the very area where he had experienced success. I think that’s one of the reasons why attention is given to his great prayer in chapter 14 and his victory over the Ethiopians. He won that victory. The Lord routed the Ethiopians because Asa had trusted in God.

But where is this trust now? King Basha is nothing compared to the Ethiopian army of a million men. Where is his trust now? And I don’t think it was just all of a sudden we get to chapter 16 in the 36th year of his reign. All of a sudden his faith is gone. Something has happened through the years. Perhaps it was the time from the 15th year of Asa to the 35th year of Asa. Somewhere in that 20 year period, perhaps it was the demands of running a kingdom. Or the size of the royal family and his attention given to all the affairs of state. Somehow, in that period of time, his trust in God has waned significantly, perhaps even unrealized by him. Trust, the absence of trust, is always the problem.

It’s the reason why people never get in the race in the first place. It’s the reason why people fall out of the race and become, as Paul said, disqualified. Because they surrender trust. I’m told Psalm 118 and verse 8 is the center verse in the Bible. I believe I’ve mentioned that to you before, preached a sermon around it. I don’t know really how relevant that statistic is, but I do know the center verse in the Bible is relevant to the circumstances of Asa and our own. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes. Asa put his trust in Ben Hadad rather than the Lord. And with a failure to trust, what inevitably follows is a failure in godliness.

As trust wanes, godliness diminishes also. When we are looking at life from a vertical perspective, we are strong. But when we begin to look from a horizontal perspective, our faith can weaken. And that’s what we see in Psalm 73, the Psalm I mentioned this morning, the Psalm of Asap. As he struggled, as he looked at things horizontally, but then he corrects himself toward the end of the Psalm and says, the nearness of God is my good. And when he started to look back vertically again, Asaph begins his recovery. Spiritual laziness so often occurs from getting comfortable. And perhaps as Asa got comfortable and started looking more horizontally than vertically, his godliness suffered. And I’ve said to you many times, I don’t even need to repeat this really.

It’s not about just being godlike, the easy definition for godliness. Godliness is the idea of being God focused. Something has happened. In the failure of trust, his godliness has suffered as well. And the failures in trust and godliness inevitably lead to a failure in sowing to the Spirit. I have not made the connection for a long time in Galatians 6 and verse 9. If we do not lose heart, if we do not grow weary and doing good, in due time we shall reap. Paul says in Galatians 6 and verse 9, therein is the pitfall of so many. And perhaps even Asa. Over time he’s grown weary. His faith has grown weak. If we do not faint, in due time we shall reap. But then the previous two verses.

Say, God is not mocked. Whatever a man sows, that shall he also reap. He that sows to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption. And that’s what Asa is doing in his trust and reliance on the flesh. He that sows to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption, but he that sows to the spirit shall of the spirit reap everlasting life. And so here he is, diseased in his feet later on in his 39th year, and he’s concerned about his physical condition, while his spiritual condition should have been a greater concern. Concerned and focused on the flesh rather than the spirit. And so it occurs to me that the verses that precede verse 9 tell us something very important. People grow weary and faint when they start sowing to the flesh rather than sowing to the spirit.

Finally, what is evidenced in the stumbling of Asa is that Asa forgot that who he was without God. Without God, he was just a man. An impotent mortal, a dying sinner. His kingdom had not flourished because of him, but because God was with him. And his troubles began when he forgot that important fact. It was not because of him, it was because of God’s provision as a result of his faith. And it was because of promises that he had made to David and really promises that he had made to Abraham long before that. The moment we forget our place in God’s creation and his order of things, spiritual disaster comes.

How God depended. We all are. And I’ll tell you what happens sometimes to leaders.

3. The Unsung Hero of the Asa Story

Over time we begin to think I’ve done enough. I’ve accomplished enough. We rest on our laurels, our achievements. Look at all of the reforms that I instituted. I have led the people back to God. I’ve done enough. You have done only that what you ought to have done. Look at all the good I’ve done compared to others. Look at who I am and what I’ve done. No, God has been instrumental in all of my successes. And I’ve only done any of it by God’s help. God was instrumental in his past successes. And he would be instrumental in his successes now if he only would have trusted in him. A third thing, a couple of brief points that I want to make in conclusion. The unsung hero of the Asa story is Hananai.

4. How Close the Finish Line Really Was

Do you know how hard it is to have to come to the most powerful man of Judah and say you’re doing wrong? Hananni is thrown in prison for that hard message he had to deliver. Those of us who preach the word need not be too concerned about the reactions it receives. The rebuke, the criticism, the rejection, the persecution. The important thing is we deliver the message that people need to hear. Regardless of the consequences. Regardless of whether it falls upon favorable ears or not. He said, You have not relied upon God. The Lord will strongly support those whose hearts are completely in, and that is not Asa’s heart now. And Hanan is punished. The fourth point that I would make in regard to the story of Asa.

As I see the story of Asa unfold in the scriptures, I am horrified at how it all seems to fall apart in the last half a dozen years. Of what has been a glorious reign to the glory of God? Thirty-five years of success and peace. And now in the final short six years of his life, it all unravels. Did he have any idea how close the finish line really was? I mentioned to you recently, Romans 13. Our salvation is nearer to us than when we believed.

Wouldn’t it be tragic to fall into these failures that we’ve seen in the life of Asa? When the finished line is so close.

5. The Faithful Need to Be Determined to the End

You know what’s even more tragic in the story are the words of his great grandfather. You know when he makes this decision to trust in Ben Hadad in regard to his problems with Basha. You know what’s not ringing in his ears? The words of David. Some boast in chariots and some in horses. But we will boast in the name of the Lord our God. If only those words had been ringing in his ear. And the final point that needs to be made about his stumbling, his tragic stumbling in his latter years is that the faithful need to be determined all the way to the end. I mention this wherever I go and preach.

That if you look back at a church directory from just five years ago, you will see the names of people who are no longer serving the Lord. That’s true of every place that I ever go. What a tragedy that there may be people sitting here tonight who said, like those people. Oh, that’s never going to happen to me. I’m never going to give up on the Lord. I’m never going to surrender my walk with him. But in a space of less than five years, the odds are that someone here tonight in this smaller group than the one I’m going to be preaching to on Thursday. But somebody even here tonight, listening to these words and taking them to heart may be one of those people down the road when circumstances turn sour in their lives.

When things get difficult, things that you never thought would unfold. Who five years from now, the Lord allows the earth to stand to the year 2019. Someone here tonight who will not have continued their walk of faith. Folks, the finish line, while it may seem to be a long way away, was a lot closer than Asa ever dreamed it was. And it may be a lot closer for you than you think it is. Sufficient determination will demand patience. And as Gary Henry says in his book Reaching Forward, and patience comes down to what old timers used to call grit. But mark it well. Grit is not something that some people are born with and others are not. It’s a matter of choice on the part of every person.

Conclusion

Furthermore, it’s not a choice that can be made and once been forgotten. While the world still stands, each new day will ask us for another decision. Are you determined to see God? Seek the Lord. Trust the Lord. Adore the Lord. Serve the Lord. And I can guarantee you this. No one who has ever done so now regrets it.

Faithful to the finish line. Have you even entered the glorious race? If you’re not a Christian, we offer the Lord’s invitation to anyone who needs to respond tonight to get in the greatest race that is and be faithful all the way to the end. If we can help someone who’s lost their way, who needs encouragement or prayers, won’t you respond now as we stand and sing together?