2 Chronicles 16:1-3 -
In the thirty-sixth year of Asa's
reign Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and fortified
Ramah to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the territory of Asa king of
Judah. Asa then took the silver and gold
out of the treasuries of the LORD's temple and of his own palace and sent it to
Ben-Hadad king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus. "Let there be a treaty
between me and you," he said, "as there was between my father and
your father. See, I am sending you silver and gold. Now break your treaty with
Baasha king of Israel so he will withdraw from me."
Asa had been king for 36 years when the King of Israel declared
war on his kingdom. King Baasha placed
his army in Ramah…and controlled the roads in and out of Jerusalem. Asa’s
military counter was to send the gold and silver from his palace…and the gold
and silver from the Temple of God to the king of Syria...wishing to entice him
to reestablish the treaty his father entered into many years before.
It worked…for the short moment that the King of Syria said
sure….and king Baasha retreated. But
then the prophet Hanani came to rebuke his use of God’s gold and silver without
asking God’s permission. He delivered a harsh message from God that he would
now have to endure war from Syria’s king for the rest of his reign …and
rebuking him for allowing his heart to forget how God had helped him when he
was completely sold out to him…instead of relying on man.
Asa is the picture of many Christians today…drawing close to
God in our neediest times…then becoming complacent as he piles his blessings on
us. We allow satan to slip in the back
doors of our hearts…and he slowly builds a barricade of justification…for us to
forget where those blessings came from.
We begin to rely on our own devices… and forget to call out to God…and
wait on his answers. We build a group of friends around us that think our
decisions are all just fine….as we break God’s heart over and over because we
never call him up to discuss things with him.
I am confident is this…I can’t plead the 5th with
God. He knows my heart…even knows what I
will ultimately decide. He knows that I just can’t imagine abandoning or forgetting
the one person who has given me the strength to keep going the last 4 years.
Perhaps my convictions on this are so strong because my own heart has been
broken twice….for the divorce of one husband…and death of another cut pretty
deep scars in that heart tissue. Perhaps it more the daily time I spend with
him writing…he is my best friend…and I simply have to talk to him every day…sometimes
more than once.
Asa may have simply forgot to go to the Temple one day and pray. Perhaps he got too busy with his king
reponsibilities. Perhaps he became self-sufficient
because of the great blessings God allowed him to collect. Somehow satan snuck
in the back door of his once passionate heart…and built a wall of complacency…that
blocked his desire to check everything he did with his heavenly father. And
ultimately brought down some pretty heavy judgement from God…which made his
last years on Earth pretty hard.
What a great reminder to check my heart for any signs of
satan this morning. Oh how I need to cry out to God to wash me clean with his
merciful grace and cleansing blood of his son Jesus Christ...who died to make
sure I always have a way to speak with his father. As the writer of
Lamentations 3:40 said…. “Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us
return to the LORD.” Let us all examine our hearts…and make sure the fire he
lit the day he saved us is burning bright with a passion to serve him only.
Father…thank you for the reminder to check my heart this
morning…and be sure that you are in complete control of all that I do. Help me to kick to the curb anything that has
taken root in my life that might lead me to become self-sufficient and stop
calling out to you for any help I need. Add the fuel you need to the fire in my
heart to keep it burning brightly…so you can use me to lead others to you.
Amen.
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