1 Kings 15:1-24

Scripture Reading: Luke 11:5-10

Introduction

As is a Theme in the Period of the Divided Kingdom of Israel…

Our Text Tonight has a Very Depressing Ending to it

But Our Lesson to Take Away from this Story is:

Our Story Doesn’t have to have a Depressing Ending

1 Kings 15:1-24

Last Time We Saw the End of Both Kings of the Divided Kingdom

(Jeroboam of the North & Rehoboam of the South)

They were Both Very Wicked Kings…

Who Led Their People to Live Sinful Lives

Now the Author is Going to Start Showing Us…

The Subsequent Kings of Both Kingdoms

(Kings of Judah Up Top and Kings of Israel at the Bottom)

Tonight, We’ll Look at the 2nd & 3rd Kings of Judah

After Rehoboam’s Death, His Son Abijam Became King Over Southern Judah

He would Only Reign for 3 Years

1 Kings 15:3–5 (NET)

3 He followed all the sinful practices of his father before him. He was not wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord his God, as his ancestor David had been.4 Nevertheless for David’s sake the Lord his God maintained his dynasty in Jerusalem by giving him a son to succeed him and by protecting Jerusalem.5 He did this because David had done what he approved and had not disregarded any of his commandments his entire lifetime, except for the incident involving Uriah the Hittite.

Kings has Nothing Good to Say about Abijam

He was Just as Bad as His Father Rehoboam

But 2 Chronicles 13 Tells Us of a Time Where He Trusted God…

And God Gave Him a Great Victory Over Jeroboam & Northern Israel

Judah and Israel were Constantly Fighting with One Another

So, Abijam had His Moments, But Overall, He was a Sinful King

After 3 Years of Reigning as King of Judah, Abijam Dies…

And His Son Asa Becomes King of Judah

Asa would Reign for 41 Years in Judah

Asa will Outlive 5 of Israel’s Kings

Asa was One of the Few Good Kings in Judah’s History

1 Kings 15:11–14 (CSB)

11 Asa did what was right in the Lord’s sight, as his ancestor David had done. 12 He banished the male cult prostitutes from the land and removed all of the idols that his ancestors had made. 13 He also removed his grandmother Maacah from being queen mother because she had made an obscene image of Asherah. Asa chopped down her obscene image and burned it in the Kidron Valley. 14 The high places were not taken away, but Asa was wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord his entire life.

Asa was Good

Chronicles Gives Us Even More Details:

2 Chronicles 14:2–7 (CSB)

2 Asa did what was good and right in the sight of the Lord his God. 3 He removed the pagan altars and the high places. He shattered their sacred pillars and chopped down their Asherah poles. 4 He told the people of Judah to seek the Lord God of their ancestors and to carry out the instruction and the commands. 5 He also removed the high places and the shrines from all the cities of Judah, and the kingdom experienced peace under him.

6 Because the land experienced peace, Asa built fortified cities in Judah. No one made war with him in those days because the Lord gave him rest. 7 So he said to the people of Judah, “Let’s build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, with doors and bars. The land is still ours because we sought the Lord our God. We sought him and he gave us rest on every side.” So they built and succeeded.

He Commanded Judah to Seek God

And Because He Sought God…

God Gave Judah Rest/Peace from Their Enemies for 10 Years

When that Period of Peace was Over…

The Cushites/Ethiopians Came to Battle with Judah

The had a Massive Army (“A Thousand Thousands”)

Asa Turned to God for Help:

2 Chronicles 14:11–12 (NASB95)

11 Then Asa called to the Lord his God and said, “Lord, there is no one besides You 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 have come against this multitude. O Lord, You are our God; let not man prevail against You.” 12 So the Lord routed the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled.

Asa Trusted in God’s Ability/Willingness…

To Help the Helpless Who Trust in Him

God Even Sent a Prophet to Encourage Asa to Continue Trusting Him

2 Chronicles 15:1–2 (NASB95)

1 Now the Spirit of God came on Azariah the son of Oded, 2 and 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. And if you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.

This Led to Asa Commanding Even More Spiritual Restoration in Judah

2 Chronicles 15:8–15 (NASB95)

8 Now when Asa heard these words and the prophecy which Azariah the son of Oded the prophet spoke, he took courage and removed the abominable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities which he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. He then restored the altar of the Lord which was in front of the porch of the Lord.

9 He gathered all Judah and Benjamin and those from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon who resided with them, for many defected to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him. 10 So they assembled at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign. 11 They sacrificed to the Lord that day 700 oxen and 7,000 sheep from the spoil they had brought.

12 They entered into the covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and soul; 13 and whoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman. 14 Moreover, they made an oath to the Lord with a loud voice, with shouting, with trumpets and with horns. 15 All Judah rejoiced concerning the oath, for they had sworn with their whole heart and had sought Him earnestly, and He let them find Him. So the Lord gave them rest on every side.

This Restoration that He was Commanding was All About:

Seeking God

Asa is Known as a King Who Sought God

And When You Seek God…

He will Let You Find Him

But, Unfortunately, King Asa wasn’t Perfect

He Didn’t Remove All the High Places

After Dedicating Gold, Silver, & Utensils to the Temple…

In His 36th Year of Reigning as King…

He Took Them Back and Gave Them to the King of Aram…

In Order to Acquire a Treaty with Him

Why Did He Want a Treaty with Aram?

The King of Aram had a Treaty with Northern Israel…

And Northern Israel, Under the Rulership of King Baasha…

Had Taken a City of Judah, Ramah

So the King of Aram Broke His Treaty with Baasha, King of Israel…

And Formed a Treaty with Asa, King of Judah

Then the King of Aram Began Attacking Cities of Israel

This Caused Baasha of Israel to Back Off From Ramah…

And Go to His Own City of Tirzah

Asa’s Treaty Accomplished What He Wanted…

But God wasn’t Happy About it

And What Chronicles Tells Us Next is So Disappointing:

2 Chronicles 16:7–12 (NLT)

7 At that time Hanani the seer came to King Asa and told him, “Because you have put your trust in the king of Aram instead of in the Lord your God, you missed your chance to destroy the army of the king of Aram. 8 Don’t you remember what happened to the Ethiopians and Libyans and their vast army, with all of their chariots and charioteers? At that time you relied on the Lord, and he handed them over to you.

9 The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. What a fool you have been! From now on you will be at war.” 10 Asa became so angry with Hanani for saying this that he threw him into prison and put him in stocks. At that time Asa also began to oppress some of his people.

11 The rest of the events of Asa’s reign, from beginning to end, are recorded in The Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 12 In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa developed a serious foot disease. Yet even with the severity of his disease, he did not seek the Lord’s help but turned only to his physicians.

Application

Asa has Been the Best King We’ve Seen in a Long Time

He Started a Massive Restoration in Judah from Idolatry and Sin

He Trusted God

He Obeyed God

And He Sought God

But as Time Went on, He Began to Move Away from God

Asa Stopped Trusting God

Asa had Been Incredibly Outnumbered By the Ethiopians…

But He Won Because He Trusted God to Win the Battle for Him

But Later in His Reign…

He Began to Trust in Military Alliances, Instead of God

Asa Stopped Obeying God

Unlike His Father, Grandfather, and Great Grandfather…

Asa Commanded the People of Judah to Obey God

He was a Faithful & Righteous King…

Who Led His People in Obedience

But After Being Rebuked for Not Trusting in God…

He Became Angry and Turned from Obedience

He Threw a Prophet in Prison…

For Delivering a Message From God to Him that He Didn’t Like

Then He Started Mistreating Others of His People as Well

He’s Become Disobedient & Tyrannical…

Just Like His Fore-Fathers

Asa Stopped Seeking God

His Reign for Over 30 Years…

Was Characterized By Seeking God

He Sought God in All Circumstances of Life

He Knew God could Defeat Giant Warriors with Slings and Stones

He Knew God could Defeat an Army of a “Thousand Thousands”…

With a Significantly Less Army

He Faithfully and Obediently Sought God His Entire Life

But Then He Completely Stopped

He wouldn’t Even Seek God’s Help for a Foot Disease

King Asa is One of the Most Disappointing Stories in the OT

In Him, We See Just How Quickly & Disastrously…

Someone can Fall

He was as Faithful and Obedient as They Come

He Sought God in All Aspects of Life

But He Ended His Life in Faithlessness & Disobedience

He Stopped Seeking God

What an Absolutely Depressing Story

There’s Absolutely No Reason Our Story has to End Like Asa’s

We can Remain Faithful

We can Remain Obedient

And We can Keep Seeking God…

Because We Know that Those Who Seek Him will Find Him

Whatever Life is Throwing at You or Will Throw at You…

Don’t Stop Trusting God

Don’t Stop Obeying Him

Don’t Stop Seeking Him

King Jesus is Coming and He’s Going to Restore All Things

He’s Going to Fix Your Brokenness and All Brokenness

Don’t Give Up on Him

Don’t Stop Seeking Him

His Kingdom is Coming