2 Chronicles 16:1-2
Asa's Last Years
In the thirty-sixth year of the reign of Asa, Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and built Ramah, that he might permit no one to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. Then Asa took silver and gold from the treasures of the house of the Lord and the king's house and sent them to Ben-hadad king of Syria, who lived in Damascus, saying,
Truth: In old age we are not exempt from following and worship God with our whole heart!
Chapter 16 of this book ought to be for all men and women of retirement age ... especially men. When, after years of service to the Lord and this age group reaches a comfort level with material things (meaning they have material things), why do they forsake God? Over and over again in this book about the Kings of Judah, we see men in their old age, forsake the following of the True King. King Asa is a prime of example of what happens when you get old, comfortable, and complacent. When the King Baasha came against Asa, instead of turning to God he turns to the King of Syria for support. As you read later in the chapter, Syria does bail Asa out and defeats King Baasha. However, note the results of trusting in an outside source rather than God:
2 Chronicles 16:7-9
At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, “Because you relied on the king of Syria, and did not rely on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Syria has escaped you. Were not the Ethiopians and the Libyans a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on the Lord, he gave them into your hand. For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. You have done foolishly in this, for from now on you will have wars.”
God sees us when we rely on our own strength, wisdom and power. We are futile when we attempt to live life in this manner. God wants to care for us and wants to strengthen us. He wants us to come to Him in faith. When we reject Him for the things of this world; for the false power found in empty vessels of this world, we lose out on His blessings and we put ourselves into the place of King Asa. We are to grow more and more dependent upon God; despite our age and our comfort.
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