Thanks Be to God, Who Gives Us the Victory1
2 Chronicles 14:1-15
1Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David. And Asa his son reigned in his place. In his days the land had rest for ten years. (Asa’s reign was a change for the better. Abijah worshiped Jehovah, but he allowed idol worship in his kingdom. The godless group multiplied and polluted the nation with their idolatry and immoral behavior. Abijah and his favorite queens supported and helped these evil people and the nation grew worse. It is remarkable that even though his mother and father were bad, Asa did what was good. It is clear from this that children will not turn out wicked simply because their parents were.)
2And Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God. 3He took away the foreign altars and the high places and broke down the pillars and cut down the Asherim 4and commanded Judah to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, and to keep the law and the commandment. (Asa made a complete change. He got rid of not only the images of the false gods, but the sacred groves where they were worshiped. Oh that we might live to see such a complete cleaning up of our own land! Let us pray for it.) 5He also took out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the incense altars. And the kingdom had rest under him.
6He built fortified cities in Judah, for the land had rest. He had no war in those years, for the LORD gave him peace. 7And he said to Judah, “Let us build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours, because we have sought the LORD our God. We have sought him, and he has given us peace on every side.” So they built and prospered. (They obeyed God and he blessed them. But even though this was obvious, their history shows their faithfulness did not last long.) 8And Asa had an army of 300,000 from Judah, armed with large shields and spears, and 280,000 men from Benjamin that carried shields and drew bows. All these were mighty men of valor.
9Zerah the Ethiopian came out against them with an army of a million men and 300 chariots, and came as far as Mareshah. 10And Asa went out to meet him, and they drew up their lines of battle in the Valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. (The good king had his trials. His obedience brought prosperity, but it did not protect him from every trouble.) 11And Asa cried to the LORD his God, “O LORD, there is none like you to help, between the mighty and the weak. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this multitude. O LORD, you are our God; let not man prevail against you.”
This is a great example of the prayer of faith. The million soldiers of Zerah are not enough to shake his faith. He knows they are nothing before the Lord and does not fear their large number. He is not discouraged because his army is not as strong as Zerah’s. He knows the Lord is all powerful and does not depend on the strength of his people. It is a glorious thing to be able to call on the Lord our God and then to rest in him without concern or fear; knowing that our cause is safe because it is about the Lord’s honor and it is in his own hands. Let us follow Asa’s example. Let us trust God and not be afraid when we encounter great trails and difficulties.
12So the LORD defeated the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. 13Asa and the people who were with him pursued them as far as Gerar, and the Ethiopians fell until none remained alive, for they were broken before the LORD and his army. The men of Judah carried away very much spoil. 14And they attacked all the cities around Gerar, for the fear of the LORD was upon them. They plundered all the cities, for there was much plunder in them. 15And they struck down the tents of those who had livestock and carried away sheep in abundance and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem. (They were more than conquerors, as believers always are. They gained greatly by the very thing that threatened to destroy them. If we will only trust the Lord in the same way, the same experience will certainly be ours. Greater is he that is for us than all that are against us.2)
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