FINISHIN

G
STRONG!
2 CHRONICLES 14 - 17
2 CHRONICLES 14: 2-6
2 Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God, 3 for
he removed the altars of the foreign gods and the [a]high places, and
broke down the sacred pillars and cut down the wooden images. 4 He
commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers, and to observe
the law and the commandment. 5 He also removed the [b]high places
and the incense altars from all the cities of Judah, and the kingdom was
quiet under him. 6 And he built fortified cities in Judah, for the land had
rest; he had no war in those years, because the Lord had given him rest.
7
2 CHRONICLES 14: 9-11
9 Then Zerah the Ethiopian came out against them with an army of a
million men and three hundred chariots, and he came to Mareshah. 10
So Asa went out against him, and they set the troops in battle array in
the Valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. 11 And Asa cried out to the Lord
his God, and said, “Lord, it is nothing for You to help, whether with
many or with those who have no power; help us, O Lord our God, for
we rest on You, and in Your name we go against this multitude. O Lord,
You are our God; do not let man prevail against You!”
 WHO IS KING ASA?
• SON OF ABIJAH, GREAT GRANDSON OF
SOLOMON
• SOLOMON (DID RIGHT IN THE EYES OF
GOD BUT DID NOT END WELL)
• REHOBOAM (DID EVIL IN THE EYES OF
THE LORD. CAUSED DIVISION IN THE
KINGDOM
• ABIJAH (DID EVIL IN THE EYES OF THE
LORD
• HE RULED FOR 41 YEARS AND
CAUSED PEACE BETWEEN JUDAH AND
ISRAEL
• HIS HEART IS LOYAL TO THE LORD
• PRAYERFUL.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR KING ASA:
Now the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded. 2 And he went out [a]to
meet Asa, and said to him: “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is
with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if
you forsake Him, He will forsake you. 3 For a long time Israel has been without the
true God, without a teaching priest, and without law; 4 but when in their trouble they
turned to the Lord God of Israel, and sought Him, He was found by them. 5 And in
those times there was no peace to the one who went out, nor to the one who came in,
but great turmoil was on all the inhabitants of the lands. 6 So nation was [b]destroyed
by nation, and city by city, for God troubled them with every adversity. 7 But you, be
strong and do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded!”
 ASA'S
• REFORMATIONS
He was encouraged by the Word spoken to him First love. (v. 8)

:
• He took courage. He is very courageous.(v. 8)
• removed idols from all the lands of Judah and Benjamin (v. 8)
• Restored the altar of the Lord that was before the vestibule of the Lord (v. 8)
• People came over in great number when they saw that the Lord was with (v.9)
• They entered to to covenant to seek the Lord of their fathers with all their hearts and with all their souls
(v.12-13)
• He chose God over his parents - He removed Maachah, his mother, from being Queen mother because
she made an idol for herself
• There was no war until his 35th year!
ASA'S LOSING
END:
at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said to him: “Because you
have relied on the king of Syria, and have not relied on the Lord your God, therefore
the army of the king of Syria has escaped from your hand. 8 Were the Ethiopians and
the Lubim not a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet, because you
relied on the Lord, He delivered them into your hand. 9 For the eyes of the Lord run
to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those
whose heart is loyal to Him. In this you have done foolishly; therefore from now on
you shall have wars.” 10 Then Asa was angry with the seer, and put him in prison, for
he was enraged at him because of this. And Asa oppressed some of the people at that
time.
 WHAT WENT WRONG?
• after reading the 2 chapters, i fell inlove with Asa's piety. who did not? I admired his COURAGE. i
admired his LOYALTY. I admired his LEADERSHIP. I was encouraged with his life and wanted to
follow him. I was inspired to fight for God the way he did for God. Maybe you did too.
• He made a treaty with Syria. Was this an honest mistake? Deutronomy 7:2
• He sought allegiance to men over the Lord when Baasha king of Israel went over him to oppress him.
Maybe he got used to peace for so long that a new attack caught him off-guard. Most of our losing ends
are faced when we are off-guard.
• He used the treasury of the Lord to seek men's help with a nation that the Lord instructed his forefathers
to never make treaty with.
 BUT HE TOOK OF THE TREASURE THAT
BELONGED TO THE HOUSE OF THE
LORD, AND GAVE IT TO BENHADAD TO
BRIBE HIM TO BREAK HIS LEAGUE
WITH BASSHA, AND BE IN LEAGUE
WITH HIMSELF. THUS GOD WAS
ROBBED THAT THE UNBELIEVING KING
MIGHT
HIS PLANS FIND HELP IN AN ARM OF
FLESH.” (SPURGEON)
WORKED!
 “NOW, MANY PEOPLE IN THE WORLD
JUDGE ACTIONS BY THEIR IMMEDIATE
RESULTS. IF A CHRISTIAN DOES A
WRONG THING, AND IT PROSPERS,
THEN AT ONCE THEY CONCLUDE HE
WAS JUSTIFIED IN DOING IT; BUT, AH!
BRETHREN, THIS IS A POOR, BLIND
WAY OF JUDGING THE ACTIONS OF
MEN AND THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD.
DO YOU NOT KNOW THAT THERE ARE
DEVIL’S PROVIDENCES AS WELL AS
GOD’S PROVIDENCES?” (SPURGEON)
 ASA'S ENDING:
• In the rebuke of Hanani, God wanted him to remember the great victories of the past but he failed.
• The issue was not the strength of God or His willingness to use that strength on behalf of His people. The
issue was the loyalty of the heart of Asa and the people of the Kingdom of Judah.
• Asa was furious with the seer and put him to prison - HIS HEART HAS TURNED CALLOUSED! Instead of
being humble, HE TOOK PRIDE!
• "yet in his disease he did not seek the LORD, but the physicians." - HE DIED SEEKING PHYSICIAN
OVER GOD!
• The last years of his life were marked by unbelief, hardness against God, oppression against his people, and
disease. Age and time do not necessarily make us better; they only do if we continue to follow God in faith.
CONCLUSION:
• ALWAYS REMEMBER YOUR BASICS/FOUNDATIONS! Check your Chronicles every
now and then!
• KNOW WHEN YOU ARE DEFEATED AND KNOW WHEN YOU HAVE GIVEN UP. - He
could have repented. He could have returned to God. His defeat was temporary but he made it
permanent when he gave up!
• Everything boils down to us SEEKING THE LORD! When things go wrong, check yourself if
you have been seeking the Lord.
• Involve GOD AT ALL TIMES! He is not just the God of the weak, He is also the GOD of the
STRONG! HE is not just the GOD of the poor or the broken, HE Is also the GOD of POWER
and WEALTH!
• IF YOU ARE LIKE ASA TODAY, YOUR STORY ISN'T FINISHED YET! DO NOT GIVE
UP ON FAITH ON THE LORD!