'And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his
God; 3. For he took away the altars of the strange gods, and the high
places, and brake down the images, and cut down the groves: 4. And
commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers, and to do the
law and the commandment. 5. Also he took away out of all the cities of
Judah the high places and the images: and the kingdom was quiet before
him. 6. And he built fenced cities in Judah: for the land had rest,
and he had no war in those years; because the Lord had given him rest.
7. Therefore he said unto Judah, Let us build these cities, and make
about them walls, and towers, gates, and bars, while the land is yet
before us; because we have sought the Lord our God, we have sought
Him, and He hath given us rest on every side. So they built and
prospered. 8. And Asa had an army of men that bare targets and spears,
out of Judah three hundred thousand; and out of Benjamin, that bare
shields and drew bows, two hundred and fourscore thousand: all these
were mighty men of valour.'--2 CHRON. xiv. 2-8.
Asa was Rehoboam's grandson, and came to the throne when a young man.
The two preceding reigns had favoured idolatry, but the young king had
a will of his own, and inaugurated a religious revolution, with which
and its happy results this passage deals.
I. It first recounts the thorough clearance of idolatrous emblems and
images which Asa made. 'Strange altars,'--that is, those dedicated to
other gods; 'high places,'--that is, where illegal sacrifice to
Jehovah was offered; 'pillars,'--that is, stone columns; and
'Asherim,'--that is, trees or wooden poles, survivals of ancient
stone- or tree-worship; 'sun-images,'--that is, probably, pillars
consecrated to Baal as sun-god, were all swept away. The enumeration
vividly suggests the incongruous rabble of gods which had taken the
place of the one Lord. How vainly we try to make up for His absence
from our hearts by a multitude of finite delights and helpers! Their
multiplicity proves the insufficiency of each and of all.
1 Kings xv. 13 adds a detail which brings out still more clearly Asa's
reforming zeal; for it tells us that he had to fight against the
influence of his mother, who had been prominent in supporting
disgusting and immoral forms of worship, and who retained some
authority, of which her son was strong enough to take the extreme step
of depriving her. Remembering the Eastern reverence for a mother, we
can estimate the effort which that required, and the resolution which
it implied. But 1 Kings differs from our narrative in stating that the
'high places' were not taken away--the explanation of the variation
probably being that the one account tells what Asa attempted and
commanded, and the other records the imperfect way in which his orders
were carried out. They would be obeyed in Jerusalem and its
neighbourhood, but in many a secluded corner the old rites would be
observed.
It is vain to force religious revolutions. Laws which are not
supported by the national conscience will only be obeyed where
disobedience will involve penalties. If men's hearts cleave to Baal,
they will not be turned into Jehovah-worshippers by a king's commands.
Asa could command Judah to 'seek the Lord God of their fathers, and to
do the law,' but he could not make them do it.
II. The chronicler brings out strongly the truth which runs through
his whole book,--namely, the connection between honouring Jehovah and
national prosperity. He did not import that thought into his
narrative, but he insisted on it as moulding the history of Judah.
Modern critics charge him with writing with a bias, but he learned the
'bias' from God's own declarations, and had it confirmed by
observation, reflection, and experience. The whole history of Israel
and Judah was one long illustration of the truth which he is
constantly repeating. No doubt, the divine dealings with Israel
brought obedience and well-being into closer connection than exists
now; but in deepest truth the sure defence of our national prosperity
is the same as theirs, and it is still the case that 'righteousness
exalteth a nation.' 'The kingdom was quiet,' says the chronicler, 'and
he had no war in those years; because the Lord had given him rest.' 1
Kings makes more of the standing enmity with the northern kingdom, and
records scarcely anything of Asa's reign except the war which, as it
says, was between him and Baasha of Israel 'all their days.' But,
according to 2 Chronicles xvi. 1, Baasha did not proceed to war till
Asa's thirty-sixth year, and the halcyon time of peace evidently
followed immediately on the religious reformation at its very
beginning.
Asa's experience embodies a truth which is substantially fulfilled in
nations and in individuals; for obedience brings rest, often outward
tranquillity, always inward calm. Note the heightened earnestness
expressed in the repetition of the expression 'We have sought the
Lord' in verse 7, and the grand assurance of His favour as the source
of well-being in the clause which follows, 'and He hath given us rest
on every side.' That is always so, and will be so with us. If we seek
Him with our whole hearts, keeping Him ever before us amid the
distractions of life, taking Him as our aim and desire, and ever
stretching out the tendrils of our hearts to feel after Him and clasp
Him, all around and within will be tranquil, and even in warfare we
shall preserve unbroken peace.
Asa teaches us, too, the right use of tranquillity. He clearly and
gratefully recognised God's hand in it, and traced it not to his own
warlike skill or his people's prowess, but to Him. And he used the
time of repose to strengthen his defences, and exercise his soldiers
against possible assaults. We do not yet dwell in the land of peace,
where it is safe to be without bolts and bars, but have ever to be on
the watch for sudden attacks. Rest from war should give leisure for
building not only fortresses, but temples, as was the case with
Solomon. The time comes when, as in many an ancient fortified city of
Europe, the ramparts may be levelled, and flowers bloom where sentries
walked; but to-day we have to be on perpetual guard, and look to our
fortifications, if we would not be overcome.