Theological Commentary: Click Here
Discipleship Focus: Obedience
- Obedience: Genuine and satisfying obedience comes out of our identity. Our true identity comes only from our Father.
Today we
read about the end of Asa’s reign and the beginning of Jehoshaphat’s
reign. Both kings have a good
relationship with the Lord and walk in the Lord’s favor. We saw yesterday how Asa walked. We hear today that Jehoshaphat continued to
walk in the style of relationship with God that reflects the humble repentance
that David had.
However, we
will notice that even the good kings struggled with obedience. This is not really a surprise. David was not perfect, yet he was called a
man after God’s own heart. It shouldn’t
surprise us that we can see kings who are good at heart but who are not
perfect. In fact, these stories should
inspire us and fill us with hope.
In the
chapters for today, we hear about one of Asa’s stumbles. He sees that the king of Israel has begun
fortifying his position against Judah. The
king of Israel can do this because he has a treaty with Aram that allows him to
focus on his other borders. Asa sees
this and becomes worried. Asa goes to
the king of Aram and invites him to break his treaty so that the king of Israel
will have to divide his focus back onto all of his borders. The tactic works. The king of Israel backs off from fortifying
his border with Israel. Asa can then
relax and fortify his own position.
All of this
sounds very astute. It feels like Asa
was wise and shrewd in this passage.
However, he makes a subtle flaw.
In going to a foreign king, he shows us that he isn’t fully relying upon
God. He isn’t fully obedient. He is putting his confidence in his ability
to manipulate mankind rather than trusting in God’s ability to protect
him. Asa doesn’t consult with the
prophets before making his decision. Asa
simply goes out and does what he believes is necessary.
Asa shows us
that often the break in obedience comes not in our blatant disobedience but in
our subtle forgetfulness. Asa’s actions
weren’t flagrantly against the ways of God.
Asa simply forgot to pause and ask God where God is leading him. As a result, he shows that he is relying upon
his own wisdom rather than instinctually coming before God.
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