The last years of King Abijah’s brief reign were peaceful. It was during this time period of peace that he had passed away and his son Asa came to the throne. King Abijah didn’t do everything right when he ruled Judah, but there were some things that he did do well. He continued to lead Judah in the worship of God even though pagan altars and shrines were still spread out across the land. Asa must have been influenced by the true worship of God because most of his reign was categorized by honoring Yahweh. He appears on the Biblical Timeline with World History starting in 970 BC
Life under King Asa
King Asa was given a peaceful rule by the Lord. This peace allowed him to build up many of the fortresses along Judah’s and Israel’s border. All of the shrine prostitutes were removed from the land and most of the pagan altars were destroyed as well. The people were encouraged to continue on in the worship of God. He also took away his grandmother’s position as Queen Mother of a pagan cult.
King Asa honored God by placing gold and silver in the temple. Asa’s name means “doctor” or “healer” and his name is a reflection of the effort that he made to help heal Judah of their sins.
Asa vs. Baasha
Since King Asa followed the Lord he was granted a long reign of peace. During the latter end of his reign, he ran into problems with King Baasha of Israel along the border. King Asa decided to form an alliance with King Ben-Hadad of Aram. After bribing the king of Aram to break a peace treaty with Israel, King Asa used his assistance to push the Israelites off of the border. King Asa didn’t try to reunite the kingdom after defeating King Bashaa.
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All Rulers have Problems
Even though King Asa was a godly ruler who governed his people well he was criticized by the Lord for aligning himself with Aram. Hanani the prophet came to King Asa and told him what God had revealed to him. Hanani explained that he should have relied on God instead of Aram to deal with Bashaa. King’s Asa’s actions prompted God to send the people of Judah into a constant state of war. King Asa was enraged with Hanani and had him imprisoned. The Bible then mentions that King Asa started to mistreat many people because of his anger. Eventually, the king had developed a disease in his feet and instead of relying on God he sought out doctors and physicians for a cure.
King Asa became very week and immobile in his old age and he had to share the throne with his son Jehoshaphat. The king died two years after establishing this co-regent form of rule and his son became the sole monarch of Judah.
Biblical References
- 2 Chronicles 14: 1 Asa becomes king of Judah
- 2 Chronicles 15 King Asa carries out serious reforms in Judah and God is pleased with his efforts.
- 2 Chronicles 16 King Asa is judged by God through the prophet Hanani and Asa’s latter years as a ruler is marked by disobedience and unfaithfulness.
