Have you ever thought about how your life will end? Not how you will die, but on what terms you will be with God when you finish the race. Do you assume that you’ll always walk closely with God?
I’m just being curious, not that I expect anyone to answer these questions, but I wonder about people and how they ponder their future. Why is it that people can be on fire for God today, but fall from the faith later?
I can relate to this, this has happened to me. I can look back and see times that I was committed to God, other times that I was far from God, and for much of my life, I was lukewarm. I’m just sort of fascinated by it I suppose.
What got me thinking about this subject is reading about the Judean kings and how the Bible sheds light on their relationship with God.
Have you read about King Asa?
What I find really fascinating is that if you were to use the book of 1 and 2 Kings to base your opinion on the spiritual lives of these kings alone, you would not have an accurate picture.
This week I’d just like to consider the life of King Asa.
This is what 1 Kings has to say:
1 Kings 15: 11 Asa did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight, as his ancestor David had done.
and
1 Kings 15: 14 Although the pagan shrines were not removed, Asa’s heart remained completely faithful to the Lord throughout his life.
Sounds great right? Makes you want to name your child after him, which some have done.
Now let’s read the account from 2 Chronicles:
The beginning of King Asa’s reign
2 Chronicles 14: 2 Asa did what was pleasing and good in the sight of the Lord his God.
The end of King Asa’s reign
2 Chronicles 16: 7 At that time Hanani the seer came to King Asa and told him, “Because you have put your trust in the king of Aram instead of in the Lord your God, you missed your chance to destroy the army of the king of Aram.
10 Asa became so angry with Hanani for saying this that he threw him into prison and put him in stocks. At that time Asa also began to oppress some of his people.
12 In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa developed a serious foot disease. Yet even with the severity of his disease, he did not seek the Lord’s help but turned only to his physicians.
What really happened?
What we have here is an apparent contradiction. I think the author of 1 Kings simply did not know about Asa’s relationship with God near the end of his life. The Chronicles’ author must have had more historical texts at his disposal (Or the Holy Spirit) in order to write his account.
Doesn’t this make you pause to think about what happened to King Asa? How did someone that had a great walk with God earlier in their life end up like he did? You should read the full accounts in 1 Kings 15 and in 2 Chronicles 14-16.
May it be said about our lives as Paul said about his:
2 Timothy 4: 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful.
“Dear Lord, You are the author of my life and my future is in your hands. Please help me know you more. I believe if I knew you better, you will teach me how I can trust in you more. Thank you in advance for what you will do in my life. I am excited about my future with you. In Jesus Name, Amen”