Second Chronicles 15 Commentary
Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. It’s not always that we hear these words.
We may probably want to know what Asa did to earn him this praise from the LORD. He removed, he smashed, and he cut down idolatry from under his rule.
Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. Philippians 3 verse 19.
In the New Testament, we have a host of gods that the Bible mentions. Money is mentioned as a god, and so is the stomach, as referenced above. If Asa lived during our times, he would be praised for removing greediness, destroying brothels, and for shutting down immoral institutions. He would have a good say on laws that are encouraging sin.
The saint is drawn to the need to relook at the various gods today, with the view of smashing some, removing others, and cutting down the rest. The sinful desires of the flesh would fall under the stomach god. The self-gratification god is so widely worshipped that we can easily think of it as the largest pagan church ever. You don’t want to belong to this church.
The self-centeredness of many means that the worship of this god easily rivals the top church mentioned above. Again, the saint doesn’t want to belong to this church.
Here is a simple self-test: what would really make me very happy? A clever saint would get this question right with an answer like, “being in the presence of God.” But since this is a test of self, one must look at themselves critically and ask the question again. What is my greatest concern in life? What drives my budget? What drives my effort? What is my greatest fear? What has been on my prayer request list for endless years? Will angels guess right if they said that my prayer tomorrow will be about my physical need, my stomach?
The reality is that the saint faces huge battles against these gods. These battles would be like the battle that Asa faced against Zerah the Cushite. Many saints have fallen defeated. But like Asa, we can call upon the LORD to help us face the vast army. “Don’t let mere mortals prevail,” he prayed. Don’t let vanity prevail; don’t let sin prevail.
Can this be our prayer today?
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