“He Looks for Those Who Trust Him, Part 1” (2 Chronicles 16:1-9) I. Introduction. A. Let’s consider the context of our passage: The Lord had blessed the Southern Kingdom (Judah) with revival – Things had been spiritually dark For quite a while by this time: Towards the end of his life, Solomon had turned from the Lord And fallen into idolatry – Because of the influence of his many wives, Which he married mainly for political reasons – He had set up shrines to their gods, And even began worshiping them himself – The Lord tells us not to be unequally yoked – If we are believers, We are not to marry unbelievers: Because of the struggles we’ll have, Because we’ll be tempted To compromise for the sake of peace – Solomon’s life stands as a warning to the truth of this – His son Rehoboam didn’t do any better: He had the chance to repair Some of the damage his father had done When his people came asking for relief, 2 But he refused to listen to the advice of the elders – He listened to his peers instead: The result was, the kingdom was split – The Lord tells us to listen to wisdom – To His word And those who bring us counsel from His Word – Not to those who only tell us what we want to hear – If we want to be wise, That’s what we need to do. His son, Abijam/Abijah, followed his example: We read in 1 Kings 15:3-5, “He walked in all the sins of his father which he had committed before him; and his heart was not wholly devoted to the LORD his God, like the heart of his father David. But for David’s sake the LORD his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, to raise up his son after him and to establish Jerusalem; because David did what was right in the sight of the LORD, and had not turned aside from anything that He commanded him all the days of his life, except in the case of Uriah the Hittite.” Even during times like these – When the kings of Judah failed to trust the Lord – He continued to be faithful – For the sake of His servant David, Because of the covenant He made with him – To preserve the Davidic line, Until He would establish the kingdom Of David’s greater Son: the Lord Jesus. God is faithful: which is why we should trust Him. 3 Abijam’s unfaithfulness cost him – He reigned for only three years – But Asa, Abijam’s son, was different – He trusted the Lord: We read in 1 Kings 15:11-15, “Asa did what was right in the sight of the LORD, like David his father. He also put away the male cult prostitutes from the land and removed all the idols which his fathers had made. He also removed Maacah his mother from being queen mother, because she had made a horrid image as an Asherah; and Asa cut down her horrid image and burned it at the brook Kidron. But the high places were not taken away; nevertheless the heart of Asa was wholly devoted to the LORD all his days. He brought into the house of the LORD the dedicated things of his father and his own dedicated things: silver and gold and utensils.” Because of the Lord’s grace in Asa’s life – And His mercies towards David and His people – Asa made God’s worship pure again in Judah, And that brought God’s blessing to His people – Sometimes we’re tempted to think That the way to happiness Is to travel the road the world takes: By pursuing wealth – We need to see That true happiness and blessing Comes from the Lord: When we do the things that please Him, He blesses us, With blessings the world can’t understand, But only those who know Him. Israel – the Northern Kingdom – 4 Had also become an idolatrous nation: When Rehoboam refused to listen to the Lord And divided the kingdom, The Lord gave Jeroboam – The former head of Solomon’s forced labor – The ten northern tribes As an act of discipline against Rehoboam – It was also against Solomon, Since it was his idolatry That brought this about in the first place (1 Kings 11:34-35). When Jeroboam became king, The first thing he did Was set up an alternate religion – The same one that Israel had fallen into When they first came out of Egypt – He made two golden calves; Put one in Bethel and the other in Dan (1 Kings 12:29); And commanded his people to worship them, So they wouldn’t go to Jerusalem to worship And be tempted to return to the kings of Judah. We read in 1 Kings 12:28, “So the king consulted, and made two golden calves, and he said to them, ‘It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem; behold your gods, O Israel, that brought you up from the land of Egypt.’” Jeroboam’s idolatry laid the foundation For the ultimate downfall of Israel. When we turn from the Lord – 5 From His worship, From the kind of life He calls us to live – It leads to our downfall – Thankfully, if we belong to Him, He won’t let us go too far down that path, But bring us back to Himself, As He did with Judah. When the faithful in Israel – Those who still loved the Lord, And had regard for His worship – Heard what the Lord was doing in Judah – They began to migrate to the Southern Kingdom. That’s what God’s grace – His Spirit – Does in our lives: It turns us from false worship – Worship that dishonors the Lord – And compels us to go where He is honored. Baasha was determined to stop this: We read in 2 Chronicles 16:1, “In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah and fortified Ramah in order to prevent anyone from going out or coming in to Asa king of Judah.” Since the main road between Samaria and Jerusalem Went by the frontier town of Ramah – A town about six miles north of Jerusalem – 6 Baasha turned it into a military station: He posted his soldiers there And fortified it against attack To stop this migration. He was apparently able to do this Because he was helped by Ben-hadad – Ben-hadad isn’t a name, but a title Used by the Syrian kings – It means the “son of Hadad” – Hadad being the name of a Syrian god – It’s like the name Abimelech – Which means “my father is king” – That was used as a title for the Philistine kings. Ben-hadad was the king of Aram – Aram is the Hebrew name for Syria – The area northeast of Israel. He was likely supplying Baasha With the materials and support he needed To fortify Ramah. The warning against being unequally yoked Applies to this alliance As much as it applies to marriage. Whenever we get involved 7 With those who don’t love the Lord, We will run into trouble – As we see happens to Baasha. B. How does Asa deal with this blockade? He decides to take a political route: He bribes Ben-hadad into breaking his treaty with Baasha Using the wealth that had been dedicated to God’s worship, Along with some of his own. We read in verses 2-3, “Then Asa brought out silver and gold from the treasuries of the house of the LORD and the king’s house, and sent them to Ben-hadad king of Aram, who lived in Damascus, saying, ‘ Let there be a treaty between you and me, as between my father and your father. Behold, I have sent you silver and gold; go, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so that he will withdraw from me.’” Ben-hadad listens to Asa, Breaks his covenant with Baasha – Which is what the ungodly do, Which is one of the reasons We shouldn’t enter into contracts with them – And he attacks and conquers The cities of Israel closest to him. We read in verses 4-5, “So Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, and they conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel-maim and all the store cities of Naphtali. When Baasha heard of it, he ceased fortifying Ramah and stopped his work.” Asa then brings his people out to Ramah To gather the building materials, To use them to fortify two cities That also stood between Israel and Judah – 8 Geba and Mizpah, Which were very close to Ramah – As further protection against Baasha. We read in verse 6, “Then King Asa brought all Judah, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber with which Baasha had been building, and with them he fortified Geba and Mizpah.” Asa looks for a solution By entering into a covenant With a nation that betrays Israel, And the problem is solved. He was even able to strengthen His position against Israel. Seems like everything worked out. C. But things were not as they seemed. What Asa did dishonored his Lord – Solomon writes, “There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death” (Prov. 14:12). That’s why we shouldn’t trust our own wisdom. And so the Lord sent His prophet to tell him. We read in verse 7, “At that time Hanani the seer [i.e., prophet] came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, ‘Because you have relied on the king of Aram and have not relied on the LORD your God, therefore the army of the king of Aram has escaped out of your hand.” Asa failed in that He looked to the king of Aram/Syria for help, When he should have looked to the Lord – 9 He put his trust in man, rather than God.