Interview with Old Testament Figures – King Asa: Today, we feature another scion of the house of David, King Asa. He is credited with many achievements during his reign in Jerusalem, including the construction of fortified cities across Judah.
Shepherd Heart: Thank you for honouring our invitation, King Asa.
King Asa: I am glad to be here. Thanks for having me.
Shepherd Heart: Kindly introduce yourself to our readers.
King Asa: I succeeded my father, King Abijah, the fourth in the line of rulers from the house of David. During my reign, there was some level of stability in the land because the fortified cities I built kept most of our enemies at bay. I was also zealous in maintaining the traditional worship of Almighty God.
In my 36th year on the throne, I faced serious trouble from my Israeli brothers in the Northern Kingdom. This was when their king, Baasha mobilised troop against my people. Consequently, I had to initiate an alliance with Ben-Hadad 1, king of Aram-Damascus, who helped me to break Baasha’s siege. That is my story briefly.
Shepherd Heart: We understand from Scripture that the alliance you brokered with Ben-Hadad provoked the anger of God, hence, He sent prophet Hanani to you to communicate His displeasure.
King Asa: That is correct. I was too angry with the prophet to be reasonable about the whole matter.
Shepherd Heart: So, you threw him in jail just for telling you the truth.
King Asa: How can we discern truth from someone’s fabrications? Anyway, I was too angry with him to care about the consequences.
Shepherd Heart: Did your parents or anyone tell you about your great-grandfather, David?
King Asa: Sure. Everyone in both Israel and Judah cherished the memory of King David in my days.
Shepherd Heart: According to Scripture, King David committed what many of us would describe as a grievous sin by sleeping with Bathsheba, the wife of an Israeli soldier, Uriah; having her husband killed in battle and then marrying her. However, the king also did something admirable.
When prophet Nathan confronted him about the sordid affair, he repented of his sin and God had mercy on him. If you truly admired King David, why could you not emulate him when prophet Hanani called you out in the business with Ben-Hadad?
King Asa: It is obvious that King David and I had different temperaments. For one, he had a personal relationship with God, which I did not, sadly. In your world, you would compare both of us along the lines of a carnal versus spiritual Christian.
Shepherd Heart: (Laughs) I actually agree with your distinction. We are told in Scripture that you were among the few kings in both Israel and Judah that made an effort to serve God and shun idolatry. As you rightly pointed out, many believers in our generation are content to know God from a distance. They are very zealous for His service, just as you were, but would not agree to go near Him because they do not want to pay the price of an intimacy with the Consuming Fire.
King Asa: That was exactly why the children of Israel asked Moses to be a mediator between them and God, the day He (God) came down in fire and smoke at Mount Sinai.
Shepherd Heart: Was the lack of intimacy between you and God responsible for you seeking the counsel of physicians, instead of His face, when you had a foot disease?
King Asa: (Laughs) I thought that it would be easier to just get the necessary information from a doctor and move on with my life, than to wait for God, who might choose to answer in His own time! I did not think that He would view this as an affront to His authority.
Shepherd Heart: This takes us back to the importance of having an intimate relationship with God. In your opinion, why do many people prefer to deal with Him from a distance?
King Asa: Hmmm. I would say that the fact that He is a mystery and very unpredictable contribute to the aversion people have about relating with Him in close quarters. Many people want something predictable, routine, regularity, one plus one equals two kind of scenario, if you will. God is not like that. No one can control Him or dictate to Him in any form of shape.
Of course, that is why He is the LORD. On the other hand, His being inaccessible when we want Him to, not answering our prayers when we want Him to, encourage us to seek help elsewhere. That is why occultism is thriving in your generation. Satan and his demons are trying to fill the void created by God’s unavailability on demand.
Shepherd Heart: Yeah. The fact that we have to wait for God’s time to have our pressing needs met can be very unnerving. Most of us, including myself sometimes wish that He would be more time conscious when processing our requests. (Laughs).
Imagine a man like Abraham that had to wait for 25 years to get his Isaac, or many people in our generation on God’s queue for their various needs! Our major challenge as people of faith is that we do not see through God’s eyes.
As He said in Isaiah 55:8-9, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.
” Those who love and trust Him do not find it strange to be on the long queue if necessary, because according to Proverbs chapter ten verse twenty-two, the blessing of the LORD, makes us rich, and adds no sorrow to it. If you were to have a second chance to rule Judah, what character flaw would you pray to God to deliver you from?
King Asa: Impatience. That was my biggest character flaw. Now, with the benefit of hindsight, I realised that I could have ended up as one of the heroes of Judah, instead of just having a footnote as one who initially had zeal for the LORD but failed to win the prize at the end.
Unfortunately, many believers in your time are in the same boat. Ephesians chapter one verse eleven says that God works everything according to His own counsel or purpose. If we trust Him, knowing that He sees the end from the beginning, we would not be so intent on having things done in our own time.
The missing link between God and most humans is lack of trust. Some people say that seeing is believing, hence, they easily fall prey to the deceptions of satan, who usually appears as the angel of light (that is the solution provider).
Shepherd Heart: Wow! That is illuminating. I did not understand satan’s function as the angel of light from that perspective. That was how he appeared to Adam and Eve, to the Lord Jesus Christ in the desert and to countless number of people all through the ages. If you had an opportunity to speak to people in our generation, what would be your final counsel to them?
King Asa: I may not have met the mark of God because of my personal flaws and spiritual ignorance. You people are much more blessed to have the word of God in one volume, as well as the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Trust God with your lives, even when things are confusing and you have no idea what He is doing.
Learn to say Amen to His design for you. Learn to trust Him even when you have no reason to, because the world presents what looks like better alternatives or options. I assure you that He will come through for you and your joy will be full.
Shepherd Heart: Awesome! Thank you very much King Asa. We enjoyed the chat more than we anticipated.
King Asa: The pleasure is mine. I enjoyed it too. God bless you.