October Beacon

“The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, and He delivers them.” Psalm 34:7

I wish he would have finished strong! Are we?

Asa was in his 36th year as king of Judah when Baasha king of Israel built a fortress at the Israel-Judah border at Ramah. Baasha was tring to prevent the further movement of Israelites south to Judah.

Asa felt threatened and bribed Ben-Hadad the Aramean king of Damascus to make a defense treaty with him and to break his treaty with Baasha. Ben-Hadad did so and invaded northern Israel.

Asa’s bribe included taking silver and gold out of the treasuries of the LORD’s temple and also out of his own palace. What do you think of Asa’s strategy?

Hanani was a seer or prophet who came to Asa king of Judah and said to him: “Because you relied on the king of Aram and not on the LORD your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand. Were not the Cushites and Libyans a mighty army with great numbers of chariots and horsemen? Yet when you relied on the LORD, he delivered them into your hand. For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war.”

In Asa’s day, the LORD was looking throughout the earth. He was searching for hearts that were committed to Him. What He found was a nation that seemed to forget Him.

A Sunday School teacher asked her children as they were on the way to church service, “And why is it necessary to be quiet in church?” One bright little girl replied, “Because people are sleeping.” Do you think her answer has meaning beyond a physical nap? Are we as a nation and also as a church sleeping in our faith in Christ? Are we living in a time of abandonment…like in Asa’s day, when hearts were not fully committed to Him.

Psalm 34:7 reads, “The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, and He delivers them.” Psalm 91 speaks of the one who dwells in the shelter of the Most High. The writer reports in verse 4 that, “He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.” In Psalm 125:2 we read, “As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds His people both now and forevermore.”

Are you one of God’s people? Are you faithfully serving Him and living your life according to His Word? We live in a time when the protective hand of God may be further from us than we like. I believe that His eyes still range throughout the earth looking to strengthen hearts fully committed to Him.

Asa struggled near the end. He put the confrontative prophet in prison. He brutally oppressed some of the people. His feet became diseased (was God removing His hand from Asa), but he refused to seek help from the LORD.

Asa did not finish strong. Will you?

Pastor Lerud