Speaker 1: Life Audio. For more resources to help you in your
Speaker 1: walk with Christ, please visit us at Bible Study Headquarters
Speaker 1: dot com. You're listening to the Chapter a Day Audio Bible.
Speaker 1: I'm John Stanghi and today we're in Second Chronicles, chapter sixteen,
Speaker 1: and we'll be reading from the New Living Translation. In
Speaker 1: the thirty sixth year of Ace's reign, King Bishah of
Speaker 1: Israel invaded Judah and fortified Ramah in order to prevent
Speaker 1: anyone from entering or leaving King ASA's territory in Judah.
Speaker 1: Asa responded by removing the silver and gold from the
Speaker 1: treasuries of the Temple of the Lord and the royal Palace.
Speaker 1: He sent it to King ben Hadad of Aram, who
Speaker 1: was ruling in Damascus, along with this message, let there
Speaker 1: be a treaty between you and me, like the one
Speaker 1: between your father and my father. See I am sending
Speaker 1: you silver and gold. Break your treaty with King Bishah
Speaker 1: of Israel, so that he will leave me alone. Ben
Speaker 1: Hadad agreed to King ASA's request and sent the commanders
Speaker 1: of his army to attack the towns of Israel. They
Speaker 1: conquered the towns of Ijohn, dan Abel, Beth, Makah, and
Speaker 1: all the store cities and naptali. As soon as Bishah
Speaker 1: of Israel heard what was happening, he abandoned his project
Speaker 1: of fortifying Rama and stopped all work on it. Then
Speaker 1: King Asa called out all the men of Judah to
Speaker 1: carry away the building stones and timbers that Bishah had
Speaker 1: been using to fortify Rama. Asa used these materials to
Speaker 1: fortify the towns of Ghiba and Mizpah. At that time,
Speaker 1: Hannoni the Seer came to King Asa and told him,
Speaker 1: because you have put your trust in the King of
Speaker 1: Aram instead of in the Lord, your God, you missed
Speaker 1: your chance to destroy the army of the King of Arim.
Speaker 1: Don't you remember what happened to the Ethiopians and Libyans
Speaker 1: and their vast army with all of their chariots and
Speaker 1: charioteers at that time. You relied on the Lord, and
Speaker 1: he handed them over to you. The eyes of the
Speaker 1: Lord searched the whole earth in order to strengthen those
Speaker 1: whose hearts are fully committed to him. What a fool
Speaker 1: you have been. From now on you will be at war.
Speaker 1: Asa became so angry with Hannony for saying this that
Speaker 1: he threw him into prison and put him in stocks.
Speaker 1: At that time, Asa also began to oppress some of
Speaker 1: his people. The rest of the events of Aesa's reign
Speaker 1: from beginning to end are recorded in the Book of
Speaker 1: the Kings of Judah and Israel. In the thirty ninth
Speaker 1: year of his reign, Asa developed a serious foot disease.
Speaker 1: Even with the severity of his disease, he did not
Speaker 1: seek the Lord's help, but turned only to his physicians.
Speaker 1: So he died in the forty first year of his reign.
Speaker 1: He was buried in the tomb he had carved out
Speaker 1: for himself in the city of David. He was laid
Speaker 1: on a bed perfumed with sweet spices and fragrant ointments,
Speaker 1: and the people built a huge funeral fire in his honor.
Speaker 1: Let's pray, Lord, we thank you for your word, and
Speaker 1: we thank you for the privilege to be able to
Speaker 1: look at it today. And Lord, there are very instructive
Speaker 1: things for our hearts to be able to observe. In
Speaker 1: this portion of your scriptures. We see something spoken of
Speaker 1: here in this passage that reminds us of a mistake
Speaker 1: that we often make in our lives. Lord, So frequently
Speaker 1: we rely on natural means to accomplish things that only
Speaker 1: you can ultimately accomplish. And we see Asa here relying
Speaker 1: on the strength of other leaders. And we see Asa
Speaker 1: also failing to come to you in prayer when he
Speaker 1: had serious medical needs, but rather relying on the wisdom
Speaker 1: and the abilities of his physicians alone. And Lord, we
Speaker 1: know that that's a mistake. We certainly know Lord, that
Speaker 1: there are things that you call us to do. We
Speaker 1: want to be active in doing what you empower us
Speaker 1: to do. But we also know Lord that it's wise
Speaker 1: and right for us to commit our decisions to you,
Speaker 1: and to commit our thoughts and the intent of our
Speaker 1: heart to you, to seek out your will and to
Speaker 1: ask for your intervention, because you direct us in ways
Speaker 1: that go far beyond our natural inclinations, and you give
Speaker 1: us wisdom, and you give us directions so that we
Speaker 1: make better decisions. But you also help us, Lord, in
Speaker 1: ways that are far beyond what we could accomplish in
Speaker 1: our own strength. Lord, we know that you have supplied
Speaker 1: all that we need in your son Jesus Christ, and
Speaker 1: you invite us to trust in your son Jesus, who
Speaker 1: has done all that was needed for us so that
Speaker 1: we could experience life and godliness in him. We're blessed
Speaker 1: with Christ's righteousness. We're blessed with wisdom and strength through
Speaker 1: faith in Jesus. And we're given a new heart and
Speaker 1: a new mind and new eyes so that we could
Speaker 1: see things from your perspective again through faith in your
Speaker 1: son Jesus Christ. So Lord, we're grateful for these realities,
Speaker 1: and we pray that we would learn to rely on
Speaker 1: Christ in all matters. Lord, we commit this day to
Speaker 1: your care. We thank you for your presence with us,
Speaker 1: and we pray this all in Jesus's name. Amen.