Teaching Notes

TH1061: II CHRONICLES

In our study of II Chronicle we have been looking at the life of Asa, king over the Southern Kingdom of Judah. And Asa was a godly king, he brought spiritual reform to the nation, which was badly needed. He removed the idols and even removed his mother or grandmother from her position of queen mother because of her idolatry. The Lord was the most important thing in his life, far above family, friends or any material possessions. It is as Jesus said in Matthew 10:35-37. He said "For I have come to 'set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law'; and 'a man's enemies will be those of his own household.' He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me." Asa did like Jesus spoke of here, and He is calling for us to do the same, to put the Lord first in our life!

But then trouble came, for the Ethiopians with their million man army came upon the Southern Kingdom of Judah. They not only outnumbered them 2 to 1, but the Ethiopians had 300 chariots, which were the ultimate offensive weapon in those days. And Asa does the only thing he knows to do, he cries out to the Lord for help. You see, Asa and the Southern Kingdom of Judah had enjoyed 10 years of peace before the Ethiopian invasion came upon them. And in those 10 years Asa developed a strong reliance on the Lord. He built up or fortified the inner man, the spiritual man, and now it was time to put into practice that which he learned and believed.

And God gave Asa and his men a huge victory over the Ethiopians. So much so that they took home with them much spoil from the victory. As they returned home after this great victory, they must have felt good about what had transpired. They must have been on a spiritual high. They must have thought that nothing could stop them or stand in their way. And that is always a dangerous way to feel.

It is out of this that God speaks to Asa through the prophet Azariah. And he says "...'Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.'" II Chronicles 15:2.

Now I'm sure that Asa and the people of Judah and Benjamin thought that this was the most ridiculous thing they could ever hear. God just gave them this great victory, they trusted in the Lord all the way, and now who in their right mind would turn from the Lord? And maybe they thought God wasn't speaking to them, that they were above any failure like that. But as I said last week, if God has taken the time to warn you about something, you would be wise to listen and obey!

Now, as we come to II Chronicles chapter 16, we are coming towards the end of king Asa's reign. And during those years Asa's kingdom has become strong and wealthy. They enjoyed many years without war. He has befriended his enemies and things were going well for Asa and the Southern Kingdom of Judah.

What we will see tonight is that Asa's life parallels his great grandfather's, Solomon's. Solomon started out young and inexperienced and asked God for wisdom to lead His people by. He looked to the Lord for strength UNTIL he grew strong and wealthy. And the reason he grew strong was because he was focused on the Lord, but he took his focus off the Lord and placed it upon himself as he grew confident in his own strength. That was a big mistake. Asa is going to follow in those same footsteps towards the end of his life. He will take his eyes off the Lord and place it on the strength of man, and that is his downfall. They both did the opposite of what they should have been doing, looking to the Lord for their strength. That is what we are told in Isaiah 41:10. "Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."

II CHRONICLES 16

VERSE 1

1. Baasha was the king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, and he is trying to stop the flow of his people from going into the Southern Kingdom of Judah. You see, word got out how God was blessing Asa and the Southern Kingdom of Judah, and that caused many to come and be part of what God was doing. In II Chronicles 15:9 we read of this taking place. It says "...for they came over to him in great numbers from Israel when they saw that the LORD his God was with him." So Baasha builds up Ramah, which was located about 5 miles north of Jerusalem, on the boarder between the two kingdoms, and on a important trade route linking Egypt and Mesopotamia, to stop this migration or defection of his people to the Southern Kingdom of Judah. And in the process of doing this, Baasha is bringing his men and supplies into this city to most likely prepare for war against Judah, which would put a halt to the defections that were taking place.

VERSE 2

1. What a contrast we see in what Asa did here versus what he did when the Ethiopians had him outnumbered. Then he trusted in the Lord, but now we see him trust in man. He is in trouble and he has no place to turn, so he turns to man. What happened? During those years of peace Asa did not cultivate a deep relationship with the Lord, but focused on his outward strength. Thus, his actions are born out of a empty spirit. Because of that Asa takes the treasuries of God and gives them to Ben-Hadad, king of Syria, an unbeliever, to help him with his problems.

2. You never make an alliance with the enemy, you never ask them to assist you, no matter how bad the situation is. Asa started out strong, his reforms were good, but he faded at the end of his life. That tells me that it doesn't really matter how long you have walked with the Lord, the enemy never gives up, and thus, we can not let our guard down, even at the end of our life!

VERSES 3-6

1. Ben-Hadad had a treaty with Baasha, but he was bought out and comes to the aid of Asa. Now Baasha is down in Ramah, in the southern part of his kingdom, so Ben-Hadad strikes Israel at its northern boarders. In doing so it caused Baasha to stop his work down in Ramah and go and protect his northern boarders from this invasion.

2. The plan worked, Asa was free of Baasha, and you may think "Great, this must be of God, it worked!" Wrong! Just because something works does not mean it is of God, and we will see that in the next several verses.

VERSES 7-8

1. God rebukes Asa through the prophet Hanani. You see, it doesn't matter if the plan worked or not, he put his trust in man rather than the Lord. And Hanani reminds Asa that when the Ethiopians came upon him, that he turned to the Lord for help. He did not place his faith in the arm of flesh. Paul tells us in Romans 13:14 "But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts." If you give the flesh room to grow, like a week, it will take advantage of the opportunity. If you fill yourself with the Lord, stay focused on Him, you will not give the flesh room to grow!

2. Now we, like Asa, fall into this trap all the time. It is much easier to trust in the arm of man than the arm of God. Why? Because we look for immediate results. How many people run to counselors, seminars, read books to try and overcome the flesh? They are looking to themselves to gain victory over the flesh through these programs and-so-on. It won't happen, at least you won't have complete victory. Think about it this way, how many New Year's Eve resolutions have you made and then within a week or two how many of them have you broken? Yes the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak!

3. Listen to what Paul tells us in Galatians 2:20-21. He said "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain." Victory comes as we allow God to transform our lives. God removes those desires, those thoughts, He gives us the victory. It is as Paul goes on to say in Galatians 3:3 "Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?" And Paul's point is simple, you will not be sanctified by the works of the flesh. You see, we became Christians as a result of the Spirit of God working in us, and now that we are saved, we begin a life long process of sanctification, being molded into His image. Thus, if God has begun the work in us, how can we complete it in the flesh? We can't! And what happens is that people who try to perfect themselves by the works of the flesh is that they only become frustrated and discouraged, never experiencing that victory that is only found in Christ as we look to Him. As Paul said in Philippians 1:6 "being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ."

VERSE 9

1. This verse is important to us because it tells us that God wants to use us. He is looking for people to work through. The key here is not how strong we are, just that we are available. God wants to show Himself strong through what He does through us. You see, we don't have to have degrees, be intelligent, be wealthy, be good looking, be tall or short, big or small, strong or weak, just available to be used by Him. As Jesus said in Revelation 3:8 "I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name." Jesus is saying that He has opened the door of opportunity for us and no one can shut it except by our own lack of faith, by not walking through that door. You see, we can't open the doors of opportunity, we only have a little strength, all God asks us to do is to take those steps of faith and go through those doors to be used by Him.

2. As I said before, God wants to use us, He wants to give to us, He wants to bless us. When you look at givers, there are basically three types, the RELUCTANT, the WILLING, and the AGGRESSIVE. Imagine that these three types of givers had the opportunity to help build a recreation center for teens to help get them off the streets and out of trouble. Lets look at these three types of givers and see their response to this situation, and in their response we will see what God's response would be.

A. RELUCTANT

This is the type of person who is given all the facts, sees that this is a good

cause, but really doesn't want to give. And you have to twist his arm to get

him to give for this cause, which he does as he buckles under the pressure.

He really did not want to give, but reluctantly he does so.

B. WILLING

This is the type of person who hears what you have to say. All you do is

present the facts and he is more than willing to write you a check to help

start this program. He is more than willing to help out.

C. AGGRESSIVE

This is the person who may have been one of those kids who grew up on

the streets, and maybe he even got into trouble from time to time. But now

he is older and successful and he is looking for things to invest in to help

people. You don't even need to go to this person, he comes looking for you.

His eyes are looking for opportunities in which he can help others. All he

is looking for is someone who is available in which he can work through.

Now what happens many times is we see God as a reluctant giver. Because of that we have to sell Him on our programs or whatever we need help in. We have to tell God why He needs to invest in this opportunity, and so we try to butter Him up and twist His arm to get what we want.

The reality is that God is not a reluctant giver. He is looking for people in which He can invest in. God, you might say, is an aggressive giver. He gives to us abundantly for the work of the kingdom. But to know where He is leading means we must be in tune with Him, we must be directed by His Spirit.

What happens many times is that we put together a program and then we ask God to bless it. That is wrong! Let God direct you and the fruit will be abundant in the work you are doing. It is as A. W. Tozer said. "If the Holy Spirit was taken out of the early church, 90% of the work they did would come to a screeching halt. But if the Holy Spirit were taken out of the church today, only 10% of the work would come to a stop." Let's change that and be Spirit directed instead of being directed by the flesh. Ask God to make your heart His heart, that you are in harmony with Him. God is looking for people in which He can work through, to touch the lives of others, to show Himself strong through - lets be those people!

VERSE 10

1. Asa is told the truth, how God feels about what he has done. Thus, Asa is angry and he can't take his anger out on God, so he puts God's messenger in prison and oppresses those who oppose him.

2. Many times people don't want to be corrected, especially when they have seen success in their life as Asa did. Let us never be so proud and arrogant that we never think we need correction. Even if someone is coming against you and what they have to say is not true, listen to see if their may be some truth hidden within all that anger. There is always room for us to grow.

VERSES 11-12

1. Asa becomes sick in his feet and the intimation here is that if he would have sought the Lord he would have been healed, but instead he went to the world for his help. Now we should come before the Lord even with our physical problems, but God is not saying that physicians are evil and we should not go to them. The tragedy is that many people read this verse and come to that wrong conclusion and believe that they should never go to physicians. That is wrong. The thing that God is illustrating here is that this had become the pattern of Asa's life, of not trusting in the Lord and trusting in the arm of man for his strength. God uses physicians to help us to heal us. When I go to the doctor I pray that God would give the doctor wisdom in treating my illness. When people go to surgery I pray that God would guide the surgeons hands. You see, my faith is in the Lord and He uses all of us for various things, He can also use physicians as His instrument to help people, and He does!

2. Asa's walk with the Lord had been hampered. Why? Because his feet had become diseased. He no longer had that intimate relationship with the Lord and his spiritual walk was hindered by this. The same can happen in our own walk with the Lord, be sensitive to that fact!

VERSES 13-14

1. Asa's life, like Solomon's, started out so promising and yet it ended in such disappointment. If he only heeded the warning of the prophet Azariah that "...'The LORD is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.'" Asa trusted more in the arm of man than he did in the Lord in the latter part of his life, and you might say that his life went up in smoke!

II CHRONICLES 17

VERSE 1

1. Jehoshaphat was another good king in Judah, a godly king that brought spiritual reform to the nation.

VERSES 2-3

1. Jehoshaphat did not seek after the Baals, the nature god's, to make the land fertile, he sought the Lord. In Leviticus 19:4 the Lord told Moses to tell his people "Do not turn to idols, nor make for yourselves molded gods: I am the LORD your God." Don't fashion with your hands or your minds any image to worship, God is the only true God, these others are nothing more than demons. Paul tells us this in I Corinthians 10:14, 20 when he said "Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry...Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons."

VERSE 4

1. Here is a rebuke against the Northern Kingdom of Israel who at this time had wicked king Ahab on the throne. Ahab and his wife Jezebel were like the DEMONIC DUO , for they introduced Baal worship, even setting up altars to worship Baal by. On the other hand Jehoshaphat and the Southern Kingdom of Judah followed the Lord.

VERSES 5-6

1. In these verses we see the difference between Solomon and Jehoshaphat. They both had riches, they both prospered and were honored. Solomon focused on the riches, the prosperity, while Jehoshaphat focused on the Lord. That is where he found joy and peace, in the ways of the Lord. Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 6:33, "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." Jesus is saying that our focus must be on Him, and not to focus on the material things, He will supply our needs. And if God does bless you with riches, listen to what David said should be our response to that. In Psalm 62:10 we read "...If riches increase, Do not set your heart on them." In other words, don't let it go to your head! Don't put your trust in them, keep your focus on the Lord. Remember what God told Abraham in Genesis 15:1 "...'Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.'" Don't lose sight of that fact, that God is our shield and our reward, keep things in proper perspective.

VERSES 7-9

1. Jehoshaphat not only removed the idolatry from the land, which was important to do, but he also recognized that man does not live in a vacuum, and if you remove something from a persons life, you have to replace it with something else or they will return to their old ways, maybe even worse than before. So as he removes the false worship he replaces it with the true worship of God. They were in bondage but now they have been set free from that bondage. As Jesus said in John 8:31-32 "...'If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.'"

2. Also, Jehoshaphat does not just remove the false and tell the people to get right. He is also leading them in the ways they should go. And the result of that is seen in verses 10 and 11, as fruit is born in their lives.

VERSES 10-11

1. Here me out on this point. For me, I am not into Jesus parades and programs as such. There is nothing wrong with them, I just don't feel that is what God wants from me. I think a bigger impact can be made in peoples lives as the idolatry is removed and replaced with the Word of God. The result is that the unsaved will take notice. Why? Not because you have plastered signs all over the place but because your life has impacted others. You have touched others for Christ by what you say and what you do. If all you do is talk about Christ and yet your life does not reflect that relationship, your words are meaningless. As one man put it, and I am paraphrasing, "Be a witness of Christ, and if need be, use words." Let your life reflect that relationship you have with the Lord and that will make a bigger difference in their lives than all you have to say. Let your walk match your talk!

2. Jehoshaphat enjoyed times of peace and prosperity. Even the Philistines, who were a constant thorn in the side of Israel, were subdued during this time. And this all happened not through physical wars, but as the people surrendered their lives to God and then "the fear of the LORD fell on all the kingdoms of the lands that were around Jerusalem."

VERSES 12-19

1. The Southern Kingdom enjoyed a time of peace and prosperity - why? Because they were taught the Word of God. Turn to Psalm 1 and lest begin reading in verse 1.

"Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night." Psalm 1:1-2.

The word "meditate" literally means "chewing the cud." Sheep are animals that chew the cud or regurgitate previously swallowed food so they can chew it some more and extract all the nutrients they can from it. That is what we are to do with the Word of God, extract all the nutrients we can from it and apply it to our lives. As you get up in the morning and spend some time in the Word - meditate on what you have read throughout the day, extracting the nutrients from it as God teaches you things you need to know and learn so you can apply them to your life.

"He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its

season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper." Psalm 1:3.

If the Word of God becomes part of our life, David says we will be like a tree planted by the waters, which give the tree life. We get our nourishment as we draw from the living waters. Today many have tossed the Word of God away and replaced it with other things, programs, activities, rituals, that will not give you life, but will starve you to death. Instead of finding strength you will become weak. You see, it is as we are planted in the living waters that our lives will naturally bear fruit. As Jesus said in John 15:5-7 "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you."