July 4, 2021 • Pastor Mark Geer • 2 Chronicles 14—16
America has an illustrious history of God's favor and blessings, along with a rich tradition of Christian heritage and Biblical foundations laid by our early forefathers. We are not without our stains of injustice, prejudice, and slavery. Yet a broad and honest examination of our history reveals the incredible plan and grace of God upon our country enabling us to be a beacon of light and truth, liberty and justice, and a proclaimer of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all the world.
As a nation we have fallen on some hard times. Change is in the wind and not necessarily good change. God is forgotten. Rebellion and independence from God is widespread. Evil is rampant. Atrocities of violence, outrage, racism and sexual immorality, along with patterns of selfish behavior, greed and lust fill our cities and society. It is a tragedy and an unnerving trend that should cause us to fall on our knees in repentance and prayer to God for mercy and forgiveness.
The story of the reforms of Asa, king of Judah in the book of 2 Chronicles, who is responding to the prophetic message of Azariah, the son of the prophet Oded is a wonderful parallel to our times of what we so desperately need. It tells how Israel turned to the Lord in their difficult times, placed their trust in God and sought the Lord with exuberance, pledged their loyalty to God in a vow and saw the favor of God showered upon them. Yet it also tells of how king Asa’s loyalty to God waned and when his trust in God was tested by Baasha, king of Israel, he forsook the Lord and faced the judgment of God.
What can we learn from these spiritual truths and patterns of human behavior? Is God speaking to us in a fresh and new way through king Asa's life and story? I think so.
