I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Chronicles 15-18.

    Early in his reign, Asa was very faithful to God and led the people of Judah in religious reform. In addition, many from the northern tribes moved south to Judah because of Asa’s religious reforms. All of them enthusiastically embraced the worship of God. However, late in Asa’s reign, King Baasha of Israel, the northern kingdom, invaded Judah and fortified the border to prevent back and forth over the border. This suggests that as time went on more and more people were leaving Israel to move to Judah. Further, because King Baasha also worked to stop people from Judah coming to Israel it suggests that people living in Judah went north to encourage those living there to worship and follow God (leading those who listened to move south). Unfortunately, rather than depending on God, as he had early in his reign, King Asa chose to bribe the king of Aram to attack Israel in order to remove the pressure on his northern border from Israel. When confronted by a prophet for his unfaithfulness, Asa, rather than repent, had the prophet imprisoned.
    When he was young, Asa enthusiastically worshiped and followed the Lord. This led him to have a good and peaceful life for most of his reign. However, after many years of peace and prosperity, when trouble once more troubled him, he forgot the faith of his youth and instead of relying on God, he relied on human strategies and skills. Let us not make the same mistake.