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Daily Devotion: 2 Chronicles 15:1-4

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2 Chronicles 15:1-4    "And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded:  (2)  And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The LORD is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.  (3)  Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law.  (4)  But when they in their trouble did turn unto the LORD God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them."

There is still some relationship between Israel and Judah. The people of Israel have been watching what was happening in Judah and realized God was blessing them in a mighty way. Let us stop to remember what had happened in Israel. Jeroboam had become king and had influenced the people to stay away from Jerusalem. He had two golden calves made and set aside his own people to become priests. They were not of the tribe of Levi; therefore, they were not sanctioned of God. Through the process of time, the people of Israel had become spiritually poor. Then one day, the prophet of God came to Asa and said, "Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law."

Azariah was indeed a true prophet of God. He encouraged Asa to remain faithful to the Lord by reminding him that as long as he sought the Lord, He would be found of him.  He even spoke to Asa concerning those in Israel who still sought to remain faithful unto the Lord. God had remained true to His Word. We see that in Azariah's words, "But when they in their trouble did turn unto the LORD God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them." Even in the middle of a nation that had been overrun by idolatry, God remained true to His Word. He was not fully blessing the nation, but He was indeed faithful to the Word that had been spoken to King Solomon.

Azariah seems to be coming to Asa to both encourage him and also to seek encouragement. Apparently Asa needed these words for we then read, "And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from mount Ephraim, and renewed the altar of the LORD, that was before the porch of the LORD." (2 Chronicles 15:8) It seems by reading these verses that even in Judah, idolatry had creeped back into their worship. At the encouragement of the prophets of God, those idols were removed and the altar of the Lord was repaired.  It seems that in the subtlety of Satan, things that detract from God can become the focus of life until they take preeminence.

Every child of God must be very careful not to allow things of the world to creep in and choke out our devotion unto the Lord. It can happen so quickly. Satan can use even the simplest of things to take our attention from the things of God to the things of the world. Yet our God says to us through His Word, "Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded." (2 Chronicles 15:7)

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