# Introduction - Turn in your Bibles to 2 Chronicles 16. - *2 Chronicles is about one third of the way into your Bible.* - ## This is an odd start to a sermon, but let me begin by talking about landmines... - #### Antipersonnel mines - ### That is something we don't really think about often in our day to day life here in the US, but it is a constant problem in many places in the world. - ### Approximately 110 million landmines are buried in sixty countries around the world. - ### 20 million were buried during World War II, eighty years ago. - ### Countries like Egypt, Libya, Germany, France, Belgium, and Cambodia hold the majority of these World War II mines. - ### In 2023 (the latest year for which I could find official statistics), landmines causes 5,757 casualties to non-combatants. - ### Every reporting country did not report the ages of casualties, but at least 1,489 of the casualties in 2023 were children. - ### Website Source - https://www.the-monitor.org/online-reader/landmine-monitor-2024?anchor=Major-Findings-137262&utm_source=chatgpt.com - ### Now here is the story with these old World War II landmines... - ### During the stress of the conflict, governments decided that burying antipersonnel landmines benefited their cause. - ### That is simple enough to understand. - ### These were very effective and practical weapons of war. - ### But, I imagine no one really thought then that eighty years later those mines would be killing fifteen innocent people every day including five children who would never grow old enough to even hear about World War II. - Why are we talking about landmines? - I think it is a perfect illustration of something that happens in lives every day. - Because, way too often, WE BURY LANDMINES IN OUR LIVES. - We bury landmines in our... - Families - Marriages - Relationships - CHURCHES - Personal lives - We do things that seem expedient in the moment, but which are really just TICKING BOMBS that will one day bring heart ache and destruction. - We do things that SEEM to bring... - Success - Pleasure - Profit - Peace - Ease - BUT LATER BRING PAIN. - ### Militaries around the world have many words for landmines... - ### Anti-personnel mine - ### Improvised explosive device (IED) - ### Booby trap - ### Minefield - ### Claymore - ### Bounding mine - ### Tilt-rod mine - And we have many words to describe some of the landmines we bury in our lives. - *Shortcuts* - *Conveniences* - *Compromises* - *Rationalizations* - *Excuses* - *Delays* - *Procrastinations* - *Distractions* - *Indulgences* - *Impulses* - *Concessions* - *Habits* - Our Scripture passage this morning gives us a historical example of someone who took the EASY PATH and buried a landmine that later brought much hardship. # Scripture - ##### **[[2 Chronicles 16.1]] | *In the thirty-sixth year of Asa, Israel’s King Baasha went to war against Judah. He built Ramah in order to keep anyone from leaving or coming to King Asa of Judah.*** (CSB) - Let's run through a little who's who so we can follow the story. - Asa is king of JUDAH, and Baasha is the king of ISRAEL. - If you don't really know this period of history well, you might guess that the king of Israel is the "good guy" in the story. - But you would be wrong. - At this point in history, the original nation of Israel has broken into two nations. - The split happened after Solomon's death (931 BC). - That was about 55 years before 2 Chronicles 16. - The southern nation was called Judah. - *Judah was generally more faithful to God's covenant.* - The northern nation was called Israel. - In a very general way, the southern nation, Judah, represented God's nation. - The temple was in Judah. - Judah preserved the Davidic dynasty. - He (Baasha) built Ramah... - Ramah was a small fortified city about five miles north of Jerusalem. - This is the geographic location where the prophet Samuel was born. - Its location made it a military and commercial chokepoint. - Everything going in or out of Jerusalem had to go through Ramah. - Asa couldn't have Baasha controlling this CHOKEPOINT. - Asa had to do something. - What will Asa do? - Well, it might be helpful to know what Asa did the previous time he faced adversaries. - We read the history in 2 Chronicles 14.9–15. - Asa and Judah faced a giant invasion from Ethiopia. - Let me read about how Asa handled the threat and how the Lord came through for him... - ##### **[[2 Chronicles 14.9]] | *Then Zerah the Cushite came against them with an army of one million men and three hundred chariots. They came as far as Mareshah.*** (CSB) - ##### **[[2 Chronicles 14.10]] | *So Asa marched out against him and lined up in battle formation in Zephathah Valley at Mareshah.*** (CSB) - ##### **[[2 Chronicles 14.11]] | *Then Asa cried out to the Lord his God, “Lord, there is no one besides you to help the mighty and those without strength. Help us, Lord our God, for we depend on you, and in your name we have come against this large army. Lord, you are our God. Do not let a mere mortal hinder you.”*** (CSB) - ##### **[[2 Chronicles 14.12]] | *So the Lord routed the Cushites before Asa and before Judah, and the Cushites fled.*** (CSB) - Hopefully, Asa will handle things the same way... - ##### **[[2 Chronicles 16.2]] | *So Asa brought out the silver and gold from the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and the royal palace and sent it to Aram’s King Ben-hadad, who lived in Damascus, saying,*** (CSB) - Well, it seems Asa is not going to handle this second crisis the same way he handled the first crisis. - Here we are introduced to character number three, King Ben-hadad. - Ben-hadad was king of Syria and reigned from its capital, Damascus. - Interestingly, today Jerusalem and Damascus are both exactly where they were in this three thousand year old historical account. - And both are still capitals of their respective countries, Israel and Syria. - Damascus is about 120 miles north of Jerusalem. - ##### **[[2 Chronicles 16.3]] | *“There’s a treaty between me and you, between my father and your father. Look, I have sent you silver and gold. Go break your treaty with Israel’s King Baasha so that he will withdraw from me.”*** (CSB) - Asa bribes Aram to attack Israel from the north to distract them from attacking Judah. - ##### **[[2 Chronicles 16.4]] | *Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies to the cities of Israel. They attacked Ijon, Dan, Abel-maim, and all the storage cities of Naphtali.*** (CSB) - ##### **[[2 Chronicles 16.5]] | *When Baasha heard about it, he quit building Ramah and stopped his work.*** (CSB) - Well, did Asa's scheme work? - Yes it did. - At least in the short-term. - IT TURNED OUT TO BE A VERY CONVENIENT, EFFICIENT, AND CLEVER WAY TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM. - Asa found a shortcut. - He found a way that did not depend upon the Lord... - He found a way that did not depend on obedience to the Lord... - *He violated God's command when he relied upon a foreign and pagan nation.* - He found a way that did not depend on honoring the Lord... - *He emptied the temple treasuries.* - ##### **[[1 Kings 15.18]] | *So Asa withdrew all the silver and gold that remained in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and the treasuries of the royal palace and gave it to his servants. Then King Asa sent them to Ben-hadad son of Tabrimmon son of Hezion king of Aram who lived in Damascus, saying,*** (CSB) - He found a way that did not depend on PRAYER, TRUST, OR FAITH! - AND IT WORKED! - ##### **[[2 Chronicles 16.6]] | *Then King Asa brought all Judah, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and the timbers Baasha had built it with. Then he built Geba and Mizpah with them.*** (CSB) - ##### **[[2 Chronicles 16.7]] | *At that time, the seer Hanani came to King Asa of Judah and said to him, “Because you depended on the king of Aram and have not depended on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from you.*** (CSB) - Here we are introduced to the fourth and last character in this historical account. - Hanani was a prophet, a spokesperson for the Lord. - Hanani brought an important message from God to Asa. - What does this verse teach us? - Asa depended on his own wisdom and cunning instead of the Lord... - ##### King of Aram has escaped... - Interesting... - It seems that God had a greater plan... - God wanted to use Asa to defeat both Baasha, the king of Israel, and ALSO Ben-hadad, the king of Syria. - Asa's plan temporarily solved the problem with Baasha but made future problems with Ben-hada and Syria WORSE. - ##### **[[2 Chronicles 16.8]] | *Were not the Cushites and Libyans a vast army with many chariots and horsemen? When you depended on the Lord, he handed them over to you.*** (CSB) - Hanani reminded Asa how he had dealt with a far more difficult problem years earlier. - Hanani implies that the Lord would have given Asa victories over both Israel and Syria if he would have only been patient and trusted him. - He confirms this implication at the end of the next verse. - ##### **[[2 Chronicles 16.9]] | *For the eyes of the Lord roam throughout the earth to show himself strong for those who are wholeheartedly devoted to him. You have been foolish in this matter. Therefore, you will have wars from now on.”*** (CSB) - Hanani says... - The Lord is looking for someone he can bless... - The Lord is looking for someone who will trust him completely... - The Lord is looking to show himself strong for those he can find who are devoted to him. - Message to young people... - BE THAT PERSON! - At the end of the verse, Hanani says, "You will have wars from now on." - Asa experienced success, but it was short-lived. - THE DIRECT CONSEQUENCES OF ASA'S STRATEGY WERE DEVASTAING. - THE CONSEQUENCES LASTED THREE GENERATIONS! - ##### **[[2 Chronicles 16.10]] | *Asa was enraged with the seer and put him in prison because of his anger over this. And Asa mistreated some of the people at that time.*** (CSB) - This is the first incident of royal persecution of a prophet of God recorded in the Old Testament. - Once Asa adopted an attitude of rebelling against God, he never got back on the right track again. - We see this in verse 12... - ##### **[[2 Chronicles 16.11]] | *Note that the events of Asa’s reign, from beginning to end, are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.*** (CSB) - ##### **[[2 Chronicles 16.12]] | *In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa developed a disease in his feet, and his disease became increasingly severe. Yet even in his disease he didn’t seek the Lord but only the physicians.*** (CSB) # Gospel - ## The story of Asa and Hanani teaches many important principles. - But before we get to those, I want us to see how this piece of history points to Christ. - #### The entire Old Testament points to Jesus. - I've asked the Lord to teach me how to better see Jesus in the Old Testament. - I want to learn to be more skilled at this. - If I could see these connections more clearly, then... - I would better understand the Bible... - Hopefully, I would be a better pastor for you... - If I can get better at this, I hope that will help you get better at this. - ## How do we see Jesus in 2 Chronicles 16? - #### Let me take you to something Jesus said in Matthew 12... - Jesus spoke about how many of the Old Testament kings pointed people to the Lord despite the fact that the kings were all flawed. - ##### **[[Matthew 12.42]] | *The queen of the south will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and look—something greater than Solomon is here.*** (CSB) - But Jesus is the GREATER king. *([[~jesus-is-greater]])* - So, when we see these flaws of the Old Testament leaders, it should make us praise God for the greater king, Jesus. - Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived, but he compromised and was guilty of idolatry. - BUT JESUS IS THE GREATER SOLOMON AND THE GREATER KING WHO NEVER COMPROMISED. - David was God's chosen man to rule Israel, but he committed grave sin and sought to cover it up. - BUT JESUS IS THE GREATER DAVID AND THE GREATER KING WHO HAS NEVER FAILED. - Moses was the greatest human leader in history, yet he failed to finish the job and lead the people into the Promised Land. - BUT JESUS IS THE GREATER DAVID AND THE GREATER KING WHO HAS FINISHED OUR SALVATION AND LEADS US TO THE ULTIMATE PROMISED LAND. - And when we see Asa and his inconsistent faithfulness... - It should remind us that JESUS IS THE GREATER KING WHO IS ALWAYS FAITHFUL. - ## Why is this important? - As important as are the lessons we will learn from 2 Chronicles 16, the more important thing is that... - *We see that every human leader...* - *We see every human strategy...* - *And we see every human effort ...* - **WILL FALL SHORT!** - *We need Jesus!* - **==GOSPEL==** # What Can Asa Teach Us Today? # I. Short-term success is no excuse for long-term jeopardy. - #### We saw in 2 Chronicles 16.5 that Asa's strategy seemed to work. - ##### **[[2 Chronicles 16.5]] | *When Baasha heard about it, he quit building Ramah and stopped his work.*** (CSB) - But the pursuit of short-term success can **BLIND** us to the danger we are creating in the future. - #### This brings us back to the problem with the LANDMINES. - We do things or prioritize things in the short term that seem to make life easier or better, while ignoring the potential for the landmines to blow up later. - Examples - We see this in relationships... - Married men and women flirting with some extramarital connection that seems to provide some short-term charge, but blows up family, security, witness, and joy down the road. - Single adults who flirt with compromise for short-term gain and risk what the Lord might have done if they would only have remained faithful to him. - We see this in our families... - When we prioritize things other than the Lord and being faithful to him and to church... - We think the short-term benefits of that are good, but we are burying landmines... - We do this in parenting when we choose shortcuts... - We see this in our personal lives... - When we don't have time for prayer and Bible study... - When we embrace moral compromise... - When we are less than faithful with our money... - When we are not honest in our business dealings... - #### Words and phrases... - Let me just give you some words and phrases that describe things that bring short-term benefits or success but bury long-term landmines that may blow up at some unanticipated time... - Let me give you these words and phrases and SEE WHAT THE HOLY SPIRIT BRINGS TO YOUR MIND. - Phrases - Procrastination. Spiritual procrastination... - Procrastination makes us feel better in the short run... - It relieves pressure... - What are you procrastinating in your spiritual life? - Neglect, delay... - Excuses... - Distractions... - #### As I mentioned earlier... - The short-term victory Asa won when he compromised and partnered with the pagan Syrian king led to THREE GENERATIONS of landmines. - Our nearsighted and myopic approach to our problems, desires, and dreams does the same thing! - Our success often become dangerous conveniences! - #### Short-term success is no excuse for long-term jeopardy. # II. Forgetfulness of the Lord's faithfulness will lead to foolishness. - #### What was Asa's greatest sin? What was the root sin that lead to his failure? - You might say it was IGNORANCE... - *Maybe he didn't understand what God wanted him to do.* - You might say it was a LACK OF FAITH in God... - *Maybe he didn't really trust God to take care of this problem.* - The true GREAT SIN was not ignorance or faithlessness... - **The GREAT SIN was forgetfulness.** - He failed to remember (rehearse) the faithfulness of the Lord in the past. - #### We see this in the words the prophet Hanani proclaimed to Asa... - ##### **[[2 Chronicles 16.8]] | *Were not the Cushites and Libyans a vast army with many chariots and horsemen? When you depended on the Lord, he handed them over to you.*** (CSB) - #### Had Asa just sat down and considered how the Lord had been faithful to him when he trusted the Lord before, Asa would never have made this error. - ##### **[[Psalm 78.11]] | *They forgot what he had done, the wondrous works he had shown them.*** (CSB) - One of the best ways to strengthen our faithfulness is to focus on our memory. - Rehearse the goodness of the Lord. - ### Sit around the dinner table once every week or two and just talk to your family about all the ways the Lord has been faithful to you. - RECOUNT HOW THE LORD HAS BEEN SO FAITHFUL TO OUR CHURCH. - #### Now, let me show you a related principle... - Sometimes we are much better at trusting the Lord for big things and when we face impossible problems... - And when the problem is smaller and a little more manageable, that is when we compromise and take short-cuts. - When you look at Asa's life, the problem he faced fighting the million-man Ethiopian army in 2 Chronicles 14 was a much bigger problem than the tiff with Israel in 2 Chronicles 16. - Asa trusted the Lord in 2 Chronicles 14. - He failed to trust the Lord in 2 Chronicles 16. - May that not be true of us! - The Puritan [[Matthew Henry]] said, "Those who rely on God in great things are often tempted to lean on the creature in less things." # III. How you finish is more important than how you begin. - #### If you just limited yourself to looking at the first half of Asa's reign, he would have to rank as one of the most highly regarded kings of Judah or Israel. - But if you looked at his entire reign, he would fall far down the list. - #### In the first half of his reign he... - Removed foreign altars and high places. - ##### **[[2 Chronicles 14.3]] | *He removed the pagan altars and the high places. He shattered their sacred pillars and chopped down their Asherah poles.*** (CSB) - He commanded Judah to seek the Lord. - ##### **[[2 Chronicles 14.4]] | *He told the people of Judah to seek the Lord God of their ancestors and to carry out the instruction and the commands.*** (CSB) - He led a national covenant renewal. - ##### **[[2 Chronicles 15.12]] | *Then they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord God of their ancestors with all their heart and all their soul.*** (CSB) - He even deposed his own grandmother for idolatry. - ##### **[[2 Chronicles 15.16]] | *King Asa also removed Maacah, his grandmother, from being queen mother because she had made an obscene image of Asherah. Asa chopped down her obscene image, then crushed it and burned it in the Kidron Valley.*** (CSB) - He invested in the temple. - ##### **[[2 Chronicles 15.18]] | *He brought his father’s consecrated gifts and his own consecrated gifts into God’s temple: silver, gold, and utensils.*** (CSB) - #### Scholars conjecture that Asa died at the age of 61. - At the end of 2 Chronicles 15, he was around 33. - Those 33 years were years of remarkable faithfulness. - But Asa is not remembered as a faithful king because the last half of his life he was unfaithful. - #### When I look back on my life, my hopes and dreams and life-goals have evolved. - ### Early my goals centered around being successful, influential, esteemed, accomplished... - ### As I've matured a little through the years, my hopes and dreams have changed. - ### It isn't that none of those previous things have value (and value to me)... - ### But as I look around and see so many successful, influential, and accomplished preachers falling and failing every year... - ### All I want to do is to finish faithful and finish strong. - ### I'm not nearly as impressed with success. - ### I'm impressed with faithfulness. - ### I believe the best way for my life to honor the Lord is for me to be faithful to the very very end. - #### How you finish is more important than how you begin. - ##### **[[Galatians 5.7]] | *You were running well. Who prevented you from being persuaded regarding the truth?*** (CSB) # IV. Don't depend on God because it is the easiest path. - #### This gets down to the nitty gritty of the truth we learn from Asa's failure in 2 Chronicles 16. - We all face... - Obstacles - Temptations - Difficulties - Hardships - As believers, we often depend on (trust in) the Lord when we face challenges. - That is good. - But sometimes we don't trust the Lord. - **SOMETIMES WE SCHEME AND STRATEGIZE AND IGNORE THE LORD.** - How do we decide which we will do? - I'm afraid that often we only trust the Lord when that is the EASIER PATH. - If it is easier to just... - *Follow our passions...* - *Go along with the world...* - *Lean upon our own ingenuity...* - Then we just leave the Lord out of the equation. - #### We saw this in our Scripture focus this morning when Asa thought he found a clever short-cut to solve his problem with Israel... - And we can see this again near the end of Asa's life... - ##### **[[2 Chronicles 16.12]] | *In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa developed a disease in his feet, and his disease became increasingly severe. Yet even in his disease he didn’t seek the Lord but only the physicians.*** (CSB) - #### We must reject the way of Asa... - ##### **[[Jeremiah 17.5]] | *This is what the Lord says: Cursed is the person who trusts in mankind. He makes human flesh his strength, and his heart turns from the Lord.*** (CSB) - #### So, why should we depend on the Lord? - ## A. Depend on the Lord because it honors him. - #### Look at these two military threats Asa faced. - In 2 Chronicles 14 he faced the million-man Ethiopian army. - He trusted the Lord. - The Lord gave victory. - The Lord was honored. - In 2 Chronicles 16 he faced a skirmish with the northern tribes. - He trusted himself. - His victory was temporary. - He was honored (for a time). - #### We should live lives that depend 100% on the Lord so that the Lord gets the glory. - ##### **[[Psalm 20.7]] | *Some take pride in chariots, and others in horses, but we take pride in the name of the Lord our God.*** (CSB) - ## B. Depend on the Lord because it strengthens faith. - #### The second reason to live life trusting the Lord is because our trust NOW strengthens our trust LATER. - ### The only way to run a marathon is to do a bunch of shorter runs... - ### The only way to lift 500 pounds is to spend a lot of time lifting 100 pounds... - #### We are going to face some big obstacles in life. - You are going to need a lot of faith one day... - Every time you trust the Lord now, you are preparing for the big challenges ahead. - ##### **[[Psalm 127.1]] | *Unless the Lord builds a house, its builders labor over it in vain; unless the Lord watches over a city, the watchman stays alert in vain.*** (CSB) - ##### **[[Psalm 127.2]] | *In vain you get up early and stay up late, working hard to have enough food— yes, he gives sleep to the one he loves.*** (CSB) - ## C. Depend on the Lord because it brings long-term blessings. - I love what the prophet Isaiah wrote... - ##### **[[Isaiah 31.1]] | *Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and who depend on horses! They trust in the abundance of chariots and in the large number of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy One of Israel, and they do not seek the Lord.*** (CSB) - Hanani's Message - In Hanani's message to Asa we learn that if Asa would only have trusted in the Lord instead of his own shortcuts and dangerous conveniences, God would have provided a clear and lasting victory over both Israel and Syria. - Look with me at the best verse in chapter 16... - ##### **[[2 Chronicles 16.9]] | *For the eyes of the Lord roam throughout the earth to show himself strong for those who are wholeheartedly devoted to him. You have been foolish in this matter. Therefore, you will have wars from now on.”*** (CSB) - The Lord is looking for someone in whose life he can show his strength. - He is searching for someone wholeheartedly devoted to him. - Will you be that person? **==<<<<<<<<<< MUSIC BEGINS >>>>>>>>>>==** # Conclusion - #### So, today, this day... - ### Five little children in Egypt or Libya or Cambodia will go out in the fields to play with her friends... - ### She will step on a landmine... - ### It will explode and kill or mutilate her for life... - ### Those landmines were buried years ago (decades ago) in a conflict she doesn't know anything about. - ### So tragic. - #### But also, today, this week, this year... - Some of us will step on landmines buried because we (or others) failed to live faithfully for the Lord. - And the convenient shortcuts a year ago, or a decade ago, or a generation ago by us or by others will unexpected explode... - #### How should Asa have responded to Hanani? - Asa had already failed... - ### He had already buried the landmines... - #### I believe... - The record of the Old Testament fully supports that the same power that would have brought victory to Judah and Asa if he would have trusted the Lord, would have cleared some of those mines.