DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- A BREATH OF FRESH AIR

DAD'S RAMBLINGS – A BREATH OF FRESH AIR

" "In the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa became king over Judah...Asa did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, as did his father David." (I Kings 15:9, 11)

This is a very encouraging word for me, today. I believe the words of Daniel, that "God removes kings and raises up kings" (Daniel 2:21). He places rulers for His own purposes and designs.

As we have seen, Rehoboam, king of Judah, was not a godly king. Under his reign, "Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD" (I Kings 14:22). When he died, his son, Abijam, ascended to the throne. But he was like his father, Rehoboam. "He walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him; his heart was not loyal to the LORD his God, as was the heart of his father David" (I Kings 15:3).

After two ungodly kings, it is like a breath of fresh air to read about Asa, who did what was right. He banished the perverted people from the land. This shows how far Judah had gone from serving God. The Hebrew word for "perverted people" is qedeshim. They practiced sodomy and prostitution in their religious rituals. Asa cleansed the nation from them. He also removed all the, idols his father, Abijam, had erected. He even removed his grandmother, Maachah, from being queen mother, because she had made an obscene image of Asherah, a Canaanite goddess, and he destroyed the image. How low can a nation go?

But God, in His mercy, allowed Asa to be king and he cleansed the land. Asa may not have done everything right, but he had a good heart.

Asa is an encouragement for me because our beloved nation has slid so far into the abyss that it sometimes seems that there is no hope. But God is God and if He desires, He can give us godly leaders that will bring us back to righteousness. I pray that this will happen.

Love, Dad