DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- LOYAL TO THE LORD

 DAD'S RAMBLINGS – LOYAL TO THE LORD

"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.  And he banished the perverted persons from the land, and removed all the idols that his father had made…But the high places were not removed.  Nevertheless, Asa's heart was loyal to the LORD all his days."  (I Kings 15:9, 11-12, 14).

I keep bumping into this phrase, "loyal to the LORD."  Sometimes it is in the negative, as in "his heart was not loyal to the Lord" (15:3). What does it mean to be loyal to the Lord?

The Hebrew word used here is related to the word shalom – to be at peace, whole, and complete.  In other words, to be loyal is to have an undivided heart, fully committed to the Lord, not being wishy-washy in faith.  

There is value in being loyal to the Lord – fully committed to Him and to His ways.  It brings peace into the soul.  The conflict – "should I or should I not" – is not an issue because the heart is completely dedicated to doing God's will.

That does not mean that Asa made all the right choices.  He did blow it when he made a treaty with Ben-Hadad, king of Syria, to fight against Baasha, king of Israel.  He gave all the gold and the silver in the house of the LORD along with his own treasury in order to get Ben-Hadad's help (15:16-20).  This did not please the LORD and Asa was chastised because he relied on the Syrians rather than on the LORD.  

I believe that God is still looking for men and women who will remain strong in their faith in Him – who are wholly committed to Him, who have an undivided heart.  We find this in II Chronicles 16:9:  "For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him."   May He always find us loyal.   

Love, Dad