1 Kings 15:9-15 – Radical commitment for effective change

First Kings 15:9-22 describe the reign of Asa. He succeeded his father Abijam and reigned over Judah in Jerusalem in the 20^th year of Jeroboam’s reign in Israel. Asa was one of the eight good kings out of a total of 19 kings of Judah. He reigned for 41 years. Deemed to be a good king, he did what was right in the eye of God, just like David his great, great grandfather.

What did he do that was right in the sight of God? He removed all the male cult prostitutes from the land. The other thing he did was he removed all the idols which his father had made. One brave thing he did was to remove his grandmother Maacah, the matriarch, who was a bad influence on the nation. We are told in verse 13 that she made Asherah into a dreadful image. Asa not only cut down the image but also burnt it at the brook of Kidron. He should have removed the high places, but unfortunately he did not.

One encouraging fact about Asa was that his heart was wholly devoted to the Lord all his days. And we are told that: “He brought into the house of the Lord the dedicated things of his father and his own dedicated things: silver and gold and utensils.” Asa began well. His reforms were effective. He pleased God. It would have been better had he finished his reign with the same consistency that he had started. But we shall discover that he did not in our later discussion. Fr0m Asa’s life there are lessons worth our emulation as well as lessons we must avoid. In these verses, we are looking at the positive contributions that he had made during his earlier reign.  

One impression we get of Asa’s earlier success was his thoroughness. He removed every idol and male cult prostitute in the land. He even destroyed the image his pagan grandma had made and even had the gut to banish her. Asa was not afraid to make drastic changes. He did not allow relationships to come in the way of his reform. His heart was wholly devoted to God, and he set his heart to please God. Hence, he was not afraid even to deal with his grandmother who was an affront to what he was doing. He did the right thing by not only destroying the horrid image she made but also banishing her. 

What about us? Are we afraid to deal with those dear to us when we know they are the obstacle to our progress with God? Hear the radical demands of Jesus in Luke 14:26. He said, “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and b, rothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.” Of course He is not calling us to hate those close kins of ours, but He is calling us to give Him top priority in our lives. We must prefer Him over all other relationships in life. We must not allow anyone, not even someone whom we respect and love, to be an obstacle to the effective changes God wants us to make in our life. Remember, if Jesus Christ is not Lord of all then He is not Lord at all!