Our Great Podiatrist

“The rest of all the acts of Asa, and all his might, and all that he did, and the cities which he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? Nevertheless in the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet.” (1Ki 15:23 AV)

We might ask ourselves why this detail is relevant.  Looking at 2Chr 16:12 might shed some light.  “And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not to the LORD, but to the physicians.” (2Ch 16:12 AV)  This mention reveals whatever disease from which Asa was suffering, first, could have been solved if he sought the LORD.  Second, we also learn from the life of Asa and the context of the passages that Asa had tremendous faith and integrity.  He cleaned up Judah from idolatry and sodomy and even confronted his own mother who was partially to blame for it all.  Asa would harken unto the prophet Oded and bring sacred revivals to both Judah and Israel.  The northern tribes were gathering to Judah for a sacred feast.  We learn in 2Chron.16 that Ephraim perceived the LORD was with Asa.  But Asa took a turn for the worse.  The practice of solving things himself rather than go to the LORD stared a bit earlier than his feet.

Following the revival in Judah, the king of Israel began to build a city, Ramah.  Baasha, king of the northern ten tribes saw what was going on and was concerned that if Asa continued his revival, the kingdom would be reunited and he would lose his throne.  He built Ramah on the border of the two kingdoms to keep his own people in.  Asa panicked and contacted Benhadad, General of Syria.  Asa took the gold, silver, and precious things of both his house and the temple and paid Syria to break their treaty with Israel.  Syria went against Israel and Judah took Ramah and destroyed it.  This treaty and plan was from Asa and not the LORD.  It was a well-thought-out plan but not what God had wanted.  Hanai the prophet came to see Asa, king of Judah and said, “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.” (2Ch 16:9 AV)  Asa had a habit of solving things he thought he could solve without consulting the LORD.  If there was a practical way out of a situation, then he would take it.  Even if the LORD might have advised otherwise, if there is a pragmatic solution, then Asa would not seek the LORD for something he could figure out himself. 

For the most part, this is how we live.  We rely on our experience to be our guide.  And, for the most part, we are correct.  In fact, we have known people to pray over the simplest of tasks when the common sense God has given is sufficient for the task at hand.  We wonder why they are taking the time to pray over something when, in fact, there is a simple solution.  However, there are two faults above.  First, Asa took things that did not belong to him to pay a pagan nation to do something they were not allowed to do.  It solved the problem.  Sure.  But in the process, it compromised the integrity of Judah.  Second, in the matter of his feet clearly, all he was doing was not working.  There are two questions to ask.  First, is it right?  Forget the question: will it work or will it not work?  That is not the correct question.  Is it right and does it follow Biblical principles?  Secondly, is it working?  Asa got in the habit of trusting his own judgment rather than seeking God’s voice.  He got a bit self-dependant.  In doing so, Asa suffered far more than he needed to.