GOD’S WORD FOR YOU
2 CHRONICLES 16:11-14
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11 The acts of Asa, from first to last, are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.
Asa’s “acts” would include all of his official functions: the family weddings, the state funerals, receiving envoys and royalty from other nations. There would be military items, changes in his staff over the years, exceptional harvests (both good and bad), exceptional weather, and even things like rebellions, the discontent that comes with any government, and incidents during his time such as astronomical or solar events, achievements in inventing, and the succession of a new high priest.
It is this last item that raises a few questions at this point. We know that there was a change of high priest at about this time, or perhaps more than one. At the time of Solomon and Abijah (Asa’s father), the high priest was Azariah son of Zadok (1 Kings 4:2). Azariah was followed by Johanan and then by Azariah II (1 Chronicles 6:9-11). Since Azariah II was high priest at the time of King Uzziah, a century after Asa, it is most likely that Johanan and perhaps some other men served before his time. A high priest named Amariah was serving just after Asa’s time when Jehoshaphat was king (2 Chronicles 19:11), He might be the same man as a certain Joash or Jehoshua mentioned in some other sources.
12 In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa became diseased in his feet. His disease was very serious, but even when he was sick, he did not seek the LORD, but only sought out his physicians. 13 Asa slept with his fathers. He died in the forty-first year of his reign. 14 They buried him in the tomb which he had cut out for himself in the City of David. They laid him on a bier that was covered with all kinds of spices and perfumed ointments, blended by the perfume makers. They also burned a very large bonfire in his honor.
The early part of King Asa’s reign seemed amazing. He did “what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God” (14:2). He destroyed pagan worship places, commanded the people to return to worship of the true God, and strengthened the borders. When an African army threatened him, he prayed for help and was given an amazing victory.
After a warning from a prophet not to stray from the path hs was on (15:1-7), he renewed his determination to serve the Lord (15:8-18), and the Lord blessed him with a long period of peace. But late in the king’s reign (his thirty-sixth year), he was threated by the King of Israel, and he bought the allegiance of the King of Aram (Damascus) with silver and gold from the Lord’s treasury. For this, he was chastised by another prophet and told him that he would be at war “from now on” (16:9). But this was not long. Three years later, he got some sort of disease in his feet, and he died two years after that.
It is does not do any good to debate about the disease of the king’s feet. Gangrene, for example, could not have gone on for two years in ancient times, although one form of gangrene associated with diseased blood vessels or diabetes can take months to develop. What the Holy Spirit wants us to see is that the king became stubborn and did not seek the Lord’s help, even when the disease became serious.
He died in 869 BC, and he was buried in a special stone tomb he had made for himself. The description of the bier, the burial platform, is interesting and unusual. Did the spices and perfumed ointments help with the smell of the dead king’s diseased feet? The platform was “filled” with spices, mixed by the work of perfume mixers, and there was a “great burning,” a huge bonfire. While some might speculate that this was also to take care of a bad odor associated with the dead king, the text says that the fire was done “for him,” that is, in his honor.
Asa’s stubborn sin toward the end of his life does not mean he died in unbelief, but that he was a humn being, a sinner who made mistakes and who needed a Savior. What brings about any change? Any repentance? It is the word of God alone that accomplishes this. The law shows us our sin, and we become afraid of God’s judgment and terrified of damnation in hell. The gospel reveals our Savior Jesus, and we are reminded that there is atonement for sin, and that God’s righteousness is given to sinners through faith.
The lesson is presented with clear words: If good king Asa could stumble, so can I. If God could forgive a fallen sinner like Asa, he surely can forgive a fallen sinner like me, too. “Be merciful to me, O Lord” (Psalm 31:9). And God, “who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions. It is by grace you have been saved” (Ephesians 2:4-5). For God had mercy on us, to spare us from sorrow upon sorrow, so that we have grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
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Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, New Ulm, Minnesota
God’s Word for You – 2 Chronicles 16:11-14 Asa’s feet