2 Chronicles 15

1. Historical Background

King Asa began his reign pleasing the Lord, removing idols, foreign altars, and smashing pagan sacred places.  God gave him rest from his enemies where he wasn’t involved in any fighting for a period of ten years.  When war does come to Judah, Asa cries out to God on the behalf of Judah to meet the Cushite one million man army.  Judah was outnumbered 2 to 1, yet King Asa takes courage in the Lord’s strength.  God delivers and gives Judah a great victory and another 20 years of peace without wars. During this time of peace Asa moves all of Judah to renew their faithfulness to God through a covenant.

Asa calls all of Judah, Benjamin, and all who are loyal to God from Israel.  The people flooded to him and they solemnly renewed their hearts to God and sought God with their whole heart.  God was found of them and He gave them rest for 20 years.  King Asa went so far has to remove his own mother as queen because of her private idolatry.

2. Discovering God

God is with you as you seek Him, but will forsake you if you forsake Him.  There is a timeless principle in verse two.

The Lord is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you. vv2

Obviously, this verse is given in a context of people who have covenanted with the Lord in the Old Testament.  In the New Testament, we covenant with the Lord Jesus and He promises that He would never leave us nor forsake us.  However, the principle of being found of the Lord when you seek Him is constant.  Passages like this communicate that God’s most desired attribute in the community of His people is faithfulness.

God is found by those who seek Him with the whole heart. Azariah rehashed a bit of Israel’s history to remind him that God has always been accessible to His people when they sought for Him.  This encouraged King Asa to seek the Lord.

Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law. ⁴ But when they in their trouble did turn unto the Lord God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them. vv3

The narrative of this story leaves us with a principle telling us God is found when sought with the whole heart.

This principle of faithfulness is exhibited again in verse 15:

 And all Judah rejoiced at the oath: for they had sworn with all their heart, and sought him with their whole desire; and he was found of them: and the Lord gave them rest round about. vv15

3. Fulfillment in Christ Jesus

Thematically, God is ultimately found in Christ Jesus.

The Lord is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.

On this side of the cross, Jesus says He will never leave us nor forsake us.  King Asa’s story tells us another piece in God’s history how He eventually drew the conclusion in Christ.  God will be found by anyone who seeks Him, and ultimately He is found in the God who was made flesh, Jesus Christ. The cross fulfilled what God said He’ll do in the Old Testament and the Jesus simultaneously laid the foundations for a better covenant made with better promises.

But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.

Hebrews 8:6

Through reading and understanding our Bibles we know that God’s desire is to be readily found by His people, even after times when they lose sight of him, just as the prophet explained to Asa.  So God did something in Jesus that that allowed us more intimate access to God and even a promise that He would never leave us.  Just as God promises to David that he would never cast off his sons from the throne, so Jesus promises to never leave or forsake those He calls His own through the cross!

4. Application:

One application is already built into the passage:

And they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul; vv12

As they determined to seek God, so will I determine in my heart to do so.  King Asa led his nation on a certain day with a certain plan to seek after God:

¹⁰ So they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa.

So likewise I will determine at a certain time every day to seek God with my family and those who I influence.  I will use my leadership and influence to cause others to seek God and be blessed when we are found of Him.