A Message from the Bishop

Dear Friends,

“In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was diseased in his feet, and his disease became severe. Yet even in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but sought help from physicians.” (2 Chronicles 16:12)
 
In the Daily Lectionary this week, we read of King Asa of Jerusalem. Asa was a faithful, godly leader, described as one who “did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God” (2 Chronicles 14:2). He led Judah to seek God and obey his commandments (14:4). When enemies attacked, he trusted not in his military prowess but in God and he prayed, “Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this multitude. O Lord, you are our God; let not man prevail against you” (14:11). He purged the land of idols and renewed the nation’s covenant with God, pledging to seek him with all their heart and soul (15:12).
 
Yet late in life, Asa’s pride caused him to stumble. When Judah was attacked by the northern kingdom of Israel, Asa turned not to the Lord but to Ben-Hadad, King of Aram (Syria). He entered into an alliance so that Ben-Hadad would attack Israel to relieve Judah.
 
The prophet Hanani rebuked Asa for relying on pagans instead of the Lord. “You have done foolishly in this,” the Lord said through Hanani, “for from now on you will have wars” (16:9).
 
Sadly, Asa reacted not in humble repentance, but in prideful anger. His heart was hardened rather than being restored through repentance and forgiveness, and sinful rebellion against God grew in his heart. In his rage, he imprisoned Hanani the prophet for speaking God’s truth to him, and he “inflicted cruelties upon some of the people” (16:11).
 
And then Scripture tells us that Asa’s pride brought about his own death. In his final years, his feet became severely diseased. Although he turned to physicians (which the Bible doesn’t condemn—after all, Luke the Evangelist was a physician). He would not pray, he would not seek help from God. And so he died.
 
Asa’s story is a cautionary tale. His years of obedience to God proved to be no guarantee of future faithfulness.
 
The Bible includes accounts like this to remind us that we should never delude ourselves into thinking that we’ve somehow moved beyond the basics of the Christian life. No, we must repent before God daily, we must surrender afresh to God daily, we must live in prayerful dependence upon God daily.
 
And let’s always humble ourselves and give thanks for those like Hanani the prophet who speak God’s truth to us when we really need to hear it.

Faithfully yours in Christ,

The Rt. Rev. John A. M. Guernsey