“He also removed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother because she had made a detestable Asherah pole. Asa chopped down the pole and burned it in the Kidron Valley. The high places were not removed, but Asa’s heart was fully devoted to the LORD all his days.” I Kings 15:13-14
When Israel split into two kingdoms the southern half, Judah, had a mixture of good and evil rulers. Rehoboam became Judah’s king and he was an evil ruler. The people suffered immensely under his rule, Scripture tells us “Now Judah did evil in the sight of the Lord,
and they provoked Him to jealousy with their sins which they committed, more than all that their fathers had done. For they also built for themselves high places, sacred pillars, and wooden images
on every high hill and under every green tree. And there were also perverted persons in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations which the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel.” God allowed the nation to be attacked by foreign powers and the land and temple were plundered of its wealth. When Rehoboam died (after he ruled 17 years) his son, Abijam, ruled Judah for three years. He followed in his father’s footsteps and scripture tells us “He walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him; his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David”.
When Abijam died his son Asa became king. Scripture tells us that unlike his evil grandfather and father, Asa “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord”. Asa went on a campaign to rid the land of the evil that had permeated it for two decades. “He banished the perverted persons from the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had mad. Also he removed his grandmother, Maachah, from being queen mother, because she had made an obscene image of Asherah. Asa cut down this obscene image and burned it by the Brook Kidron. Further he removed evil people from power and did away with perversions in Judah. The Godly people left in Judah had to be rejoicing that finally the nation was going back to its foundations. But then we read “But the high places were not removed”. These high places had been in the land since King Solomon. Solomon built elevated places of worship for his foreign wives. Not only that he worshipped with them, causing him the loss of the kingdom. Perhaps because the practice went back to Solomon (tradition) Asa allowed it to continue. Kike many, he went partway to serving God but not full surrender.
What can we learn? When we read of the pain of Judah under evil kings it reminds us of the evil we saw in the US over the last four years. Evil was proclaimed as good and good as evil. Actions were implemented that shocked the Godly in its lawlessness. When Asa became king the Godly in Judah were pleased as the nation returned to a rule of law. But there was a danger. The king, despite all the good things he did, allowed idolatrous practices to continue, The people still went to the high places. America must take heed to this lesson. While we can be thankful for a president who desires to take up
back to our foundations, a man will not bring revival to our country. If we continue to worship at the high places we cannot expect God to bless us. Outward morality to the laws of the land does not bring revival – repentant hearts do. God may have allowed us this one last chance at returning to Him. If we enjoy better laws but
do not return to God, we cannot expect God’s blessing on our land. Do we want ease or revival?