2 Chronicles Chapter 16

At a Glance

  • This chapter dramatizes a faltering moment in Asa’s reign.
  • Historical & Literary Context.
  • This portion of 2 Chronicles emphasizes the consequences of misplaced trust against a backdrop of regional competition.
  • - The danger of relying on human schemes: Asa’s alliance with Syria demonstrates how trust in political power can displace trust in God.
  • - Divine rebuke and accountability: The prophetic warning is a tool through which the king’s heart is exposed.

Chapter Overview

This chapter dramatizes a faltering moment in Asa’s reign. Spurred by a geopolitical crisis, Asa seeks alliance with Ben-Hadad of Syria, paying him off with temple and royal treasures. The tactic buys him short-term advantage against Baasha, king of Israel, but it provokes a prophetic rebuke. Hanani the seer confronts Asa’s reliance on human power rather than the LORD, reminding him that past deliverances—like the Ethiopians and Lubims—occurred precisely because the king trusted God. The prophet’s rebuke lands with hard truth: Asa’s heart has grown “wroth” and he imprisons the seer and persecutes others. The chapter ends with a sober tally of Asa’s deeds, marking a turning point in his legacy. The deeper message is not merely about political missteps but about the trajectory of the heart in relation to God: trust shifted from the LORD to worldly strategies leads to divine restraint and future conflict.

Historical & Literary Context

This portion of 2 Chronicles emphasizes the consequences of misplaced trust against a backdrop of regional competition. The Chronicler frames Asa’s earlier reforms as commendable but interrupts the narrative with a cautionary arc: divine deliverance depends on a heart wholly oriented to God. The reference to Hanani the seer, akin to Nathan in David’s era, signals prophetic accountability integrated into royal life. The chapter sits within the book’s broader argument that righteousness governs national destiny; when kings err, the divine response is corrective discipline. The interlude with Ben-Hadad shows how international politics test faithfulness, a theme the Chronicler revisits to explain later wars and stability. The final note—“the acts of Asa, first and last”—prepares the reader for a retrospective evaluation of Asa’s reign in the annals, ensuring readers see both the bright spots and the costly missteps.

Key Themes

- The danger of relying on human schemes: Asa’s alliance with Syria demonstrates how trust in political power can displace trust in God.

- Divine rebuke and accountability: The prophetic warning is a tool through which the king’s heart is exposed.

- Consequences of stubbornness: Asa’s reaction to the prophet reveals a hardened heart and leadership that resists correction.

- The tension between public success and inner devotion: Even prosperous reigns can falter when devotion shifts from God to worldly pragmatism.

- The sobering memory of God’s past deliverances: The chapter calls readers to remember God’s faithfulness as a corrective to contemporary anxiety.

Modern Application

Today’s readers can learn to resist the temptation to solve every problem with strategic alliances or financial resources alone. The chapter invites individuals and leaders to examine where their trust lies when facing daunting challenges: Are decisions rooted in prayer and trust in God, or in the latest political or economic calculus? It also warns against quenching prophetic voices that challenge messy human strategies. Communities can cultivate a culture that welcomes accountability, humility, and correction as signs of mature faith. Yet the chapter does not condemn pragmatism; it reframes it within a God-centered frame: even diplomacy should be measured against fidelity to God and the readiness to listen to wise counsel, especially when it calls for repentance.

Cross-References: 2 Chronicles 12; Proverbs 3; Jeremiah 17; 1 Kings 15; Esther 4

Recommended Personas: Moses (for faithful leadership under divine correction), Jesus (for humility and teachability), Paul (for the dynamics of weakness and reliance on God)

Chapter Text

1

In the six and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah, and built Ramah, to the intent that he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.

2

Then Asa brought out silver and gold out of the treasures of the house of the LORD and of the king’s house, and sent to Benhadad king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying,

3

There is a league between me and thee, as there was between my father and thy father: behold, I have sent thee silver and gold; go, break thy league with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me.

4

And Benhadad hearkened unto king Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel; and they smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abelmaim, and all the store cities of Naphtali.

5

And it came to pass, when Baasha heard it, that he left off building of Ramah, and let his work cease.

6

Then Asa the king took all Judah; and they carried away the stones of Ramah, and the timber thereof, wherewith Baasha was building; and he built therewith Geba and Mizpah.

7

And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said unto him, Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria, and not relied on the LORD thy God, therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thine hand.

8

Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubims a huge host, with very many chariots and horsemen? yet, because thou didst rely on the LORD, he delivered them into thine hand.

9

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.

10

Then Asa was wroth with the seer, and put him in a prison house; for he was in a rage with him because of this thing. And Asa oppressed some of the people the same time.

11

And, behold, the acts of Asa, first and last, lo, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.

12

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.

13

And Asa slept with his fathers, and died in the one and fortieth year of his reign.

14

And they buried him in his own sepulchres, which he had made for himself in the city of David, and laid him in the bed which was filled with sweet odours and divers kinds of spices prepared by the apothecaries’ art: and they made a very great burning for him.

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