SPEAKING COURAGE

2 Chronicles 14-16 tells of the reign of King Asa, the great-great grandson of King David.  Unlike his father and grandfather, Asa “did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord His God” (14:2) He began purging the idolatry in the land. He removed the pagan altars and high places, he smashed the sacred stones, and cut down the Asherah poles.  He commanded Judah to seek the Lord and obey all His laws and commands. (14:4) And when Zerah the Cushite, with his far larger and stronger army, invaded Judah, King Asa turned to the Lord in urgent prayer and the Lord gave Judah a magnificent victory. (14:9-15)

Just as the spoils of war were being carried back to Jerusalem, Azariah appears on the scene to meet King Asa.  Who was Azariah?  We know little about him other than the two things mentioned: he was the son of Oded and he was led by the Spirit.  His message was simple and straightforward: “The Lord is with you when you are with Him.  If you seek Him He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.” (15:2)  Azariah went on to recount some of Israel’s history when they had rejected and distanced themselves from God.  He concluded with some powerful words of encouragement for this king:  “But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.”  How did King Asa respond?  Was he upset at the audacity of this man?  On the contrary, “When Asa heard these words….he took courage. He removed the detestable idols from the whole land of Judah…He repaired the altar of the Lord that was in front of the portico of the Lord’s temple.” (15:8)
 
Azariah was led by the Spirit of God to go meet the king just as he was coming back from a great military victory--perhaps, humanly speaking, not exactly the best time to approach a king. I can imagine Azariah would have much preferred delivering a message to someone less daunting and powerful than the king himself. But the king not only listened, he also “took courage”. Azariah’s message reminded King Asa of the priorities of God. It gave him courage to persevere in the reforms which he had already begun, but which were likely unpopular and may have been easy to let slide in the flush of military success. It encouraged the king to urge the entire nation to pursue God wholeheartedly.  “They entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, with all their heart and soul.” (15:12)  It even gave him the courage to remove his own grandmother, because of her idolatry, from her position as queen mother.  Some pretty remarkable things happened as a result of Azariah’s being led by the Spirit!

I am encouraged (and challenged!) by this account.  Because a little-known “nobody” followed God’s leading and spoke God’s truth even when it may have felt uncomfortable, King Asa “took courage”.  He took courage to continue the reforms he had already begun, to keep pursuing God and His priorities.  It’s worth considering---is there someone the Spirit may be leading you or me to encourage today?  Someone who may need to be encouraged to “follow hard after God”, to persevere, to not give up?  Think of the powerful impact Azariah’s words had in the life of a king and the life of an entire nation!