Scripture Daily

Context No. 1265 of 4322 · 2 Chronicles

Context · Reflection

2 Chronicles 14:1-7: in context

1So Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in David’s city; and Asa his son reigned in his place. In his days, the land was quiet ten years. 2Asa did that which was good and right in the LORD his God’s eyes, 3for he took away the foreign altars and the high places, broke down the pillars, cut down the Asherah poles, 4and commanded Judah to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, and to obey his law and command. 5Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the sun images; and the kingdom was quiet before him. 6He built fortified cities in Judah; for the land was quiet, and he had no war in those years, because the LORD had given him rest. 7For he said to Judah, “Let’s build these cities and make walls around them, with towers, gates, and bars. The land is yet before us, because we have sought the LORD our God. We have sought him, and he has given us rest on every side.” So they built and prospered.

Asa becomes king of Judah, and the land has ten years of quiet. Asa does what is good and right: he removes the foreign altars, the high places, the sacred pillars, and the Asherah poles, and commands Judah to seek the LORD and keep his law. Because the land is at peace, he builds fortified cities with walls and towers, and he explains his reasoning to the people: let us build while the land is still ours, because we have sought the LORD our God, and he has given us rest on every side.

The connection Asa draws is worth noticing: we have sought the LORD, and he has given us rest. Asa sees the peace his kingdom enjoys not as luck or as the natural result of good policy but as a gift from God that flowed from seeking him. First he sought God, removing the idols and calling the people back; and the rest followed. And then, crucially, he uses the rest wisely, building and strengthening while there is peace, rather than squandering the calm. There is wisdom in that whole pattern. Seeking God comes first, and out of that seeking comes a settledness, a rest, that God gives; and the rest is not for idle comfort but for building, for strengthening what will be needed later. Asa did not waste his years of peace; he fortified during them, knowing the calm would not last forever. It is a picture of how to steward a season of rest: receive it as God's gift flowing from seeking him, and use it to build and prepare rather than to coast. The land had rest because they sought the LORD; and they built because they had rest.

When God gives me a season of rest, do I recognize it as a gift flowing from seeking him, and do I use the calm to build and prepare, or squander it in idle comfort?

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