Context No. 3345 of 4322 · 2 Chronicles

2 Chronicles 15:8-19: in context

8When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominations out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from the hill country of Ephraim; and he renewed the LORD’s altar that was before the LORD’s porch. 9He gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and those who lived with them out of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon; for they came to him out of Israel in abundance when they saw that the LORD his God was with him. 10So they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign. 11They sacrificed to the LORD in that day, from the plunder which they had brought, seven hundred head of cattle and seven thousand sheep. 12They entered into the covenant to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and with all their soul; 13and that whoever would not seek the LORD, the God of Israel, should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman. 14They swore to the LORD with a loud voice, with shouting, with trumpets, and with cornets. 15All Judah rejoiced at the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and sought him with their whole desire; and he was found by them. Then the LORD gave them rest all around. 16Also Maacah, the mother of Asa the king, he removed from being queen mother, because she had made an abominable image for an Asherah; so Asa cut down her image, ground it into dust, and burned it at the brook Kidron. 17But the high places were not taken away out of Israel; nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days. 18He brought the things that his father had dedicated and that he himself had dedicated, silver, gold, and vessels into God’s house. 19There was no more war to the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.

Encouraged by a prophet's word, King Asa takes courage and acts. He clears the idols out of the land, renews the neglected altar of the LORD, and gathers the people into a wholehearted covenant to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and soul. And his reform spares no one, not even his own family: he removes his mother from her position as queen mother because she had made an idol, and he cuts it down and burns it.

That last act costs him something personal; true reform did not stop at the palace door or at the bounds of family affection. And the result is worth noting: they sought God with their whole desire, and he was found by them, and gave them rest all around. When a people seeks God wholeheartedly, willing to tear out even the idols close to home and dear to them, they find him. God does not hide from those who seek him with everything they have; he lets himself be found, and he gives rest.

Am I willing to seek God wholeheartedly, removing even the idols close to home and dear to me, trusting that those who seek him with their whole heart will find him?

Sources

2 Chronicles 15:12: "They entered into the covenant to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and with all their soul."
2 Chronicles 15:15: "They had sworn with all their heart, and sought him with their whole desire; and he was found by them."
2 Chronicles 15:16: "Also Maacah, the mother of Asa the king, he removed... because she had made an abominable image."