Scriptures Used for Today’s Post: 2 Chronicles 14, 2 Chronicles 15, 2 Chronicles 16
Many Christians somehow believe that they’re immune from God’s discipline and chastening, which is oftentimes very painful and intense. Who determines when and how we’re chastened and/or rebuke from the Lord?
Listen to this sobering word to King Asa in 1 Chronicles 15:1-2:
And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded:
And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The LORD is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you. (Emphasis added by Brother Ed)
We forsake the Lord when we forget about his divine discipline. That’s a terrifying thought and at the time of this word, King Asa was walking faithfully before the Lord, but it was a clear prophetic warning. Let’s keep going to see how King Asa responds to a rebuke from the Lord (See 2 Chronicles 16:7-9). In this instance, the rebuke comes from a prophet but God can and will rebuke however He chooses.
Just as rebukes come through the hand of the Lord (directly or indirectly), accusations come through satan and his minions (also directly or indirectly). We must test the spirits and spend much time with Jesus to discern who is speaking to our hearts.
Look at the response to the prophet from King Asa:
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. (2 Chronicles 16:10).
Oh my, this man is in trouble with Jesus, whether he knows it or not. He responds with anger, bitterness, and defensiveness. God’s answer to this type of response is always the same, the chastening intensifies.
So King Asa is afflicted with a serious foot ailment (this is a chastening) but King Asa didn’t respond to it and so after two years he died. That is if we don’t allow God’s discipline us, the chastening will intensify and result in judgment, what a tragic end. The affliction was a prophetic message to this King that his walk was out of order and he was no longer submitted to the real King, who is King Jesus. God even gave Him an extended period of grace to repent of his wickedness, which He rejected. It’s a heart-breaking story that could happen to us, so we must be willing to accept and endure the chastening of God (which is actually for our benefit).
We’re going to recap what we can glean from this story in the next post.