In brief
Asa is a king of Judah, son of Abijah and great-grandson of Solomon. He reigns forty-one years in Jerusalem. He removes the idols, even deposes his mother Maacah from her position as queen mother, and calls on the Lord when facing the huge army of Zerah the Ethiopian, which is crushed. But late in his reign, threatened by Baasha, he buys the help of the king of Syria with the temple treasures, imprisons the seer Hanani and, when sick, turns to physicians rather than to God. His life shows that a good start is not enough.
What does the name Asa mean?
Asa is generally linked to a Hebrew root meaning healer or he has healed, though the meaning is debated. The Bible does not explain his name; above all it records that he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as David his father had done (1 Kings 15:11).
The story of Asa
A king who removes the idols
1 Kings 15:9-15Asa succeeds his father Abijah and reigns forty-one years. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as David his father had done. He drives the cult prostitutes out of the land, removes the idols of his fathers and even deposes his mother Maacah as queen mother because she had made an image of Asherah: he cuts it down and burns it in the Kidron Valley.
Ten years of rest and fortified cities
2 Chronicles 14:1-7Under Asa, the land is at rest for ten years. He commands Judah to seek the Lord and obey his law, then builds fortified cities. He explains this time of peace himself: they sought the Lord their God, and he gave them rest on every side. The tranquility of the kingdom is received as a gift, not as something owed.
The prayer facing Zerah the Ethiopian
2 Chronicles 14:9-13Zerah the Ethiopian attacks with an army of a million men and three hundred chariots. Asa draws up for battle and cries out to God, saying that there is no one like the Lord to help the powerless against the mighty, and that Judah relies on him. The Lord strikes down the Ethiopians, who flee, and Judah carries off enormous plunder.
Revival and the covenant oath
2 Chronicles 15:1-15The prophet Azariah meets Asa with a message: 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. Asa takes courage, removes the abominations, restores the altar and gathers the people at Jerusalem. All commit to seeking the Lord with their whole heart, and God gives them rest.
The alliance with Ben-hadad
2 Chronicles 16:1-6In the thirty-sixth year of the reign, Baasha king of Israel builds Ramah to block Judah. Asa takes silver and gold from the treasuries of the house of the Lord and of the palace and sends them to Ben-hadad king of Syria, asking him to break his alliance with Baasha. The plan works: Baasha abandons Ramah. But Asa solved the crisis with diplomacy and money, without consulting God.
Hanani's rebuke
2 Chronicles 16:7-10The seer Hanani comes to tell the king that because he relied on the king of Syria and not on the Lord his God, the army of the king of Syria has escaped from his hand. He reminds him of the victory over the Ethiopians and announces wars to come. Furious, Asa has the seer put in prison and oppresses some of the people.
Diseased feet and death
2 Chronicles 16:12-14In the thirty-ninth year, Asa suffers from a severe disease in his feet. The text notes sadly that even in his illness he did not seek the Lord but only the physicians. He dies in the forty-first year of his reign and receives a magnificent burial, with spices and perfumes. The king of the good beginnings ends far from the trust that had carried him.
Test your knowledge
What Asa teaches us
- A good start does not guarantee a good finish: guard your heart to the end, which is where Asa loosened his trust.
- Facing the impossible, do as Asa did before Zerah: cry out to God and rely on him rather than on your own strength.
- The alliance with Ben-hadad is a warning: when you settle your problems with human arrangements, you lose what trust in God would have given you.
- When God corrects you through a brother, do not get angry as Asa did with Hanani; receive the warning with humility.
- Faithfulness to God takes courage, even within your own family: Asa deposed his own mother because of her idol.
Key verses
Asa's prayer before the Ethiopian army: God alone can help the weak as well as the strong. Judah relies on him, and victory follows.
Azariah sums up the whole spiritual life: the Lord is with those who are with him, lets himself be found by those who seek him, and forsakes those who forsake him.
God's eyes range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully his. By relying on Syria, Asa acted foolishly.
Sick, Asa consults the physicians and does not seek the Lord. The reproach is not aimed at medicine but at a heart that no longer turns to God.
Sermons about Asa
Frequently asked questions
Was Asa a good king?
Yes, for most of his reign: he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, tore down the idols and relied on God against Zerah (1 Kings 15:11; 2 Chronicles 14). But at the end, he relied on the king of Syria, imprisoned the seer Hanani and did not seek God in his illness (2 Chronicles 16).
Why did God rebuke Asa for his alliance with the king of Syria?
Because Asa relied on Ben-hadad and the gold of the temple instead of relying on the Lord, who had delivered him from a far larger army (2 Chronicles 16:7-9). The problem is not strategy itself but a heart that stops being fully devoted to God. From then on, Hanani announces wars to him.
Where can I find the story of Asa in the Bible?
Asa's reign is told briefly in 1 Kings 15:9-24 and at much greater length in 2 Chronicles 14 to 16: the peace and the victory over Zerah (chapter 14), the revival under Azariah (chapter 15), then the alliance with Syria, Hanani's rebuke and his illness (chapter 16).