2 Chronicles 15:16
“He also removed Maacah, the mother of King Asa, from the position of queen mother, because she had made an abominable image as an Asherah, and Asacut down her abominable image, crushed it, and burned it at the brook Kidron.”
King Asa did a good job of removing the idolatrous images from the land. This is a courageous task as many want them there. He hurt some people in doing so. Today’s verse shows how he goes one step further and demonstrates that he isn’t playing favorites. He removed his own mother from being the queen mother as she had her own idol erected. She was in a position of power and influence. I’m sure she was quite angry. It’s customary for kings to have their family at meals. I’m not sure how long she was angry, but it had to be uncomfortable.
We gain many values from our parents. It’s usually enough for us to be as good as them. Asa took this further and was far more devout than his mother. That was another matter for her to be insulted. “You think you’re better than me”, could have been a complaint.
These moves would have gone far with the people. The former was big, but to apply the standards to his own family was impressive. David was a king who wasn’t afraid to allow his worship to be diminished by his family. When he had the Ark returned to Jerusalem he danced before it. His wife, Michal, shamed him as he walked into the their home (2 Samuel 6:20). God honored David by making Michal barren for the remainder of her life.
God blesses this obedience. This is a form of giving that is making a stand. God rewards giving. Malachi 3:10 speaks of God’s blessing, ‘”Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house. Test Me in this,” says the LORD of Hosts. “See if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour out for you blessing without measure.”‘ God will bless our obedience.
This is obeying the first two commandments. The first is “I am the Lord, thy God, you shall have no gods before Me.” The second is “You shall have no graven images.” King Asa is keeping these two commands, but is applying it to the nation. This is a step up in difficulty. I can hear the complaints, “This is intolerant” and “You are applying your religious values on us all”. The king can do this. There will be some who complain.
We live in a democracy where we have individual freedom. People have a right to do many things even though they are against God. He will deal with that in their lives and on judgement day. We can advise them and share God’s law. That would be a courageous task. It may cause us to lose a friendship. We can word it in a way that is better. However, the truth can be difficult.
We are to obey God in regard to ourselves and our families. God has the same two commands for us all. We are to make Him our God. The New Testament calls it making Jesus our lord and savior. The savior part means we’ve confessed our sins and asked to forgive us. Being our lord means we do what He says. Which is to keep the Ten Commandments as well loving Him and others. We will lose some friends when we do this. Partly because we pull back from the behavior that is ungodly and because our values become different. We remain friends, but don’t associate with them as much.
We also instill these values in our families. It’s ideal if we marry someone with our own faith. 2 Corinthians 6:14 says, “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership can righteousness have with wickedness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness?” So, we decide to go the church and get involved in a small group of believers. Also we raise our children in the faith. We bring them to church and teach them according to the bible. They usually adopt the faith.
In the teenage years, there will be more challenges. They want their independence and give some opposition. These are difficult times. We offer some freedoms, but still require church. Ephesians 6:4 says, “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” It’s easy to lay down the law, but this can be counter productive. Be understanding.
We are to perform our civic duty. We are to give to causes that support godly values. We are to vote our values. Some are good performing other actions that help good causes.
Lord, thank You for king Asa. A good king who took some good stands. He ruffled some feathers in the nation as well as in his house, by removing his mother from a strong position. Help us to be sensitive, but also courageous in acting for You.