A Good King
Asa is the king of Judah. He’s the son of Abijah, the son of Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, the son of David. This means Asa is King David’s great-great-grandson.
He reigns for forty-one years. Scripture says he does what is right in God’s eyes. And he remains fully committed to the Lord throughout his life. This is the opposite of his father, Abijah, who served as an evil king.
Asa rids the land of idol worship and deposes his grandmother Maakah from her position as queen mother for her worship of Asherah.
He brings about much needed spiritual reform to the nation of Judah during his rule.
Even so, his reign as king is marked by a continual war against Israel. This shows us that doing what is right and honoring God doesn’t guarantee a life absent of conflict.
There’s one more thing we can affirm Asa for. He raises his son, Jehoshaphat, well. Like his father, Jehoshaphat does what is right and follows the Lord.
This is unlike so many of the other kings of Judah who do not prepare their sons to rule in a God- honoring way.
We applaud Asa for serving God as he leads the people of Judah and for raising his son to do the same.
When we do what is right, do we expect God to bless us with a comfortable life?
What are we doing to prepare the next generation to serve the Lord?
[Read about Asa in 1 Kings 15:8–24 and 1 Kings 22:41–44. Discover more in Matthew 1:8.]
Learn about 100 more biblical characters in More Old Testament Sinners and Saints, available in e-book, paperback, and hardcover. Get your copy today.
More Old Testament Sinners and Saints is part of the Bible Character Sketches series.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront a status quo faith and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
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