2 Chronicles 16:1–14

In the Chronicler’s narration, the last six years of Asa’s reign are quite different from the first thirty-five. The concise side comment in 1 Kings 15:23 that “In his old age he was diseased in his feet” required explanation in light of the positive reforms during his reign. The Chronicler sees examples of judgment that followed Asa’s failure to “rely” on God and his subsequent angry rejection of the prophet’s word; they are outworkings of the second alternative in 2 Chronicles 15:2, “If you forsake him, he will forsake you.” The theological perspective of retribution shapes his narrative and explains the additions.

After a chronological detail (16:1a; cf. comment on 16:1–6), the narrative closely follows 1 Kings 15:17–24. Baasha of Israel makes threatening moves, building Ramah only 5 miles (8 km) north of Jerusalem and so guarding the main road to the city. Asa responds by invoking a “covenant” with Ben-hadad of Syria; he contributes “silver and gold from the treasures of the house of the Lord” and asks the Syrians to attack Israel from the north. The Syrian offensive enables the removal of the threat at Ramah, so it looks as if all ends well (2 Chron. 16:1b–6). The Chronicler, however, adds a prophetic word from “Hanani the seer” that Asa’s failure to “rely on the Lord your God” meant that “from now on you will have wars” (vv. 7–9). Asa’s response is anger, the first instance in the Bible of a king persecuting a prophet (v. 10; later, 18:25–26; 24:20–22). The Chronicler parallels belief in God and belief in prophets (cf. 20:20), so Asa’s actions warrant retribution. The wording in 1 Kings 15:23 regarding Asa’s “disease” is expanded, adding his failure still to “seek the Lord” (2 Chron. 16:11–12). His end is, however, not without honor, as his burial is described (vv. 13–14).

An unusual feature of the Chronicler’s account of Asa is the number of added dates: “ten years” (14:1), “fifteenth year” (15:10), “thirty-fifth year” (15:19), “thirty-sixth year” (16:1), “thirty-ninth year” (16:12), and “forty-first year” (16:13). (In comparison there are four dated events in Josiah’s reign [34:3, 8; 35:19] and no more than one for any other king.) These provide reinforcing structure to his theological presentation of a long reign characterized mainly by faithfulness to God and blessing but ending in dramatic failure. The specific transitions in chapter 16 show illness coming closely after rejection of the prophetic word and death following failure to seek God as the “disease became severe.”

According to 1 Kings 15:33 and 16:8, Baasha died in the “twenty-sixth year” of Asa’s reign, long before the Chronicler’s dating of the conflict in the “thirty-sixth year.” Methods of aligning Chronicles with Kings have been proposed: (a) a scribal confusion of the numbers “10” and “30,” which are similar in the old Hebrew script; or (b) a dating in this instance from the division of the kingdom (this is, however, a unique interpretation of a common formula). Both proposals lead to understanding the conflict as occurring in the sixteenth year of Asa’s reign, just a year after the high point of the reforms of 2 Chronicles 15 but long before his “disease.” It would appear, however, that the Chronicler’s dating intentionally links the disease with the failure to “rely” on God in the conflict, highlighting a tragic end after spiritual greatness.¹

1. III.B.2. Asa: Trust, Reform, and Victories, but . . . (14:2–16:14) . . .
   1. b. Victory but Did Not Rely on the Lord (16:1–14)

The ends do not justify the means: success in a venture is not evidence that the means are acceptable to God (just as suffering is not necessarily evidence of faithlessness). The book of Psalms grapples with the success of the wicked, whether in victory or prosperity, sometimes seeing a temptation to faithlessness but always ending with confidence in God’s justice (e.g., Psalms 10; 13; 37; 73). Some saw Christ’s execution on the cross as justification of their rejection of him as king (Matt. 27:41–42), but the resurrection pronounced God’s verdict (Acts 2:23–35; 3:13–15). Reversal is also portrayed in parables of Jesus (e.g., Luke 12:16–21; 16:19–31).

A sadly common human failing is to respond to an unwelcome message with ill-treatment of the messenger, often with anger. A message that confronts those who have status and power, or even a whole community, is often met with moves that ensure the message goes no further, and so martyrdom continues still as the experience of many. As well as instances in Chronicles, imprisonment and death are recorded in Jeremiah 20:1–2; 26:11, 20–23; 33:1; 39:15–40:4. Jesus spoke of harsh rejection of God’s messengers both past and future (Matt. 5:11–12; 23:29–38; Luke 11:47–51; John 16:2), with John the Baptist an immediate example (Mark 6:16–29). Acts describes several incidents as well (4:1–3; 5:40; 7:54–60; etc.), and Paul summarizes his own experiences (2 Cor. 11:23–25), while Revelation 18:24 relates how in “Babylon the great city . . . was found the blood of the prophets and of saints, and of all who have been slain on earth.”

Asa’s failure to seek God in his disease does not necessarily negate the value of physicians in general but rather judges his reliance on them alone and his failure to see that God ultimately is the source of all healing. A comparison can be seen in the earlier recounting of military defensive preparedness within an overall life of seeking and relying on God (2 Chronicles 14). Elsewhere, Scripture includes both frequent references to God as the one who “heals” (Gen. 20:17; Ex. 15:26; Deut. 32:39; Pss. 6:2; 30:2; etc.) and positive instances of help from physicians (e.g., Isa. 38:21; Jer. 8:22; Col. 4:14). Further, illness may have a spiritual cause (1 Cor. 11:30), and, increasingly, modern medicine is becoming aware of spiritual factors in health and healing. The account of Asa points to the God who calls for people to “seek” and “rely on” him in all of life.