SATURDAY, OCTOBER 27
Scripture: 2 Chronicles 14:1-6. 9-15

In 2 Chronicles 14, Asa became king of Judah. Asa did almost everything right in the beginning of his reign. 2 Chronicles 14:2 says, “Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God,…” In verse 9 he was attacked by Zerah and the Ethiopians who came out against him with a million-man army. Asa knew he was outnumbered so he cried out to God for deliverance. Asa declared, “‘Lord, it is nothing for You to help, whether with many or with those who have no power; help us, O Lord our God, for we rest on You, and in Your name we go against this multitude. O Lord, You are our God; do not let man prevail against You!’ So the Lord struck the Ethiopians before Asa and Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. And Asa and the people who were with him pursued them to Gerar. So the Ethiopians were overthrown, and they could not recover, for they were broken before the Lord and His army. And they carried away very much spoil. Then they defeated all the cities around Gerar, for the fear of the Lord came upon them; and they plundered all the cities, for there was exceedingly much spoil in them. They also attacked the livestock enclosures, and carried off sheep and camels in abundance, and returned to Jerusalem.” King Asa was greatly blessed. This season of blessing unfolded for 20 years. Unfortunately, that didn’t last throughout his entire reign because another enemy came against him toward the end of his days. And instead of standing as he had before, he took all the gold and silver of the temple and tried to buy help and get relief through his own maneuvering. He used manipulation and surprisingly, it actually seemed to work. Gradually manipulation, however, grew to replace faith until a disease came upon him and he felt he could no longer trust God. Manipulation eroded his confidence before God! He ended up dying and losing the fullness of his call because he yielded to manipulation. King Asa is an example of an individual who started out well but abandoned the Word and suffered terminal consequences! King Asa is an example of how mixed-seed works against us!