At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him: “Because you relied on the king of Aram and not on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand. Were not the Cushites and Libyans a mighty army with great numbers of chariots and horsemen ? Yet when you relied on the Lord, he delivered them into your hand. For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war.” Asa was angry with the seer because of this; he was so enraged that he put him in prison. At the same time Asa brutally oppressed some of the people...In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was afflicted with a disease in his feet. Though his disease was severe, even in his illness he did not seek help from the Lord, but only from the physicians. (2 Chronicles 16:7-10, 12 NIV)
<idle musing>
Do you think maybe Asa was offended? Rather than repenting, he strikes out—not that any of us would ever do that!
But, to me the interesting thing is that later, when he gets sick, he turns to—wait for it—medical science! He ignores God, even when he's in pain, because God offended him once. Before we cast a stone at him, though, take a look at our own medicine cabinet. What's in there? How often do we turn to it in our pain and diseases? Maybe, just maybe, we are as guilty as Asa?
Just an
</idle musing>
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