“Then Asa the king took all Judah; and they carried away the stones of Ramah, and the timber thereof, wherewith Baasha was building; and he built therewith Geba and Mizpah” (2 Chronicles 16:6).
TEXT — 2 Chronicles 16:1-14
Message
Merriam-Webster dictionary defines Pyrrhic victory as “a victory that is not worth winning because so much is lost to achieve it”. The word comes from the name of Pyrrhus, a long-ago king of Epirus, who suffered heavy losses in defeating the Romans at Asculum in Apulia in 279 BC. A pyrrhic victory then is actually a defeat in the end.
Such was the experience of Asa the king of Judah who went into an alliance with Benhadad, the king of Syria, to fight Baasha, the king of Israel. With the assistance of the Syrian king, Asa won the battle over Israel. However, God was not happy that he sought human help when he could have called on the Lord. God, therefore, sent Hanani, the prophet, to point out his errors.
Unfortunately, King Asa complicated matters by arresting the prophet and by taking other oppressive measures against his citizens. Divine retribution was swift. “Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease, he sought not to the LORD, but to the physicians” (2 Chronicles 16:12). The physicians could not help him, for two years later, he died.
He was a good starter but a poor finisher. Life is not all about gold and silver. It is wrong to think like Asa that the end will always justify the means. God must be our greatest priority. You cannot trust the arm of flesh and expect a lasting victory. It is better to get God on your side here on earth. You cannot serve Satan on earth and expect eternal life with Him in heaven.
Thought for the day
The Christian doesn’t win “at all costs” – he wins only through God.
Listed among “500 most powerful people on the planet” by the Foreign Policy magazine in 2013, Pastor (Dr.) William F. Kumuyi is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. DCLM started in 1973 as a 15-member Bible study group right in Kumuyi’s apartment at University of Lagos where he was a lecturer. His revolutionary Bible teaching on personal holiness and commitment to evangelism soon gained so much traction and resulted in a widespread revival.
5 comments
Well done job!
There was a mistake. The audio isn’t in consonant with the text please
I rely on you on you Lord. Let every noise in me be still. make my heart perfect toward you.
I shall win all my battles through God. I will finish well in Jesus mighty name.
Today’s daily manna is just for me.
The main text is not 1st Chronicle 16:1-14 but 2nd Chronicle 16:1-14. I have learnt from king ASA how dangerous and self destructive to rely on human flesh rather than depend absolutely on God as the Scripture enjoins to look unto Jesus, the Author and finisher of our faith.(Hebrews 12:2
Well done job!
There was a mistake. The audio isn’t in consonant with the text please
I rely on you on you Lord. Let every noise in me be still. make my heart perfect toward you.
I shall win all my battles through God. I will finish well in Jesus mighty name.
Today’s daily manna is just for me.
The Lord is good
The main text is not 1st Chronicle 16:1-14 but 2nd Chronicle 16:1-14. I have learnt from king ASA how dangerous and self destructive to rely on human flesh rather than depend absolutely on God as the Scripture enjoins to look unto Jesus, the Author and finisher of our faith.(Hebrews 12:2
It has been a blessing to me and my family. May God bless the writer richly.