Texts on Suffering: 2 Chronicles 12 - 14

Three more instances of suffering, evil, and death to note as I make my way through the Chronicler.

2 Chronicles 12:5-12

Like so many other instances of suffering in this book, this one is no different. King Rehoboam abandoned the law of the Lord as well as all of Israel with him. Therefore, God abandons them and plans to destroy them. Yet, the instant the princes and the king humble themselves before the Lord, God shows mercy. Please note that while God did show mercy on his people by not destroying them, he still leaves some room for chastisement and discipline.

2 Chronicles 13:18

Pretty straight forward here. Israel was subdued because they didn't rely on the Lord, and Judah prevailed because they did rely on the Lord. More thoughts on this later.

2 Chronicles 14:9-13

This passage is a glimmer of light amidst a dark backdrop of evil and faithless men. Newly crowned King Asa has found himself against daunting and seemingly hopeless odds. His army of 580,000 men stands against a sea of a million Ethiopians and 300 chariots. Yet, against insurmountable odds, Asa's faith in the Sovereign Lord does not waver.

"O Lord, there is none like you to help, between the mighty and the weak. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this multitude. O Lord, you are our God; let not man prevail against you."

And so it was. Man did not prevail against God, for "the Lord defeated the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah."

One other small note that I might write about later. When Asa calls upon the Lord for help, his reasoning and beckoning for the Lord to help his people lies in the last six words of verse 11 - Let not man prevail against you. He's presuming upon God's love and allegiance to His name! So it is my belief that, like so many other times throughout Scripture, God defeated the Ethiopians for His name's sake primarily. I say primarily because I think there are other good reasons why God defeated the Ethiopians, but this is the ultimate one.