When We Do Not Seek God
2 Chronicles 16; 1 Kings 15:16-22, 30-31
Do you go to God first when you need something or do you look to friends, family, or professionals. God gave us each other for a reason, but ultimately, He is the source of all we need. He may choose to work through others to help us or He may do it solely on His own. We just need to go to Him first and let Him help us according to His will.
Baasha invades Judah – 2 Chronicles 16:1-6; (1 Kings 15:16-22, 30-31)
Eventually, Baasha invaded Judah and began fortifying Ramah, a city six miles north of Jerusalem in Benjamin’s territory. Because it was on the main road leading to the capital city, it prevented anyone from going in or coming out. To deter him, Asa took all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of the house of the Lord and in the king’s house and gave it to Ben-hadad, the king of Syria, as an incentive to renew the treaty between their two families and break his treaty with Baasha. So, Ben-hadad invaded northern Israel and successfully conquered Dan’s territory along with two border cities in Naphtali, then swept south into the Galilean region (Chinneroth), eventually overrunning the rest of Naphtali’s territory. This forced Baasha to abandon his blockade of Ramah and return to Israel’s capital in Tirzah. So, Asa ordered all the men of Judah to carry all the stones and lumber from Ramah to two cities on either side of it. Then, he used those same materials to fortify Geba to its east and Mizpah to the northwest of Ramah. By building his own fortified cities on either side of the one Baasha had been building, Asa prevented him from returning to complete the job.
