1 Kings 15:16-24
"16 And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.17 Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and built Ramah, that he might permit no one to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. 18 Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king's house and gave them into the hands of his servants. And King Asa sent them to Ben-hadad the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, who lived in Damascus, saying,19 “Let there be a covenant between me and you, as there was between my father and your father. Behold, I am sending to you a present of silver and gold. Go, break your covenant with Baasha king of Israel, that he may withdraw from me.” 20 And Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel and conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, and all Chinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali.21 And when Baasha heard of it, he stopped building Ramah, and he lived in Tirzah. 22 Then King Asa made a proclamation to all Judah, none was exempt, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber, with which Baasha had been building, and with them King Asa built Geba of Benjamin and Mizpah. 23 Now the rest of all the acts of Asa, all his might, and all that he did, and the cities that he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? But in his old age he was diseased in his feet. 24 And Asa slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father, and Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place."
The account of the moral and spiritual awakening during Asa's reign is recorded in stirring words in 2 Chronicles 15, which should be read along with the Kings record. It would be difficult to find a more hopeful assurance than this to any man or nation, in time of declen- sion, and it is clear that Asa rose magnificently to the challenge and opportunity, and for over thirty years spiritual prosperity and peace reigned in the land. It is all the more surprising therefore, that in the war with Baasha, king of the northern kingdom Israel, he should have resorted to an alliance with Ben-hadad of Syria. This is interpreted in 2 Chronicles 16:7ff. as being a declension of faith. The prophet Hanani reminded him of the notable victory won against the Ethiopians through faith in God, and chided him for his faithlessness in the other encounter. It was a costly lapse for the good king, for it brought him wars until the end of his reign. It also proved a stumbling-block to him, for, not liking the rebuke of the prophet, he threw him in prison. We can scarcely doubt that there is some link between this sad lapse and the disease which brought him to the grave. Chronicles emphasises that, in his illness, he sought not the Lord but his physicians. The suggestion seems to be that in stubbornness of spirit he refused to acknowledge his fault before the Lord, and died with a cloud on his soul - a sad end for a good and noble monarch, reminding us that the enemy of souls is constantly on the watch to harm us and injure our testimony, and will do so at the slightest carelessness shown by us. Not for nothing does Paul exhort us to take to ourselves the whole armour of God, so as to be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand!