2 Chronicles 16:9

"For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him."

Asa was king in the Southern Kingdom of Israel, also called Judah. During his reign, Baasha, who was king of the Northern Kingdom, also known as Israel, came up against Asa to make war against him. So, Asa took all of the wealth that he could find, including the treasures that were in the temple, and gave them to Ben-hadad, the king of Syria, with the intent that Ben-hadad would break his alliance with Israel, and make an alliance with Judah. In this way, Israel would stop their plans of war against Judah, and go back home.

Of the two nations, Israel was larger. It consisted of ten of the twelve tribes of the original nation of Israel. That left Judah with two tribes. From the standpoint of numbers Judah was in trouble. Asa's attempt to make an alliance with Syria seems defensible. He figured, and was proven right, that without the help of Syria, even more with the threat of Syria fighting for their enemy, Israel would quit the battle. So, he got Syria to not only break its alliance with Israel, but to establish a new one with Judah. King Baasha of Israel would see that their advantage had been lost, and that now Judah was the superior force.

After these things a prophet by the name of Hanani was sent by the LORD to Asa to speak to him about his choices. Part of what Hanani told Asa was that because of the alliance, Syria, who really was an enemy of Judah, would no longer be defeated by Judah. He then reminded him of what God had done.

Asa had started well as king in Judah. He removed idolatry, and turned the people back to the LORD their God. Not long after he took over as king, Zerah, the king of Ethiopia, came up against Judah with an army of a thousand thousand. That's right, a one million man army came up to battle Judah. At that time "... Asa cried unto the LORD his God, and said, LORD, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O LORD, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee." (2 Chronicles 14:11). He depended solely upon the LORD for deliverance, and the LORD gave it.

But now, the comparatively inferior army of Israel was at the door. And Asa forgot to cry unto the LORD. His ploy worked, causing Syria to side with himself instead of Israel, but his real defense, Who defeated the Ethiopians, the LORD God Almighty, he did not take up. It is almost unbelievable that he should experience such a great victory by God's hand, and then so quickly forget it. Hanani reminded Asa of this event. The words from 2 Chronicles 16 were part of what Hanani told Asa. God wants those who are His to trust Him always, no matter the apparent size of the battle. This kind of trust in God is called by Hanani a perfect heart.

It could be concluded that Asa knew he was entirely outmatched against Ethiopia, but that he was not nearly so outmatched against Israel. He knew that unless the LORD delivered them, the battle against Ethiopia would most certainly be lost. Perhaps he concluded that he need not bother the LORD with the matter of Israel because it was in his power to resolve. And, from a certain stand point, he did resolve it. The war he wanted to avoid, he was able to avoid. And in the process he made a shrewd political move. Having made an alliance with a superior force of the day he may have figured that he had secured his nation against any further trouble from Israel. Ethiopia was a long way away. One defeat would keep them in their home. They would think twice about coming such a long distance to lose like that again. But Israel was a neighbor. A defeat now would not guarantee security in the future. Certainly it was an expedient thing to do to make an alliance with Syria. No matter the reasoning, Hanani reminds Asa that God was the one that won the battle against Ethiopia, and He certainly would have won the battle against Israel.

How much this is true today. We think, "I need God to handle the big things, the things over which I cannot possibly have any control. But the smaller things, the things that are in my power to control I need not bother Him with." The fallacy in the logic is that God wants us to depend wholly upon Him in all things, no matter the size. This is what Hanani told Asa. If God is able to do the great thing, then He is certainly able to do the smaller thing. He desires us to bring all things, small and great, to Him. He wants us to learn that as our Father He loves us, and wants us to get to know Him more and more, and to trust Him more and more. And the only way we can learn to trust Him more is to trust Him in all things.

Consider again Hanani’s words, "For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him." God is looking, watching carefully, for ones that trust Him. These words don’t speak of a glance. God is not casually looking around. Hanani’s words speak of diligence in search. He desires to show Himself strong in behalf of those that trust Him, whose heart is perfect toward Him.

Asa forgot, and we should learn from his mistake, that God is a greater defense than any man. His scheming cost him. Hanani’s words infuriated Asa, and he had him thrown into prison. His chance to show his reliance on God was over, and his rule as king in Judah was never the same. So we should be desirous of trusting God no matter the "size" of the event. He wants to show Himself strong on our behalf. We must have a perfect heart toward Him. Oh, for grace to trust Him more.

HJK