[Note: This blog post was originally included on my local congregational blog, until some cleaning up forced me to save the blog entries that were remained.]

One of the quirks of the books of Kings and Chronicles, and of the entire Bible as a whole, is that we can have as deep a conversation with God or as shallow a conversation with God as we are comfortable with based on the materials that we find there. While the historical books of Kings and Chronicles are not alone in this fact (one can easily do the same with the Psalms, viewing them either as pleasant songs for corporate or personal worship or as fascinating puzzles in uncovering the deepfelt concerns and passions of godly brethren inspired by God), they are a good place to go to examine these matters nonetheless.

In looking at the kings of Israel and Judah, one can find out at least as little bit about how God views a king by looking at what sort of conduct leads them to be considered a godly king or not. Since we have recently examined the case of Jehoshaphat in services, let us examine another nuanced case of a king who was judged as good by God but whose conduct was nevertheless not entirely above board, Jehoshaphat’s father Asa. When we hear of his reign in 1 Kings:15:9-15, the Bible has good things to say about King Asa: “In the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa became king over Judah. And he reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem. His grandmother’s name was Maachah, the granddaughter of Abishalom. Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Eternal, as did his father David. And he banished the perverted persons from the land, and removed all the idols that his father had made. Also he removed Maachah his grandmother from being queen mother, because she had made an obscene image of Asherah. And Asa cut down her obscene image and burned it by the Brook Kidron. But the high places were not removed. Nevertheless Asa’s heart was loyal to the Eternal all his days. He also brought into the house of the Eternal the things which his father had dedicated, and the things which he himself had dedicated: silver and gold and utensils.”

We can see in this account shorthand for what generally makes a king good in the eyes of God–a loyalty to God, a hostility to immorality and idolatry, as well as the willingness to stand up for what is right. That said, we ought to recognize that merely standing up against idols alone did not make a king righteous in the eyes of God. 2 Kings:3:1-3 tells us of a king who stood up againt his mother’s idolatry but still was not a righteous king in God’s eyes: “Now Hehoram the son of Ahab became king over Israel at Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years. And he did evil in the sight of the Eternal, but not like his father and mother; for he put away the sacred pillar of Baal that his father had made. Nevertheless he persisted in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin; he did not depart from them.” How sad it is that a king who was able to stand against a great evil even in the face of a living and terrible mother who was the embodiment of that evil way was still unable to turn wholeheartedly to God’s ways despite the presence of the prophet Elisha in his capital city.

Lest we think that Asa was a paragon of righteous rulership, though, the Bible does include some major shortcomings in his leadership that we would do well to recognize and reflect on, particularly relating to his faith in God. 2 Chronicles:16:7-12 tells us of some of the shortcomings of Asa after he relied on an alliance with Syria rather than God’s might to defend himself from the threat of Israel’s army: “And at that time Hanani the seer [whose son Jehu later rebuked Jehoshaphat on similar grounds] came to Asa king of Judah and said to him: “Because you have relied on the king of Syria, and have not relied on the Eternal your God, therefore the army of the king of Syria has escaped from your hand. Were the Ethiopians and the Lubim not a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet, because you relied on the Eternal, He delivered them into your hand. For the eyes of the Eternal run to and fro throughout the whole hearth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to HIm. In this you have done foolishly; therefore from now on you shall have wars.” Then Asa was angry with the seer and put him in prison, for he was enraged at him because of this. And Asa oppressed some of the people at this time. Note that the acts of Asa, first and last, are indeed written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. And in the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa became diseased in his feet; yet in his disease he did not seek the Eternal, but the physicians.”

We ought to therefore see from the example of King Asa that the ethical demands of God for a ruler to be considered good were not too high and too difficult to manage. They must have a heart that was loyal to God, put faith in Him, and accept no rivals to His ways. That said, we also ought to recognize that God is willing to forgive a great deal of error and blunder and failure in those leaders who are considered good. If God was willing to be so gracious and forgiving to one such as King Asa, some of whose flaws (imprisoning godly prophets and oppressing some of the people) are serious indeed, then God ought to be just as merciful to forgive us and as quick to forgive when we repent. Let us therefore seek a deeper understanding of God’s word so that we might better understand His ways and His nature.