Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1922-03-30
/. Asa's Reformation wv. 1-5).

l. Asa's Reformation wv. l-5).
Asa was the grandson of RehObOaIn,
Both his grandfather and father
favored idolatry, but in spite of this
record of his ancestors, Asa had
VIII of his own, an though Toung
when he came to the throne, inagurat-
ed campaign of reform which
brought great good. He not only had
the handicap of the idolatry and i'm
mortality fostered by the two former
kings, but he had to contend against
the influence of his mother who had
encouraged immoral worship Il Kings
+":l3). In order to carry out his re,
formatOry measures L had 70 wrest
authority from her by deposing her.
Asa did that which was good and right
IN the eyes of the Lord ". y.
!. Cleared the land of idOlatrOus
embiems and images wv. 3, 81. Q)
Strange altars. These were the affairs
devoted TO other gods. (2) High
places. These we're places where un-
lawful sacrifices were offered. e,
Broke down the images These were
upright stones connected with idola-
tror5 worship. az Cut down the
groves. These were trees or poles
connected with tree worship. He had
all these. relics Of idolatry destroyed
in Jerusalem and other cities through
ut his kingdom.
:. Comm ded Judah to seek the
Lord ". A. He knew that if the ref
or1nati0n was 10 be effective it must
be by the positive seeking after and
worShiping of God, accompanied by
obedience to His commandments. De-
structive work avails little unless fol.
lowed by constructive.
II. Asa's Defensive Preparations
wv. 6-8).
1. Built fortified cities ". 81. The
cities are not named, but the meaning
doubtless, is that it was general sys-
TEN of defense which involved the
cities at strategic points.
2, He erected walls about the
cities ". y. These were usually OF
stone. Upon the walls were observa-
tion towers from which the position
and movements of the enemy could be
seen, and from which defensive war
fare could be waged.
3. Made gates and barred them
". ,. The reason h. assigns for
these defensive preparations was that
they had sought the Lord God. Those
who really trust God will make every
effort TO provide defense.
f. Had an army Of spearmen ". 81,
These spearmen were also protected
with large shields. The army was
made up of 4S0,OO0 brave men. They
were prepared to wage an offensive
as well as defensive war.
III. Asa's Victory Over Zerah, the
Ethiopian wv. 9-12).
/. Asa set the battle in array ".
10). He went out to meet the enemy
Il first made disposition of his
means of defense. This was wisdom
on his part Intelligent faith moves
the possessor to do first that which
is within his power.
2. Asa's prayer wv. Ii, 12>. He
cried unto the Lord. He sought the
source of national power. II this
prayer note (1) his conscious helpless
7 uGSS. AS hS Id(Ou pIluu
two to one against him, ne was clearly
conscious of his impotency. The first
requisite in obtaining help from GOO
is conscious weakness. The Christian
conquers not by self-reIlanc.a, but by
self-distrust and faith in God (2) Ap.
peals TO God for help. He knew that
though they were helpless before the
mighty enemy, with Gods help they
could win the victory. One man with
God is majority. (3) Reposes faith
in God. The word rest" means to
lean-upap--te cast the entire weight
upon. In the measure that we realize
our need of support will We lean
hard upon God. ~ Advanced ceu.
rageously. He went forth depending
upon God to fight for him. Reai faith
does not wait until it sees its way
clear, but goes forth expecting God to
clear the way. [5) tIung himself
upon Gods armr 80 Lord, thou art
our God" His cause was Gods cause
If God has taken us for His people,
and if we have taken Him for our GoG
no enemy can prevail against US. May
we experimentally say, "ThCu art my
God" and hear Him say, Il am thy
Cod"
3. The Egyptians smitten ". 10y.
The enemy fed hefore Isreal and could
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