“Now the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded. And he went out to meet Asa, and said to him: ‘Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.’ ” (2 Chronicles 15:1-2, NKJV)
The names Azariah, Asa, and Oded … are not your regular household names … or names even on the list of popular boys’ names.
Azariah was a prophet of God. Asa was one of a line of kings over the Southern Kingdom, made up of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. And Oded was the father of Azariah.
The storyline of where these names come together follows a great victory King Asa with God’s help had just won over an enormous army of a million men.
God sends Azariah to address the king and his army with the words of our opening text comprising the first portion of his words. It would be well to read the rest of his words in verses 3-7 of 2 Chronicles 15.
So, someone might be asking, “What does this story have to do with us, living in the 21st Century?” A fair question to ask and the answer will leave no doubt as to its relevance!
These men of Judah had made a covenant with God and His prophet is reminding them of their responsibilities in honoring their part of the covenant.
God holds each of us responsible for any promise or vow we might make relative to our relationship with Him! In Ecclesiastes 5:1-7, Solomon reminds us that when we approach the Lord, we must do so with reverence and respect with the intent to keep our words.
The takeaway can be found in the words “… draw near to hear rather than to give the sacrifice of fools …” The phrase “draw near to God” appears with a great deal of frequency in God’s Book and we should all know why, shouldn’t we?
Nearness to God … could there be any better place to dwell? If one’s answer is anything but “No” … then there is a real problem in one’s heart.
Asaph, the inspired writer of Psalm 73 offers these very precious words, “But it is good for me to draw near to God …” (verse 28).
Our God is absolutely and completely perfect in every way, so any absence of nearness cannot be attributed to Him. He wants the nearness, but we are the ones with sin and in need of forgiveness of those sins.
Our loving, giving, and kind Heavenly Father wants, expects, and even provides for us the way to improve and change our thinking, attitudes, and in reality every aspect of our lives.
It would the Apostle Peter who by inspiration offered these words recorded in 1 Peter 2:1,2, “Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby.”
We simply must be willing to hear and to trust Him completely. He is after all … the Divine Author of the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
We cannot grow … we cannot grow closer and nearer to God until we turn from our sins … all of our sins! There cannot be any holding back or keeping those ‘secret sins.’
When we “… obey from the heart …” our clean heart becomes the fertile ground for His word to do His work! With our free will and His revealed word, the map for our journey in this life, you and I are as close to God as we choose to be!
This is what the relationship with God is all about … so that we can be more like God … be one of His people … and not a person of the world. God is perfect and mature, and it is His desire to bring each of us “… to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:13)
Care must be given to ensure that we are always acceptable in our hearts to His will … to His discipline … to His love, grace, and mercy! He is always much more willing to forgive us than we are to be forgiven.
So, rather than push back when our comfort zone is challenged … when our ‘want to’s are not what God wants and expects of us … let’s continue to pray for humility and greater faith.
The way to live and conduct ourselves in this life, with anticipation of the next in eternity … “draw nearer to God” … don’t push back! Be sure we know the difference!
“Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” (James 4:7-8)
Bill Fairchild, Jr.
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