2 Chronicles 16

This is the final chapter of the account of King Asa, which begins in 2 Chronicles 14. In 2 Chronicles 15, Asa heeded the exhortation of the prophet Azariah and carried out reforms; this chapter portrays him in his later years relying on a foreign king rather than on God. The same events are recorded briefly in 1 Kings 15.

Outline

• Verses 1–6 In the thirty-sixth year of Asa, Baasha, king of Israel, fortifies Ramah to cut off access to Judah. Asa sends silver and gold from the treasuries of the temple and the royal palace to Ben-hadad, king of Aram, who reigns in Damascus, seeking an alliance. When Ben-hadad strikes Ijon, Dan, Abel-maim, and the store cities of Naphtali, Baasha halts his building work. Asa carries away the stones and timber of Ramah and uses them to build Geba and Mizpah.
• Verses 7–10 Hanani the seer rebukes Asa: Asa had defeated the great army of the Ethiopians and the Lubims because he relied on the LORD, but this time he has relied on the king of Aram, and so from now on he will have wars. Enraged, Asa puts Hanani in prison and oppresses some of the people.
• Verses 11–14 In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa is stricken with a severe disease in his feet, yet he seeks not the LORD but the physicians. He dies in the forty-first year of his reign and is buried in his tomb in the city of David, and the people make a very great burning in his honor.

Key Verses

• 2 Chronicles 16:7 "Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria, and not relied on the LORD thy God …" — This states the criterion of judgment that runs through the entire chapter.
• 2 Chronicles 16:9 "For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him." — An affirmation that God watches over the whole earth and helps those whose hearts are wholly devoted to Him.
• 2 Chronicles 16:12 "Yet in his disease he sought not to the LORD, but to the physicians." — This sums up Asa's later years in a single line.

People and Places

• Asa: The third king of Judah.
• Baasha: King of the northern kingdom of Israel.
• Ben-hadad: King of Aram, whose capital was Damascus.
• Hanani: A seer. His son Jehu also served as a prophet (1 Kings 16:1; 2 Chronicles 19:2).
• Ramah, Geba, and Mizpah: Towns in the border region between Israel and Judah.

Points for Reflection

• The chronological problem: 1 Kings 16 records that Baasha died in the twenty-sixth year of Asa, which does not fit the "six and thirtieth year" of verse 1. Some interpret this figure as counting from the division of the kingdom, while others hold that the number was altered in the course of scribal transmission.
• Seeking the physicians: Interpreters disagree on whether verse 12 criticizes medicine itself or Asa's failure to seek God. Some scholars suggest that physicians of that time may have been associated with magical practices. The verse is frequently cited in discussions of divine healing and medical care.
• Differences between the two accounts: 1 Kings 15:23 notes only briefly that Asa was diseased in his feet. Many hold that the Chronicler's linking of the illness to Asa's attitude reflects the Chronicler's view that consequences follow conduct.
• Connection with the New Testament: The idea that God sees all things, as expressed in verse 9, also appears in passages such as Hebrews 4:13.

In the Korean Church

2 Chronicles 16:9 is known to be frequently quoted in sermons emphasizing wholehearted devotion to God.