After the Revival

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2 Chronicles 15:7 – Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded.


Asa didn’t follow in his father Abijah’s wicked footsteps. He broke the cycle of sin. He followed the Lord instead of his family. He broke the idols in the land, built up walls of protection, and battled against the Ethiopians. After the Asa’s victory the prophet Azariah tells him what to do to now, after the revival.

Azaraiah told him to keep his hands up (vs. 7). It’s easy to let up, slack up, and give up after a great victory. Boxers are trained to keep their hands up at all costs. Sometimes we must be rebuked and reminded (vss. 2-6) that failure is just around the corner. But thank God there is a reward (vs. 7) if we continue to be faithful. Serving God and pleasing God is well worth it!

After hearing the preaching Asa renewed the altar (vs. 8), something he never did previously. You might move a great distance away from the world by breaking idols, building walls, and battling sin, but you will not get closer to the Lord until you renew the altar. Repairing (1 Kings 18:30) and cleansing (2 Chron. 29:18) the altar are part of renewing it.

            Once the altar was renewed they could make the sacrifice (vss. 9-16). The sacrifice of participation was apparent: they gathered and they gave. The sacrifice of pursuit was evident (vs. 12). There was demand and death related to seeking God. There are no other options, we must “die daily” (1 Cor. 15:31). They also sacrificed by praise (vss. 14-15) that was powerful as well as pure.

            Finally, Asa finally dethroned his wicked mother Maachah (vs. 16), finishing what he started five years prior. Most revival decisions are rarely followed through. If you don’t get rid of the high places (vs. 17) now, the ramifications will destroy you, as it did Asa twenty years later (2 Chron. 16).