2Ch 16:7-10 | KingComments | STEP | The seer Hanani – his name means ‘gracious’ – who comes to Asa, does not come with an encouraging message, but with a serious exhortation ( ). He points out to Asa how he has relied on the LORD when he had to deal with a tremendous force majeure of enemies and that the LORD had therefore given him the victory ( ). The LORD is still the same. As He has answered his prayer before, He still wants it. The LORD seeks opportunities to hear ( ; ; ). For this His eyes move to and fro throughout the earth. Here we see that not a man seeks the face of the LORD, but the LORD seeks the faces of people who are directed toward Him. It shows His desire to help the powerless. The LORD waited for a call of faith from Asa to show His power for his favor. It is foolish not to go to God ( ). It is foolish to lean on a broken reed and not on the unshakable Rock of the centuries. The alliance with Ben-hadad may give Asa the desired result, but he gets wars. A covenant with the world prevents us from conquering it. The many experiences we have of the Lord’s goodness do not always increase our confidence. A new trial often shows our lack of confidence or our forgetfulness of past deliverances. Only when we have nothing else we do trust Him. The effect of the prophet’s words on Asa is enmity ( ). He is the first Old Testament king of whom we read that he persecutes a prophet. More kings will follow in doing that, such as Joash ( ) and Herod ( ). By throwing Hanani into prison, he wants to silence the voice of God. This is what people will always try when they are addressed in their conscience, but do not want to break with evil. Joseph, Daniel, Jeremiah and John the baptist experienced the same as Hanani. Even today, everyone who speaks God’s Word will experience this in situations where one resists Him. In mild form the faithful preacher experiences this, for example, if he is not invited or allowed to speak because of his faithful preaching. Not only Hanani has to suffer. All those who are like Hanani and remind Asa of his unfaithfulness to the LORD, face his anger. Asa oppresses them with the aim of silencing them. He just doesn’t want to listen to the voice of the LORD anymore. This is a tragic development for a man who started so well and continued well for so long.

‏ 2 Chronicles 16:7-10

The Message of Hanani

The seer Hanani – his name means ‘gracious’ – who comes to Asa, does not come with an encouraging message, but with a serious exhortation (2Chr 16:7). He points out to Asa how he has relied on the LORD when he had to deal with a tremendous force majeure of enemies and that the LORD had therefore given him the victory (2Chr 16:8). The LORD is still the same. As He has answered his prayer before, He still wants it.

The LORD seeks opportunities to hear (2Chr 16:9a; 1Pet 3:12; Pro 15:3 ; Pro 5:21). For this His eyes move to and fro throughout the earth. Here we see that not a man seeks the face of the LORD, but the LORD seeks the faces of people who are directed toward Him. It shows His desire to help the powerless. The LORD waited for a call of faith from Asa to show His power for his favor.

It is foolish not to go to God (2Chr 16:9b). It is foolish to lean on a broken reed and not on the unshakable Rock of the centuries. The alliance with Ben-hadad may give Asa the desired result, but he gets wars. A covenant with the world prevents us from conquering it. The many experiences we have of the Lord’s goodness do not always increase our confidence. A new trial often shows our lack of confidence or our forgetfulness of past deliverances. Only when we have nothing else we do trust Him.

The effect of the prophet’s words on Asa is enmity (2Chr 16:10). He is the first Old Testament king of whom we read that he persecutes a prophet. More kings will follow in doing that, such as Joash (2Chr 24:20-21) and Herod (Mk 6:17-18 ; 27). By throwing Hanani into prison, he wants to silence the voice of God.

This is what people will always try when they are addressed in their conscience, but do not want to break with evil. Joseph, Daniel, Jeremiah and John the baptist experienced the same as Hanani. Even today, everyone who speaks God’s Word will experience this in situations where one resists Him. In mild form the faithful preacher experiences this, for example, if he is not invited or allowed to speak because of his faithful preaching.

Not only Hanani has to suffer. All those who are like Hanani and remind Asa of his unfaithfulness to the LORD, face his anger. Asa oppresses them with the aim of silencing them. He just doesn’t want to listen to the voice of the LORD anymore. This is a tragic development for a man who started so well and continued well for so long.