REJOICING IN RELATIONSHIP!!!

May 13, 2022

Now the Spirit of God came upon Azariah son of Oded. So he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you when you are with Him. If you seekH1875 Him, He will be found by you, but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you . . .” Then they entered into a covenant to seekH1875 the LORD, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and soul. And whoever would not seekH1875 the LORD, the God of Israel, would be put to death, whether young or old, man or woman. They took an oath to the LORD with a loud voice, with shouting, trumpets, and rams’ horns. And all Judah rejoicedH8055 over the oath, for they had sworn it with all their heart. They had soughtH1245 Him earnestly, and He was found by them. So the LORD gave them rest on every side.

2 Chronicles 15:1-2, 12-15

H1875 דָּרַשׁ dârash – Its most important theological meaning involves studying or inquiring into the Law of the Lord (Ezra 7:10) or inquiring of God.

H1245 בָּקַשׁ bâqash – It denotes seeking someone’s presence, especially the Lord’s.

The Complete Word Study Dictionary, Old Testament, Brown and Carpenter, eds.

Azariah’s prophecy boils down to: Seek God diligently and He’ll let you find Him. Forsake Him for idols, and He will forsake you. He would hide Himself from them indefinitely. So King Asa led the Israelites to renew their covenant with the one true God and to seek Him wholeheartedly. As they did so, they also renewed their commitment to follow the Law by executing anyone who did not seek the Lord and followed false gods instead (Deuteronomy 17:2-5). This stoning to death was only to be carried out upon the testimony of two or three witnesses, not just one. The Israelites sought the Lord’s presence and the understanding of His Law with all their heart (inmost thoughts) and soul (entire being). Upon renewing their covenant with God through this oath, they rejoiced to be in right relationship with their Creator.

We are blessed to live on this side of the cross, under the New Covenant of Christ’s blood. Our salvation does not depend upon our ability to keep God’s law because Jesus met the requirements of the Law and paid the price for our sin and delivered us from the wrath of God. However, God’s word is still our guide for seeking God with our entire being. If we truly love the Lord, we will keep His commandments (John 14:15). How seriously do we take our obedience to the Lord? As we have seen, the Israelites knew obedience and seeking the Lord were serious matters, not to be taken lightly or flippantly. If we sincerely, diligently pursue a relationship with our God, He will enable us to know Him personally, deeply, and intimately. Perhaps we need to reevaluate how much time we spend truly seeking to enlarge not only our knowledge about God but our relationship with God.

Father, once we have surrendered to Jesus, our journey to seek You has only begun. Help us to spend time in Bible study, prayer, and meaningful fellowship with other believers to grow in our relationship with You, to know who You are instead of focusing only on what You can do for us.