The kingdom of Judah hadn’t seen this kind of courageous leadership since the days of King David. Asa was only a teenager when he became king, but he wouldn’t let youthful inexperience stop him from taking bold steps to purge Judah of its widespread idolatry and lawlessness.

Asa put God first, above his own personal wants and desires—even ahead of his own parents. He abolished all the idols “his fathers had made,” and he kicked his evil mother off her throne. The Bible describes the early days of Asa’s reign as 10 years of quiet (2 Chronicles 14:1). What peace God provides when we diligently work to remove idolatry and sexual perversion from our environment!

King Asa wisely used these peaceful, prosperous years to plan for the future. He worked doubly hard fortifying Judah’s cities (verses 6-7) and was careful not to forget God.

Then, when trouble finally did come—an incomprehensibly large, million-man army—Asa trusted in God, crying out for deliverance. “Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power,” he prayed. “Help us, O Lord our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O Lord, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee” (verse 11). If we do our part to build spiritual strength during times of peace and quiet, we can still experience rest in the Lord during periods of trial and test.

God smote the Ethiopian army before all of Judah. He then sent the Prophet Azariah to deliver a message of hope—and warning. The prophet declared, “The Lord is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you” (2 Chronicles 15:2).

Asa heeded God’s loving instruction, and just as God had promised, blessings poured into the land. These blessings were so visibly obvious that many Israelites to the north started to move to Judah. They wanted to experience what it was like to be ruled by a righteous king! King Baasha of Israel was so alarmed by the exodus of his own people that he fortified Israel’s southern border, turning the city of Ramah, just six miles from Jerusalem, into a military stronghold.

Asa was distressed by this provocative act. Israel’s army was right at Judah’s doorstep. In his mind, this was an act of war. How would this righteous king respond?

Incredibly, after a long history of walking by faith and trusting God, King Asa gathered a large store of treasure from God’s house in order to finance a shady military alliance with Syria. Instead of looking to God, he paid a Gentile king to get rid of the problem!

At first, this unholy alliance seemed to work out: Syria invaded Israel, overthrew numerous cities, and forced Israel to evacuate its military stronghold. Ramah fell back into Judah’s hands. But these seemingly fortuitous events actually marked the beginning of a tragic end for a king who had devoted most of his life to faithfully serving God.

God immediately sent the Prophet Hanani to correct His wayward king: “Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars,” he said (2 Chronicles 16:9). Sadly, this loving correction from God only infuriated the aging king. He locked God’s prophet in prison and then unleashed a violent persecution against his own people (verse 10).

Soon after, Asa was stricken with a deadly disease. He refused to seek God’s miraculous intervention, turning instead to the feeble assistance provided by men. Within two years, he died, bringing an ignominious end to the short second act of a kingly reign that had been noted for legendary works.

“And, behold, the acts of Asa, first and last, lo, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel” (verse 11). Yes, both acts are recorded—the first and the last.

In the first act, Asa was on fire for God. He brought Judah out of religious confusion and purged its cities of lawlessness. He cleaned house in Judah—and it prospered and grew. When the Ethiopians came to conquer, Asa cried out to God, who delivered Judah.

But toward the end of his life, in the second act, Asa had drifted far from God. This didn’t happen overnight. Over the course of many months, perhaps years, Asa steadily lost contact with God. His faith weakened. And when pressures intensified, when personal trials increased, he turned to men for help rather than God.

King Asa is no different than many of God’s own people in these latter days—brethren of God who are characterized as being spiritually lukewarm (Revelation 3:14-17). They no longer have the burning zeal and unshakable faith they had at the start of their conversion. They don’t pour out their hearts to God in effectual fervent prayer like they used to. Their deep and enduring love for digging into the fascinating truth that is buried in God’s Word has waxed icy cold. Fasting, fellowship, meditation—these all have fallen by the wayside.

Has any of this happened to you? Have you neglected God and allowed the disease of spiritual laxness to spread into your life? Have you, perhaps after getting off to a strong start, slowed way down—or maybe come to a complete stop?

If so, then take heed and learn from the unhappy lesson of a Jewish king whose first works were much greater than the last. For Asa, it didn’t have to end that way—and neither does it for you. Like Asa—who could have repented, but didn’t—you can turn back to God, even at the very end of your life, and finish the race the way you started.

You can go back and “do the first works” while there is still time (Revelation 2:5). But you had better hurry. Jesus Christ is coming quickly.