“In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength” (Isa 30:15).
After “Abijah rested with his fathers” (2 Chron 14:1), his son Asa ascended the throne of Judah in Jerusalem. Happily, “Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God, for he removed the altars of the foreign gods and the high places, and broke down the sacred pillars and cut down the wooden images. He commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers, and to observe the law and the commandment. He also removed the high places and the incense altars from all the cities of Judah, and the kingdom was quiet under him” (vv 2-5). You can see here the formula for a quiet life. Overall, we must assess everything by the way the Lord sees things. The standard of acceptable behavior includes both what is “good” (spiritually beneficial) and what is “right” (morally appropriate). This process includes both negative and positive actions. Negatively, since there’s only room for one God in our hearts, the idols have to go. Altars and high places—gone! Sacred pillars—smashed! Wooden images— axed! Asa was a true iconoclast. He wasn’t like one of those kings who removed the idols but left the high places, just in case. No, when Asa was done, it was as if his grandfather’s idols had never existed. But it isn’t enough to get rid of the bad. Remember the believers in Ephesus? “You cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars” (Rev 2:2). That’s a good start, but all you have done is cleared the decks. I know what you’re against, but what are you for? You haven’t just distanced yourself from evil; you’ve distanced yourself from Me, too! “You have left your first love” (v 4). So positively Asa called the people to seek the Lord and obey the Word.