Compare Asa's actions in 1 Kings 15:19 with Proverbs 3:5-6. What insights emerge?

Setting the Scene

• 1 Kings 15:19 — “Let there be a treaty between me and you”.

• Proverbs 3:5-6 — “Trust in the LORD with all your heart… He will make your paths straight”.

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What Asa Actually Did

• Emptied both royal and temple treasuries (v.18) to buy Ben-Hadad’s help.

• Leaned on a political alliance to solve a military crisis.

• Won quick relief when the Arameans struck Israel’s northern cities.

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Proverbs’ Call to Trust

• Whole-hearted reliance on the LORD.

• Refusal to “lean on your own understanding.”

• Certainty that God Himself will direct the path.

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Key Contrasts

• Source of confidence

– Asa: silver, gold, human power.

– Proverbs: unwavering faith in God’s wisdom.

• Method

– Asa: calculated diplomacy, “I send you a gift.”

– Proverbs: acknowledge God in “all your ways.”

• Outcome

– Asa: immediate success, later rebuke (2 Chron 16:7-9).

– Proverbs: straight paths crafted by the LORD’s own hand.

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Insights That Emerge

• Partial trust is practical atheism; God expects exclusive reliance (Isaiah 31:1; Psalm 20:7).

• Quick fixes secured by compromise may invite later discipline.

• God’s resources are never to be bartered away to secure what He is ready to give by grace.

• The heart posture behind the action matters more than the apparent success of the action.

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Living It Out

• Measure every strategy against the plumb-line of Proverbs 3:5-6.

• Guard sacred resources—time, talents, treasure—from being leveraged in faithless solutions.

• Remember that “the eyes of the LORD range to and fro” to support those fully devoted to Him (2 Chron 16:9).