A Whole Heart
1/23/26 Bible Thought (1 Kings 15)
The living God is on the hunt for those with a whole heart.
A Look at 1 Kings 15
As we dive into today’s chapter, we are introduced to a total of four kings. Two in Judah, and two in Israel. As is the case throughout the time of the kings, every king of Israel was wicked. Whereas some of the kings of Judah were good.
With this, we meet the first righteous king of the divided kingdom—Asa.
Asa’s first order of business as king was cleaning house. His father’s idols had to go (1 Kings 15:12). He removed his mother from her position of influence for her idolatry (1 Kings 15:13). Not only this, but he torched her image of the false god Asherah. Truly, he loved the Father more than father or mother.
Asa was a man whose heart was, “wholly true to the Lord all his days” (1 Kings 15:14b; 2 Chr. 15:17).
The Hebrew word salem, here translated “wholly true” has the idea of something that is “intact, untouched; complete, perfect; whole, undivided.”[1]
Asa had one God on the throne of his heart. Yahweh didn’t have to share Asa with Baal, Asherah, Molech, Chemosh, or the rest. Asa, like David, worshipped one God, and one God only.
A Problem
Yet while Asa was undivided in heart, there was still something lacking. When the king of Syria made an alliance with the king of Israel, suddenly, he was in a bind. So he made a covenant with a pagan king (1 Kings 15:19).
While this isn’t decried in the account in Kings, in the parallel account, the Chronicler tells a fuller picture with the prophet Hanani’s words:
“Because you relied on the king of Syria, and did not rely on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Syria has escaped you. 8 Were not the Ethiopians and the Libyans a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on the Lord, he gave them into your hand” (2 Chr. 16:7-8).
It’s one thing to worship only one God. It’s another thing to see Him as sufficient.
Interestingly enough, the same Hebrew word referenced earlier is used in two different ways concerning the same king. In one sense, Asa’s heart was undivided (salem, 2 Chr. 15:17), yet in another sense, it wasn’t fully blameless or whole (salem, 2 Chr. 16:9).
Despite Yahweh’s prior faithfulness to him, while in a pinch, he sought out human help. Later, when he became sick, he likewise turned to physicians instead of the God who gives life (2 Chr. 16:12).
Although Asa is the first righteous king we’ve seen, he didn’t fully measure up. To this, the people of God are reminded, as we are throughout the accounts of the kings, that we need a better King—Jesus.
Bringing it Home
Let us rest assured that God isn’t against us asking for human help. Likewise, God doesn’t hate doctors. Remember, God used a physician to pen the Spirit-inspired books of Luke and Acts!
Rather, a whole heart is one that fully leans on God as the source and hope of all good things in life.
A whole heart avoids the worship of idols, yes. It also gives the living God His proper place. Someone with a whole heart sees their relationship with God as the steering wheel, rather than the emergency brake. He is the first stop, not a last resort.
The prophet Hanani confronted Asa with a harsh truth:
“For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. You have done foolishly in this, for from now on you will have wars” (2 Chr. 16:9).
Within this, there is the beautiful assurance for the believer that God is always watching. He is searching the earth. He is eager to help the helpless who lean on Him.
He is always there. He is always ready. But are our hearts directed towards Him as our only hope in hopeless times?
Challenge for Today: Are there areas of my life where I live independently from the God for Whom nothing is too hard, the One who spoke all things into existence?
[1] Rick Brannan, ed., Lexham Research Lexicon of the Hebrew Bible, Lexham Research Lexicons (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2020).
As I get older, it has become easier to let go of things. I wish I could go back in time and tell my younger self the freedom of that. I remember that hymn we used to sing at the church I grew up in. "All to Jesus, I surrender."
I know I have areas in life I need to work on. A challenging word that we can seemingly follow God but still have pockets of our life that still need to be fully surrendered to Him.