2 Chronicles 15:2, commentary and pictures

The Lord is with His people while they remain with Him; if they seek Him He will be found by them, but if they forsake Him He will forsake them. The message was given through Azariah to meet Asa and all Judah and Benjamin as they returned victorious, to warn and encourage them to take courage and press forward in faithfulness and reform. Asa took courage, put away idols, renewed the altar, and led the people into covenant to seek God with all the heart and whole desire, and God was found by them and gave them rest. God never leaves a people or person until they leave Him, so when it seems He has forsaken the faithful it is they who have departed from Him. Seeking Him must be wholehearted, earnest and humble, with repentance and forsaking of sin and separation from the world, and forsaking Him is self-trust instead of dependence upon Him, which shuts out His favor and leaves sin unforgiven and prayer unheard.

Promise and Historical Setting

The Lord is with His people while they remain with Him: if they seek Him He will be found by them, but if they forsake Him He will forsake them. The same conditional presence is assured to strained and health-imperiled workers as they do His work while carefully guarding health and strength. The message was delivered by Azariah, who went out to meet Asa and all Judah and Benjamin as they returned victorious from battle. It came as both warning and promise, calling Asa to take courage and to lead continued faithful action and renewed reformation.

Asa took courage from the word, removed the idols, renewed the altar, and led the people into covenant to seek God wholeheartedly and with their whole desire. God was found by them, and He gave them rest. Israel's troubled history illustrates the same principle, for at one time they were without the true God, without a teaching priest and without the law. When in trouble they turned to the Lord and sought Him, and He was found by them.

God never forsakes a people or individuals until they forsake Him. He has not forsaken His faithful people, but those who turn away have departed from Him, and when people think God has forsaken them it is they who have forsaken Him. Forsaking Him means self-confidence and trusting in self instead of depending on Him and clinging to Him, which prevents Him from exercising His favor. Great light, privileges, warnings and opportunities do not keep people from falling away if they depend on themselves.

When people depart from Him their sins remain, they lose the Spirit's witness, God hides His face and does not hear their prayers, and they separate themselves from His love and forfeit the promise. Outward opposition does not dim the faith of those who keep His commandments, but neglecting to bring purity and truth into practice grieves the Spirit and weakens them because God is not in their midst to bless. Internal corruption brings God's denunciations as it did upon Jerusalem, and safety depends on not repeating the sins that brought His wrath on the old world, on Sodom and Gomorrah, and on ancient Jerusalem. To those who seek Him He grants special manifestations of His presence and favor with rich grace and help as one mighty in counsel. He carries out the warning to the forsaking by sending messengers to forbid their own planning because He sees the end from the beginning; even when a man's plans seem faultless, God in mercy restrains a course that would bring trouble to his soul and confusion to others, and disregarding that restraint brings the very evil results God sought to prevent.

Wholehearted Seeking in Life

Seeking God must be wholehearted, with all the heart and whole desire, earnest, sincere and meek. Humility with desire for His wisdom brings His guidance, and the promise belongs to steady faith and earnest seeking rather than trusting feelings or what can be seen. Seeking Him requires wholehearted repentance that forsakes sins, for those who forsake their sins can receive forgiveness while half-hearted repentance is not accepted. Such seeking calls for separating from the world, giving life in service to God, and standing wholly on His side. Without a change of heart a person separates from God's people, so His people are to live by the principles of His kingdom in this world to be prepared for the royal family above and to expect great things from their heavenly Father.

Those who seek the Lord for light have certainty of finding Him, and finding Him brings a person to the place where the Lord would have him be. It also brings reliance on Jesus for strength in every circumstance, with assurance that sincere seeking is answered. Even when people are asleep and do not know the time of their visitation, if they humble themselves before God and seek Him with the whole heart He will be found by them. The Lord has thoughts of mercy toward a family and will not leave or forsake them unless they forsake Him. The same conditional presence is promised to a son who stays with the Lord. The promise holds personally that the Lord will be with you if you are with Him, specifically that the Lord will be with Dr. Sanderson if he is with the Lord.

The Lord would bless Dr. Maxson and his wife if they stayed where their hearts and interests were in the work, with efforts made in the strength of the Mighty One benefiting the institution. Divine presence and help are assured to strained and health-imperiled workers as they do His work while carefully guarding health and strength. The verse is a word of good courage at every step for believers sent to a new field, assuring them they will be a special help to the believers there and ease the loss of departing workers. They are very dear, and God expects no more than that they do their best. The Lord is with and supports those who remain with Him, and this assurance encourages faith and perseverance in advancing the work.