Today's class is dedicated in memory of my uncle Abraham Ben Emma, Albert D. Sutton A’h, whose yarzheit is today, by his family.
Today we are in Divrei Hayamim ב
Perek טז ( ז-ט)
Yesterday we spoke about Asa, who was a great king, yet on his level he was held responsible for an act of over-hishtadlut and a lessening of bitachon.
וּבָעֵת הַהִיא בָּא חֲנָנִי הָרֹאֶה אֶל אָסָא מֶלֶךְ יְהוּדָה וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו בְּהִשָּׁעֶנְךָ עַל מֶלֶךְ אֲרָם וְלֹא נִשְׁעַנְתָּ עַל יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ עַל כֵּן נִמְלַט חֵיל מֶלֶךְ אֲרָם מִיָּדֶךָ
At that time, Hanani the prophet comes to Asa, king of Yehuda, and says to him:
Because you relied on the king of Aram, and you did not rely on Hashem, your God, the army of the king of Aram slipped out of your hands.
הֲלֹא הַכּוּשִׁים וְהַלּוּבִים הָיוּ לְחַיִל לָרֹב לְרֶכֶב וּלְפָרָשִׁים לְהַרְבֵּה מְאֹד וּבְהִשָּׁעֶנְךָ עַל יְהֹוָה נְתָנָם בְּיָדֶךָ
But the Ethiopians and the Lubim constitute an immense army with many chariots and horseman, and yet when you relied on Hashem, He delivered them into your hand
(as we learned in yesterday's class).
So what happened?
Asa, the king of Yehuda, asked Aram for help in a fight against the king of Yisrael, Bahasha.
But if Asa would have had full, uncompromising bitachon, like he had in the previous war, he would have defeated the combined forces of Yisrael and Aram.
However, he got scared. He saw the other Jews, of Yisrael (with whom he was in a civil war) coming, and they had hired Aram.
So Asa went and bribed the king of Aram not to join Bahasha. He took a large amount of money out of his treasure house, and missed out on an opportunity for what could have been a great success.
According to the commentaries, God put into the heart of Ben Hadad, the king of Aram, to join with Bahasha. If so, Asa would have been been able to defeat them both, and he could have brought the camp of Yehuda back to their previous glory.
He would have been successful in wiping out the gentile enemy and restoring peace in the nation. Of course we are allowed to do hishtadlut, but he was relying on the king of Aram, and he didn't have to do that. On his level, it was a drop in bitachon. And the pasuk continues.
כִּי ה׳ עֵינָיו מְשֹׁטְטוֹת בְּכָל הָאָרֶץ
Hashem's eyes roam throughout the land; He's watching everything. He's watching everybody. He's watching their hearts.
This is a fundamental, brought down in the Orchot Chaim L’Rosh. We believe God's eyes roam throughout the land. And what is He looking for?
לְהִתְחַזֵּק עִם לְבָבָם שָׁלֵם אֵלָיו נִסְכַּלְתָּ עַל זֹאת כִּי מֵעַתָּה יֵשׁ עִמְּךָ מִלְחָמוֹת:
He is going to strengthen the hearts of those that are sincerely with Him. But you, Asa, were not with God with a full heart. You have been foolish in this matter. From now on you're going have more wars.
That means if he would have had the proper Bitachon, there would have been no wars. It would've been like in previous times when he had Bitachon,and it said afterwards, no wars.
But now, because of his lack of Bitachon, wars came his way.
This shows us a great lesson- that as great as a person may be in his Bitachon, it can drop.
As much as he be might be praised, and Asa is really praised as a great king and did a lot of good things, his Bitachon dropped. It's a constant fight. Rambam’s son, in his Sefer Masoik L’Ovdeh Hashem, uses the words, “The sin of Asa was that he forsook just a little bit. It was just a bit. But that was enough to disconnect.
This teaches us an important lesson- to constantly be working on our bitachon, because yesterday's successful Bitachon doesn't mean it's with you today as well.
The challenges of Bitachon, and the need to strengthen ourselves is a constant battle.
Have a wonderful day.