Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of 2 Chronicles
Chapter 16: The Eyes of the LORD Run To and Fro
The same Asa who once leaned wholly on God against a million Ethiopians now, in his later years, buys the help of Syria against Israel and leans on an arm of flesh. Hanani the seer rebukes him with a great word: the eyes of the LORD range through all the earth to strengthen the heart that is perfect toward Him. But Asa hardens, imprisons the prophet, and even in his final illness seeks the physicians and not the LORD. A sobering study in how a good beginning can end in self-reliance.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of 2 Chronicles chapter 16. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Hebrew words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
Thou Hast Relied on Syria (2 Chronicles 16:7-9)
Hanani rebukes Asa for trusting Syria instead of the LORD, whose eyes seek the perfect heart.
To Shew Himself Strong in Their Behalf
"And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said unto him, Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria, and not relied on the LORD thy God, therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thine hand. Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubims a huge host, with very many chariots and horsemen? yet, because thou didst rely on the LORD, he delivered them into thine hand. For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars."
Word Study
"perfect," Hebrew shalem (שָׁלֵם), whole, complete, wholly devoted, loyal. The word rely (sha'an, to lean) is the hinge of the rebuke, the same word that had described Asa's earlier faith. Once he "relied on the LORD" and God crushed a huge Ethiopian host; now he "relied on the king of Syria, and not relied on the LORD thy God," buying pagan help against Israel with the temple's treasures. Hanani exposes the folly: the very army he might have conquered has "escaped out of thine hand" because he leaned on flesh instead of God. Then comes the glorious central truth: "the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect (shalem, wholly loyal) toward him." God is actively scanning the whole earth, not to condemn, but looking for hearts wholly His, that He may show Himself strong for them. A "perfect heart" is not a sinless heart but an undivided, wholly-devoted one. God delights to be the strength of such hearts. The tragedy is that Asa, who once had exactly such a heart, has now divided it, leaning on Syria. "Herein thou hast done foolishly", the man once so wise in faith now acts the fool by trusting man. The one who leaves off leaning on God forfeits the strength God longs to give.
Explanation
The seer Hanani confronted Asa for a serious failure. Instead of trusting God, Asa had paid the king of Syria to help him against Israel. Hanani reminded him that years earlier, when he relied on the LORD against the vast Ethiopian army, God had given him victory, but now, by relying on Syria, he had lost an opportunity God would have given him. Hanani declared the great truth that God actively looks throughout the earth for those whose hearts are wholly devoted to Him, in order to strengthen them. Asa had acted foolishly, and as a consequence would face ongoing wars. The king who once trusted God had turned to trusting human power.
Gospel Focus
"The eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him" is one of the most encouraging verses in Scripture, set, sadly, in a rebuke. God is not distant or passive; His eyes actively search the earth, longing to find hearts wholly devoted to Him, that He may pour out His strength on their behalf. What He seeks is not a flawless heart but a "perfect", that is, undivided, loyal, whole, heart. The failure Asa fell into is the failure we are all prone to: leaning on the "arm of flesh" rather than on God. "Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm... Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD" (Jeremiah 17:5-7). Asa's tragedy warns that a strong start does not guarantee a faithful finish; the heart that once leaned wholly on God can grow self-reliant. The remedy is to keep the heart perfect, undivided, toward God, trusting Him rather than human power, money, or alliances. If God's eyes are searching for such hearts to strengthen, let Him find yours. Do not lean on flesh; lean wholly on the Lord, and He will show Himself strong for you.
He Sought Not to the LORD (2 Chronicles 16:12)
Even in his final illness, Asa turns to the physicians and not to God.
But to the Physicians
"And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not to the LORD, but to the physicians."
Word Study
"sought," Hebrew darash (דָּרַשׁ), to seek, inquire of, resort to. The chapter closes with a heartbreaking detail. Asa, diseased in his feet, "sought (darash) not to the LORD, but to the physicians." The point is not that consulting physicians is wrong, God gives means and skill for healing, but that Asa "sought not to the LORD" at all. The same verb, darash, that had once described Asa commanding all Judah "to seek the LORD" (chapter 14:4) now marks his failure: he no longer sought God. The man who began his reign by seeking the LORD ends it by pointedly not seeking Him, even in his extremity. His trust had shifted entirely from God to human help, first to Syria in war, now to physicians in sickness. This is the sad trajectory of a heart that stopped leaning on God: self-reliance hardens over time. Note the contrast with his earlier self: young Asa cried, "LORD, it is nothing with thee to help... we rest on thee"; old Asa, in his disease, sought only the physicians. It is a solemn warning that we must keep seeking the LORD to the very end, in health and sickness, in strength and weakness, lest we finish having drifted from the God we once sought with our whole heart.
Explanation
In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa developed a severe disease in his feet. Tragically, even as the illness grew very serious, he did not seek help from the LORD but turned only to the physicians. The Chronicler is not condemning the use of doctors, but the fact that Asa, who had begun his reign by seeking God, now failed to seek Him at all in his time of need. His trust had drifted from God to human means, and he died still leaning on the arm of flesh rather than returning to the God who had once given him rest and victory.
Gospel Focus
Asa's failure to "seek to the LORD" even in his final illness is a sobering close to a reign that began so well. The issue is not that he consulted physicians, medicine is a gift of God, and Scripture honors the physician (Colossians 4:14), but that he "sought not to the LORD" at all. His heart, once set on seeking God, had grown cold and self-reliant. This is a warning to everyone who has walked with God: do not assume that a good beginning secures a faithful ending. "Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering" (Hebrews 10:23), and press on to the end, for "he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved" (Matthew 24:13). In every circumstance, prosperity and adversity, health and sickness, we are to keep seeking the LORD, using the means He provides but trusting Him above all means. To seek the physician and not the Lord is to lean on the gift while forgetting the Giver. Whatever help you rightly seek, seek the LORD first and most; and let Asa's decline drive you to finish your course as you began it, with a heart perfect toward God, seeking Him to your final breath. The God whose eyes search for the perfect heart is faithful to strengthen all who keep leaning on Him to the end.
Chapter in Review
Second Chronicles 16 records the sad decline of Asa, whose reign had begun so well. In his later years he relied on the king of Syria instead of the LORD, and Hanani the seer rebuked him, recalling how God had crushed the Ethiopians when Asa relied on Him, and declaring the great truth that "the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him." But Asa hardened, raging at the seer and oppressing some of the people, and even in his final, severe illness "he sought not to the LORD, but to the physicians." The chapter is a solemn warning that a strong beginning does not guarantee a faithful finish, that leaning on the arm of flesh forfeits the strength God longs to give, and that we must keep seeking the LORD with an undivided heart to the very end, as we are called to do in Christ.
Key Takeaways
- Do not lean on the arm of flesh. Asa trusted Syria instead of God and forfeited the victory God would have given.
- God's eyes seek the perfect heart. He searches the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are wholly devoted to Him.
- A good start needs a faithful finish. The Asa who once relied on God ended in self-reliance; endure to the end.
- Seek the LORD in every trial. Asa sought the physicians and not God; use the means God gives, but seek Him first and most.
- Keep the heart undivided. A "perfect" heart is a whole, loyal heart; guard it against drifting into self-trust.
Questions for Reflection
- Where are you tempted to lean on the "arm of flesh", money, people, power, rather than on God?
- Would God's searching eyes find in you a heart perfect, wholly devoted, toward Him?
- Are you as faithful now as when you first walked with God, or have you drifted toward self-reliance?
- In your trials and illnesses, do you seek the LORD, or only human help?
- Are you determined to finish your course seeking God with your whole heart, to the very end?
References
- Scripture: 2 Chronicles 16:1-14, King James Version (commentary focuses on verses 7-9 and 12).
- Cross-references: 2 Chronicles 14:11; Jeremiah 17:5-7; Matthew 24:13; Colossians 4:14; Hebrews 10:23.
- Hebrew word meanings: standard lexical sources (Strong's, BDB) for sha'an ("rely"), shalem ("perfect"), and darash ("sought"); background on Asa's later years and his conflict with Baasha.