Log inSign up

2 Chronicles 16 · a question people ask

Was Asa wrong to go to the physicians?

In the text

The verse's charge is about whom Asa sought: "His disease was exceedingly great; yet in his disease he didn’t seek the LORD, but just the physicians" (16:12). Seek is darash (tap seek), the word of the covenant in 15:12, "to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and with all their soul" (15:12), and of Azariah's word to Asa, "if you seek him, he will be found by you" (15:2). The chapter says nothing else about physicians, and these notes add nothing.

The verses

“In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa was diseased in his feet. His disease was exceedingly great; yet in his disease he didn’t seek the LORD, but just the physicians.”
2 Chronicles 16:12 · World English Bible
“He went out to meet Asa, and said to him, “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin! The LORD is with you while you are with him; and if you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.”
2 Chronicles 15:2 · World English Bible
“They entered into the covenant to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and with all their soul;”
2 Chronicles 15:12 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of 2 Chronicles 16

2 Chronicles 16: The LORD's eyes run back and forth

"The LORD’s eyes run back and forth throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him" (16:9) was spoken as a rebuke, to a king who had relied on Syria and not on the LORD. And the seer who said it was put in the prison for it (16:10).

In Favor, questions like this come up right where they arise as you read, with the Hebrew and Greek behind the words and how the chapter leads to Jesus.

Start your free week2 Chronicles 16 Bible study

First week free, then $10 a month per person

More questions about 2 Chronicles 16

All questions about 2 Chronicles →

The best way to learn the Bible

Favor opens up every chapter as you read.

Favor is a Bible study app for your phone or computer. It takes you through the Bible one chapter at a time, a few minutes a day, and shows you what's really there: the words behind the words, the moments most people miss, and how the whole story fits together. For you. For everyone.

  • Every chapter explains itself

    As you read, short notes open up what's really going on, the details most readers walk past, and the honest questions people ask.

  • The Hebrew and Greek behind it

    Tap a highlighted word to see the original, how to say it, and what it means, checked against the original-language texts.

  • Every page leads to Jesus

    Watch promises made in Genesis kept in Jesus. Each line lights up on your map as you read.

  • Better together

    Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together.

  1. 1

    Start your free week

    Sign up in a minute with your email.

  2. 2

    Read a few minutes a day

    Each chapter opens itself up as you go. Tap what you're curious about.

  3. 3

    Bring your people, if you like

    Send one link. Everyone reads the same chapter, then meets to talk.

Start your free week

First week free, then $10 a month per person

Questions like this, in every chapter

The best way to learn the Bible. For you. For everyone.

There's a seat for you at the table.

Start your free week

First week free, then $10 a month per person · Log in

Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions