Listen, Jack, there was this king of Israel, King Asa, right? He was a good man, no malarkey, and he ruled his kingdom with justice and fairness. He got rid of all the idols and foreign gods his people had been worshipping and he made sure they only worshipped the Lord. He even got rid of his grandmother's idol, which was a pretty big deal back in those days.

But then King Baasha of the northern kingdom of Israel decided he wanted to go to war against Asa and Judah. So Asa made a deal with King Ben-Hadad of Aram and gave him some of the silver and gold from the temple and his palace. Ben-Hadad agreed to help Asa fight off Baasha.

So the two kings got together and defeated Baasha's army. Asa then took back all the cities in the northern kingdom that had been taken by Baasha, and he even tore down Baasha's fortress.

But Asa didn't stop there. He decided to fortify his own kingdom, so he built up the cities and put storage facilities in all the fortified cities. He also made a treaty with King Ben-Hadad, which lasted until the end of his reign.

My father used to say, "It's not how you start, but how you finish that matters." Well, King Asa finished strong, folks, and he was remembered as a good and just king. So see here, Jack, when you're in a tough spot, remember what King Asa did - he got help from his allies and did whatever it took to make sure his people were safe and secure.