1 Kings 15

The Reign of Abijam in Judah

1 In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam the son of Nebat, Abijam began to reign over Judah.

2 Three years he reigned in Jerusalem. The name of his mother [was] Maacah the daughter of Abishalom.

3 He walked in all the sins of his father that he had done before him, and his heart was not fully with Yahweh his God as the heart of David his father.

4 For the sake of David, Yahweh his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, by establishing his son after him and by causing Jerusalem to exist;

5 because David did right in the eyes of Yahweh and he didn't turn aside from all that he commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.

6 There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life.

7 The remainder of the acts of Abijam and all that he did, are they not written in the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah? There was also war between Abijam and Jeroboam.

8 Abijam slept with his ancestors, and they buried him in the city of David, and Asa his son became king in his place.

The Reign of Asa in Judah

9 In the twentieth year of Jeroboam the king of Israel, Asa became the king of Judah.

10 He reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother [was] Maacah the daughter of Abishalom.

11 Asa did right in the eyes of Yahweh, like David his ancestor.

12 He put away the male shrine prostitutes from the land, and he removed all of the idols that his ancestors made.

13 Also, he had Maacah his mother removed from the office of queen mother, [as] she had made a repulsive image for the Asherah. Asa also cut down her repulsive image and burned it in the Wadi Kidron.

14 But the high places he did not remove. Nevertheless, the heart of Asa was completely with Yahweh all of his days.

15 He brought the holy objects of his father and his [own] holy objects to the house of Yahweh, silver and gold and utensils.

16 There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all of their days.

17 Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and he built Ramah {to hinder the coming and going of anyone to Asa} king of Judah.

18 Asa took all of the silver and gold remaining in the storerooms of the house of Yahweh and in the treasury rooms of the house of the king, and he gave them into the hand of his servants; so King Asa sent them to Ben-Hadad the son of Tabrimmon the son of Hezion, the king of Aram, who lived in Damascus, saying,

19 "[Let there be] a covenant between me and you, between my father and your father. Look, I have sent you a gift of silver and gold. Go, break your covenant with Baasha king of Israel that he may go up [away] from me."

20 Ben-Hadad listened to King Asa, and he sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel and he attacked Ijon, Dan, Abel-Beth-Maacah, and all of Kinnereth, in addition to all the land of Naphtali.

21 When Baasha heard, he stopped building Ramah, and he lived in Tirzah.

22 Then King Asa proclaimed among all of Israel that there was no one free from obligation, so they carried the stones of Ramah and its wood with which Baasha had built, and King Asa rebuilt Geba in Benjamin with them, and the Mizpah.

23 The remainder of the acts of Asa, all of his achievements, all that he did, and the cities which he built, are they not written in the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah? But at the time of his old age, {he developed a foot disease}.

24 Asa slept with his ancestors and was buried with his ancestors in the city of David his ancestor; Jehoshaphat his son became king in his place.

The Reign of Nadab in Israel

25 Nadab the son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel two years.

26 He did evil in the eyes of Yahweh, and he walked in the way of his father and in his sin that he caused Israel to commit.

27 Baasha son of Ahijah of the house of Issachar conspired against him, and Baasha struck him down at Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines. Now Nadab and all of Israel [were] laying siege to Gibbethon,

28 and Baasha killed him in the third year of Asa the king of Judah, and he reigned in his place.

29 It happened that as soon as he became king, he killed all of the house of Jeroboam. There was no one left of Jeroboam who breathed, until he had destroyed him according to the word of Yahweh that he had spoken by the hand of his servant, Ahijah the Shilonite,

30 because of the sins of Jeroboam that he had committed and that he had caused Israel to commit [and] because of his anger [with] which he had provoked Yahweh the God of Israel.

31 Now the remainder of the acts of Nadab and all that he did, [are] they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?

The Reign of Baasha in Israel

32 There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.

33 In the third year of Asa king of Judah, Baasha son of Ahijah had become king over all of Israel; [he lived] in Tirzah twenty-four years.

34 He did evil in the eyes of Yahweh, and he walked in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin that he caused Israel to commit.

1 Kings 15 Commentary

Chapter 15

Wicked reign of Abijam, king of Judah. (1-8) Good reign of Asa, king of Judah. (9-24) The evil reigns of Nadab and Baasha in Israel. (25-34)

Verses 1-8 Abijam's heart was not perfect with the Lord his God; he wanted sincerity; he began well, but he fell off, and walked in all the sins of his father, following his bad example, though he had seen the bad consequences of it. David's family was continued as a lamp in Jerusalem, to maintain the true worship of God there, when the light of Divine truth was extinguished in all other places. The Lord has still taken care of his cause, while those who ought to have been serviceable thereto have lived and perished in their sins. The Son of David will still continue a light to his church, to establish it in truth and righteousness to the end of time. There are two kinds of fulfilling the law, one legal, the other by the gospel. Legal is, when men do all things required in the law, and that by themselves. None ever thus fulfilled the law but Christ, and Adam before his fall. The gospel manner of fulfilling the law is, to believe in Christ who fulfilled the law for us, and to endeavour in the whole man to obey God in all his precepts. And this is accepted of God, as to all those that are in Christ. Thus David and others are said to fulfil the law.

Verses 9-24 Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. That is right indeed which is so in God's eyes. Asa's times were times of reformation. He removed that which was evil; there reformation begins, and a great deal he found to do. When Asa found idolatry in the court, he rooted it out thence. Reformation must begin at home. Asa honours and respects his mother; he loves her well, but he loves God better. Those that have power are happy when thus they have hearts to use it well. We must not only cease to do evil, but learn to do well; not only cast away the idols of our iniquity, but dedicate ourselves and our all to God's honour and glory. Asa was cordially devoted to the service of God, his sins not arising from presumption. But his league with Benhadad arose from unbelief. Even true believers find it hard, in times of urgent danger, to trust in the Lord with all their heart. Unbelief makes way for carnal policy, and thus for one sin after another. Unbelief has often led Christians to call in the help of the Lord's enemies in their contests with their brethren; and some who once shone brightly, have thus been covered with a dark cloud towards the end of their days.

Verses 25-34 During the single reign of Asa in Judah, the government of Israel was in six or seven different hands. Observe the ruin of the family of Jeroboam; no word of God shall fall to the ground. Divine threatenings are not designed merely to terrify. Ungodly men execute the just judgments of God upon each other. But in the midst of dreadful sins and this apparent confusion, the Lord carries on his own plan: when it is fully completed, the glorious justice, wisdom, truth, and mercy therein displayed, shall be admired and adored through all the ages of eternity.

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "fathers"
• [b]. Or "father"
• [c]. Or "fathers"
• [d]. Or "valley"; a wadi is a valley that is dry most of the year, but contains a stream during the rainy season
• [e]. Literally "to not give going and coming to Asa"
• [f]. Literally "he became ill in his feet"
• [g]. Or "fathers"
• [h]. Or "fathers"
• [i]. Or "father"

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO 1 KINGS 15

In this chapter we have a short history of the reign of Abijam, 1Ki 15:1-8 and of Asa, 1Ki 14:9-24, both kings of Judah; and of the reigns of Nadab the son of Jeroboam, and of Baasha, who destroyed his family, both kings of Israel, 1Ki 15:25-34.