1 Kings 15:19

19 "Let there be a treaty between you and me as there was between my father and your father. I am sending you a gift of silver and gold. Break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so he will leave my land."

1 Kings 15:19 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 15:19

There is a league between me and thee, and between my
father and thy father
For though Hezion, if he is the same with Rezon, was an adversary to Israel in the days of Solomon, ( 1 Kings 11:25 ) , yet it seems his son was not, but was a confederate with the kings of Israel and Judah:

behold, I have sent unto thee a present of silver and gold;
taken out of the treasury of the temple and his own treasury:

come and break thy league with Baasha king of Israel, that he may
depart from me;
it was sinful in him to take the money out of the temple, to which it was dedicated; it was more so to make use of it to bribe an Heathen to break his covenant and alliance with another, in order to serve him; in which he betrayed great distrust of the Lord, and of his power to help him; which was the more aggravated, when he had had such a wonderful appearance of God for him against the Ethiopians, see ( 2 Chronicles 16:7 2 Chronicles 16:8 ) .

1 Kings 15:19 In-Context

17 Baasha attacked Judah, and he made the town of Ramah strong so he could keep people from leaving or entering Judah, Asa's country.

18 Asa took the rest of the silver and gold from the treasuries of the Temple of the Lord and his own palace and gave it to his officers. Then he sent them to Ben-Hadad son of Tabrimmon, who was the son of Hezion. Ben-Hadad was the king of Aram and ruled in the city of Damascus. Asa said,

19 "Let there be a treaty between you and me as there was between my father and your father. I am sending you a gift of silver and gold. Break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so he will leave my land."

20 Ben-Hadad agreed with King Asa, so he sent the commanders of his armies to attack the towns of Israel. They defeated the towns of Ijon, Dan, and Abel Beth Maacah, as well as all Galilee and the area of Naphtali.

21 When Baasha heard about these attacks, he stopped building up Ramah and returned to Tirzah.