1
Abijam began to rule over Judah in the eighteenth year of Jeroboam’s reign in Israel.
2
He reigned in Jerusalem three years. His mother was Maacah, the granddaughter of Absalom.
3
He committed the same sins as his father before him, and he was not faithful to the LORD his God, as his ancestor David had been.
4
But for David’s sake, the LORD his God allowed his descendants to continue ruling, shining like a lamp, and he gave Abijam a son to rule after him in Jerusalem.
5
For David had done what was pleasing in the LORD ’s sight and had obeyed the LORD ’s commands throughout his life, except in the affair concerning Uriah the Hittite.
6
There was war between Abijam and Jeroboam throughout Abijam’s reign.
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.