1 Kings 15:19

19 "Let there be a league between me and you, as between my father and your father: behold, I am sending to you a present of silver and gold; go, break your league with Ba'asha king of Israel, that he may withdraw from me."

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 Ba'asha king of Israel went up against Judah, and built Ramah, that he might permit no one to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.

18 Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king's house, and gave them into the hands of his servants; and King Asa sent them to Ben-ha'dad the son of Tabrim'mon, the son of He'zi-on, king of Syria, who dwelt in Damascus, saying,

19 "Let there be a league between me and you, as between my father and your father: behold, I am sending to you a present of silver and gold; go, break your league with Ba'asha king of Israel, that he may withdraw from me."

20 And Ben-ha'dad hearkened to King Asa, and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, and conquered Ijon, Dan, A'bel-beth-ma'acah, and all Chin'neroth, with all the land of Naph'tali.

21 And when Ba'asha heard of it, he stopped building Ramah, and he dwelt in Tirzah.