Reflections on 1 Kings 15

1 Kings 15 (Contemporary English Version)

1. Abijam became king of Judah in Jeroboam's eighteenth year as king of Israel,
   
2. and he ruled from Jerusalem for three years. His mother was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom.
   
3. Abijam did not truly obey the LORD his God as his ancestor David had done. Instead, he was sinful just like his father Rehoboam.
   
4. David had always obeyed the LORD's commands by doing right, except in the case of Uriah. And since Abijam was David's great-grandson, the LORD kept Jerusalem safe and let Abijam have a son who would be the next king.
   
5. (SEE 15:4)
   
6. The war that had broken out between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continued during the time that Abijam was king. Everything else Abijam did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Judah.
   
7. (SEE 15:6)
   
8. Abijam died and was buried in Jerusalem, and his son Asa became king.
   
9. Asa became king of Judah in the twentieth year of Jeroboam's rule in Israel,
   
10. and he ruled forty-one years from Jerusalem. His grandmother was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom.
    
11. Asa obeyed the LORD, as David had done.
    
12. He forced the prostitutes at the shrines to leave the country, and he got rid of the idols his ancestors had made.
    
13. His own grandmother Maacah had made an idol of Asherah, and Asa took it and burned it in Kidron Valley. Then he removed Maacah from her position as queen mother.
    
14. As long as Asa lived, he was completely faithful to the LORD, even though he did not destroy the local shrines.
    
15. He placed in the temple all the silver and gold objects that he and his father had dedicated to the LORD.
    
16. Asa was always at war with King Baasha of Israel.
    
17. One time, Baasha invaded Judah and captured the town of Ramah. He started making the town stronger, so he could put troops there to stop people from going in and out of Judah.
    
18. When Asa heard about this, he took the silver and gold from his palace and from the LORD's temple. He gave it to some of his officials and sent them to Damascus with this message for King Benhadad of Syria:
    
19. "Our fathers signed a peace treaty. Why don't we do the same thing? This silver and gold is a present for you. So, would you please break your treaty with Baasha and force him to leave my country?"
    
20. Benhadad did what Asa asked and sent the Syrian army into Israel. They captured the towns of Ijon, Dan, and Abel-Bethmaacah, and the territories of Chinneroth and Naphtali.
    
21. When Baasha heard about it, he left Ramah and went back to Tirzah.
    
22. Asa ordered everyone in Judah to carry away the stones and wood Baasha had used to strengthen the town of Ramah. Then he used these same stones and wood to fortify the town of Geba in the territory of Benjamin and the town of Mizpah.
    
23. Everything else Asa did while he was king, including his victories and the towns he rebuilt, is written in The History of the Kings of Judah. When he got older, he had a foot disease.
    
24. Asa died and was buried in the tomb of his ancestors in Jerusalem. His son Jehoshaphat then became king.
    
25. Nadab son of Jeroboam became king of Israel in Asa's second year as king of Judah, and he ruled two years.
    
26. Nadab disobeyed the LORD by following the evil example of his father, who had caused the Israelites to sin.
    
27. Baasha son of Ahijah was from the tribe of Issachar, and he made plans to kill Nadab. When Nadab and his army went to attack the town of Gibbethon in Philistia, Baasha killed Nadab there. So in the third year of Asa's rule, Baasha became king of Israel.
    
28. (SEE 15:27)
    
29. The LORD's prophet Ahijah had earlier said, "Not one man or boy in Jeroboam's family will be left alive." And, as soon as Baasha became king, he killed everyone in Jeroboam's family,
    
30. because Jeroboam had made the LORD God of Israel angry by sinning and causing the Israelites to sin.
    
31. Everything else Nadab did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Israel.
    
32. King Asa of Judah and King Baasha of Israel were always at war.
    
33. Baasha son of Ahijah became king of Israel in Asa's third year as king of Judah, and he ruled twenty-four years from Tirzah.
    
34. Baasha also disobeyed the LORD by acting like Jeroboam, who had caused the Israelites to sin.
    

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The accounts of 1 Kings proceed now to go through a succession of kings both in Judah and in Israel. To follow the narrative chronologically one must keep in mind that the writer follows each kingdom chronologically in a back and forth fashion. He follows the king or kings of one kingdom for a while and then switches over to the other kingdom. In switching to the other kingdom he will pick up where he left off when last giving account of that kingdom. So in chapter 15 the list of kings mentioned between the two kingdoms looks like this:

   Judah            Israel            
  Abijam            (Jeroboam)
  Asa                 Nadab
                         Baasha

Verse 1 of chapter 15 picks up with Abijam taking the throne in Judah. He became king in the 18th year of Jeroboam's rule in Israel, though Jeroboam is not a part of the narrative in this chapter. He is mention because of his sinful influence on his son Nadab who is first mentioned in verse 26 of the chapter. Abijam had a short reign of only three years which was no doubt due to the fact that he "walked in all the sins his father had done before him, and he was not completely devoted to the LORD his God as his ancestor David had been." (15:3) When Abijam died, the Lord allowed his son Asa to succeed him, but only because of the Lord's commitment to David, Abijam's ancester, who "did what was right in the LORD's eyes." (15:5) not because of anything Abijam's had done.

Abijam's son Asa was one of the eight good kings in Judah's history. He became king in Judah near the end of Jeroboam's rule in Israel. Asa ruled 41 years and "did what was right in the LORD's eyes, as his ancestor David had done." (15:11) He brought spiritual reform in Judah by banishing "male shrine prostitutes from the land and removed all of the idols that his fathers had made." (15:12) He went so far as to remove his grandmother as queen mother because of her Asherah idol. One thing Asa failed to do, however, was to remove the high places of worship which were a violation of the Lord's covenant with Israel. They were to worship the Lord only in His temple. Nevertheless, Asa's heart is said to be "completely with the LORD his entire life." (15:14)

When Jeroboam, king of Israel died, his son Nadab succeeded him. This was in the second year of Asa's reign in Judah.  Nadab reigned for only two years and was as evil as his father Jeroboam. Nadab's death came as a result of a conspiracy by Baasha who killed him during a battle between Israel and the Philistines. Baasha then took Nadab's place as king and immediately cleaned house by killing "the entire house of Jeroboam." (15:29) This was a fulfillment of a prophecy made to Jeroboam by the prophet Ahijah: "I am about to bring disaster on the house of Jeroboam: I will eliminate all of Jeroboam's males, both slave and free, in Israel; I will sweep away the house of Jeroboam as one sweeps away dung until it is all gone! (14:10) Though Baasha was used to fulfill this prophecy against Jeroboam, he was just as wicked.

Throughout this whole period, from the reigns of Rehoboam in Judah and Jeroboam in Israel and down through the reigns to this point, there was war between the two kingdoms. Israel never again saw the glory of her days under the rule of David and Solomon. Even though there were a few good kings thereafter, such as Asa, Israel's glory could not be recovered. The main benefit brought by the good kings was stability.