ABIJAH KING OF JUDAH
ASA KING OF JUDAH
NADAB KING OF ISRAEL
BAASHA KING OF ISRAEL
Abijah King of Judah
Asa King of Judah
Nadab King of Israel
Baasha King of Israel
Text:
1 Kings 15:1-34,
1. In the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam son of Nebat, Abijah became king of Judah,
2. and he reigned in Jerusalem three years. His mother’s name was Maakah daughter of Abishalom.
3. He committed all the sins his father had done before him; his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his forefather had been.
4. Nevertheless, for David’s sake the LORD his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem by raising up a son to succeed him and by making Jerusalem strong.
5. For David had done what was right in the eyes of the LORD and had not failed to keep any of the LORD’s commands all the days of his life—except in the case of Uriah the Hittite.
6. There was war between Abijah and Jeroboam throughout Abijah’s lifetime.
7. As for the other events of Abijah’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? There was war between Abijah and Jeroboam.
8. And Abijah rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. And Asa his son succeeded him as king.
9. In the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa became king of Judah,
10. and he reigned in Jerusalem forty-one years. His grand-mother’s name was Maakah daughter of Abishalom.
11. Asa did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, as his father David had done.
12. He expelled the male shrine prostitutes from the land and got rid of all the idols his ancestors had made.
13. He even deposed his grandmother Maakah from her position as queen mother, because she had made a repulsive image for the worship of Asherah. Asa cut it down and burned it in the Kidron Valley.
14. Although he did not remove the high places, Asa’s heart was fully committed to the LORD all his life.
15. He brought into the temple of the LORD the silver and gold and the articles that he and his father had dedicated.
16. There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel throughout their reigns.
17. Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and fortified Ramah to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the territory of Asa king of Judah.
18. Asa then took all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of the LORD’s temple and of his own palace. He entrusted it to his officials and sent them to Ben-Hadad son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, the king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus.
19. “Let there be a treaty between me and you,” he said, “as there was between my father and your father. See, I am sending you a gift of silver and gold. Now break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so he will withdraw from me.”
20. Ben-Hadad agreed with King Asa and sent the commanders of his forces against the towns of Israel. He conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel Beth Maakah and all Kinnereth in addition to Naphtali.
21. When Baasha heard this, he stopped building Ramah and withdrew to Tirzah.
22. Then King Asa issued an order to all Judah—no one was exempt—and they carried away from Ramah the stones and timber Baasha had been using there. With them King Asa built up Geba in Benjamin, and also Mizpah.
23. As for all the other events of Asa’s reign, all his achievements, all he did and the cities he built, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? In his old age, however, his feet became diseased.
24. Then Asa rested with his ancestors and was buried with them in the city of his father David. And Jehoshaphat his son succeeded him as king.
25. Nadab son of Jeroboam became king of 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 the LORD, following the ways of his father and committing the same sin his father had caused Israel to commit.
27. Baasha son of Ahijah from the tribe of Issachar plotted against him, and he struck him down at Gibbethon, a Philistine town, while Nadab and all Israel were besieging it.
28. Baasha killed Nadab in the third year of Asa king of Judah and succeeded him as king.
29. As soon as he began to reign, he killed Jeroboam’s whole family. He did not leave Jeroboam anyone that breathed, but destroyed them all, according to the word of the LORD given through his servant Ahijah the Shilonite.
30. This happened because of the sins Jeroboam had committed and had caused Israel to commit, and because he aroused the anger of the LORD, the God of Israel.
31. As for the other events of Nadab’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?
32. There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel throughout their reigns.
33. In the third year of Asa king of Judah, Baasha son of Ahijah became king of all Israel in Tirzah, and he reigned twenty-four years.
34. He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, following the ways of Jeroboam and committing the same sin Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit. (NIV)
Introduction:
I. 1 Kings 15 provides information about the reigns of two (2) kings of Judah (Abijah and Asa) and two (2) kings of Israel (Nadab and Baasha).
A. Abijah was a son of Rehoboam, the immediate preceding king of Judah. (See Bromiley and Youngblood.)
1. His reign is dated circa 915-911 B.C.
2. During his reign hostilities against Israel continued with some success due in part to his alliance with the King of Damascus.
3. God did not look with favor on the reign of Abijah because he multiplied wives unto himself.
4. Abijah, even if he was tolerant toward pagan practices, did consider himself Jehovah’s appointed king as his speech in 2 Chronicles 13:4-12 indicates.
a. 2 Chronicles 13:4-12, Abijah stood on Mount
Zemaraim, in the hill country of Ephraim, and said, “Jeroboam and all Israel, listen to me! Don’t you know that the LORD, the God of Israel, has given the kingship of Israel to David and his descendants forever by a covenant of
salt? Yet Jeroboam son of Nebat, an official of Solomon son of David, rebelled against his master. Some worthless scoundrels gathered around him and opposed Rehoboam son of Solomon when he was young and indecisive and not strong enough to resist them. “And now you plan to resist the kingdom of the LORD, which is in the hands of David’s descendants. You are indeed a vast army and have with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made to be your gods. But didn’t you drive out the priests of the LORD, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and make priests of your own as the peoples of other lands do? Whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams may become a priest of what are not gods. “As for us, the LORD is our God, and we have not forsaken him. The priests who serve the LORD are sons of Aaron, and the Levites assist them. Every morning and evening they present burnt offerings and fragrant incense to the LORD. They set out the bread on the ceremonially clean table and light the lamps on the gold lampstand every evening. We are observing the requirements of the LORD our God. But you have forsaken him. God is with us; he is our leader. His priests with their trumpets will sound the battle cry against you. People of Israel, do not fight against the LORD, the God of your ancestors, for you will not succeed.” (NIV)
5. Abijah’s mother appears to have been Maacah, the granddaughter of Absalom (Abishalom).
a. 2 Chronicles 11:20, Then he married
Maa-kah daughter of Absalom, who bore him Abijah, Attai, Ziza and Shelomith. (NIV)
b. 2 Chronicles 13:2, and he reigned in
Jerusalem three years. His mother’s name was Maakah, a daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. There was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. (NIV)
B. Asa was the son of Abijah, the third (3rd) king of Judah, who reigned circa 911-870 B.C. (Bromiley and Youngblood) or 913-873 B.CE. (Hamilton).
1. The first ten (10) years of Asa’s reign were peaceful and prosperous during which time he led many religious reforms.
2. Asa won a significant victory over the Ethiopians. 3. His alliance with Ben-Hadad, King of Syria, against Israel produced problems for Asa in that, when Hanani rebuked Asa for relying on Ben-Hadad, he (Asa), im-prisoned the prophet.
4. In the thirty-ninth (39th ) year of his reign, Asa contracted a disease in his feet, but he consulted physicians rather than the Lord for healing.
a. Shortly thereafter he died and was buried in Jerusalem.
C. Nadab, the second (2nd) king of Israel, reigned circa 910-909 B.C. (Youngblood) or 901-900 B.CE. (Hamilton)
1. Nadab besieged Gibbethon during which Nadab was assassinated by his successor, Baasha.
2. Nadab’s father, Jeroboam I, ruled Israel 931/930 – 910/909 B.C. (Youngblood)
D. Baasha, a son of the commoner Ahijah, of the tribe of Issachar, was the third (3rd) king of Israel who reigned circa 909-885 or 900-877 B.CE. (Hamilton) which covered twenty-four (24) years. (Youngblood)
1. He came to the throne by assassinating Nadab, his predecessor.
2. He then murdered every member of Jeroboam’s royal house who might claim the throne.
3. Baasha waged war with Asa king of Judah and was able to gain control of traffic from the north to Jerusalem.
a. When attacked in the north by Ben-Hadad, Baasha withdrew to defend Israel against the Syrians.
II. 1 Kings 14:21-15:24 centers on the history of the kings of Judah concluding with the death of Asa. (The Pulpit Commentary)
A. Beginning with 1 Kings 15 the author goes back some forty (40) years and updates readers on the contemporary history of the kingdom of Israel.
1. The remainder of 1 Kings beginning with 15:25 centers, except for the last thirteen (13) verses of chapter 22, on the Kingdom of Israel.
2. None of these kings of Israel is mentioned in Chronicles, except as activities in the north were inextricably inter-related with events in the south.
3. The prime object of 2 Chronicles was to address the kings of Judah.
Commentary:
Abijah King of Judah
1 Kings 15:1, In the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam son of Nebat, Abijah became king of Judah, (NIV)
I. In the eighteenth (18th) year of the reign of Jeroboam son of Nebat, . . .
A. Rehoboam expired in the eighteenth (18th) year of Jeroboam’s reign.
B. Additional information about Rehoboam’s family is given in 2 Chronicles 12:1-16.
1. 2 Chronicles 12:1-16, After Rehoboam’s position as king was established and he had become strong, he and all Israel with him abandoned the law of the LORD. Because they had been unfaithful to the LORD, Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem in the fifth year of King Rehoboam. With twelve hundred chariots and sixty thousand horsemen and the innumerable troops of Libyans, Sukkites and Cushites that came with him from Egypt, he captured the fortified cities of Judah and came as
far as Jerusalem. Then the prophet Shemaiah came to Rehoboam and to the leaders of Judah who had assembled in Jerusalem for fear of Shishak, and he said to them, “This is what the LORD says, ‘You have abandoned me; therefore, I now abandon you to Shishak.’” The leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, “The LORD is just.” When the LORD saw that they humbled themselves, this word of the LORD came to Shemaiah: “Since they have humbled themselves, I will not destroy them but will soon give them deliverance. My wrath will not be poured out on Jerusalem through Shishak. They will, however, become subject to him, so that they may learn the difference between serving me and serving the kings of other lands.” When Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem, he carried off the treasures of the temple of the LORD and the treasures of the royal palace. He took everything, including the gold shields Solomon had made. So King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them and assigned these to the commanders of the guard on duty at the entrance to the royal palace. Whenever the king went to the LORD’s temple, the guards went with him, bearing the shields, and afterward they returned them to the guardroom. Because Rehoboam humbled himself, the LORD’s anger turned from him, and he was not totally destroyed. Indeed, there was some good in Judah. King Rehoboam established himself firmly in Jerusalem and continued as king. He was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the LORD had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel in which to put his Name. His mother’s name was Naamah; she was an Ammonite. He did evil because he had not
set his heart on seeking the LORD. As for the events of Rehoboam’s reign, from beginning to end, are they not written in the records of Shemaiah the prophet and of Iddo the seer that deal with genealogies? There was continual warfare between Rehoboam and Jeroboam. Rehoboam rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. And Abijah his son succeeded him as king. (NIV)
II. Abijah became king of Judah, . . .
A. Abijah became king of Judah upon the death of Rehoboam, his father.
B. According to Clarke, Abijah may not have been the eldest of Rehoboam’s twenty-eight (28) sons, but the eldest son of his favorite wife.
1. 2 Chronicles 11:20-22, Then he married Maakah daughter of Absalom, who bore him Abijah, Attai, Ziza and Shelomith. Rehoboam loved Maakah daughter of Absalom more than any of his other wives and concubines. In all, he had eighteen wives and sixty concubines, twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters. Rehoboam appointed Abijah son of Maakah as crown prince among his brothers, in order to make him king. (NIV)
C. Clarke further stated, “As he (Ahijah) left behind him thirty-eight (38) children at his decease some three (3) years later, he must have been of considerable age at his accession.”
1. 2 Chronicles 13:21, But Abijah grew in strength.
He married fourteen wives and had twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters. (NIV)
2. Abijah may have been forty-one (41) years of age when he became king over Judah.
1 Kings 15:2, and he reigned in Jerusalem three years. His mother’s name was Maakah daughter of Abishalom. (NIV)
I. and he reigned in Jerusalem three (3) years.
a. Coffman observed that Abijam’s (Abijah’s) three (3) years as king were simply a continuation of the policy of his father Rehoboam.
1. Abijah’s heart and actions were not right with God. 2. Long gives this as a reason for Abijah’s very short reign.
II. His mother’s name was Maacah (Michaiah) daughter (granddaughter) of Abishalom.
A. Maacah:
1. 2 Chronicles 13:2, and he reigned in Jerusalem
three years. His mother’s name was Maakah, a daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. There was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. (NIV)
2. 2 Chronicles 11:21, Rehoboam loved Maakah
daughter of Absalom more than any of his other wives and concubines. In all, he had eighteen wives
and sixty concubines, twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters. (NIV)
3. These verses can be reconciled by understanding that Tamar was doubtless married to Uriel, and Maachah was the fruit of this marriage. Josephus agreed with this explanation. (See Clarke.)
B. Coffman observed that the Jews referred to any female ancestor as mother and any male ancestor as father.
C. Abishalom is the same name as Absalom; but, as Absalom had only one daughter, Tamar, Maacah was probably his granddaughter.
1. 2 Samuel 14:27, Three sons and a daughter were
born to Absalom. His daughter’s name was Tamar, and she became a beautiful woman. (NIV)
1 Kings 15:3, He committed all the sins his father had done before him; his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his forefather had been. (NIV)
I. He (Abijah) committed all the sins his father (Rehoboam) had done before him; . . .
A. “Abijah (Abijam) was an idolater, and did not support the worship of the true god,” Clarke wrote.
1. “This appears to be the general meaning of the heart not being perfect with God,” Clarke stated.
a. 1 Kings 14:22, 25, Judah did evil in the eyes
of the LORD. By the sins they committed they stirred up his jealous anger more than those
who were before them had done. In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem. (NIV)
b. 2 Chronicles 13:10-12, “As for us, the LORD
is our God, and we have not forsaken him. The priests who serve the LORD are sons of Aaron, and the Levites assist them. Every morning and evening they present burnt offerings and fragrant incense to the LORD. They set out the bread on the ceremonially clean table and light the lamps on the gold lampstand every evening. We are observing the requirements of the LORD our God. But you have forsaken him. God is with us; he is our leader. His priests with their trumpets will sound the battle cry against you. People of Israel, do not fight against the LORD, the God of your ancestors, for you will not succeed.” (NIV)
II. his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his forefather (great grandfather) had been.
A. David is consistently given as the standard of devotion to God by which the kings of Judah are measured.
1. 1 Kings 11:33, 38,I will do this because they have forsaken me and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Molek the god of the Ammonites, and have not walked in obedience to me, nor done what is right in my eyes, nor kept my decrees and laws as David, Solomon’s father, did. If you do whatever I command you and walk in obedience to me and do what is right in my eyes by obeying my decrees and
commands, as David my servant did, I will be with you. I will build you a dynasty as enduring as the one I built for David and will give Israel to you. (NIV)
2. 1 Kings 14:8, I tore the kingdom away from the
house of David and gave it to you, but you have not been like my servant David, who kept my commands and followed me with all his heart, doing only what was right in my eyes. (NIV)
B. On the other hand, Jeroboam is repeatedly cited as the record holder for wickedness and idolatry.
1 Kings 15:4, Nevertheless, for David’s sake the LORD his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem by raising up a son to succeed him and by making Jerusalem strong. (NIV)
I. Nevertheless, for David’s sake the Lord his God gave him a lamp (progeny) in Jerusalem by raising up a son to succeed him and by making Jerusalem strong.
A. In spite of the wickedness of many of those who sat on the throne of David, God kept his word and kept a lamp burning (a ruler on the throne of David) in Jerusalem.
1. 1 Kings 11:36, I will give one tribe to his son so
that David my servant may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to put my Name. (NIV)
2. 2 Samuel 7:12-16, When your days are over and
you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who
will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’” (NIV)
3. David’s lineage remained intact through whom the eternal king, Christ Jesus, came into the world.
a. Genesis 12:3, I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” (NIV)
b. Coffman noted that on occasion Israel was worse than Sodom and Gomorrah, but the Lord tolerated them until the Christ entered the world. 4. Cook via Coffman observed that David’s dynasty lasted for almost four (4) centuries, but in the Northern Kingdom there were nine (9) changes in dynasties in two hundred fifty (250) years which showed that God supported the Davidic dynasty.
5. Here, Clarke stated, “a lamp” refers to a son to succeed him.
a. 1 Kings 11:36, I will give one tribe to his son
so that David my servant may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to put my Name. (NIV)
b. Psalm 132:17, “Here I will make a horn
grow for David and set up a lamp for my anointed one. (NIV)
6. That the long lasting dynasty of David continuing for nearly four hundred (400) years was of God is clearly seen when compared with the Northern Kingdom which had nine (9) families on the throne within two hundred fifty (250) years. (The Pulpit Commentary)
1 Kings 15:5, For David had done what was right in the eyes of the LORD and had not failed to keep any of the LORD’s commands all the days of his life—except in the case of Uriah the Hittite. (NIV)
I. For David had done what was right in the eyes of the Lord and had not failed to keep any of the Lord’s commands all the days of his life—. . .
A. David truly sought to do God’s will and to live in keeping with his commands.
B. He succeeded in this to a remarkable degree. II. except in the case of Uriah the Hittite.
A. “David was righteous, but not perfect,” Long wrote.
B. the grievous sin of David regarding Uriah and Bathsheba followed David to his grave and continues to stain his
remembrance until this present day some three thousand (3,000) years later.
1. 2 Samuel 11:1-27, In the spring, at the time when
kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem. One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.) Then she went back home. The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.” So David sent this word to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent him to David. When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were and how the war was going. Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him. But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master’s servants and did not go down to his house. David was told, “Uriah did not go home.” So he asked Uriah, “Haven’t you just come from a military campaign? Why didn’t you go home?” Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my commander Joab and my lord’s men are camped in the open country. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and make love to my wife? As surely as you
live, I will not do such a thing!” Then David said to him, “Stay here one more day, and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. At David’s invitation, he ate and drank with him, and David made him drunk. But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his mat among his master’s servants; he did not go home. In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. In it he wrote, “Put Uriah out in front where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die.” So while Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest defenders were. When the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, some of the men in David’s army fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite died. Joab sent David a full account of the battle. He instructed the messenger: “When you have finished giving the king this account of the battle, the king’s anger may flare up, and he may ask you, ‘Why did you get so close to the city to fight? Didn’t you know they would shoot arrows from the wall? Who killed Abimelek son of Jerub-Besheth? Didn’t a woman drop an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died in Thebez? Why did you get so close to the wall?’ If he asks you this, then say to him, ‘Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.’” The messenger set out, and when he arrived he told David everything Joab had sent him to say. The messenger said to David, “The men overpowered us and came out against us in the open, but we drove them back to the entrance of the city gate. Then the archers shot arrows at your servants from the wall, and some of the king’s men died. Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.” David told the
messenger, “Say this to Joab: ‘Don’t let this upset you; the sword devours one as well as another. Press the attack against the city and destroy it.’ Say this to encourage Joab.” When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the LORD. (NIV)
C. Hittites had anciently migrated to northern Syria and Canaan from Asia Minor.
D. David’s sins regarding Bathsheba and Uriah were the only flagrant sins in David’s life and of these he repented with deep sorrow.
1. Psalm 51:1-9, Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place. Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. (NIV)
1 Kings 15:6, There was war between Abijah and Jeroboam throughout Abijah’s lifetime. (NIV)
I. There was war (hostility) between Abijah and Jeroboam throughout Abijah’s lifetime.
A. 2 Chronicles 13:3-21, Abijah went into battle with an
army of four hundred thousand able fighting men, and Jeroboam drew up a battle line against him with eight hundred thousand able troops. Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim, in the hill country of Ephraim, and said, “Jeroboam and all Israel, listen to me! Don’t you know that the LORD, the God of Israel, has given the kingship of Israel to David and his descendants forever by a covenant of salt? Yet Jeroboam son of Nebat, an official of Solomon son of David, rebelled against his master. Some worthless scoundrels gathered around him and opposed Rehoboam son of Solomon when he was young and indecisive and not strong enough to resist them. “And now you plan to resist the kingdom of the LORD, which is in the hands of David’s descendants. You are indeed a vast army and have with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made to be your gods. But didn’t you drive out the priests of the LORD, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and make priests of your own as the peoples of other lands do? Whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams may become a priest of what are not gods. “As for us, the LORD is our God, and we have not forsaken him. The priests who serve the LORD are sons of Aaron, and the Levites assist them. Every morning and evening they present burnt offerings and fragrant incense to the LORD. They set out the bread on the ceremonially clean table and light the lamps on the gold lampstand every evening. We are observing the requirements of the LORD our God. But you have
forsaken him. God is with us; he is our leader. His priests with their trumpets will sound the battle cry against you. People of Israel, do not fight against the LORD, the God of your ancestors, for you will not succeed.” Now Jeroboam had sent troops around to the rear, so that while he was in front of Judah the ambush was behind them. Judah turned and saw that they were being attacked at both front and rear. Then they cried out to the LORD. The priests blew their trumpets and the men of Judah raised the battle cry. At the sound of their battle cry, God routed Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. The Israelites fled before Judah, and God delivered them into their hands. Abijah and his troops inflicted heavy losses on them, so that there were five hundred thousand casualties among Israel’s able men. The Israelites were subdued on that occasion, and the people of Judah were victorious because they relied on the LORD, the God of their ancestors. Abijah pursued Jeroboam and took from him the towns of Bethel, Jeshanah and Ephron, with their surrounding villages. Jeroboam did not regain power during the time of Abijah. And the LORD struck him down and he died. But Abijah grew in strength. He married fourteen wives and had twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters. (NIV)
B. 1 Kings 14:30, There was continual warfare between
Rehoboam and Jeroboam. (NIV)
C. A continual spirit of hostility existed between the two (2) kingdoms and frequent skirmishes persisted. (See Clarke.)
a. 1 Kings 12:24, ‘This is what the LORD says:
Do not go up to fight against your brothers, the Israelites. Go home, every one of you, for this is my doing.’” So they obeyed the word of the LORD and went home again, as the LORD had ordered. (NIV)
D. There is evidence, Clarke observed, that in verse 6 above, the correct reading is Abijah rather than Rehoboam, but The Pulpit Commentary regards this as an emendation.
1. 2 Chronicles 13:1-20, In the eighteenth year of the
reign of Jeroboam, Abijah became king of Judah, and he reigned in Jerusalem three years. His mother’s name was Maakah, a daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. There was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. Abijah went into battle with an army of four hundred thousand able fighting men, and Jeroboam drew up a battle line against him with eight hundred thousand able troops. Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim, in the hill country of Ephraim, and said, “Jeroboam and all Israel, listen to me! Don’t you know that the LORD, the God of Israel, has given the kingship of Israel to David and his descendants forever by a covenant of salt? Yet Jeroboam son of Nebat, an official of Solomon son of David, rebelled against his master. Some worthless scoundrels gathered around him and opposed Rehoboam son of Solomon when he was young and indecisive and not strong enough to resist them. “And now you plan to resist the kingdom of the LORD, which is in the hands of David’s descendants. You are indeed a vast army and have with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made to be your gods. But didn’t you drive out the priests of
the LORD, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and make priests of your own as the peoples of other lands do? Whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams may become a priest of what are not gods. “As for us, the LORD is our God, and we have not forsaken him. The priests who serve the LORD are sons of Aaron, and the Levites assist them. Every morning and evening they present burnt offerings and fragrant incense to the LORD. They set out the bread on the ceremonially clean table and light the lamps on the gold lampstand every evening. We are observing the requirements of the LORD our God. But you have forsaken him. God is with us; he is our leader. His priests with their trumpets will sound the battle cry against you. People of Israel, do not fight against the LORD, the God of your ancestors, for you will not succeed.” Now Jeroboam had sent troops around to the rear, so that while he was in front of Judah the ambush was behind them. Judah turned and saw that they were being attacked at both front and rear. Then they cried out to the LORD. The priests blew their trumpets and the men of Judah raised the battle cry. At the sound of their battle cry, God routed Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. The Israelites fled before Judah, and God delivered them into their hands. Abijah and his troops inflicted heavy losses on them, so that there were five hundred thousand casualties among Israel’s able men. The Israelites were subdued on that occasion, and the people of Judah were victorious because they relied on the LORD, the God of their ancestors. Abijah pursued Jeroboam and took from him the towns of Bethel, Jeshanah and Ephron, with their surrounding villages.
Jeroboam did not regain power during the time of Abijah. And the LORD struck him down and he died. (NIV)
2. Rehoboam here can mean “the house of Rehoboam.” 3. The smoldering hostility broke into actual war upon the death of Rehoboam.
a. 2 Chronicles 13:3-20, Abijah went into battle
with an army of four hundred thousand able fighting men, and Jeroboam drew up a battle line against him with eight hundred thousand able troops. Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim, in the hill country of Ephraim, and said, “Jeroboam and all Israel, listen to me! Don’t you know that the LORD, the God of Israel, has given the kingship of Israel to David and his descendants forever by a covenant of salt? Yet Jeroboam son of Nebat, an official of Solomon son of David, rebelled against his master. Some worthless scoundrels gathered around him and opposed Rehoboam son of Solomon when he was young and indecisive and not strong enough to resist them. “And now you plan to resist the kingdom of the LORD, which is in the hands of David’s descendants. You are indeed a vast army and have with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made to be your gods. But didn’t you drive out the priests of the LORD, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and make priests of your own as the peoples of other lands do? Whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams may become a priest of what
are not gods. “As for us, the LORD is our God, and we have not forsaken him. The priests who serve the LORD are sons of Aaron, and the Levites assist them. Every morning and evening they present burnt offerings and fragrant incense to the LORD. They set out the bread on the ceremonially clean table and light the lamps on the gold lampstand every evening. We are observing the requirements of the LORD our God. But you have forsaken him. God is with us; he is our leader. His priests with their trumpets will sound the battle cry against you. People of Israel, do not fight against the LORD, the God of your ancestors, for you will not succeed.” Now Jeroboam had sent troops around to the rear, so that while he was in front of Judah the ambush was behind them. Judah turned and saw that they were being attacked at both front and rear. Then they cried out to the LORD. The priests blew their trumpets and the men of Judah raised the battle cry. At the sound of their battle cry, God routed Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. The Israelites fled before Judah, and God delivered them into their hands. Abijah and his troops inflicted heavy losses on them, so that there were five hundred thousand casualties among Israel’s able men. The Israelites were subdued on that occasion, and the people of Judah were victorious because they relied on the LORD, the God of their ancestors. Abijah pursued Jeroboam and took from him the towns of Bethel, Jeshanah and Ephron, with their surrounding villages. Jeroboam did not regain power during the
time of Abijah. And the LORD struck him down and he died. (NIV)
1 Kings 15:7, As for the other events of Abijah’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? There was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. (NIV)
I. As for the other events of Abijah’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah?
A. The annals of the kings of Judah and Israel appear to have been official governmental records in which royal acts were documented.
1. These records were uninspired, known to exist by the general population, but have long since vanished.
II. There was war between Abijah and Jeroboam.
A. This is essentially a repeat of what is said in verse 6 above.
1. See the explanatory notes above under verse 6.
B. There was civil war, conflict, hostilities during the reigns of Rehoboam, Jeroboam and Ahijah.
1. The Northern and Southern kingdoms just didn’t get along at all well.
1 Kings 15:8, And Abijah rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. And Asa his son succeeded him as king. (NIV)
I. And Abijah rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David.
A. After the toils and tribulations of life, death is a “rest” from all of this earth’s troubles.
II. And Asa his son (or brother) succeeded him as king. A. David’s dynasty (lamp) continues in Jerusalem.
B. Comparatively speaking, Asa was one of the better kings of Judah in regard to his heart being right with God, the measuring stick, the standard of judgment used in 1 and 2 Kings.
Asa King of Judah
1 Kings 15:9, In the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa became king of Judah, (NIV)
I. In the twentieth (20th) year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa (physician) became king of Judah, . . .
A. Wicked king Jeroboam reigned during the entire reigns of Rehoboam and Abijah and into the second (2nd) year of Asa’s reign.
1. Jeroboam reigned twenty-two (22) years. 2. Rehoboam reigned seventeen (17) years. 3. Abijah reigned three (3) years.
1 Kings 15:10, and he reigned in Jerusalem forty-one years. His grand-mother’s name was Maakah daughter of Abishalom. (NIV)
I. and he reigned in Jerusalem forty-one (41) years.
A. At forty-one years on the throne, Asa reigned longer, by a year, than either David or Solomon and much longer than Jeroboam, Rehoboam, Abijah, Nadab and Baasha!
1. Asa reigned slightly longer than either David or Solomon and he saw eight (8) kings on the throne of Israel; viz. Jeroboam, Nadab, Baasha, Elah, Zimri, Tibni, Omri, and Ahab. (See The Pulpit Commentary.) II. His grandmother’s name was Maacah, daughter of Abishalom (Absalom).
A. The term “daughter” is variously used in the Old Testament to refer to granddaughters, nieces and great granddaughters. (Clarke)
B. The Pulpit Commentary suggests the best explanation for the mention of Maacah here is that she retained her position as queen mother into Asa’s reign.
1 Kings 15:11, Asa did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, as his father David had done. (NIV)
I. Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as his father (great, great grandfather) David had done.
1. This is remarkable when the facts that his father, Abijah, was hypocritical and his grandmother, Maacah, was an idolater are considered. (See Hamilton.) The Pulpit Commentary agrees.)
1 Kings 15:12, He expelled the male shrine prostitutes from the land and got rid of all the idols his ancestors had made. (NIV)
I. He expelled the male shrine prostitutes from the land and got rid of all the idols his fathers had made.
A. Asa, one of the good kings of Judah, was an active reformer who sought to restore faithful service to Jehovah. B. The King James Version uses Sodomites (literally: the holy or consecrated ones) in place of male shrine prostitutes which would lead to the conclusion that these prostitutes were homosexuals which the Bible lists among detestable practices.
1. 1 Kings 14:24, There were even male shrine
prostitutes in the land; the people engaged in all the detestable practices of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites. (NIV)
2. Romans 1:23-27, And changed the glory of the
uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile
affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. (KJV)
3. This abomination again appeared at a later time.
a. 1 Kings 22:46, He rid the land of the rest of
the male shrine prostitutes who remained there even after the reign of his father Asa. (NIV)
C. Idols were expelled from the land, a highly commendable act by Asa.
1. Deuteronomy 29:17, for they have committed
adultery and blood is on their hands. They committed adultery with their idols; they even sacrificed their children, whom they bore to me, as food for them. (NIV)
2. Ezekiel 23:37, for they have committed adultery
and blood is on their hands. They committed adultery with their idols; they even sacrificed their children, whom they bore to me, as food for them. (NIV)
1 Kings 15:13, He even deposed his grandmother Maakah from her position as queen mother, because she had made a repulsive image for the worship of Asherah. Asa cut it down and burned it in the Kidron Valley. (NIV)
I. He even deposed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother, because . . .
A. The position of Queen Mother was one of major influence, “a very distinctive office in Jewish government.”
1. 2 Kings 8:26, Ahaziah was twenty-two years old
when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem one year. His mother’s name was Athaliah, a granddaughter of Omri king of Israel. (NIV)
2. 2 Kings 10:13, he met some relatives of Ahaziah
king of Judah and asked, “Who are you?” They said, “We are relatives of Ahaziah, and we have come down to greet the families of the king and of the queen mother.” (NIV)
3. 2 Kings 11:1-16, When Athaliah the mother of
Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to destroy the whole royal family. But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram and sister of Ahaziah, took Joash son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the royal princes, who were about to be murdered. She put him and his nurse in a bedroom to hide him from Athaliah; so he was not killed. He remained hidden with his nurse at the temple of the LORD for six years while Athaliah ruled the land. In the seventh year Jehoiada sent for the commanders of units of a hundred, the Carites and the guards and had them brought to him at the temple of the LORD. He made a covenant with them and put them under oath at the temple of the LORD. Then he showed them the king’s son. He commanded them, saying, “This is what you are to do: You who are in the three companies that are
going on duty on the Sabbath—a third of you guarding the royal palace, a third at the Sur Gate, and a third at the gate behind the guard, who take turns guarding the temple— and you who are in the other two companies that normally go off Sabbath duty are all to guard the temple for the king. Station yourselves around the king, each of you with weapon in hand. Anyone who approaches your ranks is to be put to death. Stay close to the king wherever he goes.” The commanders of units of a hundred did just as Jehoiada the priest ordered. Each one took his men—those who were going on duty on the Sabbath and those who were going off duty—and came to Jehoiada the priest. Then he gave the commanders the spears and shields that had belonged to King David and that were in the temple of the LORD. The guards, each with weapon in hand, stationed themselves around the king— near the altar and the temple, from the south side to the north side of the temple. Jehoiada brought out the king’s son and put the crown on him; he presented him with a copy of the covenant and proclaimed him king. They anointed him, and the people clapped their hands and shouted, “Long live the king!” When Athaliah heard the noise made by the guards and the people, she went to the people at the temple of the LORD. She looked and there was the king, standing by the pillar, as the custom was. The officers and the trumpeters were beside the king, and all the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets. Then Athaliah tore her robes and called out, “Treason! Treason!” Jehoiada the priest ordered the commanders of units of a hundred, who were in charge of the troops: “Bring her out between the ranks and put to the sword
anyone who follows her.” For the priest had said, “She must not be put to death in the temple of the LORD.” So they seized her as she reached the place where the horses enter the palace grounds, and there she was put to death. (NIV)
4. 2 Kings 24:12, Jehoiachin king of Judah, his
mother, his attendants, his nobles and his officials all surrendered to him. In the eighth year of the reign of the king of Babylon, he took Jehoiachin prisoner. (NIV)
B. Deposing his grandmother attests to his full dedication to God at this time in his career.
II. she had made a repulsive Asherah pole.
A. Asherah was in ancient mythology believed to be the mother of seventy (70) different gods including Baal.
1. She was also called by the title, “She who walks on the sea.”
B. Asherah was a Syrian and Phoenician goddess of the moon, sexual love, and fertility (Youngblood) worshiped in connection with a trimmed tree (pole).
III. Asa cut the pole down and burned it in the Kidron Valley.
A. The Kidron Valley was on the eastern slope of Jerusalem through which a seasonal brook of the same name runs.
1. 2 Kings 23:4, 6, The king ordered Hilkiah the high
priest, the priests next in rank and the doorkeepers to remove from the temple of the LORD all the
articles made for Baal and Asherah and all the starry hosts. He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron Valley and took the ashes to Bethel. He took the Asherah pole from the temple of the LORD to the Kidron Valley outside Jerusalem and burned it there. He ground it to powder and scattered the dust over the graves of the common people. (NIV)
1 Kings 15:14, Although he did not remove the high places, Asa’s heart was fully committed to the LORD all his life. (NIV)
I. Although he did not remove the high places, Asa’s heart was fully committed to the Lord all his life.
A. Coffman wrote, “The idolatry . . . was already so deeply entrenched and supported by popular opinion that King Asa was powerless to do anything about it.”
B. Long holds that Asa’s failure to remove the high places was a black mark on his reign.
1. Later kings will be assessed in part on whether or not they removed the idolatrous high places. (See Long.)
a. 1 Kings 22:44, Jehoshaphat was also at peace
with the king of Israel. (NIV)
b. 2 Kings 12:3, The high places, however, were
not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there. (NIV)
c. 2 Kings 14:4, The high places, however, were
not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there. (NIV)
d. 2 Kings 16:4, He offered sacrifices and
burned incense at the high places, on the hilltops and under every spreading tree. (NIV)
2. Hezekiah and Josiah, exceptionally good kings, did remove the high places. (See Long.)
a. 2 Kings 18:4, He removed the high places,
smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. (It was called Nehushtan.) (NIV)
b. 2 Kings 23:8, 13, 15, 19, Josiah brought all the priests from the towns of Judah and desecrated the high places, from Geba to Beersheba, where the priests had burned incense. He broke down the gateway at the entrance of the Gate of Joshua, the city governor, which was on the left of the city gate. The king also desecrated the high places that were east of Jerusalem on the south of the Hill of Corruption—the ones Solomon king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the vile goddess of the Sidonians, for Chemosh the vile god of Moab, and for Molek the detestable god of the people of Ammon. Even the altar at Bethel, the high place made by Jeroboam son of Nebat, who had caused Israel to sin—even that altar and high place he demolished. He burned the
high place and ground it to powder, and burned the Asherah pole also. Just as he had done at Bethel, Josiah removed all the shrines at the high places that the kings of Israel had built in the towns of Samaria and that had aroused the LORD’s anger. (NIV)
C. Jehoshaphat, Asa’s son, continued the reformation Asa had begun.
D. The Pulpit Commentary states that Asa removed some of the high places, as many as he reasonably could, but that he did not succeed in removing all of them.
1. As here, a well known Eastern idiom puts the whole for the part.
E. Asa’s heart was fully committed to God all the days of his life.
1. 2 Chronicles 15:17, Although he did not remove
the high places from Israel, Asa’s heart was fully committed to the LORD all his life. (NIV)
2. 1 Kings 16:7-12, Moreover, the word of the LORD
came through the prophet Jehu son of Hanani to Baasha and his house, because of all the evil he had done in the eyes of the LORD, arousing his anger by the things he did, becoming like the house of Jeroboam—and also because he destroyed it. In the twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Judah, Elah son of Baasha became king of Israel, and he reigned in Tirzah two years. Zimri, one of his officials, who had command of half his chariots, plotted against him. Elah was in Tirzah at the time, getting drunk
in the home of Arza, the palace administrator at Tirzah. Zimri came in, struck him down and killed him in the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah. Then he succeeded him as king. As soon as he began to reign and was seated on the throne, he killed off Baasha’s whole family. He did not spare a single male, whether relative or friend. So Zimri destroyed the whole family of Baasha, in accordance with the word of the LORD spoken against Baasha through the prophet Jehu— (NIV)
3. Clearly, no one, not even those whose hearts are fully committed to God, are perfect!
1 Kings 15:15, He brought into the temple of the LORD the silver and gold and the articles that he and his father had dedicated. (NIV)
1. He brought into the temple of the Lord the silver and gold and the articles that he and his father had dedicated.
A. “It is surprising that Abijam (Abijah) had made any dedications to the Lord; but the explanation is found in 2 Chronicles 14:9-15. God had given him a victory over Jeroboam. Asa’s dedications were probably those which he pledged following his victory over the Cushites in the eleventh (11th) year of his reign.”
1. 2 Chronicles 14:9-15, Zerah the Cushite marched
out against them with an army of thousands upon thousands and three hundred chariots, and came as far as Mareshah. Asa went out to meet him, and they took up battle positions in the Valley of Zephathah near Mareshah. Then Asa called to the LORD his God and said, “LORD, there is no one
like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, LORD our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army. LORD, you are our God; do not let mere mortals prevail against you.” The LORD struck down the Cushites before Asa and Judah. The Cushites fled, and Asa and his army pursued them as far as Gerar. Such a great number of Cushites fell that they could not recover; they were crushed before the LORD and his forces. The men of Judah carried off a large amount of plunder. They destroyed all the villages around Gerar, for the terror of the LORD had fallen on them. They looted all these villages, since there was much plunder there. They also attacked the camps of the herders and carried off droves of sheep and goats and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem. (NIV)
2. Smith wrote, “About 900 B.C. Judah was invaded by a vast host led by Zerah the Ethiopian. Asa met the invader in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. Yahweh routed the Ethiopians before Asa. Much plunder was carried away.”
a. 2 Chronicles 14:9-15, Zerah the Cushite marched
out against them with an army of thousands upon thousands and three hundred chariots, and came as far as Mareshah. Asa went out to meet him, and they took up battle positions in the Valley of Zephathah near Mareshah. Then Asa called to the LORD his God and said, “LORD, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, LORD our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army. LORD, you are our God; do not let mere mortals
prevail against you.” The LORD struck down the Cushites before Asa and Judah. The Cushites fled, and Asa and his army pursued them as far as Gerar. Such a great number of Cushites fell that they could not recover; they were crushed before the LORD and his forces. The men of Judah carried off a large amount of plunder. They destroyed all the villages around Gerar, for the terror of the LORD had fallen on them. They looted all these villages, since there was much plunder there. They also attacked the camps of the herders and carried off droves of sheep and goats and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem. (NIV)
1 Kings 15:16, There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel throughout their reigns. (NIV)
I. There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel throughout their reigns.
A. Asa and Baasha were rival contemporary kings, Asa in Judah and Baasha in Israel.
B. During the first ten (10) years of his reign, which were characterized by peace and prosperity, Asa greatly strengthened his army.
1. 2 Chronicles 14:1-8, And Abijah rested with his
ancestors and was buried in the City of David. Asa his son succeeded him as king, and in his days the country was at peace for ten years. Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God. He removed the foreign altars and the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He commanded Judah to seek the
LORD, the God of their ancestors, and to obey his laws and commands. He removed the high places and incense altars in every town in Judah, and the kingdom was at peace under him. He built up the fortified cities of Judah, since the land was at peace. No one was at war with him during those years, for the LORD gave him rest. “Let us build up these towns,” he said to Judah, “and put walls around them, with towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours, because we have sought the LORD our God; we sought him and he has given us rest on every side.” So they built and prospered. Asa had an army of three hundred thousand men from Judah, equipped with large shields and with spears, and two hundred and eighty thousand from Benjamin, armed with small shields and with bows. All these were brave fighting men. (NIV)
C. This state of hostility, enmity continued during the twenty-four (24) years in which Baasha and Asa were contemporary rulers, Smith wrote.
1. Open war erupted, Clark wrote, in the thirty-sixth (36th) year of Asa’s reign when Baasha sought to gain control of Ramah.
1 Kings 15:17, Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and fortified Ramah to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the territory of Asa king of Judah. (NIV)
1. Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and fortified Ramah. . .
A. Ramah (high places) was situated in the heart of the territory of Benjamin five (5) miles north of Jerusalem. (Coffman)
1. This was a very hostile and threatening action by Baasha to which Asa was obligated to respond.
2. Left unanswered, this could eventually lead to the total overthrow of Judah.
B. This attack, aggressive military action, on Ramah was so serious that Asa had no choice but to respond decisively.
1. Smith dates this incursion into Judah/Ramah at 894 B.C.
C. The Pulpit Commentary stated that the point of this fortification of Ramah was to control the road to Jerusalem and stop citizens of the Northern Kingdom from defecting to the South or even going to Jerusalem to worship.
1. 2 Chronicles 15:9, Then he assembled all Judah
and Benjamin and the people from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon who had settled among them, for large numbers had come over to him from Israel when they saw that the LORD his God was with him. (NIV)
II. to prevent any one from leaving or entering the territory of Asa king of Judah.
A. Baasha intended to block ingress and egress from the north into Judah’s territory and to gain control of as much territory ruled by Asa as possible. (See Smith.)
1. 2 Chronicles 15:19, There was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign. (NIV)
2. 2 Chronicles 16:1, In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s
reign Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and fortified Ramah to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the territory of Asa king of Judah. (NIV)
3. 1 Kings 16:8-9, In the twenty-sixth year of Asa
king of Judah, Elah son of Baasha became king of Israel, and he reigned in Tirzah two years. Zimri, one of his officials, who had command of half his chariots, plotted against him. Elah was in Tirzah at the time, getting drunk in the home of Arza, the palace administrator at Tirzah. (NIV(
B. Reconciliation of the chronology of these events as given in 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles, according to Clarke, may be achieved by considering the possibility of the presence of copyists’ errors and/or reckoning the time from the division of the kingdom rather than from the beginning of Asa’s reign.
1. 2 Chronicles 15:19, There was no more war until
the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign. (NIV)
2. 2 Chronicles 16:1, In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s
reign Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and fortified Ramah to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the territory of Asa king of Judah. (NIV)
3. 1 Kings 16:1,Then the word of the LORD came to Jehu son of Hanani concerning Baasha: (NIV)
4. 1 Kings 15:10, 17, and he reigned in Jerusalem
forty-one years. His grandmother’s name was Maakah daughter of Abishalom. Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and fortified Ramah to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the territory of Asa king of Judah. (NIV)
1 Kings 15:18, Asa then took all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of the LORD’s temple and of his own palace. He entrusted it to his officials and sent them to Ben-Hadad son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, the king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus. (NIV)
I. Asa then took all the silver and gold that was left in the Lord’s temple and of his own palace.
A. 2 Kings 12:18, But Joash king of Judah took all the
sacred objects dedicated by his predecessors— Jehoshaphat, Jehoram and Ahaziah, the kings of Judah— and the gifts he himself had dedicated and all the gold found in the treasuries of the temple of the LORD and of the royal palace, and he sent them to Hazael king of Aram, who then withdrew from Jerusalem. (NIV)
B. 2 Kings 16:8, And Ahaz took the silver and gold found
in the temple of the LORD and in the treasuries of the royal palace and sent it as a gift to the king of Assyria. (NIV)
C. 2 Kings 18:15, So Hezekiah gave him all the silver that
was found in the temple of the LORD and in the treasuries of the royal palace. (NIV)
D. 2 Kings 24:13, As the LORD had declared,
of the LORD and from the royal palace, and cut up the gold articles that Solomon king of Israel had made for the temple of the LORD. (NIV)
E. 2 Kings 25:13-17, The Babylonians broke up the
bronze pillars, the movable stands and the bronze Sea that were at the temple of the LORD and they carried the bronze to Babylon. They also took away the pots, shovels, wick trimmers, dishes and all the bronze articles used in the temple service. The commander of the imperial guard took away the censers and sprinkling bowls—all that were made of pure gold or silver. The bronze from the two pillars, the Sea and the movable stands, which Solomon had made for the temple of the LORD, was more than could be weighed. Each pillar was eighteen cubits high. The bronze capital on top of one pillar was three cubits high and was decorated with a network and pomegranates of bronze all around. The other pillar, with its network, was similar. (NIV)
F. Long points to this as another “black mark” on the reign of Asa.
G. The continuing presence of this treasure indicates that Shishak had not taken all the treasure and/or other valuables which had been brought into the treasury.
II. He entrusted it to his officials and sent them to Ben-Hadad (the son of the sun) son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion (Rezon), the king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus.
A. The prophet Hanani condemned Asa for this lack of confidence in the Lord and severely rebuked him for relying on Ben-Hadad (Coffman) rather than solely on God.
1. 2 Chronicles 16:7-10, At that time Hanani the seer
came to Asa king of Judah and said to him: “Because you relied on the king of Aram and not on the LORD your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand. Were not the Cushites and Libyans a mighty army with great numbers of chariots and horsemen? Yet when you relied on the LORD, he delivered them into your hand. For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war.” Asa was angry with the seer because of this; he was so enraged that he put him in prison. At the same time Asa brutally oppressed some of the people. (NIV)
2. Asa sought a human, political solution to his problem rather than a divine resolution.
B. Ben-Hadad reigned circa 885-870 B.C. (Hamilton) over an area known as Syria or Mesopotamia, the capital of which was Damascus located northeast of the Sea of Galilee.
1. Hadad was the Syrian storm god (similar to the Canaanite Baal) and Aramean kings would often be referred to as Ben-Hadad, that is, ‘son of Hadad.’
2. The king here was the first Aramean ruler to be designated by the name Ben-Hadad.
a. 1 Kings 20:1-22, Now Ben-Hadad king of
Aram mustered his entire army. Accompanied by thirty-two kings with their horses and chariots, he went up and besieged Samaria and attacked it. He sent messengers into the city to
