Deeper Commentary
1Ki 15:1 Now in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam the son of Nebat
began Abijam to reign over Judah-
Abijam means "father of the sea", but 'father of' can mean 'worshipper
of', as 'Abijah' means 'father / worshipper of Yah'. The sea god was
worshipped, and so we conclude this was reflective of pagan devotions. He is
called Abijah in 2 Chronicles, 'worshipper of Yah'. Having both a pagan and
Yahwistic name was typical of the times, and Maacah / Michaiah his mother
had a similar two names (see on :2). 2 Chron. 11:20-22 shows that Rehoboam
had 28 sons. Abijam wasn't the firstborn, but rather the firstborn son of
the favoured wife. Abijam had 38 children (2 Chron. 13:21), so he must have
been a reasonable age when he came to the throne.
1Ki 15:2 He reigned three years in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name was
Maacah the daughter of Abishalom-
Maachah, Rehoboam's beloved wife (2 Chron. 11:20-22) was an idolater (2
Chron. 15:16). She is called Michaiah in 2 Chron. 13:12, "Who is like
Jehovah?", but was known by her more pagan name Maachah, "oppression". She
was the granddaughter of Absalom, but "son" and "daughter" are used in
Hebrew with wide latitude.
The records of the kings so often mention their mothers, in reflection of the huge spiritual influence of a mother upon her children. The three years is a figure inclusive of parts of years, as he became king in the 18th year of Jeroboam's reign in Israel and died in his 20th year. "Three days / years" is often not a literal figure, and this must be recalled when considering the chronology of the Lord's three days in the tomb.
1Ki 15:3 He walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before
him; and his heart was not perfect with Yahweh his God, as the heart of
David his father-
And yet we read of Abijah's apparent devotion in :15 and 2 Chron.
13:10-12. The comment of 1 Kings 15:3 is that his heart wasn't perfect
with Yahweh as David's was. David clearly sinned and seems to have
suffered a decline in his ethics and spirituality as he got older. But he
was judged on the overall dominant desire of his heart, to the point that
having a heart perfect with Yahweh seems to effectively mean 'He was
wholeheartedly devoted to Yahweh and never worshipped other gods'. Whereas
Abijah, despite peaks of spirituality, did not have that total devotion to
Yahweh as the dominant position of his heart throughout his life. Whatever
peaks of obedience and devotion we may attain at points in our lives, it
is the overall core position of our heart which is judged. Men like David
may sin terribly at some points, those like Abijah may achieve wonderful
levels of devotion at some points. But those high or low points play no
major part in the final, unknowable equilibrium of Divine judgment. We
need to remember this, as we encounter our brethren and ponder what to
make of them, in their pits of sin and heights of devotion. Those points
on their graph ought not to unduly weight our overall position on them.
1Ki 15:4 Nevertheless for David’s sake, Yahweh his God gave him a lamp in
Jerusalem, to set up his son after him, and to establish Jerusalem-
The way God allowed David's dynasty to continue for nearly 400 years
therefore reflects
His deeply positive overall impression of David. See on :3. By
contrast, there were nine different dynasties in the ten tribe kingdom
over 250 years.
1Ki 15:5 because David had done that which was right in the eyes of Yahweh,
and didn’t turn aside from anything that He commanded him all the days of
his life, except only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite-
As noted on :3, David was seen as having had a perfect heart for
Yahweh all his days. The highs and lows of his graph were not unduly
significant in that overall judgment. But the matter of Uriah was so awful
that it did weigh heavily. I suggest this was because it had many ongoing
implications, and I have noted throughout the Psalms that David failed to
maintain his intensity of contrition about it, and came to rationalize it
as he entered older age.
These words must be given their due weight, as they would appear to imply that David's feeling of guilt and sin over taking the census in 2 Sam. 24:10 was therefore a case of a man taking false guilt. For it was allowable to take a census of Israel, although there was to be a half shekel tax paid at the time, which if not paid would result in plague (Ex. 30:12-15). Joab perhaps guessed that those numbered would not pay this and therefore the census would lead Israel into sin. This is why God chose the punishment of plague; not upon David, but upon Israel. Yet David perhaps realized all that, but knew that his lack of faith in wanting a census, his lack of consideration for the weakness of others, would lead them into sin and punishment. And therefore he felt guilty. It could be argued that his sacrifice atoned for himself and for the people, but they still suffered for not having paid the required "atonement money". But then we must balance against this the comment that "David had done that which was right in the eyes of Yahweh, and didn’t turn aside from anything that He commanded him all the days of his life, except only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite" (1 Kings 15:5). No mention is made of the matter of the census. There is true guilt, the guilt we should take for our actual sins; and false guilt, the guilt put on us by others and the malfunctioning of the human conscience. In this matter of David's guilt about the census, we may have an example of a man taking false guilt. The fact Israel and not David were punished with plague would rather confirm this. It may be impossible for us to sort out within us what is true guilt or false guilt, at least not be any intellectual process. But we can rest assured that all our guilt, of whatever kind, is met in the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus, the ultimate guilt offering.
1Ki 15:6 Now there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of
his life-
This would indicate disobedience to the command to Rehoboam not to
fight the ten tribes (1 Kings 12:24). The terrible sin and tragedy of
fighting ones own brethren is noted twice (also in 1 Kings 14:30).
1Ki 15:7 The rest of the acts of Abijam, and all that he did, aren’t they
written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? There was war
between Abijam and Jeroboam-
Again, the sin of fighting ones own brethren is stressed as in :6,16;
see on 1 Kings 12:24.
1Ki 15:8 Abijam slept with his fathers; and they buried him in the city of
David: and Asa his son reigned in his place-
One meaning of "Asa" is "physician", and he ended his days trusting
physicians rather than Yahweh. Perhaps he trained as a physician and ended
up therefore having more faith in science than in Yahweh.
1Ki 15:9 In the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel began Asa to
reign over Judah-
Far more information is given in 2 Chron. 14:1-16, where we learn
about the Ethiopian conflict, the prophecies of Azariah and Hanani and his
covenant with Syria.
1Ki 15:10 He reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name
was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom-
The reference seems to be to his grandmother Maachah, Rehoboam’s
favourite wife, who seems to have retained her position, perhaps because
Asa’s mother was dead. The word for "mother" here can specifically mean
'the queen mother', an official title.
1Ki 15:11 Asa did that which was right in the eyes of Yahweh, as did David
his father-
Asa is recorded as serving God just as well as David, when actually
this wasn't the case; but God counted him as righteous.
The incomplete faith of men like Baruch was counted as full faith by later
inspiration (Jud. 4:8,9 cp. Heb. 11:32). Sometimes the purges of idolatry
by the kings is described in undoubtedly exaggerated language- such was
God's joy that at least something was being done? As discussed on :3, Asa
was not perfect, nor was David; but God's overall judgment was that he
"did right", despite doing wrong at specific points in his life. Indeed as
noted on :23, Asa died at a low point for him spiritually. But the
judgment overall was that he "did right".
1Ki 15:12 He put away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the
idols that his fathers had made-
These sodomites were associated with the idol shrines (1 Kings
14:23,24). They may well have been Gentiles from Phoenicia, hence they
were expelled from the land rather than killed. They may well have been
involved with homosexual practices, but the Hebrew qadesh means
literally a devoted person.
1Ki 15:13 Also Maacah his mother he removed from being queen, because she
had made an abominable image for an Asherah; and Asa cut down her image,
and burnt it at the brook Kidron-
I suggested on :10 that this may refer to Maachah, Rehoboam’s
favourite wife, who seems to have retained her position, perhaps because
Asa’s mother was dead. The word for "mother" here can specifically mean
'the queen mother', an official title. The Lord Jesus may well have
recollected the bravery of this act when He crossed the Kidron just before
His final sacrifice.
1Ki 15:14 But the high places were not taken away: nevertheless the heart
of Asa was perfect with Yahweh all his days-
Asa and Jehoshaphat removed the high places, but in a sense they didn't
(1 Kings 15:14 cp. 2 Chron. 14:5; 17:6 cp. 20:33). We read of how the land
was purged of Baal, Sodomites etc.; but in a very short time, we read of
another purge being necessary. Partial cleansing of idolatry amounted to
no cleansing. Hezekiah, Manasseh and Josiah all made
major purges within a space of 80 years. Jeremiah therefore condemns the
Jews who lived at the time of Josiah's reformation for not knowing
God in their hearts. See on :18. Many a Western Christian has this very
same tendency. We too must ask ourselves whether our spirituality is
really just a product of the crowd mentality; as the crowd shouted one day
"Hosanna to the Son of David", a few days later they wanted Jesus to be
delivered rather than Barabbas, but within minutes they were persuaded to
cry for the crucifixion of the Son of God. Church life, Bible studies, the
breaking of bread... inevitably, there is a crowd mentality developed
here. There is a feeling of devotion which wells up within us as a
community, as an audience, as we sit there, as we stand in praise and
worship together. But the real spirituality is far deeper than
this. We must seriously ask whether our spirituality, our feelings of
devotion, our true repentance, are only stimulated by these
meetings?
1Ki 15:15 He brought into the house of Yahweh the things that his father
had dedicated, and the things that himself had dedicated, silver, and
gold, and vessels-
We note that Abijah did dedicate things to Yahweh, but as discussed
on :3, despite peaks of devotion and generosity, the dominant desire of
his heart was not to Yahweh. And it is this dominant desire which is
critically important to God.
1Ki 15:16 There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their
days-
Again, the sin of fighting ones own brethren is stressed as in :6,7;
see on 1 Kings 12:24.
1Ki 15:17 Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and built Ramah,
that he might not allow anyone to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah-
Ramah was a strategic point on the road which led to Jerusalem from
the north. He maybe particularly feared that his people were still
attracted to the idea of worship at the Jerusalem temple; for it seems it
was access to Jerusalem which he particularly wanted to cut off.
1Ki 15:18 Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the
treasures of the house of Yahweh, and the treasures of the king’s house,
and delivered them into the hand of his servants; and king Asa sent them
to Ben Hadad son of Tabrimmon son of Hezion, king of Syria, who lived at
Damascus, saying-
Benhadad was the grandson of Hezion, a name which uses similar
characters to Rezon who led the first attempted revival of Zobah and
Damascus (1 Kings 11:23) after David's victories against them in 2 Sam.
8:3-8.
Asa gathered the gold and silver vessels back into the temple- and then went and used them to make a political treaty. He apparently treated them as God's riches, but then in reality he used them as his own (1 Kings 15:18, 15). See on :14.
1Ki 15:19 There is a treaty between me and you, between my father and your
father. Behold, I have sent to you a present of silver and gold. Go, break
your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me-
The intent of the treaty, however, was that Benhadad would attack
Baasha (:20). Perhaps this was not stated specifically because Asa wanted
to give lip service obedience to the command not to fight with his own
brethren in (1 Kings 12:24. So the Lord's money was spent on effectively
getting others to fight their own brethren; and in essence the same can
happen today in church politics. We also see how fickle are relationships
when not governed by Divine principle; Benhadad's treaty with Baasha was
broken when money was received from a third party, and he not only trashed
the treaty but attacked him.
1Ki 15:20 Ben Hadad listened to king Asa, and sent the captains of his
armies against the cities of Israel, and struck Ijon, Dan, Abel Beth
Maacah and all Chinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali-
These cities were in the far north of Israel. It was an invasion of
the border area rather than of all Israel.
1Ki 15:21 It happened, when Baasha heard of it, that he left off building
Ramah, and lived in Tirzah-
Asa's plan appeared to have worked. Baasha stopped the attempted
blockade of Jerusalem. Even though Asa did wrong in how he used the Lord's
money / wealth, that isn't commented upon. It all seemed to work out. But
we are left, naturally, with the question as to whether this was right or
not.
1Ki 15:22 Then king Asa made a proclamation to all Judah; none was
exempted: and they carried away the stones of Ramah, and its timber, with
which Baasha had built; and king Asa built with them Geba of Benjamin and
Mizpah-
We see here the value of stones and timber and the huge amount of
labour needed to move them. This corroborates the way that Solomon's huge
demand for these things led him into debt financially (see on 1 Kings
9:14) and into abusing his people for labour.
1Ki 15:23 Now the rest of all the acts of Asa, and all his might, and all
that he did, and the cities which he built, aren’t they written in the
book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?-
These are the "fortified cities" of 2 Chron. 14:6. See on 1 Kings
16:27.
But in the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet-
The record of Asa here is far more positive than that in Chronicles.
For in 2 Chron. 16:12 we read that "his disease was exceeding great... yet
in his disease he sought not to the Lord, but to the physicians". As
discussed on :3,11, Asa was not perfect, nor was David; but God's overall
judgment was that he "did right in the eyes of Yahweh" (:11), despite
doing wrong at specific points in his life. Indeed it seems from 2 Chron.
26:12 that Asa died at a low point for him spiritually. But the
judgment overall was that he "did right". This surely affects our thinking
about those who die in the low point of suicide. This doesn't necessarily
preclude them from God's salvation.
1Ki 15:24 Asa slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in
the city of David his father; and Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his
place-
2 Chron. 16:14 gives far more information about the funeral: "They
buried him in his own sepulchres, which he had made for himself in the
city of David, and laid him in the bed which was filled with sweet odours
and divers kinds of spices prepared by the apothecaries’ art, and they
made a very great burning for him".
1Ki 15:25 Nadab the son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel in
the second year of Asa king of Judah; and he reigned over Israel two
years-
"Nadab" means "liberal". "Two years" means parts of two years, rather
than 24 months. Because his reign began in the second year of Asa and the
next king began reigning in Asa's third year.
1Ki 15:26 He did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh, and walked in
the way of his father, and in his sin with which he made Israel to sin-
If the "sin" in view were simply the worship of the golden calves, it
is hard to see how all Israel sinned in this; for not all worshipped them.
"His sin" may therefore refer to the sin of schism amongst God's people,
in which all Israel were involved, and the sin of division in that sense
therefore touched all Israel literally, including Judah.
1Ki 15:27 Baasha the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, conspired
against him; and Baasha struck him at Gibbethon, which belonged to the
Philistines; for Nadab and all Israel were laying siege to Gibbethon-
It appears that the prophet Jehu had apparently sanctioned what
Baasha did (1 Kings 14:1,2). But it was tragic that whilst fighting their
common enemy the Philistines, tribal jealousies led to God's people being
less effective and fighting amongst themselves. Jeroboam’s family were
from Ephraim (1 Kings 11:26), so perhaps there was a tribal jealousy
factor in someone from Issachar now trying to exterminate the whole family
of Jeroboam, and thereby found a new dynasty. The infighting amongst the
Israelites led to the siege being lifted, because in 1 Kings 16:15 we find
the siege resumed, and again a king of Israel is slain during a siege of
the same city. We see here how Biblical history intentionally repeats
itself. Situations repeat in our lives, so that we may learn from them.
And often we fail, as Israel did in this matter. Within a period of 25
years at the most, two kings of Israel (Nadab and Elah) were killed by
usurpers whilst the same city was being besieged.
1Ki 15:28 Even in the third year of Asa king of Judah, Baasha killed him,
and reigned in his place-
"Reigned" is literally 'to be made king', perhaps suggesting he was
anointed.
1Ki 15:29 As soon as he was king, he struck all the house of Jeroboam: he
didn’t leave to Jeroboam any who breathed, until he had destroyed him;
according to the saying of Yahweh which He spoke by His servant Ahijah the
Shilonite-
The fact this had been prophesied didn't mean it was the right thing
for him to do. We note the radical difference with David, who expressly
sought to show grace to the family of Saul the previous ruler- when the
usual thing was to destroy the family of the previous king.
1Ki 15:30 for the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned, and with which he made
Israel to sin, because of his provocation with which he provoked Yahweh
the God of Israel, to anger-
God can be grieved [s.w. 'provoke to anger']. He has emotions, and
His potential foreknowledge doesn't mean that these feelings are not
legitimate. They are presented as occurring in human time, as responses to
human behaviour. This is the degree to which He has accommodated Himself
to human time-space limits, in order to fully enter relationship and
experience with us. As He can limit His omnipotence, so God can limit His
omniscience, in order to feel and respond along with us.
1Ki 15:31 Now the rest of the acts of Nadab and all that he did, aren’t
they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?-
These comments suggest that this volume was available to the initial
audience. It seems that the school of the prophets in Babylonian exile had
access to the Old Testament scriptures, and I have often suggested that
under Divine inspiration, they rewrote and reapplied parts of them with
relevance for the exiles.
1Ki 15:32 There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their
days-
These notes about the conflict between Judah and Israel run as the
saddest refrain throughout the historical records; for the division
amongst God's people, and their conflicts, were the greatest tragedy for
God. The wars were all in defiance of His command not to do this (1 Kings
12:24).
1Ki 15:33 In the third year of Asa king of Judah, Baasha the son of Ahijah
began to reign over all Israel in Tirzah for twenty-four years-
It seems the capital of the ten tribes moved away from Shechem to
Tirzah, a location famed for its beauty (Song 6:4). These 24 years are
reckoning as usual that parts of years are whole years (1 Kings 15:33 cp.
1 Kings 16:8).
1Ki 15:34 He did evil in the sight of Yahweh, and walked in the way of
Jeroboam, and in his sin with which he made Israel to sin-
The eyes of Yahweh may refer specifically to His Angels (2 Chron. 16:9;
Zech. 4:10), who informed Yahweh, as it were, of human actions on earth.
Whilst God is omniscient and omnipotent, He always seems to prefer to work
through some human or Angelic mechanism.
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