CHAPTER 15

(951 B.C.)

THE SHORT, WICKED REIGN OF ABIJAM

¹Now in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam the son of Nebat reigned Abijam over Judah.

²Three years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mothers name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom. (In II Chron., Chpt. 11, it is stated that she was the daughter of Absalom; II Chron., Chpt. 13, states that she was the daughter of Uriel. In the Old Testament, there were no terms for granddaughter, etc. In fact, the terms for both daughter and granddaughter are identical. The Bible does not distinguish between the two. It seems that his mother was the daughter of the son-in-law of Absalom.)

³And he walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father (his heart not being right proclaims the fact that the Absalom spirit had its deadly effect on all whom it touched; once again, David is held up as the example of Righteousness).

⁴Nevertheless for Davids sake did the LORD his God give him a lamp in Jerusalem, to set up his son after him, and to establish Jerusalem (for Davids sake, the Blessings of the Lord would be given to Judah and Jerusalem; likewise, for Jesus sake, we, who deserve nothing, are given everything):

⁵Because David did that which was right in the Eyes of the LORD (it is not important regarding the eyes of man, but very important regarding the Eyes of the LORD; if all men smile and God frowns, the smile of man will serve little; if all men frown and God smiles, then all the frowns will not hinder), and turned not aside from anything that He (the Lord) com manded him all the days of his life, save only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. (This statement about Uriah proclaims the Grace of God and, at the same time, the anger of God against sin, which He cannot condone in any case. The only place for sin is at the foot of the Cross; nothing else will have any measurable impact.)

⁶And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life. (Israelites fighting each other is exactly what Satan desired. Regrettably, too much of the modern Church seems to follow suit.)

⁷Now the rest of the acts of Abijam, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam (Abijam evidently took up where his father Jeroboam left off).

⁸And Abijam slept with his fathers; and they buried him in the city of David: and Asa his son reigned in his stead. (In II Chron. 12:16, the kings name is recorded as Abijah; but the sacred affix Jah was very quickly changed by the Holy Spirit into the word jam. Such is the case in many a life; there is a fair start, but a foul ending! The first title means Jehovah is my Father; the second, the Sea is my Father. The Heavenly contrasted with an earthly birth the restless sea with the peace-filled Heaven.)

ASAS LONG REIGN

⁹And in the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel reigned Asa over Judah.

¹⁰And forty and one years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mothers name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom. (This is the same as Verse 2. Probably the best explanation is that she was the same one of Verse 2, and was actually the grandmother of Asa. There is no word for grandmother in the Hebrew language. She could have retained her position, maybe by force of character, or because Asas mother was dead.)

¹¹And Asa did that which was right in the Eyes of the LORD, as did David his father. (How refreshing it is to see a king over Judah spoken of by the Holy Spirit in this fashion!)

¹²And he took away the sodomites out of the land (what he did with them, we arent told), and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.

¹³And also Maachah his mother (grandmother), even her he removed from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove; and Asa destroyed her idol, and burnt it by the brook Kidron.

¹⁴But the high places were not removed: nevertheless Asas heart was perfect with the LORD all his days (the failure to remove the high places was brought out by the Holy Spirit for a reason; they were generally locations where altars to Jehovah were built and proper sacrifices offered; however, most of them were soon turned into idolatry, where every immoral act imaginable was practiced; we are given very little information, and it seems that the Holy Spirit absolved Asa of responsibility, considering what He says about him).

¹⁵And he brought in the things which his father had dedicated, and the things which himself had dedicated, into the House of the LORD, silver, and gold, and vessels (these were probably the spoils of the war with the Ethiopians [II Chron. 14:15; 15:11]).

WAR BETWEEN ASA AND BAASHA

¹⁶And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days (probably refers to hostility).

¹⁷And Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and built Ramah, that he might not suffer any to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.

¹⁸Then 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 kings house, and delivered them into the hand of his servants: and king Asa sent them to Ben-hadad, the son of Tabrimon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, who dwelt at Damascus, saying (Asas calling Ben-hadad to his aid was condemned by the Prophet, Hanani [II Chron. 16:7]),

¹⁹There is a league between me and you, and between my father and your father: behold, I have sent unto you a present of silver and gold; come and break your league with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me.

²⁰So Ben-hadad hearkened unto king Asa, and sent the captains of the hosts which he had against the cities of Israel, and smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abel-beth-maachah, and all Cinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali.

²¹And it came to pass, when Baasha heard thereof, that he left off building of Ramah, and dwelt in Tirzah.

²²Then king Asa made a proclamation throughout all Judah; none was exempted: and they took away the stones of Ramah, and the timber thereof, wherewith Baasha had built; and king Asa built with them Geba of Benjamin, and Mizpah.

ASAS DEATH

²³The rest of all the acts of Asa, and all his might, and all that he did, and the cities which he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? Nevertheless in the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet. (Old age refers to the time of his death. The Holy Spirit also signifies that his resorting to the physicians of that day was displeasing to the Lord [II Chron. 16:12]. Most physicians then functioned in the realm of demon spirits, hence the objection by the Holy Spirit. He didnt lose his soul by this act, but the implication is that he shortened his life.)

²⁴And 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 stead.

THE EVIL REIGN OF NADAB, KING OF ISRAEL

²⁵And Nadab the son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned over Israel two years.

²⁶And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin (idolatry) wherewith he (Jeroboam) made Israel to sin.

THE REIGN OF BAASHA, THIRD KING OF ISRAEL

²⁷And Baasha the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, conspired against him; and Baasha smote him at Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines; for Nadab and all Israel laid siege to Gibbethon. (Had Nadab attacked idolatry instead of attacking the Philistines, how different would have been his conclusion!)

²⁸Even in the third year of Asa king of Judah did Baasha kill him, and reigned in his stead.

²⁹And it came to pass, when he reigned, that he smote all the house of Jeroboam; he left not to Jeroboam any who breathed, until he had destroyed him, according unto the saying of the LORD, which He spoke by His servant Ahijah the Shilonite (14:10-14):

³⁰Because of the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned, and which he made Israel sin, by his provocation wherewith he provoked the LORD God of Israel to anger.

³¹Now the rest of the acts of Nadab, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

³²And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.

³³In the third year of Asa king of Judah began Baasha the son of Ahijah to reign over all Israel in Tirzah, twenty and four years.

³⁴And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin (idolatry) wherewith he (Jeroboam) made Israel to sin. (As the account, whether righteous or unrighteous, is inscribed by the Holy Spirit, and for all eternity, so it is with every person [Rev. 20:12-13].)