1 Kings 15

This chapter belongs to the section of 1 Kings that, after the division of the kingdom, alternates between accounts of the kings of Judah in the south and of Israel in the north. Chapter 15 follows 1 Kings 14, which records the death of Rehoboam and the prophecy against the house of Jeroboam.

Outline

• Verses 1–8 In the eighteenth year of Jeroboam, Abijam becomes king of Judah and reigns three years. He walks in the sins of his father. Even so, for David's sake God leaves a "lamp" in Jerusalem.
• Verses 9–15 In the twentieth year of Jeroboam, Asa becomes king and reigns forty-one years. He expels the male cult prostitutes (KJV "sodomites") and removes the idols. He deposes Maachah from her position as queen mother because she had made an Asherah image. The high places (local sites of sacrifice), however, are not removed.
• Verses 16–22 When Baasha king of Israel builds up Ramah, Asa sends the silver and gold of the temple and the royal palace to Ben-hadad king of Aram, seeking an alliance. When Ben-hadad attacks northern Israel, Baasha halts construction. Asa then uses the materials to build up Geba and Mizpah.
• Verses 23–24 In his old age Asa is diseased in his feet; after his death his son Jehoshaphat succeeds him.
• Verses 25–31 Nadab son of Jeroboam reigns two years. Baasha kills Nadab at Gibbethon and destroys the entire house of Jeroboam. The text records that this happened in accordance with the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite.
• Verses 32–34 Baasha reigns twenty-four years in Tirzah and walks in the way of Jeroboam.

Key Verses

• 1 Kings 15:4 "Nevertheless for David's sake did the LORD his God give him a lamp in Jerusalem." The continuation of the dynasty despite a king's failure is grounded in the Davidic covenant.
• 1 Kings 15:14 "But the high places were not removed." This reflects the characteristic evaluative pattern of Kings, which commends a reform while also noting its limits.
• 1 Kings 15:29 The destruction of the house of Jeroboam is recorded as the fulfillment of prophecy.

People and Places

• Abijam: Son of Rehoboam and the second king of Judah.
• Maachah: Daughter of Abishalom. Abishalom is commonly identified with Absalom.
• Asa: The third king of Judah.
• Jeroboam, David, Uriah
• Nadab: Son of Jeroboam and king of Israel.
• Baasha: Son of Ahijah of the tribe of Issachar; he killed Nadab and became king. This Ahijah is a different person from the prophet Ahijah of Shiloh.
• Ben-hadad: King of Aram, who dwelt in Damascus.
• Ramah, Geba, Mizpah: Towns in the territory of Benjamin on the border between Judah and Israel.
• Tirzah: The royal city of northern Israel where Baasha resided.
• Gibbethon: A town belonging to the Philistines.

Points for Reflection

• Maachah is named both as the mother of Abijam (v. 2) and as the mother of Asa (v. 10). Many commentators take "mother" in the latter instance to mean grandmother, that is, queen mother. However, 2 Chronicles 13:2 names the mother of Abijam (Abijah) as "Michaiah the daughter of Uriel," so interpretations differ.
• 2 Chronicles 14–16 gives a fuller account of Asa. Two episodes appear only in 2 Chronicles (2 Chronicles 16:7–12): Hanani the seer's rebuke of the alliance with Aram, and Asa's seeking physicians rather than the LORD when his feet were diseased. Whereas Kings evaluates Asa positively, 2 Chronicles portrays his final years critically. Readers should keep this difference in mind when reading the two accounts together.
• Scholars harmonize the accession dates (the eighteenth and twentieth years; two years and three years) in different ways, depending on how they reconstruct the reckoning of regnal years in that period.
• Abijam (Abijah) and Asa are listed in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1 (Matthew 1:7–8).
• The account of Baasha's end continues in 1 Kings 16 with the prophecy of Jehu son of Hanani.

In the Korean Church

Asa's eradication of idolatry is cited as an example in sermons on spiritual reform. His alliance with Aram is cited together with 2 Chronicles 16 in sermons contrasting reliance on human help with reliance on God.