1 Kings 15:16-24 Correction!

 “Now there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. And Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah, and built Ramah, that he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. Then Asa took all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of the house of the Lord and the treasuries of the king’s house, and delivered them into the hand of his servants. And King Asa sent them to Ben-Hadad the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, who dwelt in Damascus, saying, “Let there be a treaty between you and me, as there was between my father and your father. See, I have sent you a present of silver and gold. Come and break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me.” So Ben-Hadad heeded King Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel. He attacked Ijon, Dan, Abel Beth Maachah, and all Chinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali. Now it happened, when Baasha heard it, that he stopped building Ramah, and remained in Tirzah. Then King Asa made a proclamation throughout all Judah; none was exempted. And they took away the stones and timber of Ramah, which Baasha had used for building; and with them King Asa built Geba of Benjamin, and Mizpah. The rest of all the acts of Asa, all his might, 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? But in the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet. So Asa rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David his father. Then Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place.” I Kings‬ ‭15‬:‭16‬-‭24‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah, and built Ramah, that he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah: This continues the struggle for dominance between the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. Baasha gained the upper hand in the days of Asa because he effectively blocked a main route into Judah at the city of Ramah. He hoped this military and economic pressure on Judah would force Asa into significant concessions.

b. Asa took all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of the house of the LORD and the treasuries of the king’s house: Asa used this treasure to buy the favor of Ben-Hadad of Syria, so that he would withdraw support from Israel. Apparently, Baasha of Israel could not stand against Judah by himself - he needed the backing of Syria.

i. 2 Chronicles 16:7-10 tells us that God was not pleased by this, and delivered this word by the prophet Hanani: “Because you have relied on the king of Syria, and have not relied on the LORD your God, therefore the army of the king of Syria has escaped from your hand. Were the Ethiopians and the Lubim not a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet, because you relied on the LORD, He delivered them into your hand. For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. In this you have done foolishly; therefore from now on you shall have wars” (2 Chronicles 16:7-9).

ii. Sadly, Asa did not respond to this word properly. Then Asa was angry with the seer, and put him in prison, for he was enraged at him because of this. And Asa oppressed some of the people at that time(2 Chronicles 16:10). Asa shows us the tragedy of a man who rules well and seeks the LORD for many years, yet fails in a significant challenge of his faith and then refuses to hear God’s correction.

iii. “Wherein he committed three great faults, amongst many others. First, He alienated things consecrated to God without necessity. Secondly, He did this out of carnal fear and distrust of that God whose power and goodness he had lately experienced. Thirdly, He did this for an ill intent, to hire him to the breach of his league and covenant with Baasha, and to take away part of that land which by right, and the special gift of God, belonged to the Israelites.” (Poole)

c. The rest of all the acts of Asa… are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah: 2 Chronicles 14-16provides many more details regarding the reign of Asa.

· He encouraged national piety: He commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fathers, and to observe the law and the commandment. (2 Chronicles 14:4).

· He built fortified cities and presided over a long period of peace (2 Chronicles 14:6).

· In response to Asa’s prayer, God defeated a huge Ethiopian army that came against Judah (2 Chronicles 14:9-13).

· He had an encouraging word from the prophet Azariah that encouraged him to continue his reforms (2 Chronicles 15:1-9).

· Asa led a national re-commitment to the covenant (2 Chronicles 15:10-15).

d. But in the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet: 2 Chronicles gives us the more complete analysis: his malady was severe; yet in his disease he did not seek the LORD, but the physicians.(2 Chronicles 16:12). This happened after he refused to hear God’s word of correction through Hanani the seer.

i. Some think that Asa’s foot ailment was gout, “but gout was uncommon in Palestine and ancient Egypt and it is more likely, in view of Asa’s age, the severity of the disease and death within two years, to have been a peripheral obstructive vascular disease with ensuing gangrene” (Wiseman).

ii. Morgan on Asa: “It is the record of a faulty life, but one in which the deepest thing, that of desire, was right; and so it is the record of a life, the influence of which was a blessing rather than a curse. It is a revealing story.”

iii. All in all, Asa was a good man who did not finish well. The last years of his life were marked by unbelief, hardness against God, oppression against his people, and disease. Age and time do not necessarily make us better; they only do if we continue to follow God in faith.

iv. “Jeremiah 41:9 refers to a pit (or cistern) made by Asa ‘for fear of Baasha king of Israel.’ God would thus, in this incidental way, remind us by this late and last historical notice of King Asa what was the beginning of his decline – ‘the fear of man, which bringeth a snare.’” (Knapp)

(Guzik)

Correction!

King Asa, “fails in a significant challenge of his faith and then refuses to hear God’s correction.”

The Lord is always open to hear our confession and repentance! 

“When Jesus heard it, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”” ‭‭Mark‬ ‭2‬:‭17‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

If the Lord is calling you to correction don’t delay, but go to Him in repentance and you will finish well.

Blessings 

1 Kings 15:12-15 Heart was Loyal to the Lord!

 “And he banished the perverted persons from the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. Also he removed Maachah his grandmother from being queen mother, because she had made an obscene image of Asherah. And Asa cut down her obscene image and burned it by the Brook Kidron. But the high places were not removed. Nevertheless Asa’s heart was loyal to the Lord all his days. He also brought into the house of the Lord the things which his father had dedicated, and the things which he himself had dedicated: silver and gold and utensils.”

‭‭I Kings‬ ‭15‬:‭12‬-‭15‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. He banished the perverted persons from the land: These state-sanctioned homosexual idol-temple prostitutes were introduced into Judah during the reign of Rehoboam (1 Kings 14:24). Asa’s father Abijam didn’t remove these perversions and idols, but King Asa did.

b. Also he removed Maachah his grandmother from being queen mother, because she had made an obscene image of Asherah: This demonstrates the thoroughness of Asa’s reforms. He was able to act righteously even when his family was wrong, in particular his own grandmother. “It is in a man’s own family circle that his faithfulness is put fairly to the test” (Knapp).

i. “Maacah was apparently the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah (2 Chronicles 13:2) and Tamar (2 Samuel 14:27), hence the granddaughter of Absalom, David’s rebellious son.” (Patterson and Austel)

ii. By the Brook Kidron: “The Kidron Valley east of Jerusalem was then the city’s main rubbish dump” (Wiseman).

iii. An obscene image: “This image is described as ‘obscene’ in our English translation, but the Hebrew word is closer in meaning to ‘frightening,’ ‘horrible,’ or ‘abominable.’ Some commentators believe it was some sort of phallic symbol consistent with the fertility cult of Asherah” (Dilday).

iv. “From the whole, it is pretty evident that the image was a mere Priapus, or something of the same nature, and that Maachah had an assembly in the grove where the image was set up, and doubtless worshipped it with the most impure rites. What the Roman Priapus was I need not tell the learned reader; and as to the unlearned, it would not profit him to know.” (Clarke)

c. But the high places were not removed: 2 Chronicles 14:3 says that Asa did remove the high places, but it mentions these high places in connection with altars of the foreign gods. Therefore, Asa removed the high places that were dedicated to idols, but not the ones that were dedicated to the LORD.

d. Nevertheless Asa’s heart was loyal to the LORD all his days: Asa’s loyal heart was shown in his reforms against idolatry and state-sanctioned perversion, and in his restoration of certain silver and gold utensils to the temple. (Guzik)

Heart was Loyal to the Lord!

When my days are over I pray my legacy is the same, that my heart was loyal to the Lord! 

I love this verse!

……“‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.’” ‭‭Acts‬ ‭13‬:‭22‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

May our hearts stay loyal and may we be a man or woman after the Lords own heart seeking Him daily!

Blessings 

1 Kings 15:9-11 Eyes of the Lord!

 “In the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa became king over Judah. And he reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem. His grandmother’s name was Maachah the granddaughter of Abishalom. Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as did his father David.”

‭‭I Kings‬ ‭15‬:‭9‬-‭11‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. Asa became king over Judah: This great-grandson of Solomon took the throne of Judah at the end of Jeroboam’s reign in Israel, after his father’s brief reign.

b. Asa did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, as did his father David: The kings of Judah were usually measured against David, the founder of their dynasty. In contrast to his father Abijah (1 Kings 15:3), Asa followed in the same heart as David.

i. The phrase his father David shows us that in Hebrew literature the word father canbe used of an ancestor in general, instead of strictly referring to one’s father. David was actually the great-great-grandfather of Asa. (Guzik)

Eyes of the Lord!

Asa did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, which is probably why he reigned forty one years! 

I long to hear from Jesus when I meet Him face to face, “His Lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord.’” Matthew‬ ‭25‬:‭23‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

I look forward to going home, do you?

Blessings 

1 Kings 14:29-31 Precipitous Decline!

 “Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, 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 Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days. So Rehoboam rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David. His mother’s name was Naamah, an Ammonitess. Then Abijam his son reigned in his place.” I Kings‬ ‭14‬:‭29‬-‭31‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam: 2 Chronicles summarized Rehoboam like this: And he did evil, because he did not prepare his heart to seek the LORD.(2 Chronicles 12:14) This speaks to the lack of his personal relationship with the LORD.

i. “He was born of a heathen mother, and begotten of an apostate father. From such an impure fountain could sweet water possibly spring?” (Clarke)

ii. “The account ends with the note that Rehoboam’s mother was Naamah, an Ammonitess. Is this not the writer’s way of reminding us that it was Solomon’s marriage to foreign wives that started the precipitous decline in the first place?” (Dilday)

b. There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days: These two were very different. Rehoboam governed as a tyrant, started bad and humbled himself to God towards the end of his life (2 Chronicles 12:6-7). Jeroboam governed as a populist, started with great promise but ended terribly. (Guzik)

Precipitous Decline!

Instead of a precipitous decline like Rehoboam I hope and pray to finish like Paul!

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

‭‭II Timothy‬ ‭4‬:‭7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Have you considered how your finish will be?

Blessings 

1 Kings 14:27-28 The Fall and Rebellion of Rehoboam!

 “Then King Rehoboam made bronze shields in their place, and committed them to the hands of the captains of the guard, who guarded the doorway of the king’s house. And whenever the king entered the house of the Lord, the guards carried them, then brought them back into the guardroom.”

‭‭I Kings‬ ‭14‬:‭27‬-‭28‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. King Rehoboam made bronze shields in their place: The replacement of gold with bronze is a perfect picture of the decline under the days of Rehoboam. The dynasty of David went from gold to bronze in five years.

i. “They wished to emphasize how far Rehoboam fell in a mere few years. He had inherited an empire; five years later, master of a small state, he could protect his capital itself only by denuding his palace of its treasures. Solomon’s court had despised silver; his son’s court had to be content with bronze!” (Payne)

b. And committed them to the hands of the captains of the guard: In the days of Solomon, the gold shields hung on display in the House of the Forest of Lebanon (1 Kings 10:16-17). Under Rehoboam, the replacement bronze shields were kept in a protected guardroom until they were specifically needed for state occasions. (Guzik)

The Fall and Rebellion of Rehoboam!

Let this be a lesson for us all! The Lord had left Rehoboam because of his rebellion, he forsook Him for other gods and with that his kingdom fell, was raided and declined!

“The Bible is one long story of God meeting our rebellion with His rescue, our sin with His salvation, our guilt with His grace, our badness with His goodness. The overwhelming focus of the Bible is not the work of the redeemed but the work of the Redeemer. Which means that the Bible is not first a recipe for Christian living but a revelation book of Jesus who is the answer to our 

un-Christian living.” Tullian Tchividjian

Do you believe Jesus is the answer?

Blessings 

1 Kings 14:25-26 He Took Away Everything!

 “It happened in the fifth year of King Rehoboam that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem. And he took away the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house; he took away everything. He also took away all the gold shields which Solomon had made.”

‭‭I Kings‬ ‭14‬:‭25‬-‭26‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. In the fifth year of King Rehoboam: This was not so far from the time of David and Solomon, years of strength and security in Israel. No foreign enemy ever did as much against God’s people during the time of David and Solomon as happened during this occasion during the reign of Rehoboam.

b. Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem: Both 2 Chronicles and archeology confirm this account. The record in 2 Chronicles 12 gives many details that the writer of 1 Kings summarized. From 2 Chronicles 12 we learn:

· Exactly why this attack succeeded: When Rehoboam had established the kingdom and had strengthened himself, that he forsook the law of the LORD, and all Israel along with him (2 Chronicles 12:2).

· That Shishak brought an allied army of nations against Judah (2 Chronicles 12:3).

· That Shishak took the fortified cities of Judah on his way to Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 12:4).

· That as the enemy army approached Jerusalem, the Prophet Shemaiah led the leaders of Judah in genuine repentance (2 Chronicles 12:6).

· In response to their repentance, God allowed Jerusalem to remain - but as servants of Shishak, king of Egypt (2 Chronicles 12:7-8).

i. “Sheshonq I (Shishak) had founded the Egyptian (Libyan) Dynasty XXII (945-924 b.c.) and his raid into Palestine in this year (925 b.c.) is well attested on the Amon temple reliefs at Thebes (Karnak). From the one hundred and fifty place-names recorded there, his aim seems to have been to reassert Egyptian control over the main trade routes throughout Palestine and the Negeb.” (Wiseman)

c. He took away the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king’s house: Solomon left great wealth to his son Rehoboam, both in the temple and in the palace. After only five years, that wealth was largely gone.

d. He also took away all the gold shields which Solomon had made: 1 Kings 10:16-17 mentions these 500 shields, 200 large and 300 small. These shields made beautiful displays in the House of the Forest of Lebanon, but they were of no use in battle. Gold was too heavy and too soft to be used as a metal for effective shields. This was an example of the emphasis of image over substance that began in the days of Solomon and worsened in the days of Rehoboam.

i. “Rehoboam made in their stead shields of bronze, and with these pathetically tried to keep up former appearances. It is like souls, who, when despoiled of their freshness and power by the enemy, laboriously endeavor to keep up an outward appearance of spiritual prosperity; or, like a fallen church, shorn of its strength, and robbed of its purity, seeking to hide its helplessness, and cover its nakedness, with the tinsel of ritualism, spurious revivalism, union, and anything that promises to give them some appearance.” (Knapp)

ii. According to Dilday, each large shield was worth about $120,000. The smaller shields were worth $30,000. $33 million was invested in gold ceremonial shields – and now in the hands of the Egyptians. (Guzik)

He Took Away Everything!

God used the king of Egypt to take away everything because Rehoboam forsook the law of the Lord. 

I have seen this before with addictions, God allows addicts to hit rock bottom, taking away everything before restoring them and making them a new person in Christ. It’s the Potter at work molding the clay into a new vessel for his kingdom. Recently in the news there have been two actors arrested due to addiction who have been unable to cope in society, once famous and now struggling with their past, present and future. 

Will you join me in prayer for these two people?

Blessings