1 Kings 15 - 17
As you read today, notice these main themes which will appear frequently in our future readings:
The evaluation of kings according to the standard of previous kings: For example: “He [Abijam] walked in all the sins that his father did before him” (1 Kings 15:3). This mentality of the evaluation of kings reveals a strong tie among the generations – our forefathers serve as an example (either of good or of evil), and our part is impacting our generation with the integrity that also will serve as a standard
for future generations. Above all, the standard for the kings of Judah is measured according to King David: “And his heart [Abijam’s] was not wholly true to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father” (1 Kings 15:3). And the next verse explains to us, “Nevertheless, for David’s sake the LORD his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, setting up his son after him, and establishing Jerusalem” (1 Kings 15:4). Because of Yahweh’s grace in His covenant with David, the king of Judah should respond and reign in like manner. This is precisely the same principle that the apostle Paul teaches us in Romans 6 where he explains that because of God’s grace in our salvation, we must live according to grace, under the obligation of being slaves to righteousness (Romans 6:11-18). If we do not live in accordance with this grace, it will be to our shame (Romans 6:21; just like the lack of integrity is a shame to the testimonies of the kings of Judah). But if our lifestyle demonstrates the fruit of sanctification we have, as an evidence, eternal life
(Romans 6:22).
For the kings of Israel, Jeroboam and his false religion serve as a standard of shame, the opposite of David’s integrity. For example, “Omri did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and did more evil than all who were before him. For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in the sins that he made Israel to sin, provoking the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger by their idols” (1 Kings 16:25-26). From there we can measure the scandal of Ahab, one of the main kings of Israel: “Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD, more than all who were before him. And as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, he took for his wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal and worshiped him. He erected an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he built in Samaria. And Ahab made an Asherah. Ahab did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him” (1 Kings 16:30-33). Our reading takes us into a very dark period of Israel’s history.
The certainty of the fulfillment of Yahweh’s judgment as expressed in His
word: Yahweh’s judgment is not an empty threat; it is fulfilled! “And as soon as he [Baasha] was king, he killed all the house of Jeroboam. He left to the house of Jeroboam not one that breathed, until he had destroyed it, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by his servant Ahijah the Shilonite” (1 Kings 15:29). “And the word of the LORD came to Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasha, saying, “Since I exalted you out
of the dust and made you leader over my people Israel, and you have walked in the way of Jeroboam and have made my people Israel to sin, provoking me to anger with their sins, behold, I will utterly sweep away Baasha and his house, and I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat” (1 Kings 16:1-3). God shows no partiality
when it comes to obeying His word, and He will fulfill His judgment when a person is unrepentant.
The temptation to trust in military and economic power instead of the security in Yahweh’s promises: This will become one of the main themes in the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah; we have a brief introduction to the theme now in 1 Kings 15: “And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and built Ramah, that he might permit no one to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah” (1 Kings 15:16-17). How should Asa the king of Judah react on seeing that transportation to his capital will be choked off by Baasha’s new city? Will he cry out to Yahweh? Will he seek a prophet’s insight? Will he issue a
call to repentance to his people as the prophet Samuel did in 1 Samuel 7? No: “Then 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 king’s house and gave them into the hands of his servants. And King Asa sent them to Ben-hadad the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, who lived in Damascus, saying, ‘Let there be a covenant between me and you, as there was between my father and your father. Behold, I am sending you a present of silver and gold. Go, break your covenant with Baasha king of Israel, that he may withdraw from me” (1 Kings 15:18-19). He trusts his diplomatic and economic manipulations more than Yahweh’s power over the nations. Instead of directing foreigners to Yahweh, he flatters and submits to them, impoverishing Yahweh’s people to enrich others. And trusting in himself, he loses the opportunity to see Yahweh’s power at work on his behalf.
It seems like his manipulations work: “And Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel and conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, and all Chinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali. And when Baasha heard of it, he stopped building Ramah, and he lived in Tirzah” (1 Kings 15:20-21). Asa freed himself from the chokehold of the new construction… but at what cost? Now an extended section of the Promised Land lies under Syrian control. Future kings of Judah
like Ahaz and Hezekiah will be tempted constantly to seek practical successes through short-term diplomacy rather than trust in Yahweh, and when they fall to this temptation, they will cause great harm to Yahweh’s people and awaken His long-term judgment against them.
The vanity of building without Yahweh: The stone and wood that Baasha invested in Ramah falls into the hands of his enemy Asa to build Geba of Benjamin and Mizpah (1 Kings 15:22). Omri builds Samaria (1 Kings 16:24), the capital of Israel that is going to shine in beauty and wealth… but like the house of its builder, it is going to
fall under Yahweh’s wrath because of its sins. “In his days Hiel of Bethel built Jericho. He laid its foundation at the cost of Abiram his firstborn, and set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the LORD, which he spoke by Joshua
the son of Nun” (1 Kings 16:34; Joshua 6:26). These examples stand out and confirm
the verse: “Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain” (Psalm 127:1).
Yahweh’s grace in raising up Elijah: Despite the growing spiritual darkness over the Promised Land, Yahweh does not abandon His people. Without any warning, his mouthpiece arrives to prophesy judgment and call an idolatrous nation to repentance: “Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, ‘As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word’” (1 Kings 17:1). It is impressive that in a rebellious generation, Yahweh’s prophet works miracles but in the midst of poverty and exile, experiencing the pain and suffering of Yahweh’s people. And among those of humble means, Yahweh’s glory is revealed through His prophet: “And the woman said to Elijah, ‘Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is truth’” (1 Kings
17:24).
The salvation of a remnant: Even though this book is called 1 Kings, look who benefits the most from Yahweh’s power in these chapters: the prophet Elijah in hiding, a
foreign woman and her son. Even in times of spiritual darkness, Yahweh extends His mercy and protects His own. This theme will resound through the rest of the Old Testament and the whole Bible.
The evaluation of kings according to the standard of previous kings: For example: “He [Abijam] walked in all the sins that his father did before him” (1 Kings 15:3). This mentality of the evaluation of kings reveals a strong tie among the generations – our forefathers serve as an example (either of good or of evil), and our part is impacting our generation with the integrity that also will serve as a standard
for future generations. Above all, the standard for the kings of Judah is measured according to King David: “And his heart [Abijam’s] was not wholly true to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father” (1 Kings 15:3). And the next verse explains to us, “Nevertheless, for David’s sake the LORD his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, setting up his son after him, and establishing Jerusalem” (1 Kings 15:4). Because of Yahweh’s grace in His covenant with David, the king of Judah should respond and reign in like manner. This is precisely the same principle that the apostle Paul teaches us in Romans 6 where he explains that because of God’s grace in our salvation, we must live according to grace, under the obligation of being slaves to righteousness (Romans 6:11-18). If we do not live in accordance with this grace, it will be to our shame (Romans 6:21; just like the lack of integrity is a shame to the testimonies of the kings of Judah). But if our lifestyle demonstrates the fruit of sanctification we have, as an evidence, eternal life
(Romans 6:22).
For the kings of Israel, Jeroboam and his false religion serve as a standard of shame, the opposite of David’s integrity. For example, “Omri did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and did more evil than all who were before him. For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in the sins that he made Israel to sin, provoking the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger by their idols” (1 Kings 16:25-26). From there we can measure the scandal of Ahab, one of the main kings of Israel: “Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD, more than all who were before him. And as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, he took for his wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal and worshiped him. He erected an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he built in Samaria. And Ahab made an Asherah. Ahab did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him” (1 Kings 16:30-33). Our reading takes us into a very dark period of Israel’s history.
The certainty of the fulfillment of Yahweh’s judgment as expressed in His
word: Yahweh’s judgment is not an empty threat; it is fulfilled! “And as soon as he [Baasha] was king, he killed all the house of Jeroboam. He left to the house of Jeroboam not one that breathed, until he had destroyed it, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by his servant Ahijah the Shilonite” (1 Kings 15:29). “And the word of the LORD came to Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasha, saying, “Since I exalted you out
of the dust and made you leader over my people Israel, and you have walked in the way of Jeroboam and have made my people Israel to sin, provoking me to anger with their sins, behold, I will utterly sweep away Baasha and his house, and I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat” (1 Kings 16:1-3). God shows no partiality
when it comes to obeying His word, and He will fulfill His judgment when a person is unrepentant.
The temptation to trust in military and economic power instead of the security in Yahweh’s promises: This will become one of the main themes in the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah; we have a brief introduction to the theme now in 1 Kings 15: “And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and built Ramah, that he might permit no one to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah” (1 Kings 15:16-17). How should Asa the king of Judah react on seeing that transportation to his capital will be choked off by Baasha’s new city? Will he cry out to Yahweh? Will he seek a prophet’s insight? Will he issue a
call to repentance to his people as the prophet Samuel did in 1 Samuel 7? No: “Then 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 king’s house and gave them into the hands of his servants. And King Asa sent them to Ben-hadad the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, who lived in Damascus, saying, ‘Let there be a covenant between me and you, as there was between my father and your father. Behold, I am sending you a present of silver and gold. Go, break your covenant with Baasha king of Israel, that he may withdraw from me” (1 Kings 15:18-19). He trusts his diplomatic and economic manipulations more than Yahweh’s power over the nations. Instead of directing foreigners to Yahweh, he flatters and submits to them, impoverishing Yahweh’s people to enrich others. And trusting in himself, he loses the opportunity to see Yahweh’s power at work on his behalf.
It seems like his manipulations work: “And Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel and conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, and all Chinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali. And when Baasha heard of it, he stopped building Ramah, and he lived in Tirzah” (1 Kings 15:20-21). Asa freed himself from the chokehold of the new construction… but at what cost? Now an extended section of the Promised Land lies under Syrian control. Future kings of Judah
like Ahaz and Hezekiah will be tempted constantly to seek practical successes through short-term diplomacy rather than trust in Yahweh, and when they fall to this temptation, they will cause great harm to Yahweh’s people and awaken His long-term judgment against them.
The vanity of building without Yahweh: The stone and wood that Baasha invested in Ramah falls into the hands of his enemy Asa to build Geba of Benjamin and Mizpah (1 Kings 15:22). Omri builds Samaria (1 Kings 16:24), the capital of Israel that is going to shine in beauty and wealth… but like the house of its builder, it is going to
fall under Yahweh’s wrath because of its sins. “In his days Hiel of Bethel built Jericho. He laid its foundation at the cost of Abiram his firstborn, and set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the LORD, which he spoke by Joshua
the son of Nun” (1 Kings 16:34; Joshua 6:26). These examples stand out and confirm
the verse: “Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain” (Psalm 127:1).
Yahweh’s grace in raising up Elijah: Despite the growing spiritual darkness over the Promised Land, Yahweh does not abandon His people. Without any warning, his mouthpiece arrives to prophesy judgment and call an idolatrous nation to repentance: “Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, ‘As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word’” (1 Kings 17:1). It is impressive that in a rebellious generation, Yahweh’s prophet works miracles but in the midst of poverty and exile, experiencing the pain and suffering of Yahweh’s people. And among those of humble means, Yahweh’s glory is revealed through His prophet: “And the woman said to Elijah, ‘Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is truth’” (1 Kings
17:24).
The salvation of a remnant: Even though this book is called 1 Kings, look who benefits the most from Yahweh’s power in these chapters: the prophet Elijah in hiding, a
foreign woman and her son. Even in times of spiritual darkness, Yahweh extends His mercy and protects His own. This theme will resound through the rest of the Old Testament and the whole Bible.
