“A Flickering Lamp and a Courageous Purge”
Chapters 12–14 traced Israel’s slide into counterfeit worship.
Chapter 15 turns the camera back to Judah, then north again, offering
four short reign reports:
• Abijam (also called Abijah) – Judah, 3 years
• Asa – Judah, 41 years
• Nadab – Israel, 2 years
• Baasha – Israel, 24 years
The structure is terse, like four obituary notices, yet theological threads shimmer underneath. God is still writing His covenant story, using even flawed leaders to preserve “a lamp in Jerusalem” (v 4).
Abijam inherits Rehoboam’s divided heart. The narrator judges him
“not wholehearted” (v 3). Yet God upholds David’s promise “for David’s
sake” (vv 4-5).
Key Hebrew note: “lamp” is נֵר (nēr), the same word
later used for Messiah in Isaiah 42:6. The lamp is dim, but it has not
gone out.
Cross-references
• 2 Samuel 7:13-16 – the covenant root
• Psalm 132:17 – “I have prepared a lamp for My anointed.”
Past interpreters
• Augustine saw Abijam as proof that the covenant rests on grace, not
human merit.
• Calvin warned that God sometimes grants outward success (Abijam held
the throne) even to those who lack inward obedience, so we must “judge
success by Scripture, not by circumstance.”
Asa’s 41-year reign is a long breath of fresh air. The text highlights three reforms:
Religious Purge (vv 12-13)
• He expels qĕdēšîm – male shrine prostitutes.
• He removes his own grandmother Maacah from the position of Queen
Mother and destroys her Asherah pole.
Historical note: In ancient Near-Eastern courts the gebîrah (queen
mother) wielded enormous influence; Asa’s removal of Maacah was
politically explosive.
Fortification and Diplomacy (vv 16-22)
Baasha of Israel blocks Judah’s trade by fortifying Ramah (modern-day
er-Ram, excavated ruins confirm a 9th-century fort). Asa buys help from
Ben-Hadad of Aram with Temple silver and gold—an act the Chronicler
later criticizes (2 Chron 16:7-9). Kings is quieter, but the mixed
evaluation is clear: reforms yes, faith under pressure less so.
Persistent High Places (v 14)
Asa’s heart was “fully committed” (Hebrew: lēvāvō
šālēm) yet he did not remove every high place. Spiritual
renewal is real but still incomplete—a whispered longing for a greater
King whose obedience will be perfect.
Cross-references
• 2 Chron 14–15 – gives the fuller revival story and covenant
renewal.
• Matthew 6:33 – “Seek first His kingdom” echoes Asa’s early zeal.
Voices from the past
• John Wesley praised Asa’s holy boldness: “Grace first reforms the
home, then the nation.”
• Yet the Puritan Matthew Henry lamented Asa’s treaty with Aram as
“fleshly policy that mars a good beginning.” Hold both insights
together.
The northern kingdom changes dynasties but not direction. Nadab walks “in the way of Jeroboam”; Baasha assassinates him, yet repeats the same idolatry. Violence can change rulers, not hearts.
Cultural footnote
In the ancient world, a new king often slaughtered the previous house to
secure legitimacy (v 29). Excavations at Tirzah (Tell el-Far‘ah) reveal
layers of destruction matching this turbulent period.
Cross-references
• Hosea 8:4 – “They set up kings, but not by Me.”
• Galatians 6:7-8 – sowing to the flesh reaps corruption.
1 Kings 15 keeps whispering “lamp” until Jesus declares, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12). Asa’s partial reforms anticipate the total cleansing of the Temple by Christ (John 2:13-17) and the ultimate demolition of every “high place” in the human heart (2 Cor 10:4-5). The chapter invites us to ask: Where am I still negotiating with idols while claiming reform?
• Hebrew play on words: Asa sounds like “healer.”
Irony—he could not heal the land entirely, pointing to the true Healer
(Isaiah 53:5).
• Literary device: The repeated formula “in the ___ year of King ___,
so-and-so became king” creates a drumbeat of mortality, contrasting
God’s steady covenant.
• Archaeology: Bullae (seal impressions) bearing the name “Maacah” have
surfaced near Bethlehem, showing Queen Mothers left administrative
fingerprints.
• Greek LXX nuance: it renders “male shrine prostitutes” as “τελεστοὺς”
(cult performers), reinforcing the ritual, not merely moral,
pollution.
“Take My Life and Let It Be” (Frances R. Havergal, 1874) – a sung prayer of wholehearted consecration that matches Asa’s early zeal.
Lord, Keeper of the everlasting lamp,
thank You for maintaining Your promise through weak and wavering
hearts.
Search us and show us our high places;
grant us Asa’s courage to tear them down
and Christ’s faithfulness to finish the work.
May our lives shine with a steady light,
guiding others to the true King who reigns forever.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.