World English Bible
- Now in the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam the son of Nebat, Abijam began to reign over Judah.
- He reigned three years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom.
- 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.
- Nevertheless for David’s sake, the LORD his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, to set up his son after him and to establish Jerusalem;
- because David did that which was right in the LORD’s eyes, and didn’t turn away from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, except only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.
- Now there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life.
- The rest of the acts of Abijam, and all that he did, aren’t they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? There was war between Abijam and Jeroboam.
- Abijam slept with his fathers, and they buried him in David’s city; and Asa his son reigned in his place.
- In the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa began to reign over Judah.
- He reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom.
- Asa did that which was right in the LORD’s eyes, as David his father did.
- He put away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.
- He also removed Maacah his mother from being queen, because she had made an abominable image for an Asherah. Asa cut down her image and burned it at the brook Kidron.
- But the high places were not taken away. Nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect with the LORD all his days.
- He brought into the LORD’s house the things that his father had dedicated, and the things that he himself had dedicated: silver, gold, and utensils.
- 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 not allow anyone to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.
- Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that was left in the treasures of the LORD’s house, and the treasures of the king’s house, and delivered it into the hand of his servants. Then King Asa sent them to Ben Hadad, the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, who lived at Damascus, saying,
- “Let there be a treaty between me and you, like that between my father and your father. Behold, I have sent to you a present of silver and gold. Go, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me.”
- Ben Hadad listened to King Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel, and struck Ijon, and Dan, and Abel Beth Maacah, and all Chinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali.
- When Baasha heard of it, he stopped building Ramah, and lived in Tirzah.
- Then King Asa made a proclamation to all Judah. No one was exempted. They carried away the stones of Ramah, and its timber, with which Baasha had built; and King Asa used it to build Geba of Benjamin, and Mizpah.
- Now the rest of all the acts of Asa, and all his might, and all that he did, and the cities which he built, aren’t they 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.
- Asa slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in his father David’s city; and Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place.
- Nadab the son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah; and he reigned over Israel two years.
- He did that which was evil in the LORD’s sight, and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin with which he made Israel to sin.
- Baasha the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, conspired against him; and Baasha struck him at Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines; for Nadab and all Israel were besieging Gibbethon.
- Even in the third year of Asa king of Judah, Baasha killed him and reigned in his place.
- As soon as he was king, he struck all the house of Jeroboam. He didn’t leave to Jeroboam any who breathed, until he had destroyed him, according to the saying of the LORD, which he spoke by his servant Ahijah the Shilonite;
- for the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned, and with which he made Israel to sin, because of his provocation with which he provoked the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger.
- Now the rest of the acts of Nadab, and all that he did, aren’t they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
- There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.
- In the third year of Asa king of Judah, Baasha the son of Ahijah began to reign over all Israel in Tirzah for twenty-four years.
- He did that which was evil in the LORD’s sight, and walked in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin with which he made Israel to sin.
“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.