Introduction
The first eleven chapters of the book of 1 Kings were all about Solomon and how he succeeded his father as king and how he established his reign and how he built a palace for himself and a temple for the Lord and how the Lord blessed him and his kingdom, so that Solomon became famous around the world for his wisdom and his wealth and his people were happy. That’s what the first eleven chapters were about.
The first half of chapter 12 was about how the one kingdom of Israel was divided into two separate kingdoms after Solomon’s death. There was the smaller, southern kingdom of Judah, which Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, ruled over. And there was the larger, northern kingdom of Israel, which Solomon’s rival, Jeroboam, ruled over.
And the rest of chapter 12 and all of chapter 13 and the first part of chapter 14 was about Jeroboam’s reign in the north. And do you remember? He created his own man-made religion for the people in the north, which was a kind of evil imitation of the true worship of the Lord. And so, in chapter 14 the Lord announced that he would give Israel up and send the people into exile because of the sins Jeroboam committed and because of the sins Jeroboam caused the people to commit. Instead of leading the people to God, the king led the people away from God. But — as I said at the end of last week’s sermon — thanks be to God, who has given us a greater king, because Jesus Christ is our King and, unlike Jeroboam, he was an obedient king who always did the will of God. And because of his perfect obedience, even to death on the cross to pay for our sins, God will never ever give up those who trust in Christ, because through faith in Christ we receive the forgiveness of sins and peace with God and the hope of everlasting life in God’s presence.
So, chapters 12 to the middle of chapter 14 were about what was happening in the northern kingdom of Israel. Today’s passage is about what happened in the southern kingdom of Judah. And our narrator tells us about three kings. There’s Rehoboam, who was Solomon’s son. Then there’s Abijah. And then there’s Asa.
14:21–31
Let’s turn to what we read about Rehoboam. He was Solomon’s son and you’ll perhaps recall how he once went to Shechem, where he expected that he would be made king of all Israel. However, the people would only serve him if he agreed to their condition. When he refused, the northern tribes made Jeroboam their king. And so, Rehoboam was left with the smaller, southern kingdom of Judah, which comprised the tribes of Judah and Benjamin.
Our narrator tells us now that Rehoboam was 41 years old when he became king and he reigned for 17 years. And, of course, he reigned in Jerusalem, which was the city the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel. The southern kingdom was a lot smaller than the northern kingdom, but it had this advantage: Jerusalem was its capital city; and the temple of the Lord was in Jerusalem. Jerusalem was the place where God had chosen to dwell. And that means Jerusalem was the fulfilment at that time of all of God’s promises to make a people for himself, who would live in the place he had prepared for them, where they would enjoy his presence in their midst. Jeroboam could set up a shrine in Bethel, but it was a pale imitation of the true temple of the Lord in Jerusalem.
So, that’s good. Rehoboam in the south has that advantage over Jeroboam in the north. However, take a look now at the last sentence in verse 21 where the narrator tells us that Rehoboam’s mother was Naamah. And Naamah, he tells us, was an Ammonite. And just so we don’t miss that, the narrator repeats this information right at the end of the chapter. And this means that Rehoboam’s mother was one of Solomon’s foreign wives. And you might recall that the problem with Solomon’s foreign wives was not so much that they were foreigners, but that they were pagans. They did not worship the Lord; instead they worshipped false gods and idols. And they even turned Solomon’s heart to go after those false gods and idols.
And so, it turns out that Rehoboam, the new king of Judah, was the son of one of Solomon’s pagan wives. And since mothers often have a remarkable influence on their sons, then this might explain what we read in the next verse, where the narrator tells us that Judah did evil in the eyes of the Lord. Judah did evil in the eyes of the Lord, because the king did nothing to stop them.
Now, as we go through the rest of this book, you’ll see that the narrator normally follows a pattern for each king. He tells us the king’s name and who his father was. He tells us how long the king reigned. He tells us his mother’s name. And then he goes on to make a statement about the king, whether he did what was right in the sight of the Lord or whether he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. And then the narrator goes on to tell us a little about the king’s reign.
However, as you can see, the narrator doesn’t quite follow that pattern for Rehoboam, because instead of making a statement about the king, he makes a statement about the whole kingdom. And I think he does that, because he’s summarising for us the whole history of the kingdom. Yes, there will be times when the king and the people do what is right in the eyes of the Lord. But overall, the general trend of the kings and the people is downwards into unbelief and sin and rebellion. So, by telling us in verse 22 of chapter 14 that Judah did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord, the narrator is saying to us that this is what we can normally expect in Judah. And it all started with Rehoboam, whose mother was an unbeliever.
And our narrator tells us that, by the sins they committed, they stirred up the Lord’s jealous anger. He refers to God’s jealous anger, because God’s people are often depicted in the Bible as God’s wife. And they’re often depicted in the Bible as God’s unfaithful wife. Instead of loving the Lord their God, they went after other gods. Instead of being a faithful wife, they proved to be again and again an unfaithful wife. And just as any husband would become angry if his wife went off and had an affair, so the Lord was angry with his people because of their unfaithfulness, particularly when he had always been good and kind and faithful to them. Every husband here is a sinner and we spoil our marriages all the time by the stupid things we do and say. But God never wronged his people. And yet, his people turned from him and went after other gods.
And our narrator tells us what they did. They set up for themselves high places. These were places of worship and they were forbidden by the Lord, because the proper place for worship in those days was at the temple. And they set up these sacred stones and Asherah poles. These stones and poles represented the false gods and idols of the Canaanites, who once lived in the Promised Land before the Lord removed them from the land and gave the land to his people. The Lord had thereby demonstrated that he was greater than the gods of the Canaanites. But now his people have gone back to the gods of the Canaanites, who cannot do anything, because they’re not real. And the narrator tells us that there were even male shrine-prostitutes in the land, which was also a feature of pagan worship. And we’re told that the people engaged in all the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out of the land. The Lord had driven them out of the land, but the Lord’s people reintroduced their detestable practices.
And after telling us about their sins, the narrator goes on to tell us how the king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem. And, of course, we’re meant to understand that this did not happen by chance, but it happened according to the will of the Lord. The Lord’s jealous anger burned against his unfaithful people and he therefore sent the king of Egypt to attack them. Way back in Deuteronomy 28, God announced blessings on his people if they obeyed him: here are all the good things you can expect in the Promised Land, so long as you obey me. But the Lord also warned his people of the curses they would suffer if they disobeyed him. And one of the curses was that the Lord would cause them to be defeated by their enemies. So, God sent the king of Egypt to humble his people in the hope that they would turn from their sins and turn back to the Lord. But instead of doing that, they let the king of Egypt carry off the treasures of the temple of the Lord and the treasures of the royal palace. When it says he carried the treasure off, it’s likely they handed over the treasures, so that he would leave them alone.
So, the temple was stripped of all the gold. This once glorious temple was no doubt beginning to look a little run down and shabby. It was now only a pale shadow of what it once was. But instead of confessing his sin, which led to this, and instead of turning from his sin, Rehoboam seems to be trying to make the best of it and he had bronze shields made to replace the gold ones which had been taken away. Perhaps no one will notice that the gold was gone, but the gold was gone because of their sins.
And the final paragraph of this chapter follows a pattern which the narrator will use again, which is to tell us that the rest of what the king did is written in the annals of the kings of Judah and Israel. Those annals no longer exist. And we’re told that there was continual warfare with the northern kingdom; and then Rehoboam rested with his fathers and was buried. And Rehoboam’s son, Abijah, became king in his place.
And at the end of Rehoboam’s reign we can conclude that the rot has already set in. The glory days of David and Solomon are past; and the overall trajectory in the kings who follow, with a few exceptions, is downwards into unbelief and sin and rebellion.
15:1–8
The narrator now tells us about the reign of Abijah, Rehoboam’s son. And his reign was a short one, wasn’t it? Only three years. And we’re told that his mother’s name was Maacah, daughter of Abishalom. And when it comes to summing up Abijam’s reign, the narrator tells us that he committed all the sins his father had done before him. So, he repeated all the sins of Rehoboam. And his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his forefather had been. Though David had committed a terrible sin against Uriah — when he took Uriah’s wife and then he took Uriah’s life — nevertheless David loved the Lord and his heart’s desire was to do God’s will. But Abijah was not like David. Nevertheless for David’s sake, the narrator tells us, the Lord gave David a lamp in Jerusalem by raising up a son to succeed him and by making Jerusalem strong. And the narrator goes on to explain that David had done what was right in the eyers of the Lord and had not failed to keep the Lord’s commands all the days of his life, with the one exception of his sin against Uriah.
You get the impression that the narrator is thinking that the less that is said about Abijah, the better, because most of what we read here is not about Abijah, but it’s about David. And the point the narrator is making is that Abijah may have been wicked, but he was, in a sense, a lamp, which illuminates God’s promise that one of David’s descendants will always be on the throne of the kingdom. God was prepared to put up with these wicked kings, because of his promise to David.
And the narrator tells us that there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam throughout his life. In other words, there was war between the northern and southern kingdoms. And the other events of Abijah’s reign are recorded in the annals of the kings. And he died and was buried. And his son, Asa, succeeded him.
15:9–24
As you can see from verse 9, Asa reigned for 41 years. His grandmother’s name was Maacah, daughter of Abishalom. It’s not clear why the narrator does not mention Asa’s mother. Perhaps she was dead and that’s why he mentions his grandmother.
Asa, we’re told, did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. This, of course, is remarkable, because Asa’s father and grandfather were wicked and did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord. And it’s often the case that a son will follow the example of his father, so that if the father is wicked, the son will be wicked too. But thanks be to God, who is able to surprise us. And he surprises us here, by enabling Asa to walk in the ways of the Lord and to do what was right in his eyes.
And the narrator tells us briefly what Asa did. He got rid of the shine-prostitutes and the idols. And it turns out that Maacah, his grandmother, had made an Asherah pole. So, he removed her from her position as queen-mother; and he also cut the pole down and burned it. No doubt it took courage for him to stand up to his grandmother. And yet the Lord enabled him to do what was necessary.
He wasn’t able to remove the high places. Nevertheless his heart was fully committed to the Lord. And he brought silver and gold articles into the temple. During Rehoboam’s reign, the gold had been removed from the temple. Asa was now replacing it.
So, that’s all good. There is now a godly king on the throne, who loves the Lord and who wants to do his will. But the following verses are a warning to us that as well as beginning well, we need to finish well. As well as beginning well, we need to finish well.
We’re told that there was war between Asa and the new king of Israel called Baasha. And the king of Israel went up against Judah and fortified the city of Ramah, which was only five miles or so from Jerusalem. And we’re told that he did this to prevent anyone from entering or leaving Judah. It’s likely that the narrator is referring to an economic blockade. He was cutting off the trade route into and out of Judah.
And so, how did Asa respond to this crisis? Did he trust in the Lord with all his heart? Did he turn to God in prayer and appeal to the Lord for help and protection? Did he sing Psalm 23 and remind himself that the Lord is his shepherd, so that I don’t need to be afraid, even when I’m walking through the valley of death, because the Lord is with me? Did he sing Psalm 121 to himself and remind himself that his help comes from the Lord? Did he do these things?
No, he didn’t do that. He took the silver and gold from the temple and from his own palace and he sent it to Ben-Hadad, the king of Aram. Instead of turning to the Lord, he turned to a pagan king. And in his message to the king of Aram, he said that he wanted there to be a treaty or a covenant between them. And therefore, I’m sending you a gift of silver and gold. However, the word translated ‘gift’ does not really mean ‘gift’. I wonder, can you guess what it really means? It really means ‘bribe’. Asa was sending the king of Aram a bribe. And the reason he sent him a bribe, is because he wanted to persuade the king of Aram to break his treaty — that is, his covenant — with the king of Israel.
So, Asa has turned for help, not to the Lord his God, but to a pagan king. And he sent him a bribe. And he wants the pagan king to break the covenant he already had with Israel. And since a covenant is a promise, he’s asking the king of Aram to break his promise. And we should never break a promise.
And so, here’s this king, Asa, who had done what was right in the eyes of the Lord; and he got rid of all the shrine prostitutes and idols in the land. His heart had been committed to the Lord. But then, when trouble came along, it’s as if his faith in God vanished; and instead he trusted in a pagan king. And in order to secure the king’s help, he was prepared to send a bribe. And he wanted the king to break his promise.
And, of course, it worked! Ben-Hadad agreed and he sent some of his men to attack Israel. And when Baasha heard of it, he withdrew from Ramah; and presumably he lifted the blockade. Asa’s plan worked! Perhaps he patted himself on the back, because it had all worked out as he had planned it; and he had managed to get the better of Baasha.
If it works, it must be right. Right? That’s often the way we think. If it works, if it gets the job done, if we’re successful, then we were right to do it. But we are never right to do anything, if what we’re doing is wrong in the eyes of the Lord. If it involves sin, then it’s wrong. That’s always the case.
And in the version of Asa’s reign which we have in 2 Chronicles 16, we read how the Lord sent a prophet to Asa to confront him about his sin. ‘You have done a foolish thing’, the Lord said to him, ‘and from now on, you will be at war.’ And instead of humbling himself before the Lord, and confessing his sin, as David had done when God confronted him with his sin, Asa became angry with the Lord’s prophet. He was so angry, he put the prophet in prison. When the Lord confronted Asa with his sin, he refused to listen.
And in the final part of the record of his reign, we’re told that in his old age, his feet became diseased. And the writer of 2 Chronicles tells us that though this disease was severe, he did not seek help from the Lord. Not only were his feet diseased, but his heart was diseased as well. It had become hard; and he would not humble himself before the Lord and seek the Lord’s help.
And so, we’re reminded that as well as beginning well, we need to finish well. And the way to finish well is to walk humbly before the Lord all the days of our life, trusting in him for all things; and relying, not on our own understanding, but on his word to guide us and to show us what to do.
Conclusion
And the final thing to say before I finish this sermon is to note that Asa was the son of Abijam; and Abijam was the son of Rehoboam; and Rehoboam was the son of Solomon; and Solomon was the son of David. The Lord promised David that there would always be one of his descendants on the throne of his kingdom. And even though they were often wicked, the Lord put up with them, because it was always God’s plan that one of David’s descendants would be the Saviour of the world.
And sure enough, when the time was right, an angel announced to Mary that she would give birth to a son. And God would give her son the throne of his father David. In other words, he will be a king. And he will reign for ever and his kingdom will never end.
God was sending his Only-Begotten Son into the world as one of us. He was God and man in one person. He was the Eternal Son of God and a descendant of David. And he was given the name Jesus, which means Saviour, because he had come to save his people, not from foreign armies, but from our sin and misery by his life and death and resurrection. And whoever believes in him receives forgiveness and peace with God and the hope of everlasting life in his everlasting kingdom in the new heavens and earth.
And so, we see that God was putting up with all of these sinful kings, because he was waiting for the day when his Son would become King. And his Son would do everything necessary to bring us to God.
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