1 Kings 16:8-19 - Elah became king of Israel

16:8-10

Elah reigned for two years. One of his officials, Zimri, plotted against him. If someone goes against the Lord they will find no rest. Elah was getting drunk, and Zimri seized the opportunity and struck him down dead. Zimri became king and killedBaasha’s whole family, God’s word was fulfilled. Baasha and Elah had caused Israel to follow worthless idols, idols that cou;d not save them.

16:11

In killing off Baasha’s whole family Zimri thought he was securing his future.

16:12-19

Zimri only reigned for seven days. The Israelites did not seem to be too keen on Zimri being king, so they proclaimed Omri as king. Godless regimes are always unstable. Omri besieged Tirzah, Zimri saw that the end was near, so he set fire to the palace and died. All this happened because of his sins., and he had caused Israel to sin. A good leader causes the people to follow the Lord.

1 Kings 16:1-7 The word of the Lord came to Jehu

16:1-4

Jehu was the son of Jehoshaphat and grandson of Nimshi.  The Lord spoke to him about Baasha. Baasha was king of Israel, but had done evil. God reminds him that it was God who lifted him up to hid high position. We always go wrong if we forget about our utter dependence upon the Lord. Therefore Baasha was about to be wiped out by the Lord. God can raise up and pull down. The worst thing about Baasha was that he caused God’s people to sin (Matt 18:6). We should be people who encourage others to follow the Lord, not to disobey Him. Those belonging to Baasha would not even get a decent burial but would be eaten by dogs, or by birds.

16:5,6

Baasha duly died, but does seem to be buried. He was succeeded by his son Elah as king.

16:7

God spoke to Baasha through the prophet Jehu. Baasha was no better than Jeroboam.

1 Kings 15:30-34 - This happened because of the sins of Jeroboam

15:30-32

These were not random events, but “happened because of the sins Jeroboam had committed and had caused Israel to commit, and because he aroused the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel”. Note the last but there, “the God of Israel”. Israel’s whole identity lies in her relationship to the Lord, and her well being rests in her obedience to the Lord. This is still true today.  The rest of Nadab’s activities were recorded in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel. There was war between Asa and Baasha.

15:33,34

Baasga son of Ahijah became king of Israel and reigned for twenty four years.Sadly “he did evil in tde eyes of the Lord”, acting as Jeroboam had.

1 Kings 15:17-22 - Asa then took all the silver and gold

15:17

Ramah was a crucial town, control of this town would effectively cut off Judah.

15:18,19

Asa then puts his bribery strategy into action. Solomon had had a treaty with Syria, he also wanted to end Syria’s support for Israel. Ben-Hadad agreed with Asa and then attacked Israel. This had the desired effect of forcing Baasha to stop building Ramah

15:20-22

Asa’s plan seemed to work as Ben-Hadad attacked Israel. In response, Baasha stopped building Ramah and withdrew from Tirzah Asa issued an order to all Judah to dismantle Ramah and used the resources to build up Geba and Mizah.

1 Kings 15:23-29- Asa rested with his ancestors

15:23,24

As with most kings, other events of Asa’s reign were recorded in the annals of the kings of Judah, Asa died and was succeeded by his son Jehoshaphat.

15:25-29

Meanwhile Nadab son of Jeroboam became king in Israel, he reigned for only two years, and in those two years “did evil in the eyes of the Lord”. Baasha, son of Ahijah plotted against him, ending up killing him and becoming king. He then went on to kill Jeroboam’s whole family. This all happened in accordance with the word of the Lord spoken by Ahijah (1 Kings 14:10,11), the point is that in the midst of the chaos, the Lord is still in control.

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1 Kings 15:11-16 - Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord

15:11-15

“Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord”. A key question for all of us is how we look at ourselves, do we judge ourselves by how others view us, or by how the Lord views us?  Asa was somewhat like David. He took positive action, like expelling the male shrine prostitutes and getting rid of the idols. He even deposed his grandmother Maakah. This latter action is an example of loving God more than family members. He did this because “she had made a repulsive image for the worship of Asherah. However, Asa did not remove the high places. He was not the only “good king” to have this failure. The high places were like stubborn weeds. The best thing is not to let them take root in the first place. “Asa’s heart was fully committed to the Lord all his life”. Even so he had these failings.

15:16

There was continual war between ISrael and Judah. Asa brought the treasures into the temple of the Lord. However, he then used some of the treasures to bribe the king of Damascus, and he wanted to stop Syria supporting Baasha. Asa was seeking to use his own wisdom to bring peace, rather than trusting the Lord.

1 Kings 15:1-8 - Abijah became king of Judah

15:1-3

Things now progress, though the nation regresses.Abijah becomes king of Judah and reigns for three years.His mother was the daughter of abishalom (possibly Absalom).

15:3-5

“He committed all the sins of his father” we are nor given a good picture of Abijah.David is used as the standard of comparison, though the Bible is also fully aware of David’s shortcomings. We are also told that God remembered\his promise to David. David’s failing with Uriah is noted.

15:6-8

There was no peace for there was war between AAbijah and Jeroboam throughout Abijah’s lifetime. Abijah was succeeded by his son Asa. Asa was a fairly good king, and reigned for forty one years.