Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of 1 Kings
Chapter 15: Asa's Heart Was Perfect With the LORD
The narrative now moves rapidly through the kings of the divided kingdom. Abijam walks in his father's sins, yet for David's sake God keeps a lamp burning in Jerusalem. Then Asa arises, a king whose heart was perfect with the LORD all his days, who purges the idols and even deposes the queen mother. In the north, Nadab and then Baasha do evil, and the doom on Jeroboam's house is fulfilled to the letter.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of 1 Kings chapter 15. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Hebrew words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
The Reign of Abijam (1 Kings 15:1-8)
Abijam walks in his father's sins, yet God keeps a lamp in Jerusalem for David's sake.
For David's Sake
"Now in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam the son of Nebat reigned Abijam over Judah. Three years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom. And 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 did the LORD his God give 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 eyes of the LORD, and turned not aside from any thing that he commanded him all the days of his life, save only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life. Now the rest of the acts of Abijam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam. And Abijam slept with his fathers; and they buried him in the city of David: and Asa his son reigned in his stead."
Word Study
"for David's sake did the LORD his God give him a lamp in Jerusalem," Hebrew nir (נִיר), a lamp kept burning. Abijam was no godly king: "he walked in all the sins of his father... and his heart was not perfect with the LORD." By his own merit he deserved nothing. And yet, "nevertheless for David's sake" God gave him a "lamp (nir) in Jerusalem." This is the lamp of covenant promise first mentioned in chapter 11:36, God's pledge that David's line would never be wholly extinguished. Notice the grace: the lamp burned not for Abijam's sake but "for David's sake." A whole dynasty is preserved not on the worthiness of the reigning king but on the covenant faithfulness of God to His servant David. This is pure gospel in shadow. We too are accepted, kept, and blessed not for our own sake but for the sake of Another, the true David, "he hath made us accepted in the beloved" (Ephesians 1:6). Notice also the honest verdict on David himself: he "turned not aside from any thing that he commanded him... save only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite." Scripture does not whitewash David's great sin, yet it testifies that his heart, unlike Abijam's, remained undividedly the LORD's. Grace kept the lamp; and grace keeps us still.
Explanation
The narrative begins moving quickly through the parallel lines of kings, dating each reign against the other kingdom. Abijam (called Abijah in Chronicles) reigned only three years over Judah and walked in the same sins as his father Rehoboam; his heart was not wholly the LORD's. Yet God did not cut off David's line, but "for David's sake" kept a lamp burning in Jerusalem, preserving the dynasty and the city, because David had been faithful all his life apart from his sin regarding Uriah. War continued with the northern kingdom. Abijam died and was succeeded by his son Asa. The brief, sober account sets the pattern for the reign-summaries that fill the rest of Kings: each king measured against David and against the will of God.
Gospel Focus
"Nevertheless for David's sake." Those are gospel words. Abijam deserved to have the lamp put out, but God kept it burning for the sake of another, His servant David, and ultimately for the sake of great David's greater Son, who must come from that preserved line. So all our hope hangs not on our own worthiness but on Another. We are kept "for David's sake," that is, for the sake of Christ; "he hath made us accepted in the beloved." When you feel your own heart is not perfect, not worthy, not deserving, remember that the lamp does not burn for your sake but for His. God's covenant faithfulness, not our performance, is the ground of our security. And the lamp He kept in Jerusalem burned on through the centuries until it blazed in Christ, "the light of the world" (John 8:12), who of whom it is said, "smoking flax shall he not quench" (Matthew 12:20). If your lamp is only smoking, take heart: for the sake of the Beloved, God will not let it go out.
The Reign of Asa (1 Kings 15:9-24)
Asa does right, purges the idols, and deposes the queen mother, yet leans on Syria rather than the LORD.
Asa Did That Which Was Right
"And in the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel reigned Asa over Judah. And forty and one years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom. And Asa did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD, as did David his father. And he took away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. And also Maachah his mother, even her he removed from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove; and Asa destroyed her idol, and burnt it by the brook Kidron. But the high places were not removed: nevertheless Asa's heart was perfect with the LORD all his days. And he brought in the things which his father had dedicated, and the things which himself had dedicated, into the house of the LORD, silver, and gold, and vessels. And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. And Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and built Ramah, that he might not suffer any to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. 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 delivered them into the hand of his servants: and king Asa sent them to Benhadad, the son of Tabrimon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying, There is a league between me and thee, and between my father and thy father: behold, I have sent unto thee a present of silver and gold; come and break thy league with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me. So Benhadad hearkened unto king Asa, and sent the captains of the hosts which he had against the cities of Israel, and smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abelbethmaachah, and all Cinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali. And it came to pass, when Baasha heard thereof, that he left off building of Ramah, and dwelt in Tirzah. Then king Asa made a proclamation throughout all Judah; none was exempted: and they took away the stones of Ramah, and the timber thereof, wherewith Baasha had builded; and king Asa built with them Geba of Benjamin, and Mizpah. The rest of all the acts of Asa, and all his might, and all that he did, and the cities which he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? Nevertheless in the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet. And Asa slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father: and Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his stead."
Word Study
"Asa's heart was perfect with the LORD," Hebrew shalem (שָׁלֵם), whole, undivided. After a string of failures, a good king arises. Asa "did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD, as did David his father," and his heart was shalem, whole with the LORD, "all his days." His faith showed itself in courageous reform: he expelled the male cult-prostitutes, removed the idols, and even deposed his own grandmother Maachah from her position of honor "because she had made an idol," burning it at the brook Kidron. True devotion did not spare even family; the closest relation could not be allowed to stand between Asa and God, a picture of Christ's word that whoever loves father or mother more than Him is not worthy of Him (Matthew 10:37). Yet the record is honest about Asa's flaws: "the high places were not removed," his reform was real but incomplete; and when threatened by Baasha, he trusted the silver and gold of the temple and a league with pagan Syria rather than the LORD (a failure Chronicles rebukes through the prophet Hanani, 2 Chronicles 16:7-9). Even a man whose heart was "perfect" had lapses of faith. Perfection here is not sinlessness but a settled, whole-hearted allegiance to God, held through a lifetime despite stumbles. Asa's mixed record, real reform, real faith, real failures, is a comfort to every honest believer.
Explanation
Asa reigned forty-one years and was a genuine reformer. He did right in God's eyes, like David: he banished the ritual prostitutes, cleared away the idols his predecessors had made, and even removed his grandmother Maachah from her position as queen mother because she had made an obscene idol, which he destroyed and burned at the Kidron valley. He restored dedicated treasures to the temple. His one recorded compromise was that "the high places were not removed," yet his heart remained wholly the LORD's throughout his life. When Baasha of Israel fortified Ramah to blockade Judah, Asa, instead of trusting God, emptied the temple and palace treasuries to hire Benhadad of Syria to attack Israel from the north. The strategy worked politically, Baasha withdrew, and Asa dismantled Ramah to fortify Geba and Mizpah, but it revealed a lapse in the faith of an otherwise faithful king. In his old age he suffered a disease of the feet, and at his death his son Jehoshaphat succeeded him.
Gospel Focus
Asa is a portrait of real but imperfect faith, and there is great encouragement in it. His heart was "perfect with the LORD all his days," not because he never failed, he did remove idols but not the high places, he did trust God but once leaned on Syria, but because his settled allegiance was whole. A perfect heart is not a sinless heart but an undivided one, and God accepts and commends it. Take courage: God does not require flawless performance but a whole heart. Yet Asa's failure also warns us. When pressed, he trusted gold and a pagan alliance rather than the God who had helped him before. How often we do the same, running to human schemes and worldly help when trouble comes, forgetting that "the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him" (2 Chronicles 16:9). And notice Asa's zeal that spared not even his own grandmother: true devotion lets nothing, not even the dearest relation, stand between the soul and God. Give God a whole heart, trust Him in the day of trouble, and let no idol keep its place, whoever set it up.
Nadab and Baasha (1 Kings 15:25-34)
Baasha destroys the house of Jeroboam, fulfilling Ahijah's word, but walks in the same sins.
According Unto the Saying of the LORD
"And Nadab the son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned over Israel two years. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin. And Baasha the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, conspired against him; and Baasha smote him at Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines; for Nadab and all Israel laid siege to Gibbethon. Even in the third year of Asa king of Judah did Baasha slay him, and reigned in his stead. And it came to pass, when he reigned, that he smote all the house of Jeroboam; he left not to Jeroboam any that breathed, until he had destroyed him, according unto the saying of the LORD, which he spake by his servant Ahijah the Shilonite: Because of the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned, and which he made Israel sin, by his provocation wherewith he provoked the LORD God of Israel to anger. Now the rest of the acts of Nadab, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. In the third year of Asa king of Judah began Baasha the son of Ahijah to reign over all Israel in Tirzah, twenty and four years. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin."
Word Study
"according unto the saying of the LORD, which he spake by his servant Ahijah the Shilonite." The northern kingdom now shows its instability: Jeroboam's son Nadab reigned only two years before Baasha conspired against him, killed him, seized the throne, and wiped out the entire house of Jeroboam, "he left not to Jeroboam any that breathed." Terrible as it was, the narrator declares it happened "according unto the saying of the LORD... by his servant Ahijah," fulfilling the doom pronounced in chapter 14:10-11. Here again is the great theme: God's prophetic word comes exactly to pass. But note the sobering irony: Baasha was God's instrument of judgment, yet he was no godly man; he seized the throne by murder and then "walked in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin," committing the very sins for which Jeroboam's house had just been destroyed. God can use a wicked man to fulfill His purposes without approving that man's wickedness (as with Assyria, Isaiah 10:5-7). Baasha's own house would be destroyed in turn (chapter 16). The lesson is grave: to carry out God's judgment on another's sin is no excuse for committing the same sin; those who do not learn from the judgments they witness fall under the same judgment themselves.
Explanation
The scene shifts to the north. Jeroboam's son Nadab reigned only two years and continued his father's idolatry. While Israel was besieging the Philistine town of Gibbethon, Baasha of the tribe of Issachar conspired against Nadab, assassinated him, and took the throne. On becoming king, Baasha exterminated the entire house of Jeroboam, leaving no survivor, exactly as God had foretold through the prophet Ahijah, because of the sins by which Jeroboam had provoked God and led Israel astray. Yet Baasha himself, though the instrument of this judgment, reigned twenty-four years and "did evil in the sight of the LORD," walking in the very same sins of Jeroboam. War with Asa of Judah continued throughout. The northern throne, seized by violence and stained by idolatry, was set on a course of repeated bloody upheavals.
Gospel Focus
The fall of Jeroboam's house "according unto the saying of the LORD" is one more proof that God's word never fails; what He speaks through His prophets comes surely to pass. But the deeper warning is in Baasha. He was the rod of God's judgment on Jeroboam's sins, and then he committed those very sins himself. He watched a whole dynasty destroyed for idolatry and idolatry-leading, and then did the same. How blind is the human heart! We can witness God's judgment on the sins of others, condemn them, even be the means of their downfall, and turn right around to practice the same things. "Thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things" (Romans 2:1). The gospel calls us not merely to denounce sin in others but to forsake it in ourselves. Let the judgments of God that you see be a mirror, not merely a window. Baasha refused to learn, and his house fell as Jeroboam's had. Learn from what you witness, turn from every sin, and cast yourself on the mercy of God in Christ.
Chapter in Review
First Kings 15 runs swiftly through four reigns, two in Judah and two in Israel, and measures each by faithfulness to God. Abijam of Judah walks in his father's sins, yet "for David's sake" God keeps a lamp burning in Jerusalem, a shining picture of grace that keeps us for the sake of Another. Then Asa arises, a true reformer whose heart was "perfect," undivided, with the LORD all his days, though his reform was incomplete and he once leaned on pagan Syria instead of God. In the north, Jeroboam's son Nadab is murdered by Baasha, who destroys the whole house of Jeroboam exactly as Ahijah had prophesied, and then commits the same sins himself. The chapter proclaims that God's word is sure, that His grace keeps David's lamp, that He commends a whole heart even amid stumbles, and that those who witness His judgments must learn from them lest they share them.
Key Takeaways
- Grace keeps the lamp "for David's sake." We are kept and accepted not for our own worthiness but for the sake of Another, the true David, Christ.
- A perfect heart is a whole heart, not a sinless one. Asa stumbled, yet his settled allegiance was undivided, and God commended it.
- True devotion spares no idol, whoever set it up. Asa removed even his own grandmother from honor for the sake of God.
- Do not trust the arm of flesh in trouble. Asa's league with Syria was a lapse; God shows Himself strong for the whole heart.
- Learn from the judgments you witness. Baasha executed God's judgment on Jeroboam's sins, then committed them, and fell the same way.
Questions for Reflection
- Do you rest your security on your own worthiness, or on being kept "for the sake of the Beloved"?
- Is your heart "perfect," whole and undivided, with the LORD, even though you still stumble?
- Is there an idol you tolerate because of who set it up, a relationship, a tradition, a comfort?
- When trouble comes, do you run first to human schemes or to the God whose eyes seek the whole heart?
- Are the judgments of God you observe in others a mirror that changes you, or only a window on their sin?
References
- Scripture: 1 Kings 15:1-34, King James Version.
- Cross-references: 1 Kings 11:36; 14:10-11; 2 Chronicles 16:7-9; Isaiah 10:5-7; Matthew 10:37; 12:20; John 8:12; Romans 2:1; Ephesians 1:6.
- Hebrew word meanings: standard lexical sources (Strong's, BDB) for nir and shalem, and the historical background of Ramah, Tirzah, and Benhadad of Syria.