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1 Kings 15 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
If you are like me, you’ve read the last few chapters and been a little confused by all the names. We have two different Abijah’s and also the prophet Ahijah in chapter 14. The chapters jump around and backtrack a few times to describe the simultaneous events going on in Judah and Israel.
The quick summary is that both Rehoboam and Jeroboam have failed as leaders. They started a civil war between the tribes that would continue long after their reign. Ultimately, this was the beginning of the end for both kingdoms. The prophets who reigned during this time fought great battles with trying to restore the people back to God. It would not have been a comfortable time to be a prophet. It many ways, it reminds me of our world today.
I do get the impression that when reading the past two chapters, Israel seemed to be worse off than Judah. Don’t get me wrong, they were both sinful. However, when King Asa stepped in as the leader for Judah, he quickly took action in trying to restore the kingdom back to God. He destroyed the pagan idol worship, removed his grandmother as “queen mother” because of her corruption, and burned her fertility idol to the ground. He wasn’t perfect, as he did make some errors later in his reign, but he was the first of the “good” kings who reigned over Israel and Judah during this time.
In fact, Judah would inherit good kings at almost a 50% clip during their history as a nation. Israel, on the other hand, would suffer under evil kings for over 200 years!