36 matching verse commentaries
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
INTRODUCTION TO 1 KINGS 15 In this chapter we have a short history of the reign of Abijam, 1 Kings 15:1 and of Asa, 1 Kings 14:9, both kings of Judah; and of the reigns of Nadab the son of Jeroboam, and of Baasha, who destroyed his family, both kings of Israel, 1 Kings 15:25.
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Now in the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam the son of Nebat reigned Abijam over Judah. That is, began to reign; and by this it appears that Rehoboam was in the eighteenth year of his reign when he died, for he and Jeroboam began their reign at the same time.
Matthew Henry - Complete Commentary - Matthew Henry
In this chapter we have an abstract of the history, I. Of two of the kings of Judah, Abijam, the days of whose reign were few and evil (ver. 1-8), and Asa, who reigned well and long, ver. 9-24. II. Of two of the kings of Israel, Nadab the son of Jeroboam, and Baasha the destroyer of Jeroboam's house, ver. 25-34. Abijam's Reign. (b. c. 958.) 1 Now...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Three years reigned he in Jerusalem,.... And three only; his reign was short, and indeed not three full years, only one whole year and part of two others; for Asa his son began to reign in the twentieth of Jeroboam, 1 Kings 15:9 so that he reigned part of his eighteenth, this whole nineteenth, and part of his twentieth: and his mother's name was...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And he walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him,.... Having such bad examples as both parents to copy after; it chiefly respects idolatrous practices, see 1 Kings 14:23, and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God; he did profess the true God, and worshipped him, but not wholly, and only, and sincerely; he...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Nevertheless, for David's sake did the Lord his God give him a lamp in Jerusalem,.... A kingdom there, as the Targum, splendid and glorious, to be continued in his posterity: to set up his son after him; in it: and to establish Jerusalem: to continue that in which the temple was, for the sake of which, and the worship of God in it, there was a...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Because David did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord,.... With respect to worship: and turned not aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life; especially in matters of religion, nor even in his moral walk and conversation, deliberately, studiously, and with design: save only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite; the...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life. Not the days of Rehoboam, though that was true, and is observed, 1 Kings 14:30, but all the days of Abijam, before he came to the throne, and in which, when a young man, he was concerned, and which still continued between him and Jeroboam; though some think he is called by...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
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?.... Which seem to be written by Iddo the prophet, see 2 Chronicles 13:22, and there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam; and a famous pitched battle between them we read of in 2 Chronicles 13:3.
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Abijam slept with his fathers,.... That is, died as they did: and they buried him in the city of David, in the sepulchre of his royal ancestors, David, Solomon, and Rehoboam: and Asa his son reigned in his stead; who perhaps was the eldest of his twenty two sons, 2 Chronicles 13:21.
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And in the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel reigned Asa over Judah. How this is to be accounted for [See comments on 1 Kings 15:2].
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And forty one years reigned he in Jerusalem,.... Being a good king, had the blessing of a long reign, and reached, and even exceeded, the years of the reigns of David and Solomon: and his mother's name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom; that is the name of his grandmother, see 1 Kings 15:2 she is called his mother, not because she brought him...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Asa did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, as did David his father. In his personal walk and conversation, in his government of the nation, and especially in the matters of his God, and of religion, he made David his pattern and example to copy after.
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And he took away the Sodomites out of the land,.... Which were in the times of Rehoboam, 1 Kings 14:24, and continued in his father's reign; those he took away, either by driving them out of the land, or by putting them to death according to the law of God, Leviticus 20:13 even as many of them as he had knowledge of, for some remained, see 1 Kings...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And also Maachah his mother, even her he removed from being queen,.... From the kingdom, as the Targum; from having any share in the government, as she might have had during his minority, his mother being dead, as some conjecture; and not only took away her power and authority, but all the ensigns of it, and perhaps forbid her the court: or he...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
But the high places were not removed,.... That is, such as had been used for the worship of God, before the temple was built, which yet now should have been removed, since sacrifice was now only to be offered there; but he might think they were still lawful, or the people had such an opinion of them, that it was difficult and dangerous to attempt...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And he brought in the things which his father had dedicated,.... The spoils he had taken in war from Jeroboam, and which he had devoted to religious uses, but lived not to perform his vows, which his son now did for him; so that it seems, notwithstanding the sins he fell into, he had some regard to God and his worship, see 2 Chronicles 13:19 and...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days:] That is as long as they lived together; for Baasha died many years before Asa, and this must be reckoned from the time the war began between them. Baasha did not begin his reign until the third year of Asa, 1 Kings 15:25 and in the first ten years of Asa's reign the land was...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah,.... Which, in 2 Chronicles 16:1 is said to be in the thirty sixth year of Asa's reign, or rather of his kingdom; for it can never mean the year of his reign, for Baasha was dead many years before that, since his reign began in the third of Asa, and he reigned but twenty four years, and therefore...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
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,.... What was left untaken away by Shishak king of Egypt, 1 Kings 14:26, or what he had put there dedicated by his father and himself, 1 Kings 15:15 and be they either, they were not to be taken, especially the...