Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Kings 15:16
And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.
16 24. Asa’s war with Baasha. His death (2Ch 16:1-6; 2Ch 16:11-14)
16. between Asa and Baasha ] Baasha obtained the throne of Israel in the third year of Asa’s reign (1Ki 15:33) and reigned twenty-four years. So Asa was king all through Baasha’s reign. Hence ‘all their days’ implies the whole of Baasha’s reign.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Baasha became king of Israel in the third year of Asa 1Ki 15:33. The petty warfare which ordinarily prevailed on the borders of the two kingdoms continued all the days of Asa and Baasha. During the first ten years of Asas reign he was little molested 2Ch 14:1, 2Ch 14:6.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 16. There was war] That is, there was continual enmity; see on 1Kg 15:6. But there was no open war till the thirty-sixth year of Asa, when Baasha, king of Israel, began to build Ramah, that he might prevent all communication between Israel and Judah; see 2Ch 15:19; 2Ch 16:1. But this does not agree with what is said here, 1Kg 16:8-9, that Elah, the son and successor of Baasha, was killed by Zimri, in the twenty-sixth year of the reign of Asa. Chronologers endeavour to reconcile this by saying that the years should be reckoned, not from the beginning of the reign of Asa, but from the separation of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. It is most certain that Baasha could not make war upon Asa in the thirty-sixth year of his reign, when it is evident from this chapter that he was dead in the twenty-sixth year of that king. We must either adopt the mode of solution given by chronologists, or grant that there is a mistake in some of the numbers; most likely in the parallel places in Chronicles, but which we have no direct means of correcting. But the reader may compare 2Ch 14:1, with 2Ch 15:10; 2Ch 15:19; 2Ch 16:1.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
So long as they two lived and reigned together; which is not so to be understood, as if there were a solemn and declared war continuing all that time, (for Asa was quiet in a great measure for his first ten years, 2Ch 14:1, till the Israelites had recovered themselves from that dreadfull blow given them by Abijah, 2Ch 13, and Baasha began to reign in Asas third year,) but so that there were many private and particular hostilities practised among them; in which sense the same phrase is used 1Ki 14:30.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
16, 17. there was war between Asaand Baasha king of Israel all their daysAsa enjoyed a tenyears’ peace after Jeroboam’s defeat by Abijam, and this interval waswisely and energetically spent in making internal reforms, as well asincreasing the means of national defense (2Ch14:1-7). In the fifteenth year of his reign, however, the king ofIsrael commenced hostilities against him, and, invading his kingdom,erected a strong fortress at Ramah, which was near Gibeah, and onlysix Roman miles from Jerusalem. Afraid lest his subjects might quithis kingdom and return to the worship of their fathers, he wished tocut off all intercourse between the two nations. Ramah stood on aneminence overhanging a narrow ravine which separated Israel fromJudah, and therefore he took up a hostile position in that place.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
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, 1Ki 15:25 and in the first ten years of Asa’s reign the land was quiet and free from war, 2Ch 14:1 of which there must be seven in the reign of Baasha, who is here made mention of out of course, for Nadab reigned before him, 1Ki 15:25, the reason of which Abarbinel thinks is, that the historian, having given an account of the good deeds of Asa, relates his failings before he proceeds to the other part of his history.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Commentary on 1Ki 15:16-22 AND 2Ch 16:1-6
As the divine record of Asa’s reign continues it passes over the rise of Baasha to the kingship of the northern kingdom, going on to tell of his conflict with Baasha before it relates the coronation of the new king of Israel. It will be learned that Asa was in his third year as king when Baasha arose (1Ki 15:33), but this war about to be related between Judah and Israel took place more than fifteen years after Asa became king, when Baasha had ruled in Israel at least twelve years.
The good king Asa committed a lapse of faith in the event of his war with Baasha. How could this be? It appears that he may have felt he was doing a good right thing, though not having consulted God. Remember that after Asa inaugurated his reform program in Judah many of the people from the northern kingdom began coming to Jerusalem to worship at the temple instead of going to Jeroboam’s calves at Bethel and Dan, thus depriving Baasha of revenues paid at the shrines. Thus Baasha selected Ramah (the old home of the Prophet Samuel), on the frontier of Judah to raise a sort of ancient iron curtain” to prevent his people from defecting to the southern kingdom. Asa may, then, have theorized without consulting the Lord or His prophets that it was a good and proper thing to take the temple money, as well as the king’s treasury, to hire an enemy to strike Baasha in the rear. Thus Baasha would have to give up his plans and the border would remain open to the devout of the northern kingdom to come to Jerusalem to worship at the temple.
So Asa sent the treasuries of the temple and the palace to Benhadad, the heathen king of Damascus, seeking to establish, or actually to purchase, an alliance with him against Baasha. There seems to have been some kind of agreement between Ben-hadad and Abijah, or Rehoboam, to which Asa refers. But the Syrian king was fickle, for he already had a peace alliance with the northern kingdom, which he would have to break in order to honor Asa’s request. But the ante was high enough that he gladly broke faith with Baasha and complied with Asa’s wishes. Ben-hadad invaded the northeast of the kingdom of Israel and devastated it. The cities of lion, Dan, and Abel-beth-maachah in the far northeast of Israel, the area of Merom and Cinneroth (Old Testament name of Galilee), all fell to Ben-hadad. He overran all the store cities, where, the king had stockpiles of food and armament in the tribe of Naphtali, which lay along the eastern shore of Cinneroth.
So Baasha’s attempt to re-establish his frontier against Judah failed. Asa gathered all the men of Judah by proclamation, who made an invasion of Israel, to Ramah, and confiscated the stone and timber which Baasha had brought there to build his fortification. These he carried off to his own kingdom and fortified Geba, in Benjamin, and Mizpah, which were near his frontier with Israel and on the approaches to Jerusalem.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES.
1Ki. 15:17. Baasha, king of IsraelThird sovereign of the kingdom of Israel, son of Ahijab, probably of lowly origin (chap. 1Ki. 16:2). Built RamahIn the tribal territory of Benjamin, about six miles (Roman) from and on the highway to Jerusalem, thereby cutting off king Asas communication with the north.
1Ki. 15:18. All the silver, &c., left in the treasuresShishak had left but little (chap. 1Ki. 14:26); indeed, he took away all. So that the , the remainder, means what Asa had placed therein; , as the Sept. gives it, what he found.
1Ki. 15:20. With all NaphtaliOr, unto the land of Naphtali.
1Ki. 15:22. Made a proclamation throughoutor, called together. None exceptedThe Septuagint has misapprehended the adverbial sense of , none excepted, and given it as a proper name .
HOMILETICS OF 1Ki. 15:16-24
SYMPTOMS OF RELIGIOUS REACTION
I. Seen in a growing distrust of the protecting power of God. The building of a fortress by his rival Baasha, which would have the effect of interrupting a free and open intercourse with his capital, filled Asa with fear; and instead of putting his trust in that God whom he had so zealously served, he relied on his own crooked and short-sighted policy. He bribed the king of Syria to break the league existing between his own kingdom and the two rival Jewish kingdoms, so that Baasha was compelled to abandon the building of Ramah, and Asa used the stones for the fortifying of his own cities (1Ki. 15:17-22). O, what great and many infirmities may consist with uprightness! what alloys of imperfection will there be found in the most refined soul! Asa doth not only employ the Syrian, but relies on him, relies not on God: a confidence less sinful cost his grandfather David dear. Religion is losing its influence over the soul when man is trusted more than God. A dishonest and wicked project may succeed, but the success is always embittered sooner or later. It is a dangerous thing to be too clever.
II. Seen in the misappropriation of consecrated treasure (1Ki. 15:18). It is sad to notice that he who so recently dedicated these spoils to the Lord should make such use of them as is here described. Only on extraordinary occasions was the king justified in employing the temple treasures; but it was downright sacrilege for Asa to use them in bribing a foreign and heathen king, for whose help there was no urgent necessity. What is bestowed in faith must be regarded as sacred, and under no pretext must it be diverted to worldly purposes. Nothing but a rude power, knowing neither fear nor awe of God, could commit such a robbery, and no blessing can ever rest upon it. He who gives with one hand, and takes back with the other, has his just recompense therein. The money power of the world is largely in the hands of the Christian church, and there is an immense responsibility resting upon the wealthy members of that church as to the righteous use of their riches. They are but stewards, and that only for a brief space, when they will be called to render an account of their stewardship to God. Indifference to financial responsibilities is a sure token of religious decay.
III. Seen in the disrespect and cruelty shown towards Gods faithful messengers (2Ch. 16:7-10). An important incident in the life of Asa, omitted by the writer of Kings, is supplied by the author of Chronicles. Hanani, the seer, was sent to rebuke and threaten the king for his sin in forsaking the Lord and in relying upon the Syrian for aid. To be thus chided and exposed when his diplomatic policy had seemed to prosper so well, was more than one so little used to contradiction could bear, and in his rage he thrust the too faithful prophet into prison, adding to his original fault the grievous sin of persecuting an inspired messenger of Jehovah. Here we have the melancholy spectacle of a prophet of God imprisoned, not by an idolatrous or notoriously wicked king, but by one who has hitherto borne a noble character, and whose heart was substantially right with God. Not so did David receive Nathans more stern rebuke. This descendant of his does that for only attempting to do which Jeroboam had his arm palsied. There is little power of religion left when the servants of God are treated with contempt and hardship.
IV. Seen in the way in which God is ignored even in affliction (1Ki. 15:23, comp. with 2Ch. 16:12). From the whole narrative of Chronicles we gather that the character of Asa deteriorated as he grew old, and that while he maintained the worship of Jehovah consistently from first to last, he failed to maintain the personal faith and piety which had been so conspicuous in his early youth. In his great and fatal affliction he sought not to the Lord, but to the physicians. Not that he was blamed for adopting the best means within his reach for his recovery, but he was blamed for relying more upon the skill of the physicians instead of upon the Lords blessing upon the means they employed. It is in affliction that man realises his helplessness and need, and when, more than at any other time, he is called upon to depend upon the gracious interference and help of God. It is a lamentable proof of how sadly and deeply the religious spirit has declined when God is forgotten at a period of great extremity, and in the near prospect of death!
LESSONS:
1. A time of high religious tension is usually followed by a time of reaction.
2. Religious reaction is fraught with great danger, and calls for patient and skilful treatment on the part of the church. 3. In a time of religious reaction there is always much to disappoint and grieve the hearts of Gods people.
GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES
1Ki. 15:16. The enemies who rise up against us and bring us into straits must often serve, in the hand of God, to try and prove whether our faith is rooted in the deepest soil of the heart, and our zeal in religious things no fleshy one, but a high and holy one.
1Ki. 15:17. The devices of the wicked. I. Are maliciously planned to place hindrances in the way of the good. II. Are prodigal of labour and expense in accomplishing the desired end. III. Will be ignominiously defeated.
1Ki. 15:18-21. The eloquence of gold.
1. Is often more potent than words.
2. Is an irresistible argument to the avaricious.
3. Has made many a one a traitor to the most solemn engagements.
4. Will set an army in motion for any purpose.
5. Rarely fails in winning a victory.
1Ki. 15:18. To confront his rival of Israel, Baasha, this religious king of Judah fetches in Benhadad, the king of Syria, into Gods inheritance, upon too dear a rate, the breach of his league, the expilation of the temple. All the wealth wherewith Asa had endowed the house of the Lord was little enough to hire an Edomite to betray his fidelity and to invade Israel. Leagues may be made with infidels: not at such a price, upon such terms. There can be no warrant for a wilful subornation of perfidiousness. In these cases of outward things, the mercy of God dispenseth with our true necessities, not with the affected. O Asa! where was thy piety while thou robbest God, to corrupt an infidel, for the slaughter of Israelites? O princes! where is your piety while ye hire Turks to the slaughter of Christians, to the spoil of Gods church?Bp. Hall.
1Ki. 15:19. This is the curse resting upon the strife of brethren: each forms a league with the common enemy rather than resolve upon peace with each other. The least reliable friend and companion in need is he who can be bought with gold, and is always at the disposal of the highest bidder. He who persuades another to break faith must be prepared to find that he will not maintain the word given to him. In every strait, seek first the support and aid of thy God, without whom no man can help thee.
1Ki. 15:20. Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein, and he that rolleth a stone, it will return upon him (Pro. 26:27). Baasha wished to become possessed of an additional city, and thus lost a series of his own cities; with the same stones with which he purposed to strengthen Ramah, Asa built two strong cities.Lange.
1Ki. 15:22. Factious opposition.
1. Is ever short-sighted and short-lived.
2. Is liable to a sudden collapse.
3. May have the materials it gathered used against itself.
1Ki. 15:23. As the life, so the deathbed of Asa wanted not infirmities, long and prosperous had his reign been: now, after forty years health and happiness, he that imprisoned the prophet is imprisoned in his bed. There is more pain in these fetters which God put upon Asa, than those which Asa put upon Hanani. And now, behold, he that in his war seeks to Benhadad, not to God, in his sickness seeks not to God, but to physicians. We cannot easily put upon God a greater wrong than the alienation of our trust. Earthly means are for use, not for confidence; we may, we must, employ them; we may not rely on them. Well may God challenge our trust as his peculiarly, which, if we cast upon any creature, we deify it. Whence have herbs and drugs and physicians their being and efficacy, but from that Divine hand? No marvel, then, if Asas gout struck to his heart, and his feet carried him to his grave, since his heart was miscarried, for the cure of his feet, to an injurious misconfidence in the means, with neglect of his Maker.Bp. Hall.
The teachings of affliction.
1. Affliction is often sent in mercy.
2. Suggests topics for serious reflection.
3. Is the more admonitory when associated with age.
4. Often leads the wanderer back to God.
5. Can only increase the distress of the obstinately impenitent.
1Ki. 15:24. Sickness in old age, previous to death, is a Divine chastisement and trial, to wean men from the world and ripen them for eternity. How many men would die unconverted if God did not visit them before death with sickness!
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(16) There was war . . .According to 1Ki. 15:33, Baasha reigned from the third to the twenty-seventh year of Asa. The phrase, here repeated from 1Ki. 14:30, 1Ki. 15:7, appears simply to mean that the old hostile relations remained, combined with, perhaps, some border war; for it is expressly said in 2Ch. 14:1, that Asas first ten years were peaceful, and the open war with Israel did not break out till after the victory over Zerah, in his fifteenth year.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
16. War between Asa and Baasha all their days Though there were intervals of rest and comparative peace, like those mentioned 2Ch 14:1; 2Ch 15:19, the feeling of hostility was such that, together with the open conflicts that occasionally took place, it might well be spoken of as continual war. How Baasha came to be king of Israel is related in 1Ki 15:27-28.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
1Ki 15:16 And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.
Ver. 16. And there was war. ] See on 1Ki 14:30 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
war. Only border fighting. No campaign. Compare 1Ki 15:32.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Warring Brethren
1Ki 15:16-34
We obtain a fuller view of the events described in the earlier part of this passage by reference to 2Ch 16:1-6. Asas early piety, which shone out in his drastic purging of idolatry and the corruptions which sprang up like fungi on a damp soil, cannot be questioned. Strange that such a man, who, by faith in God, had driven back Zerahs formidable invasion, should in later years succumb to the craven methods of mere expediency in his conflict with Baasha.
This league with Ben-hadad arose from unbelief. Even true believers are sometimes hard pressed to maintain their integrity, because the trials of faith tend to increase. When Peter looked at the rising billows, his heart became troubled and he began to sink. To Asas alliance with this heathen king may be traced the beginning of the downfall of both kingdoms-of the ten tribes and of Judah. Palestine was no longer a neutral state, but became involved in the political combinations of the time. Those that honor God are honored, 1Sa 2:30; those that put their trust elsewhere rue it all their days.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
1Ki 15:6, 1Ki 15:7, 1Ki 15:32, 1Ki 14:30, 2Ch 16:1-6
Reciprocal: 2Sa 3:1 – long war 1Ki 15:27 – Baasha the son 2Ch 15:19 – five and thirtieth
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Asa’s victory over Israel 15:16-22
Antagonism continued between Israel and Judah in Asa’s day. Ramah was a border town just north of Judah. Many Israelites were leaving Israel to live in Judah, an indication of God’s blessing on the Southern Kingdom (cf. 2Ch 11:13-17). Baasha may have been building a Berlin wall type of structure at Ramah. Asa’s plan to divert Baasha’s attention to Ben-Hadad (ca. 900-860 B.C.) worked. His treaty evidenced some lack of trust in Yahweh (2Ch 16:7-9). Asa’s strategy was one that God blessed, however, and it enabled him to break down Baasha’s fortifications and use their materials to rebuild two towns on Judah’s side of the border (1Ki 15:22).
"Tabrimmon (1Ki 15:18) means ’good is Rimmon’, the Thunderer-god, a title of Baal." [Note: Wiseman, p. 156.]