9 15<\/strong>. Asa king of Judah. His reforms (2Ch 14:1-5<\/span>; 2Ch 15:16-19<\/span>)<\/p>\n 9<\/strong>. In the twentieth year<\/em> ] The LXX. in accordance with the addition in the previous verse says the ‘twenty-fourth.’<\/p>\n reigned Asa<\/em> ] R.V. began Asa to reign<\/strong>. See on 1Ki 15:1<\/span> of this chapter.<\/p>\n In or towards the end of the year. See Poole “1Ki 15:1<\/span>“. <\/P> <\/p>\n And in the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel reigned Asa over Judah.<\/strong> How this is to be accounted for<\/p>\n [See comments on 1Ki 15:2]<\/span>.<\/p>\n Reign of Asa (cf., 2 Chron 14-16). – As Asa ascended the throne in the twentieth year of the reign of Jeroboam, his father Abijam, who began to reign in the eighteenth year of Jeroboam (1Ki 15:1<\/span>), can only have reigned two years and a few months, and not three full years.<\/p>\n 1Ki 15:10<\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong> Asa reigned forty-one years. “The name of his mother was Maacah, the daughter of Absalom.” This notice, which agrees verbatim with 1Ki 15:2<\/span>, cannot mean that Abijam had his own mother for a wife; though Thenius finds this meaning in the passage, and then proceeds to build up conjectures concerning emendations of the text. We must rather explain it, as Ephr. Syr., the Rabbins, and others have done, as signifying that Maacah, the mother of Abijam, continued during Asa’s reign to retain the post of queen-mother or , i.e., sultana valide, till Asa deposed her on account of her idolatry (1Ki 15:13<\/span>), probably because Asa’s own mother had died at an early age.<\/p>\n 1Ki 15:11-14<\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong> As ruler Asa walked in the ways of his pious ancestor David: he banished the male prostitutes out of the land, abolished all the abominations of idolatry, which his fathers (Abijam and Rehoboam) had introduced, deposed his grandmother Maacah from the rank of a queen, because she had made herself an idol for the Ashera, and had the idol hewn in pieces and burned in the valley of the Kidron. is a contemptuous epithet applied to idols (Lev 26:30<\/span>); it does not mean stercorei <\/em>, however, as the Rabbins affirm, but logs, from , to roll, or masses of stone, after the Chaldee (Ezr 5:8<\/span>; Ezr 6:4<\/span>), generally connected with . It is so in Deu 29:16<\/span>. , formido <\/em>, from , terrere<\/em>, timere <\/em>, hence an idol as an object of fear, and not pudendum <\/em>, a shameful image, as Movers ( Phniz<\/em>. i. p. 571), who follows the Rabbins, explains it, understanding thereby a Phallus as a symbol of the generative and fructifying power of nature. With regard to the character of this idol, nothing further can be determined than that it was of wood, and possibly a wooden column like the (see at 1Ki 14:23<\/span>). “But the high places departed not,” i.e., were not abolished. By the we are not to understand, according to 1Ki 15:12<\/span>, altars of high places dedicated to idols, but unlawful altars to Jehovah. It is so in the other passages in which this formula recurs (1Ki 22:24<\/span>; 2Ki 12:4<\/span>; 2Ki 14:4<\/span>; 2Ki 15:4<\/span>; and the parallel passages 2Ch 15:17<\/span>; 2Ch 20:33<\/span>). The apparent discrepancy between the last-mentioned passages and 2Ch 14:2<\/span>, 2Ch 14:4<\/span>, and 2Ch 17:6<\/span>, may be solved very simply on the supposition that the kings (Asa and Jehoshaphat) did indeed abolish the altars on the high places, but did not carry their reforms in the nation thoroughly out; and not by distinguishing between the bamoth<\/em> dedicated to Jehovah and those dedicated to idols, as Thenius, Bertheau, and Caspari, with many of the earlier commentators, suppose. For although 2Ch 14:2<\/span> is very favourable to this solution, since both and dna are mentioned there, it does not accord with 2Ch 17:6<\/span>, where cannot be merely idolatrous altars dedicated to the Canaanitish Baal, but unquestionably refer to the unlawful altars of Jehovah, or at any rate include them. Moreover, the next clause in the passage before us, “nevertheless Asa’s heart was wholly given to the Lord,” shows that the expression nois does not mean that the king allowed the unlawful Jehovah- bamoth<\/em> to remain, but simply that, notwithstanding his fidelity to Jehovah, the bamoth<\/em> did not depart, so that he was unable to carry the abolition of them thoroughly out.<\/p>\n 1Ki 15:15<\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong> He brought the sacred offerings of his father and his own sacred offerings into the house of Jehovah; probably the booty, in silver, gold, and vessels, which his father Abijam had gathered in the war with Jeroboam (2Ch 13:16-17<\/span>), and he himself on the conquest of the Cushites (2Ch 14:12-13<\/span>). The Keri<\/em> is a bad emendation of the correct reading in the Chethb<\/em> , i.e., ( ); for is an accusative, and is to be connected with .<\/p>\n 1Ki 15:16-17<\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong> The state of hostility between Judah and Israel continued during the reign of Asa; and Baasha the king of Israel advanced, etc. These statements are completed and elucidated by the Chronicles. After the great victory obtained by Abijam over Jeroboam, the kingdom of Judah enjoyed rest for ten years (2Ch 14:1<\/span>). Asa employed this time in exterminating idolatry, fortifying different cities, and equipping his army (2Ch 14:1-7<\/span>). Then the Cushite Zerah<\/em> invaded the land of Judah with an innumerable army (in the eleventh year of Asa), but was totally defeated by the help of the Lord (2Ch 14:8-14<\/span>); whereupon Asa, encouraged by the prophet Azariah, the son of Oded, proceeded with fresh zeal to the extermination of such traces of idolatry as still remained in the kingdom, then renewed the altar of burnt-offering in front of the temple-hall, and in the fifteenth year of his reign held, with the whole nation, a great festival of thanksgiving and rejoicing to the Lord at Jerusalem (2Ch 15:1-15<\/span>). The next year, the sixteenth of his reign and the thirty-sixth from the division of the kingdom (2Ch 16:1<\/span>), Baasha commenced hostilities, by advancing against Judah, taking possession of Ramah<\/em>, the present er Rm<\/em> (see at Jos 18:25<\/span>), which was only two hours and a quarter from Jerusalem, and fortifying it. The occupation of Ramah is not expressly mentioned indeed, but it is implied in , which affirms the hostile invasion of Judah. For Ramah, from its very situation in the heart of the tribe of Benjamin and the immediate neighbourhood of Jerusalem, can neither have been a border city nor have belonged to the kingdom of Israel. The intention of Baasha, therefore, in fortifying Ramah cannot have been merely to restrain his own subjects from passing over into the kingdom of Judah, but was evidently to cut off from the kingdom of Judah all free communication with the north. , “that they might not give one going out or one coming in to Asa;” i.e., to cut off from the others all connection with Asa, and at the same time to cut off from those with Asa all connection with this side. The main road from Jerusalem to the north passed by Ramah, so that by shutting up this road the line of communication of the kingdom of Judah was of necessity greatly disturbed. Moreover, the fortification of Ramah by Baasha presupposes the reconquest of the cities which Abijam had taken from the kingdom of Israel (2Ch 13:19<\/span>), and which, according to 2Ch 13:19<\/span>, were still in the possession of Asa.<\/p>\n 1Ki 15:18-19<\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong> In order to avert the danger with which his kingdom was threatened, Asa endeavoured to induce the Syrian king, Benhadad of Damascus, to break the treaty which he had concluded with Baasha and to become his ally, by sending him such treasures as were left in the temple and palace.<\/p>\n (Note: Asa had sought help from the Lord and obtained it, when the powerful army of the Cushites invaded the land; but when an invasion of the Israelites took place, he sought help from the Syrians. This alteration in his conduct may probably be explained in part from the fact, that notwithstanding the victory, his army had been considerably weakened by the battle which he fought with the Cushites (2Ch 14:9<\/span>), although this by no means justified his want of confidence in the power of the Lord, and still less his harsh and unjust treatment of the prophet Hanani, whom he caused to be put in the house of the stocks on account of his condemnation of the confidence which he placed in the Syrians instead of Jehovah ( 2Ch 16:7-10<\/span>).) <\/p>\n may be explained from the face that the temple and palace treasures had been plundered by Shishak in the reign of Rehoboam (1Ki 14:26<\/span>); and therefore what Asa had replaced in the temple treasury (1Ki 15:15<\/span>), and had collected together for his palace, was only a remnant in comparison with the former state of these treasures. The name , i.e., son of Hadad<\/em>, the sun-god (according to Macrobius, i. 23; cf., Movers, Phniz<\/em>. i. p. 196), was borne by three kings of Damascus: the one here named, his son in the time of Ahab (1Ki 20:1<\/span>, 1Ki 20:34<\/span>), and the son of Hazael (2Ki 13:24<\/span>). The first was a son of Tabrimmon<\/em> and grandson of Hezyon<\/em>. According to 1Ki 15:19<\/span>, his father Tabrimmon<\/em> (good is Rimmon<\/em>; see at 2Ki 5:18<\/span>) had also been king, and was the contemporary of Abijam. But that his grandfather Hezyon<\/em> was also king, and the same person as the Rezon<\/em> mentioned in 1Ki 11:23<\/span>, cannot be shown to be even probable, since there is no ground for the assumption that Hezyon also bore the name Rezon, and is called by the latter name here and by the former in 1Ki 11:23<\/span>.<\/p>\n 1Ki 15:20<\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong> Benhadad consented to Asa’s request, and directed his captains to advance into the kingdom of Israel: they took several cities in the north of the land, whereby Baasha was compelled to give up fortifying Ramah and withdraw to Thirza. Ijon<\/em> ( ) is to be sought for in all probability in Tell Dibbin<\/em>, on the eastern border of Merj Ayun<\/em>; and in Ajun<\/em>, although Ajun is written with Aleph<\/em>, the name Ijon<\/em> is probably preserved, since the situation of this Tell seems thoroughly adapted for a fortress on the northern border of Israel (vid., Robinson, Bibl. Res<\/em>. p. 375, and Van de Velde, Mem<\/em>. p. 322). Dan<\/em> is the present Tell el Kadi<\/em>; see at Jos 19:47<\/span>. Abel-Beth-Maachah<\/em>, the present Abil el Kamh<\/em>, to the north-west of Lake Huleh (see at 2Sa 20:14<\/span>). “All Chinneroth<\/em> ” is the district of Chinnereth<\/em>, the tract of land on the western shore of the Lake of Gennesareth (see at Jos 19:35<\/span>). , together with all the land of Naphtali (for this meaning of fo gninae m compare the Comm. on Gen 32:12<\/span>). The cities named were the principal fortresses of the land of Naphtali, with which the whole of the country round was also smitten, i.e., laid waste.<\/p>\n 1Ki 15:21<\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong> , and remained at Thirza, his place of residence (see at 1Ki 14:17<\/span>).<\/p>\n 1Ki 15:22<\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong> Asa thereupon summoned all Judah , nemine immuni<\/em>, i.e., excepto<\/em>, no one being free (cf., Ewald, 286, a<\/em>.), and had the stones and the wood carried away from Ramah, and Geba<\/em> and Mizpah<\/em> in Benjamin built, i.e., fortified, with them. Geba<\/em> must not be confounded with Gibeah<\/em> of Benjamin or Saul, but is the present Jeba<\/em>, three-quarters of an hour to the north-east of Ramah (see at Jos 18:24<\/span>). Mizpah<\/em>, the present Nebi Samwil<\/em>, about three-quarters of a geographical mile to the south-west of Ramah (see at Jos 18:26<\/span>).<\/p>\n 1Ki 15:23-24<\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong> Of the other acts of Asa, the building of cities refers to the building of fortifications mentioned in 2Ch 14:5-6<\/span>. The disease in his feet in the time of his old age commenced, according to 2Ch 16:12<\/span>, in the thirty-ninth year of his reign; and he sought help from the physicians, but not from the Lord; from which we may see, that the longer he lived the more he turned his heart away from the Lord (compare 2Ch 16:10<\/span>).<\/p>\n Asa’s Reign.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/I><\/span><\/P> <\/TD> B. C.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN> 914.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/FONT><\/P> <\/TD> <\/TR> <\/TABLE> 9 And in the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel reigned Asa over Judah. 10 And forty and one years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was<\/I> Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom. 11 And Asa did that which was<\/I> right in the eyes of the LORD<\/B>, as did<\/I> David his father. 12 And he took away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. 13 And also Maachah his mother, even her he removed from being<\/I> queen, because she had made an idol in a grove; and Asa destroyed her idol, and burnt it<\/I> by the brook Kidron. 14 But the high places were not removed: nevertheless Asa’s heart was perfect with the LORD<\/B> all his days. 15 And he brought in the things which his father had dedicated, and the things which himself had dedicated, into the house of the LORD<\/B>, silver, and gold, and vessels. 16 And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. 17 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. 18 Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were<\/I> left in the treasures of the house of the LORD<\/B>, 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, 19 There is<\/I> a league between me and thee, and<\/I> 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. 20 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 Abel-beth-maachah, and all Cinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali. 21 And it came to pass, when Baasha heard thereof,<\/I> that he left off building of Ramah, and dwelt in Tirzah. 22 Then king Asa made a proclamation throughout all Judah; none was<\/I> 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. 23 The rest of all the acts of Asa, and all his might, and all that he did, and the cities which he built, are<\/I> 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. 24 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.<\/P> We have here a short account of the reign of Asa; we shall find a more copious history of it 2 Chron. xiv., xv., and xvi.<\/span> Here is,<\/P> I. The length of it: He reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem,<\/I> v.<\/span> 10<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span>. In the account we have of the kings of Judah we find the number of the good kings and the bad ones nearly equal; but then we may observe, to our comfort, that the reign of the good kings was generally long, but that of the bad kings short, the consideration of which will make the state of God’s church not altogether so bad within that period as it appears at first sight. Length of days is in Wisdom’s right hand. Honour thy father,<\/I> much more thy heavenly Father, that thy days may be long.<\/I><\/P> II. The general good character of it (v.<\/I><\/span> 11<\/span>): Asa did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord,<\/I> and that is right indeed which is so in God’s eyes; those are approved whom he commends. He did as did David his father,<\/I> kept close to God, and to his instituted worship, was hearty and zealous for that, which gave him this honourable character, that he was like David, though he was not a prophet, or psalmist, as David was. If we come up to the graces of those that have gone before us it will be our praise with God, though we come short of their gifts. Asa was like David, though he was neither such a conqueror nor such an author; for his heart was perfect with the Lord all his days<\/I> (v.<\/I><\/span> 14<\/span>), that is, he was both cordial and constant in his religion. What he did for God he was sincere in, steady and uniform, and did it from a good principle, with a single eye to the glory of God.<\/P> III. The particular instances of Asa’s piety. His times were times of reformation. For,<\/P> 1. He removed that which was evil. There reformation begins; and a great deal of work of that kind his hand found to do. For, though it was but twenty years after the death of Solomon that he began to reign, yet very gross corruption had spread far and taken deep root. Immorality he first struck at: He took away the sodomites out of the land,<\/I> suppressed the brothels; for how can either prince or people prosper while those cages of unclean and filthy birds, more dangerous than pest-houses, are suffered to remain? Then he proceeded against idolatry: He removed all the idols,<\/I> even those that his father had made,<\/I> v.<\/span> 12<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span>. His father having made them, he was the more concerned to remove them, that he might cut off the entail of the curse, and prevent the visiting of that iniquity upon him and his. Nay (which redounds much to his honour, and shows his heart was perfect with God), when he found idolatry in the court, he rooted it out thence, v.<\/I><\/span> 13<\/span>. When it appeared that Maachah his mother, or rather his grandmother (but called his mother<\/I> because she had the educating of him in his childhood), had an idol in a grove, though she was his mother, his grandmother,–though, it is likely, she had a particular fondness for it,–though, being old, she could not live long to patronise it,–though she kept it for her own use only, yet he would by no means connive at her idolatry. Reformation must begin at home. Bad practices will never be suppressed in the country while they are supported in the court. Asa, in every thing else, will honour and respect his mother; he loves her well, but he loves God better, and (like the Levite, Deut. xxxiii. 9<\/span>) readily forgets the relation when it comes in competition with his duty. If she be an idolater, (1.) Her idol shall be destroyed, publicly exposed to contempt, defaced, and burnt to ashes by the brook Kidron,<\/I> on which, it is probable, he strewed the ashes, in imitation of Moses (Exod. xxxii. 20<\/span>) and in token of his detestation of idolatry and his indignation at it wherever he found it. Let no remains of a court-idol appear. (2.) She shall be deposed, He removed her from being queen, or from the queen, that is, from conversing with his wife; he banished her from the court, and confined her to an obscure and private life. Those that have power are happy when thus they have hearts to use it well.<\/P> 2. He re-established that which was good (v.<\/I><\/span> 15<\/span>): He brought into the house of God the dedicated things<\/I> which he himself had vowed out of the spoils of the Ethiopians he had conquered, and which his father had vowed, but lived not to bring in pursuant to his vow. We must not only cease to do evil, but learn to do well, not only cast away the idols of our iniquity, but dedicate ourselves and our all to God’s honour and glory. When those who, in their infancy, were by baptism devoted to God, make it their own act and deed to join themselves to him and vigorously employ themselves in his service, this is bringing in the dedicated things which they and their fathers have dedicated: it is necessary justice–rendering to God the things that are his.<\/P> VI. The policy of his reign. He built cities himself, to encourage the increase of his people (v.<\/I><\/span> 23<\/span>) and to invite others to him by the conveniences of habitation; and he was very zealous to hinder Baasha from building Ramah, because he designed it for the cutting off of communication between his people and Jerusalem and to hinder those who in obedience to God would come to worship there. An enemy must by no means be suffered to fortify a frontier town.<\/P> V. The faults of his reign. In both the things for which he was praised he was found defective. The fairest characters are not without some but<\/I> or other in them. 1. Did he take away the idols? That was well; but the high places were not removed<\/I> (v.<\/I><\/span> 14<\/span>); therein his reformation fell short. He removed all images which were rivals with the true God or false representations of him; but the altars which were set up in high places, and to which those sacrifices were brought which should have been offered on the altar in the temple, those he suffered to stand, thinking there was no great harm in them, they having been used by good men before the temple was built, and being loth to disoblige the people, who had a kindness to them and were wedded to them both by custom and convenience; whereas in Judah and Benjamin, the only tribes under Asa’s government which lay so near Jerusalem and the altars there, there was less pretence for them than in those tribes which lay more remote. They were against the law, which obliged them to worship at one place,<\/I> Deut. xii. 11<\/I><\/span>. They lessened men’s esteem of the temple and the altars there, and were an open gap for idolatry to enter in at, while the people were so much addicted to it. It was not well that Asa, when his hand was in, did not remove these. Nevertheless his heart was perfect with the Lord.<\/I> This affords us a comfortable note, That those may be found honest and upright with God, and be accepted of him, who yet, in some instances, come short of doing the good they might and should do. The perfection which is made the indispensable condition of the new covenant is not to be understood of sinlessness (then we were all undone), but sincerity. 2. Did he bring in the dedicated things? That was well; but he afterwards alienated the dedicated things, when he took the gold and silver out of the house of God and sent them as a bribe to Benhadad, to hire him to break his league with Baasha, and, by making an inroad upon his country, to give him a diversion from the building of Ramah, 1Ki 15:18<\/span>; 1Ki 15:19<\/span>. Here he sinned, (1.) In tempting Benhadad to break his league, and so to violate the public faith. If he did wrong in doing it, as certainly he did, Asa did wrong in persuading him to do it. (2.) In that he could not trust God, who had done so much for him, to free him out of this strait, without using such indirect means to help himself. (3.) In taking the gold out of the treasury of the temple, which was not to be made use of but on extraordinary occasions. The project succeeded. Benhadad made a descent upon the land of Israel, which obliged Baasha to retire with his whole force from Ramah (1Ki 15:20<\/span>; 1Ki 15:21<\/span>), which gave Asa a fair opportunity to demolish his works there, and the timber and stones served him for the building of some cities of his own, v.<\/I><\/span> 22<\/span>. But, though the design prospered, we find it was displeasing to God; and though Asa valued himself upon the policy of it, and promised himself that it would effectually secure his peace, he was told by the prophet that he had done foolishly, and that thenceforth he should have wars;<\/I> see 2 Chron. xvi. 7-9<\/span>.<\/P> VI. The troubles of his reign. For the most part he prospered; but, 1. Baasha king of Israel was a very troublesome neighbour to him. He reigned twenty-four years, and all his days had war, more or less, with Asa, v.<\/I><\/span> 16<\/span>. This was the effect of the division of the kingdoms, that they were continually vexing one another, and so weakened one another, which made them both an easier prey to the common enemy. 2. In his old age he was himself afflicted with the gout: He was diseased in his feet,<\/I> which made him less fit for business and peevish towards those about him.<\/P> VII. The conclusion of his reign. The acts of it were more largely recorded in the common history (to which reference is here had, v.<\/I><\/span> 23<\/span>) than in this sacred one. He reigned long, but finished at last with honour, and left his throne to a successor no way inferior to him.<\/P> <\/p>\n CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES<\/strong>.<\/p>\n 1Ki. 15:12<\/span>. The sodomites<\/strong>vide<\/em> Notes on 1Ki. 14:24<\/span>. All the idols<\/strong>, a word for despicable things. The Rabbins render it mud-gods; Ewald<\/em> renders it doll-images; Gesenius<\/em>, idol-blocks. <\/p>\n 1Ki. 15:13<\/span>. An idol in a grove<\/strong>This is a word of far different meaning from that in 1Ki. 15:12<\/span>. means horrendum<\/em>, as from the verb , to terrify, horrify<\/em>. It Is conjectured that this was an obscene figure, a phallus<\/em> image, a symbol of the productive powers of nature, specially (according to the Rabbins) revolting to the Hebrews. Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n