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First Kings chapter 14. 1 Kings chapter 14, the last several 
weeks we've been noticing or sort of focusing upon Jeroboam, 
or the book itself has indeed focused upon Jeroboam toward 
the end of chapter 12, highlighting his plunge into idolatry, he 
and the northern tribes, and then chapters 13 and 14 continue 
that theme and indicate the judgment upon the house of Jeroboam in 
the first part of chapter 14. Here, beginning in chapter 14 
at verse 21, the scene shifts. We now move to a survey of a 
few of the kings in the southern kingdom. Remember, there is a 
division in the kingdom. There are the northern tribes, 
there are the southern tribes. So we've seen some emphasis on 
Jeroboam in the north, and now there's an emphasis upon three 
kings in Judah to the south. So I'll begin reading in verse 
21. And Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, reigned in Judah. Rehoboam 
was 41 years old when he became king. He reigned 17 years in 
Jerusalem, the city which the Lord had chosen out of all the 
tribes of Israel, to put his name there. His mother's name 
was Naamah, an Ammonitess. Now Judah did evil in the sight 
of the Lord, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins, 
which they committed, more than all that their fathers had done. 
For they also built for themselves high places, sacred pillars, 
and wooden images on every high hill and under every grain tree. And there were also perverted 
persons in the land. They did according to all the 
abominations of the nations which the Lord had cast out before 
the children of Israel. It happened in the fifth year 
of King Rehoboam that Shishak, king of Egypt, came up against 
Jerusalem, and he took away the treasures of the house of the 
Lord and the treasures of the king's house. He took away everything. He also took away all the gold 
shields which Solomon had made. Then King Rehoboam made bronze 
shields in their place and committed them to the hands of the captains 
of the guard, who guarded the doorway of the king's house. 
And whenever the king entered the house of the Lord, the guards 
carried them, then brought them back into the guardroom. Now 
the rest of the acts of Rehoboam 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 Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days. 
So Rehoboam rested with his fathers and was buried with his fathers 
in the city of David. His mother's name was Naaman 
and Ammonitus. Then Abijam, his son, reigned 
in his place. In the 18th year of King Jeroboam, 
the son of Nebat, Abijam became king over Judah. He reigned three 
years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Meachah, 
the granddaughter of Abishalom. And he walked in all the sins 
of his father, which he had done before him. His heart was not 
loyal to the Lord as God, as was the heart of his father David. 
Nevertheless, for David's sake, the Lord, his God, gave him a 
lamp in Jerusalem, by setting up his son after him and by establishing 
Jerusalem. Because David did what was right 
in the eyes of the Lord, and had not turned aside from anything 
that he had commanded him all the days of his life, except 
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. So Abijam rested with his fathers 
and they buried him in the city of David. Then Esau, his son, 
reigned in his place. In the 20th year of Jeroboam, 
king of Israel, Asa became king over Judah, and he reigned 41 
years in Jerusalem. His grandmother's name was Meachah, 
the granddaughter of Abishalom. Asa did what was right in the 
eyes of the Lord, as did his father David. And he banished 
the perverted persons from the land and removed all the idols 
that his fathers had made. Also, he removed Maekah, his 
grandmother, from being queen mother because she had made an 
obscene image of Asherah. And Asa cut down her obscene 
image and burned it by the brook Kidron. but the high places were 
not removed. Nevertheless, Asa's heart was 
loyal to the Lord all his days. He also brought into the house 
of the Lord the things which his father had dedicated, and 
the things which he himself had dedicated, silver and gold and 
utensils. Now there was war between Asa 
and Basha, king of Israel, all their days. And Basha, king of 
Israel, came up against Judah and built Ramah, that he might 
let none go out or come in to Asa, king of Judah. Then Asa 
took all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries 
of the house of the Lord and the treasuries of the king's 
house and delivered them into the hand of his servants. And 
King Asa sent them to Ben-Hadad, the son of Tabrimon, the son 
of Hetzion, king of Syria, who dwelt in Damascus, saying, Let 
there be a treaty between you and me, as there was between 
my father and your father. See, I have sent you a present 
of silver and gold. Come and break your treaty with 
Basha, king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me. So 
Ben-Hadad heeded King Asa and sent the captains of his armies 
against the cities of Israel. He attacked Ejon, Dan, Abel, 
Beth, Maacah, and all Kinnerath with all the land of Naphtali. 
Now it happened when Basha heard it that he stopped building Ramah 
and remained in Terza. Then King Asa made a proclamation 
throughout all Judah. None was exempted. And they took 
away the stones and timber of Ramah, which Basha had used for 
building, and with them King Asa built Geba of Benjamin and 
Mitzpah. The rest of all the acts of Asa, 
all his might, all that he did in the cities which he built, 
are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings 
of Judah? But in the time of his old age, he was diseased 
in his feet. So Esau rested with his fathers 
and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father. 
Then Jehoshaphat, his son, reigned in his place. Amen. So the reign 
of Rehoboam, Abijam, and Esau. We're not going to look at every 
jot and tittle of this particular section, but try to give an overview 
and get the main thought with reference to the main events 
concerning these particular kings, and then seek to draw out some 
practical lessons at the end. And I want to just go through 
each of these particular kings under two considerations. The 
first verse or two typically describe the details concerning 
their reign, and then the second section gives the description 
of their reign. So in the section dealing with 
Rehoboam, we see details concerning his reign in verse 21, and then 
the description of his reign in verses 22 to 31. In terms 
of his reign, rather in terms of the details, Notice that he 
was indeed the son of Solomon. We've already met him, we've 
already seen him in chapter 11 at verse 43, all the way to chapter 
12, verse 24. He was the king who succeeded 
Solomon, and he was the one under whose watch the kingdom was torn 
apart. As well, notice that he is planted 
in the city of Jerusalem. We are reminded in verse 1 that 
this is the city which the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes 
of Israel. The length of his reign is indicated 
there for us. It is 17 years. From a parallel 
or from a consideration of the parallel in 2 Chronicles 11 and 
2 Chronicles 12, we see that there were three good years and 
then 14 bad years. And then note that it highlights 
who his mother was. His mother's name was Nehemiah 
and Ammonitus. It says that in the beginning 
and then it says that at the end in the summary section concerning 
the description of his reign. And I think what the author is 
probably doing here is reminding us concerning Solomon. Solomon 
married strange woman or foreign women. and some of them were 
Ammonites, and they were idolaters. And so when we proceed in this 
description of Rehoboam and we see Judah plunged into the same 
sort of sin that we saw the northern tribes plunged into, it makes 
sense in light of who this man's mother was and who he learned 
his religion from. And so this is the man Rehoboam, 
son of Solomon. Now notice in terms of the description 
of his reign. In the first place we see religious 
apostasy. It's sort of like the author 
does this. He sets before us in chapters 
12 to the first part of chapter 14, Jeroboam and the various 
sins that plague the north. Idolatry, apostasy, defection, 
a turning away from the living and the true God. When the camera 
now shifts from north to south, we're hoping for better things, 
but that's not what we get. We get a replay or we get more 
of the same, this time with reference to the southern tribes. Notice 
in verse 22, it says, now Judah did evil in the sight of the 
Lord. It's a little bit different than what we find with reference 
to Jeroboam. Jeroboam institutionalized the 
idolatry, and then the northern tribes followed along. Here we 
see it's Judah did evil, but a comparison in 2 Chronicles 
highlights Rehoboam's culpability as well. In 2 Chronicles 12, 
verse 1, it says, It came to pass, when Rehoboam had established 
the kingdom and had strengthened himself, that he forsook the 
law of the Lord and all Israel along with him. So, both are 
guilty, both Rehoboam and the children of Judah. Now, note 
the description of the apostasy in verses 22 and 23. It says, 
Judah did evil in the sight of the Lord, and they provoked Him 
to jealousy with their sins, which they committed more than 
all that their fathers had done. For they also built for themselves 
high places, sacred pillars, and wooden images on every high 
hill and under every green tree. This is programmatic. This is 
going to be typical or what is characteristic of the Southern 
tribes. So the North has seen apostasy 
and idolatry. The South will see apostasy and 
idolatry. In fact, if you look at 2 Kings 
17, as it's sort of rehearsing for us the conditions of Israel 
as a whole, just on the eve of the fall of the Northern Kingdom, 
In 2 Chronicles 17, specifically in verses 8 to 11, tells us they 
had walked in the statutes of the nations whom the Lord had 
cast out from before the children of Israel and the kings of Israel 
which they had made. And the children of Israel secretly 
did against the Lord their God the things that were not right. 
And they built for themselves high places in all their cities, 
from watchtower to fortified city. They set up for themselves 
sacred pillars and wooden images on every high hill and under 
every green tree. There they burned incense on 
all the high places, like the nations whom the Lord had carried 
away before them. And they did wicked things to 
provoke the Lord to anger, for they served idols, of which the 
Lord had said to them, You shall not do this thing." So what we 
find in chapter 14 concerning both the North and the South 
is symptomatic of their apostasy and defection from the living 
and the true God. Now, there will be bright lights 
in Judah. I think eight total good kings 
in Judah. But for the most part, there 
is apostasy perpetuated among the people in Judah. There's 
never a good king in the north. There's never a good king in 
the northern tribes. But if you go back to chapter 
14 in 1 Kings, there is an interesting reference in verse 24. It says, and there were also 
perverted persons in the land. If you have the New King James 
Bible, you'll see the marginal reading. This is the Hebrew word 
Kadesh. which means holy and sanctified, 
but it also has a connotation concerning evil wickedness. And the margin says, one practicing 
sodomy and prostitution in religious rituals. These were indeed male 
prostitutes that engaged in wickedness in order to try and entice the 
gods of the heathen to promote blessing. In fact, a famous or 
popular Bible dictionary describes it this way. Many considered 
that the processes of nature were controlled by the relations 
between gods and goddesses. By engaging in sexual intercourse 
with devotees of the shrine, they believed that this would 
encourage the gods and goddesses to do likewise, with the result 
that a person's desire for increase in herds and fields, as well 
as in his own family, could be realized. Now, the Geneva Bible 
makes this interesting observation, and I want to cite it and then 
recall to mind something in the New Testament that's very similar 
to this passage. The Geneva Bible says, where 
idolatry reigns, all horrible vices are committed, till at 
length God's just judgment destroy them utterly. This is, in some 
sense, the Romans 1 in the former prophets, because what you have 
is idolatry. They have forsaken God, and as 
a result of that, they engage in all manner of lawlessness 
and wickedness. You see that progression in Romans 
chapter 1. You see that they exchange the 
glory of the incorruptible God for that which is corruptible. 
They would rather worship four-footed animals and creeping things. 
And then from that point on, it says, and God gave them up 
to a debased mind. And then it describes homosexuality. It describes that exchange of 
that which is natural for that which is an abomination. And 
then as a result of that, God gave them up. Well, we'll see 
the same progression here. Idolatry, and then gross wickedness, 
and then God gives them up specifically to judgment by Shishak, the king 
of Egypt. This same sort of principle is 
at play here that we find in the book of Romans. Notice as 
well in verse 24 the implied reference to their coming exile. It says at the end of verse 24, 
they did according to all the abominations of the nations which 
the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel. What 
is the consistent teaching or the consistent refrain in the 
Old Testament? Is that the people of Israel 
were going to inherit this promised land. They were supposed to dispossess 
the Canaanites from the Promised Land. Instead of dispossessing 
the Canaanites, they dwell with the Canaanites and they then 
become the Canaanites and worship the Canaanite deities. As a result 
of that, 2 Kings 17 highlights that the northern tribes are 
cast out of the land. 2 Kings 25 demonstrates that 
the southern tribes are cast out of the land. When they engage 
in the same sort of abominable practices that the Canaanites 
engaged in, instead of ridding the land of Canaanites, becoming 
like the Canaanites, then God will rid the land of those Canaanites. So this is not even so much a 
veiled reference to the coming exile. Davis says, the threat 
of verse 24 is hardly veiled. Since the people of Judah delight 
to ape Canaanite religion, they will suffer a Canaanite fate, 
relieved of their place in the land. So again, when we come 
to this particular section, we are reminded that sin is universal, 
that depravity is a reality, that it's not something confined 
to Jeroboam and the northerners, but it's something that Rehoboam 
and the southerners have mastered as well. Now note the foreign 
invasion in verses 25 to 28. This is indeed the judgment of 
God. Notice in verse 25. It happened 
in the fifth year of King Rehoboam that Shishak, king of Egypt, 
came up against Jerusalem. That is no accident. when the 
nation has gone a-whoring from God, when the nation has turned 
their back upon God, when the nation has multiplied idols and 
bowed to them, and there are actually cult prostitutes in 
the land, when they do all the abominations of the nations which 
the Lord had cast out before them, it is no accident that 
the judgment of God comes with swiftness and with great power. Now, if that is not conspicuous 
in the passage here, it is certainly conspicuous in 2 Chronicles 12, 
verse 5. It says, Then Shemaiah the prophet 
came to Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah, who were gathered together 
in Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, Thus says the 
Lord, You have forsaken me, and therefore I also have left you 
in the hand of Shishak. We need to see that whole idea 
that when we continue in rebellion and sin against God, God gives 
us over. God does not continue to coddle 
and to continue to cuddle those who continue in rebellion and 
forsake Him. Apostasy and idolatry are met 
by God with a certain judgment. So this man Shishak, king of 
Egypt, comes up against Israel. Notice in verse 26, he took away 
the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of 
the king's house. He took away everything. He also 
took away all the gold shields which Solomon had made. Now, 
he either did this by force, by way of a military incursion. 
He seized Jerusalem, seized the goods in the house of God and 
in the house of the king, or Rehoboam gave this stuff to him 
to get him out of there. It was a payoff. It was a means 
by which you would at least preserve the city and the integrity of 
the buildings. It'd be akin to somebody saying, 
give me your money. You know, you hand them your 
wallet, and you say, take the money, but at least give me my 
wallet. I don't want to have to go through the spiel of getting 
my cards renewed and all that. Just take the money. It would 
be similar to that. Go ahead and take the goods from 
the house of the Lord and from the king's palace. But either 
way, what happened is that Shishak, indeed, took those things. We 
see that idolatry has political consequences. Idolatry affected 
the entirety of the nation. He plundered the Lord's house 
and the king's house. House, the commentator says, 
Rehoboam is forced to relinquish the temple treasures just to 
get rid of Shishak. Paying invaders to leave will 
become standard practice in Judah. This will become very symptomatic 
of what will happen. And then notice the aftermath 
of the judgment. It refers specifically at the 
end of verse 26 to those gold shields which Solomon had made. We saw those in chapter 10 at 
verses 16 and 17. Note interestingly afterwards 
in verse 27, then King Rehoboam made bronze shields in their 
place and committed them to the hands of the captains of the 
guard who guarded the doorway of the king's house. Whenever 
the king entered the house of the Lord, which that's good, 
He did enter the house of the Lord. It took an invasion from 
Shishak, king of Egypt, to get him off the high places into 
the house of the Lord. So, you know, the judgment there 
had some remedial effect upon Rehoboam. But that is an intriguing 
thing. After the gold shields have been 
seized by Shishak, then Rehoboam makes bronze shields. What's 
the author telling us? He's telling us the golden era 
under Solomon is no longer. The golden age under Solomon 
is no longer. Proven describes it this way. The golden age of Solomon is 
replaced by the rather grubbier bronze age of Rehoboam. And the 
peace that Solomon had known is replaced by continual warfare. There's been an utter shift in 
things concerning the southern kingdom at this particular point. 
Now, notice the summary statement in verses 29 to 31. You have civil war. Verse 30, 
there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days. 
That's civil war. You have his death, verse 31, 
so Rehoboam rested with his fathers and was buried with his fathers 
in the city of David, a repetition of his mother, the Ammonitess, 
and then his successor, Abijam, who reigned in his place. And 
that brings us to the reign of Abijam in chapter 15, verses 
1 to 8. Again, the details in verses 
1 and 2. He is the son of Rehoboam and 
the son of Maacah, the granddaughter of Abishalom. Now, commentators 
typically, or generally, or at least among the Jews, believe 
that this was Absalom. If you look at the parallel passage 
in 2 Chronicles 11-20, he is called Absalom. John Gill says, 
generally supposed by the Jews to be Absalom, the son of David, 
and which may seem not improbable since his other two wives were 
of his father's family. Josephus says she was the daughter 
of Tamar, the daughter of Absalom, and so his granddaughter. So 
that's his introduction. Notice the description. Again, 
we have religious apostasy. As we continue in 1 Kings, it's 
almost going to become tedious. You know, there's a few standouts 
along the way that do good things for God, but for the most part, 
it's this continual refrain. And that was the history of Israel. It was a continual refrain of 
idolatry and apostasy and defection and failure. The persons of Israel 
were tutored to continually look to the coming one, to the Lord 
Jesus Christ, who would indeed save His people from their sins. 
But notice, specifically in verse 3, He walked in all the sins 
of His Father which He had done before Him. So he walks according 
to Rehoboam and not according to David. The end of verse 3, 
his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God as was the heart 
of his father David. Now notice what we find here 
in 2 Chronicles 13 is a very favorable report concerning Abijah. It's a very glowing report. Now, some would look at this 
and say, well, on the one hand, Kings tells us it wasn't favorable. And on the other hand, Chronicles 
tells us it was favorable. So how do we reconcile that? 
Well, simply this. In 2 Chronicles, Abijam is being 
compared to Jeroboam. So certainly he looks fantastic. But here, he's being compared 
to David. So he doesn't look fantastic. So that's the way that we understand. And again, when we look at Kings 
and Chronicles, we need to remember that they both record history. 
But they're both recorders of theological history. And they 
both have particular functions. The Book of Kings was written 
at the very beginning point of the exile. And essentially, Kings 
is answering the question, how we ended up in this particular 
mess. In other words, how did we end 
up in either A, Assyria, or B, in Babylon? It's because we defected 
and apostatized and engaged in idolatry. Chronicles is written 
toward the end of the exile, and it's supposed to promote 
hope. It's why Chronicles doesn't deal with any of the kings from 
the north, because the northern tribes collapsed in 722 BC, never 
to be reconvened. The southern tribes go into captivity 
in 586, but they're only going to be there for 70 years. Because 
of the Davidic covenant, Judah will be reconvened. The Davidic 
covenant did not cover the northern tribes. It protected the house 
of Judah. And so at or toward the end of 
the exile, Chronicles is written to encourage the people of God, 
to inspire hope in the people of God. And so oftentimes those 
kings are looked at, or the good is presented very much so. And we'll see that in just a 
moment when we look in a bit more detail with reference to 
Abijah. But in verse 3, it tells us that 
he did not engage in the same sort of heart loyalty as his 
father David. But verses 4 and 5 are a bit 
of a glance to the Davidic covenant. That Davidic covenant sort of 
overshadows the entirety of Kings and Chronicles. Notice in verse 
4, nevertheless, for David's sake, the Lord his God gave him 
a lamp in Jerusalem by setting up his son after him and by establishing 
Jerusalem. Because David did what was right 
in the eyes of the Lord and had not turned aside from anything 
that he commanded him all the days of his life except in the 
matter of Uriah the Hittite. So you see that this lamp in 
Jerusalem was for David's sake. This is Davidic covenant language. There will be chastisement for 
the sinning sons of David, but there'll always be mercy for 
the house of David because of that promise, because of that 
covenant that will ultimately come to realization and fruition 
in David's greater son, the Lord Jesus Christ. So you see that 
this will never be extinguished in Judah. You don't get these 
kinds of promises toward the north. You get destruction, you 
get closure, and you get no more reconvening. But you get that 
very opposite in Judah. And then notice there is civil 
war. Verse 6, there was war between 
Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life. Now that doesn't 
mean Rehoboam was still king. I think it just indicates all 
the days of Rehoboam and Jeroboam certainly to include the reign 
of Abijam as it's reported there in verse 7. But that civil war is quite interesting 
with reference to Abijam, and I think it does bear investigation. You can turn to 2 Chronicles. 
2 Chronicles, specifically chapter 13. It's a pretty amazing battle 
that is waged here. And this is where I can show 
you, or you'll see, what I said earlier. He is presented very 
favorably in 2 Chronicles. Essentially, what you have are 
the numbers involved in this civil war in chapter 13, verses 
2 and 3. Notice, there was war between 
Abijah. Abijah is Abijam. Abijam set 
the battle in order with an army of valiant warriors, 400,000 
choice men. Jeroboam also drew up in battle formation against 
him with 800,000 choice men, mighty men of valor. So the numbers 
involved, and then a rehearsal of their history and religion. 
Essentially what Abijam says is that everything was cool until 
Jeroboam came along and revolted against David's house. And there 
were rogues that gathered together with Jeroboam, and this caused 
a rift in the kingdom. So he essentially says that. 
I mean, that's the Jim Butler sort of translation, abbreviated 
very much so. And then he highlights their 
religious differences. Notice in verse 11, and they, 
the northerners, burned to the Lord every, I'm sorry, the southerners, 
burned to the Lord every morning and every evening, burnt sacrifices 
and sweet incense. They also set the showbread in 
order on the pure gold table, and the lampstand of gold with 
its lamps to burn every evening. For we keep the command of the 
Lord our God, but you have forsaken Him." Again, persons say, well, 
why didn't all this make it into the book of Kings? written at 
a different time to a different particular group and different 
particular circumstances. There's no contradiction. There 
is no fundamental difference. It is similar to what we find 
in the gospel records, because Matthew includes a detail that 
Mark does not include. doesn't mean there's a contradiction. A contradiction is to say that 
this is here and it's the case that it's not here. That's contradictory. But when you have, you know, 
certain authors filling out more of a story, that's a blessed 
thing. That's a good thing. Now notice, 
in verse 12, Abijam says, now look, God himself is with us 
as our head and his priests with sounding trumpets to sound the 
alarm against you, O children of Israel, do not fight against 
the Lord God of your fathers, for you shall not prosper. And then the battle proper is 
given to us in verses 13 to 17. Again, this is amazing. Verse 
13, Jeroboam caused an ambush to go around behind them. So they were in front of Judah, 
and the ambush was behind them. And when Judah looked around, 
to their surprise, the battle line was at both front and rear, 
and they cried out to the Lord. You get the scene, right? They 
are outgunned 2 to 1. It's 800,000 to 400,000, and 
they've got them in the front and in the back. I think the 
author wants you to appreciate what's happening here. When they 
looked around to their surprise, the battle line was at both front 
and rear. Now note, they cried out to the 
Lord, and the priests sounded the trumpets. Then the men of 
Judah gave a shout, and as the men of Judah shouted, it happened 
that God struck Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijam and 
Judah. And the children of Israel fled 
before Judah, and God delivered them into their hand. Then Abijam 
and his people struck them with a great slaughter. So 500,000 
choice men of Israel fell slain. Thus the children of Israel were 
subdued at that time, and the children of Judah prevailed. 
Now notice, because they relied on the Lord God of their fathers. 
Now interestingly enough, verses 19 and 20, this is the occasion 
upon which Jeroboam actually died. So you see, God delivered 
His people Judah in a very powerful and a very glorious way there 
in the case of Abijam. And then back to 1 Kings 15, 
verse 8 gives us the summary statement concerning Abijam. 
He rested with his fathers, they buried him in the city of David, 
and then Asa, his son, reigned in his place. Now let's look 
at Asa finally. The first place, the details, 
verses 9 and 10, the 20th year of Jeroboam. Now all of this 
20th and 3rd and 4th, all of them jive. They all make sense. We simply don't have the time 
to go through the various places and, you know, put it all together. 
But, you know, trust me, they jive. Don't trust me. Look up 
John Gill. He'll take you through, you know, 
every jot and tittle and explain how the numbers all jive and 
what was happening here and what was happening there. Just, you 
know, we don't always have time for all of that in these particular 
studies. But notice, Asa became king over 
Judah. He reigned 41 years in Jerusalem. His grandmother's name was Mechah, 
the granddaughter of Abishalom. 41 years. Now, Asa was a good 
king. In fact, the only other two that 
are commended more highly than Asa are Hezekiah and Josiah. As I said, there are eight kings 
in Judah that are said to have done what is right in the sight 
of Yahweh. Three of those kings are compared 
favorably to David, and they are Hezekiah, Josiah, and this 
man Asa. And I think it's intriguing because 
Asa was not perfect. And in fact, we're going to notice 
something from Chronicles tonight that indicates his imperfection. But I think it should help us 
to appreciate that when we look at some of these characters in 
the Bible, even though there are blemishes, and even though 
there are sins, and even though there are imperfections, the 
entire tenor of their lives can be described as good. I mean, 
look at what we find here concerning David, except in the matter of 
Uriah the Hittite. Well, you were with us when we 
studied 1 and 2 Samuel. David did some other things that 
were a bit questionable along the way. The incident concerning 
Uriah also involved Bathsheba and the adultery and all those 
sorts of things. But you see, the sins and the 
imperfections of God's servants does not necessarily tar and 
feather the entirety of their career. And I think we ought 
to glean by way of a practical lesson that we ought to cut slack 
to the brethren. I know that may not seem like 
the most conspicuous application, but we ought not to demand perfection 
from our brethren. If God the Lord is content to 
describe an Asa as being one who fulfilled the Davidic norm, 
even though Asa did some things that are very unsavory, We ought 
to do likewise with our brothers and sisters. Why is it that we 
demand perfection from spouses, or from children, or from parents, 
or from brothers and sisters, or from elders, or from deacons? 
Why is it that we can't, with God, say, you know, the overarching 
description of this man's life is that he's a good man. The 
overarching description of this woman's life is that she's a 
good woman. None of us are perfect. None 
of us will ever fulfill every jot and tittle. None of us are 
the Lord Jesus Christ. So Esau overall was a very good 
man and we ought to appreciate that. So as we look at the description 
of his reign in verses 11 to 22, it first highlights the positive 
and then it secondly highlights the negative. First, the positive 
in verses 11 to 15. There is a positive comparison 
to David. Verse 11, Asa did what was right 
in the eyes of the Lord as did his father David. That's huge. That's monumental. As I said, 
of all the kings in both kingdoms, there's only three men that are 
compared favorably to David, and that is Esau, Hezekiah, and 
Josiah. And you've probably heard of 
Hezekiah and Josiah. They're something of heroes. 
I don't think we always hear as much about this man Esau. So he is positively compared 
to David. Notice what he does with those 
male cult prostitutes in verse 12a. He banished the perverted 
persons from the land. His son Jehoshaphat is going 
to finish the job in 1 Kings chapter 22. But he banished the 
perverted persons from the land and removed all the idols that 
his fathers had made. These are good things. He is 
a reformer. He is taking charge. He is the 
opposite of Jeroboam. Jeroboam institutes idolatry 
in the land. Asa comes to wipe idolatry out 
of the land. He is a favorable king to these 
brethren. It's intriguing as well. Notice 
in verse 12, the noun idols, and then again in verse 13, obscene 
image. Both of these are references 
to idols, but as Robert Alter points out, the vocabulary employed 
by the authors here is rich in invective terms for idols. In other words, there's no shortage 
of terms that they use to lambast idols. In fact, he says some 
of them are perhaps original coinages. That means they made 
up these words to describe the idols. The Hebrew, the noun in 
verse 12, is formed on a root that suggests dung. The Hebrew 
noun in verse 13 is clearly derived from a verbal root that means 
to suffer spasms of horror. So you see, they use this charged 
language in their description of idolatry to show how wicked 
and terrible and vile it is. The new King James gets at it 
in verse 13 a bit with this obscene image. It's something that causes 
horror. It's something that should cause 
panic among civilized covenant citizens. So Asa is taking care 
of business here. And then notice the removal of 
the queen mother and her idol in verse 13. He removed Maika, 
his grandmother, from being Queen Mother. Now, the fact that it 
says Queen Mother, but she's the grandmother, it probably 
means that she was in charge and had a large hand in his tutelage 
and rearing and had a place of position in the court. But he 
removed Maacah, his grandmother, from being queen mother because 
she had made an obscene image of Asherah, and Asa cut down 
her obscene image and burned it by the brook Kidron. You see, 
he doesn't say, well, you know, she's such a lovely woman and 
she did so many good... No! She's an idolater. She has put up this Asherah pole. 
She and it have got to go. The Geneva Bible describes it 
this way, neither kindred nor authority ought to be regarded 
when they blaspheme God and become idolaters, but must be punished. And I mentioned there's some 
imperfection with Esau, you even see it here in verse 14a, but 
the high places were not removed. That's not a good thing. The 
high places should have been removed because they were competitive 
worship sites for the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. But 
nevertheless, verse 14 says, Asa's heart was loyal to the 
Lord all his days. He also brought into the house 
of the Lord the things which his father had dedicated and 
the things which he himself had dedicated, silver and gold and 
utensils. He probably got these spoils 
when he won a war against the Ethiopians, according to 2 Chronicles 
chapter 14. So he takes it, he dedicates 
it to the house of the Lord. Now the negative, his political 
expediency. Verses 16 to 22. Now the author 
can't do everything at once. We haven't officially met Bashar, 
king of Israel. He's introduced in verse 16, 
but his formal introduction comes in chapter 15 at verse 27. And Bashar is dealt with from 
verse 27 to verse 34. So he is the new king in the 
north, and he's come to wage war against Esau. And notice 
what he does in verse 17. Basha king of Israel came up 
against Judah and built Ramah, that he might let none go out 
or come in to Asa king of Judah. This was about five miles north 
of Jerusalem and it was a major route and it would have kept 
the Judahites from being able to access the western coastal 
regions and to have, you know, any access north or south into 
Judah. So this was wise on the part 
of Basha, right? It was an economic blockade. 
It was sanctions imposed upon the Judahites. Well, Asa's wise 
enough to know that we can't have a northern stronghold five 
miles north of Jerusalem because that's not going to go well for 
us. So what does Asa do? Esau makes 
a treaty with Ben-Hadad, the king of Syria. Now just imagine 
for a moment, we don't have a map, but you've got sort of Jerusalem 
here, you've got Ramah here, and then you've got Syria here. And so essentially what Esau 
does is says to Ben-Hadad, break the covenant that you have made 
with Bashar. I'm going to give you all of 
this stuff, and I want you to break covenant with him, and 
I want you to attack him. So essentially, Ben-Hadad agrees, 
and because he's up here, he goes over here, and he takes 
Ejon, and Dan, and the other cities that are named there, 
and so Bashar can't stay in Ramah. Bayshah and the boys have to 
bail because they got to deal with this Syria incursion into 
the northern part of the kingdoms. Everybody get this? Just trying 
to simplify the scene here. And so what Asa does is he has 
this treaty with Ben-Hadad. But notice specifically in verse 
19, it says, let there be a treaty between you and me as there was 
between my father and your father. See, I have sent you a present 
of silver and gold. Come and break your treaty with 
Basha, king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me. Now, 
real quick, just turn over to the parallel in 2 Chronicles 
16. 2 Chronicles 16. Just going to point out a couple 
of inconsistencies with Asa. 2 Chronicles 16 at verse 7. This is after what we just considered. This is after this treaty with 
Ben-Hadad. This is after Ben-Hadad and the 
Syrians took the northern cities so that Baysha had to go to the 
north and leave Ramah unattended. At that time, verse 7 of 2 Chronicles 
16, Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, 
because you have relied on the king of Syria and have not relied 
on the Lord your God, therefore the army of the king of Syria 
has escaped from your hand. Were the Ethiopians and the Lubin 
not a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet, because 
you relied on the Lord, He delivered them into your hand. For the 
eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to 
show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal 
to Him. In this you have done foolishly. 
Therefore, from now on you shall have wars.' Then Asa was angry 
with the seer and put him in prison, for he was enraged at 
him because of this." And Asa oppressed some of the people 
at that time. Now, the problem with Asa isn't that he was mad 
at Anani. I mean, that wasn't good. He 
shouldn't have been mad at him and he shouldn't have treated 
him that way. But it was because he trusted in the Syrians. He 
didn't trust in God. And notice that Hanani refers 
to the Ethiopians and the Lubim. Turn back to 2 Chronicles 14. 
2 Chronicles 14 at verse 9, then 
Zerah the Ethiopian came out against them, this is the Judahites, 
the southern tribes, with an army of a million men and 300 
chariots and he came to Marashah. So Asa went out against him, 
and they set troops in battle array in the valley of Zephathah 
at Marashah. And Asa cried out to the Lord 
his God and said, Lord, it is nothing for you to help, whether 
with many or with those who have no power. Help us, O Lord our 
God, for we rest on you, and in your name we go against this 
multitude. O Lord, you are our God. Do not 
let man prevail against you. So what happens? The Lord God 
defeats the Ethiopians. So on the one hand, when he's 
facing Ethiopians, Esau says, O Lord, our God, we rest on you. Now, when he faces Bashar, king 
of Israel, he says, O Syria, we rest on you. You see, that's 
a problem. He shouldn't have done that. 
Go back to 1 Kings 15. You say, well, there's not one 
whiff of that in this text. There's no condemnation of Esau 
whatsoever. It's in verse 19. Let there be 
a treaty between you and me as there was between my father and 
your father. See, I have sent you a present." 
This word present translates a Hebrew word that just about 
everywhere else is translated bribe. It wasn't a present, it 
was a bribe. He was bribing the king of Syria 
so that the king of Syria would get Bashar off Asa's back. get him out of Ramah, get him 
back up to the north so that we can seize Ramah, fortify Geba 
and Mitzpah, and make sure that this northern incursion doesn't 
happen again. He bribed him with silver and 
gold. Guess where he got the silver 
and gold? He took it out of the house of 
the Lord. This was not good that Asa did 
this. John Gill says, it was sinful 
in him to take the money out of the temple to which it was 
dedicated. It was more so to make use of 
it to bribe an heathen to break his covenant and alliance with 
another in order to serve him, in which he betrayed great distrust 
of the Lord and of his power to help him. which was the more 
aggravated when he had had such a wonderful appearance of God 
for him against the Ethiopians. You see, he cried out to God 
when he's facing a million Ethiopians and God stops the Ethiopians. Besha comes and he cries out 
to Syria for his aid and his assistance. So he was a good 
man, but he wasn't a perfect man. So you understand what I 
mean? We ought to learn to cut slack with reference to our brethren. If God shows Esau here in a positive 
sense, even in light of what the chronicler tells us concerning 
Esau's sins, we need to appreciate the fact that God uses imperfect 
men to do good things. And those imperfect men are nevertheless 
called good by God Himself, and that cannot be taken away from 
Esau. Well, in conclusion, time went 
quick tonight too, we see first the depravity of the covenant 
people, both north and south. It's not a sin, confined to Jeroboam 
and the northern tribes. It's not a sin confined to Rehoboam 
and the southern tribes. It's a sin that is rampant, apostasy 
from God, idolatry, rejection, defection, all those things, 
and they carry over into the New Testament. This is Paul's 
point in Romans chapter 1, ungodliness and unrighteousness. The wrath 
of God is revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness. Paul deals with the ungodliness 
in terms of idolatry, and then he deals with the unrighteousness 
in terms of the sexual sin, the breaches of the Decalogue that 
follow in chapter 1. That is typical, symptomatic 
of man in sin and rebellion. Secondly, we ought to appreciate 
the mercy of a faithful king, Esau. The positives, he banished 
the perverts, he removed the idols, he removed the queen mother, 
and he relied upon Yahweh. He did that. He did rely upon 
Yahweh in 2 Chronicles 14 with reference to the Ethiopians. 
Brethren, I suggest that if you see a million Ethiopians coming 
your way, the only recourse you have is to rely on Yahweh. Learn that lesson from Esau. The negatives, he relied upon 
Syria when it came to this battle with Basha. He took gold from 
the temple. He had anger with Hanani. Hanani, 
we ought not to you know, totally neglect that. And then interestingly 
enough, at the end of his life, the King's narrative tells us 
in verse 24, I'm sorry, verse 23, but in the time of his old 
age, he was diseased in his feet. We see the parallel in 2 Chronicles, 
but you know what he did? He didn't trust in the Lord, 
he sought out physicians. Now, I don't think God's saying 
never go to a doctor, but it's the same sort of Syria thing 
again. He trusted in Syria instead of Yahweh. He trusted in the 
physicians instead of Yahweh. So these were defects in this 
man, these were sins. The assessment, positive assessment 
in verse 14. As I said, Hezekiah and Josiah 
received higher commendation, but however, these three kings 
alone are the ones that are positively compared to David. By my reckoning, 
the other good kings in Judah, Jehoshaphat, Joash, Amaziah, 
Azariah, which is also known as Uzziah, and Jotha. And then, 
of course, Asa, Hezekiah, and Josiah. And then, as I said, 
the lessons, the necessity to praise God for His goodness to 
His people, even through His use of imperfect men. I think 
Davis has a good quote here. He says, Asa's reign, therefore, 
was one of God's mercies. He raised up one who, despite 
his faults, nevertheless slowed the slide to infidelity. Here 
is an argument against a fatalism that despairs over the alarming 
and increasingly unfaithful condition of the church. There are times, 
says our text, when Yahweh intervenes to reform, renew, and restore. 
What else would we expect from one who has decreed always to 
keep a lamp in Jerusalem? We need to appreciate that. We 
can get overly negative and think that there's no hope whatsoever. 
Well, God raises up Asa, sends him in, banishes the perverts, 
removes the idols, deals with the queen mother, burns the Asherah 
pole, does great things for God. Certainly, he did some bad things 
as well, but the overall description of his life was that he did what 
was right in the sight of the Lord. Cut your brethren slack. And then I think finally, we 
ought to appreciate the faithfulness of the covenantal Lord. He brings 
judgment upon idolaters. We would be remiss if we did 
not observe that God's covenant faithfulness is seen in the execution 
of the vengeance of the covenant. In other words, when these people 
go astray from God, we ought to expect Shishak from Egypt 
coming in and desecrating and destroying them. That is what 
happens in a universe governed by a moral God. Secondly, we 
ought to appreciate the Lord preserved Judah in accordance 
with the Davidic covenant. The temporal judgments are consistent 
with 2 Samuel 7, 14. If he commits iniquity, these 
are the sons of David, I will chasten him with the rod of men 
and with the blows of the sons of men. Sheshak, king of Egypt. But Judah isn't completely obliterated. You've got problems along the 
way in Judah, and you will see chastening, and you will see 
discipline, but you will never see the lamp extinguished in 
Jerusalem because of that Davidic covenant. And then the preservation 
of Judah even beyond the Babylonian covenant. Babylonian captivity 
are consistent with 2 Samuel 7, 15 and 16. But my mercy shall 
not depart from him as I took it from Saul, whom I removed 
from before you. And your house and your kingdom 
shall be established forever before you, your throne shall 
be established forever. And I said, that was it. I actually 
have one more thing. We ought to appreciate that the 
determining factor in world history is not politics, it's not military 
savvy, it isn't economics, it isn't who has the most gold. It's what do men do with God. 
If you do not fear God Most High, you and your nation is going 
to be desecrated. It is the fear of the Lord by 
which these men are judged. Yes, it tells us of battles. 
Yes, it tells us of wars. Yes, it tells us of heathen nations 
and invasions and all that sort of thing. But what's the underlying 
current through every one of the descriptions of these kings? 
It is their relationship to Yahweh that matters. And that's how 
we ought to approach history. That's how we ought to approach 
our own lives. That's how we ought to seek to 
make our mark in this world, is by being faithful to God. 
Well, let us pray. Father, we thank you for your 
word and for this description of these kings, and how we thank 
you for your faithfulness in terms of your covenant, in terms 
of your promise. And God, I pray that we would 
see our place, our benefit, in the sense that Christ is that 
promised son in 2 Samuel 7. Christ is the one to whom all 
these prophets looked forward to, and Christ is the one who 
has saved us from our sins. And in this we greatly rejoice. 
And while Asa was an imperfect, but nevertheless a useful and 
a good man, our Lord Jesus Christ was holy, harmless, undefiled, 
perfect in all respects. and that one who has secured 
for us our salvation. We ask that you would go with 
us now and watch over us throughout this week. Grant us grace to 
honor and to glorify you in our daily conversation and our walk 
with you. Give us grace to gather on the 
Lord's day to worship you in spirit and truth. And we pray 
through Christ our Lord. Amen.