At the first look, 1 Kings chapter 15 is a list of the succession of bad Kings and war between the split nation. There is a sense that God is just clicking off the years, as the people waited for a righteous man to restore the kingdom. From eternity’s perspective, perhaps God wanted to demonstrate that an earthy king will never be righteous enough? The Promised Land was divided into the two southern tribes (called Judah) and the ten Northern tribes (called Israel). Solomon’s Temple was in Jerusalem (the Southern section) and there was no other acceptable place to worship God. The two kingdoms are eternally linked, that is why each new king is mentioned in relation to the other nation. The chapter begins, “In the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam… Abijah became king of Judah and he reigned in Jerusalem three years… He committed all the sins his father (“Rehab”) had done before him“. As a parent, those words ring very loud to me. I do not want my children to follow in the footprints of my mistakes! The next comment about King David offers hope to all of us less than perfect parents.
“Nevertheless, for David’s sake the Lord his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem by raising up a son to succeed him and by making Jerusalem strong“. In other words, God blessed the descendents of David because of David’s obedience. By God’s grace, at the moment of my salvation, according to Romans Chapter 8, I became “joint heirs with Christ“. Once the debt of my sins was paid in full, God saw me as blameless. “Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect?” Just like the descendants of David, we receive favor because of the obedience of Christ. And note how the chapter refers to David, “For David had done what was right in the eyes of the Lord and had not failed to keep any of the Lord’s commands all the days of his life except in the case of Uriah the Hittite“. David was not perfect, but David did one thing we can do today; he asked God for forgiveness! Although God protected the line of David, each king had the choice to seek God’s peace. Without God’s peace, there will be conflict. “There was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. And Abijah rested with his fathers …and Asa his son succeeded him as king“.
Then we read a rarity: “Asa became king of Judah, and he reigned in Jerusalem forty-one year… Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as his father David had done… got rid of all the idols his fathers had made… Asa’s heart was fully committed to the Lord all his life.” And the succession continues, “Nadab son of Jeroboam became king of Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel two years. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord“. Perhaps we are not as important as we think we are! “Baasha killed Nadab in the third year of Asa king of Judah and succeeded him as king“. And we read, “he killed Jeroboam’s whole family …because of the sins Jeroboam had committed and had caused Israel to commit“. This was a fulfillment of God’s promise to Jeroboam. It is interesting to note that God works His will through both good and evil men. “Baasha … reigned twenty-four years. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, walking in the ways of Jeroboam and in his sin“. Our life on earth is very short, “you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away” (James 4:14). What lasting legacy will you leave for your descendants?