Annotations Upon the Historical Books Part 2, 1 Kings · Chapter 15
CHAP. XV.
Verſ. 2. THree years reigned he in Jeruſalem.] Abijam began his reigne in the eighteenth yeare of Jeroboam, verſ. 1. and died in the twentieth yeare of his reigne, verſ. 9. whereby it may ſeem that he reigned but two years: but to this I anſwer, that when kings have reigned two complete years, they then begin to write the third yeare of their reigne; and ſo it was with Abijam, the eighteenth yeare of Jeroboam was the firſt yeare of his reigne, the nineteenth yeare of Jeroboam was his ſecond yeare, and the twentieth yeare was his third: and though in that yeare he did, and Aſa his ſonne ſucceeded him, yet having reigned two years complete, and ſomewhat more, it is ſaid here, that he reigned three years in Jeruſalem.
And his mothers name was Maachah the daughter of Abiſhalom.] Rehoboam had eighteen wives, and ſixty concubines, by whom he had eight and twenty ſonnes, and ſixty daughters; but amongſt all his wives he loved this Maachah the mother of Abijam beſt, and therefore allotted him to ſucceed him in the throne, 2. Chron. 11.18, 23. elſewhere ſhe is called Michaiah, the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah, 2. Chron. 13.2. and Maachah the daughter of Abſalom, 2. Chron. 11.20. Some therefore conceive, that ſhe was the daughter of Tamar, the onelyonly daughter of Abſalom, whoſe husband this Uriel of Gibeah was, & ſo ſhe was the daughter of Uriel, and withall the daughter, that is the grand-child of Abſalom. And this they judge the more probable, becauſe the mother of Abſalom was called Maachah, 2. Sam. 3.3. but indeed the moſt Expoſitours hold, that it was not Abſalom, Davids rebellious ſonne, of whom ſhe was deſcended, but another of that name, called alſo Abiſhalom, as here we have it.
Verſ. 3. And he walked in all the ſinnes of his father, &c.] That is, of Rehoboam; whereby it is evident, that though Rehoboam and his princes humbled themſelves before the Lord upon the preaching of Shemaiah to them, when the king of Egypt made ſuch a dangerous incurſion into the land of Judah, 2. Chron. 12.6. yet when the king of Egypt was out of his land, he ſoon returned to his former evil wayes, and ſo his ſonne after him trod in his ſteps.
Verſ. 5. Becauſe David did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, and turned not aſide, &c.] That is, he did not wittingly and preſumptuouſly do any thing wherein he did openly and ſcandalouſly turn aſide from that which God had commanded him, (eſpecially in the point of his government) ſave onelyonly in the matter of Uriah.
Verſ. 6. And there was warre between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the dayes of his life.] In the ſtory of the reigne of Abijam this is inſerted, concerning the continuall warre which was betwixt his father Rehoboam and Jeroboam; to intimate, that the cauſe of the warre betwixt Abijam and Jeroboam, was the old quarrell about the rending away of the ten tribes; this quarrell was not yet appeaſed, there was for this continuall warres betwixt Jeroboam and the houſe of Solomon, firſt, in the dayes of Rehoboam the father; and afterward, in the dayes of Abijam his ſonne.
Verſ. 7. Now the rest of the acts of Abijam, &c.] See the note, chap. 14.19. Some of theſe acts we have alſo recorded in the ſacred Chronicles, as his marrying foureteen wives, by whom he had two and twenty ſonnes, and ſixteen daughters, 2. Chron. 13.21. but eſpecially, that famous battell, which he fought with Jeroboam, wherein with foure hundred thouſand men, he encountred and beat Jeroboam, that had in his army eight hundred thouſand, and ſlew of them five hundred thouſand; and then being maſter of the field, recovered Beth-el, Jeſhanah, and Ephraim from him.
Verſ. 10. And fourty and one yeares reigned he in Jeruſalem.] A long reigne, which was no doubt by the ſpeciall providence of God, that he might have the more time to reform a kingdome ſo exceedingly out of order, as his was when he firſt came to the crown.
And his mothers name was Maachah, &c.] That is, his grand-mothers: ſee verſ. 2.
Verſ. 12. And he took away the Sodomites out of the land.] To wit, all that he could diſcover: but ſome remained till his ſonne Jehoſhaphat came to the crown and then he removed them, chap. 22.46.
Verſ. 13. And alſo Maachah his mother, even her he remooved from being queen, &c.] That is, from being queen regent; for how elſe ſhe ſhould be remooved from being queen, I cannot conceive. Abijam the father of Aſa ſitting in the throne not full three yeares complete, it is moſt probable that Aſa was very young when he came to the crown, and that hereupon Maachah his grandmother, once the wife of Rehoboam (his mother happely being dead) was made queen regent, during the kings minoritie: but then Aſa coming to ſome ripeneſſe of yeares, and being well affected in matters of religion, an enemy to the idolatry that was in the land, and deſirous to promote the true worſhip of God: (a thing the more wonderfull, becauſe he was trained up under ſuch a guardian) becauſe his grandmother had ſet up ſome new abominable idol in a grove, (and that perhaps contrary to his command, deſpiſing his youth, and exalting her ſelf becauſe of her power as queen regent) he took courage, and aſſuming the government into his own hands, depoſed her from being queen regent any longer; and withall he deſtroyed her idol, and burnt it by the brook Kidron, which is expreſſed thus, 2. Chron. 15.16. Aſa cut down her idol, and ſtamped it, and burnt it at the brook Kidron.
Verſ. 14. But the high places were not removed. That is, the high places wherein the people ſerved and worſhiped the god of Iſrael: thoſe high places which were dedicated to the worſhip of ſtrange gods he took away, 2. Chron. 14.3. but theſe wherein the true God was worſhiped, he removed not; either for feare of the people, or becauſe he conceived there had been no great hurt in them; ſince of old, yea, in the dayes of David, the people had been inured to worſhip there: as for the high places which Solomon built in mount Olivet, ſee the note upon the 2. King. 23.13.
Nevertheleſſe, Aſa his heart was perfect with the Lord all his dayes.] That is, the whole bent of his heart was ſincerely to do what God required, though through ignorance, or the prevailing of his corruptions, he many times did that which was not approveable, but evil in Gods ſight; and though many of his people ſacrificed in the high places, yet it was altogether without his approbation.
Verſ. 15. And he brought in the things which his father had dedicated, &c.] To wit, ſilver, gold, and veſſels, 2. Chron. 15.18. It may be probably conceived, that great victory in the battel which he fought with Jeroboam, 2 Chron. 13.17. but not living to perform his vow, his ſonne Aſa did it for him, adding ſomewhat more of his own free gift.
Verſ. 16. And there was warre between Aſa and Baaſha king of Iſrael all their dayes.] The firſt ten yeares of his reigne he enjoyed peace, 2. Chron. 14.1. In his dayes the land was quiet ten yeares, (the courage and the ſtrength of the ten tribes being much abated, by that great overthrow which Abijam his father had given them) and in this time Aſa reformed thoſe things that were out of order concerning matters of religion, and withall fortified many cities and other places, providing for the troubles of warre, in the leiſure of peace; 2. Chron. 14.2, 7. when thoſe ten years of peace were expired, (in which time Jeroboam died, and Nadab his ſonne was ſlain by Baaſha who reigned in his ſtead) ſome enemy or other made warre againſt him, but who it was is not expreſſed; and then afterward about the fourteenth yeare of his reigne (as is noted upon the 2. Chron. 15.10.) Zerah, who then commanded all the Arabians bordering Judea, invaded his kingdome with an hoſt of a thouſand thouſand, and three hundred chariots; but Aſa encountered them with an army of five hundred and eighty thouſand men, levied out of Judah and Benjamin, and with them overthrew this fearefull multitude, and had the ſpoil both of their cities and camps, 2. Chron. 14.9. &c. and in his return to Jeruſalem, Azariah the Prophet met him, and congratulated this victory, and encouraged him to go on in the ſervice of God; whereupon Aſa put away the remainder of the idols which were yet left in his kingdome; and gathering together Judah and Benjamin, and the Iſraelites of Ephraim, Manaſſeth and Simeon, (which fell to him in abundance, when they ſaw that the Lord his God was with him) in the third monethmonth of the fifteenth yeare of his reigne, he offered much of the ſpoil in ſacrifices, and made a ſolemne covenant with God, 2. Chron. 15.11, 12. &c. all this time the Iſraelites attempted nothing againſt Judah that we read of. But now when Baaſha perceived how potent Aſa began to be, and how faſt the Iſraelites revolted to him, and how they had entred into a covenant with them of Judah, he began to arm againſt Aſa; and becauſe after this, his warre with Aſa never ceaſed all his dayes, or becauſe even before this, there was no peace betwixt them, but both ſides prepared for warre, therefore it is here ſaid, that there was warre betwixt Aſa and Baaſha all their dayes.
Verſ. 17. And Baaſha king of Iſrael went up against Judah, and built Ramah, &c.] Having it ſeems gotten Ramah from the king of Iudah (for Ramah was one of Benjamins cities, Joſh. 18.25.) fearing the greatneſſe of Aſa, and the revolt of the Iſraelites to him, 2. Chro. 15.9. he endeavoured to block him up, and to keep his own people from flying away to him, by fortifying Ramah, and putting a garriſon in it, which lay in the way between Jeruſalem towards Samaria; and this was done about the thirteenth yeare of Baaſha his reigne, which was the ſixteenth yeare of the reigne of Aſa, and the ſix and thirtieth yeare of the kingdome of Judah, to wit, ſince it was divided from that of Iſrael; for ſo that place muſt be underſtood, 2. Chron. 16.1. as is there noted.
Verſ. 18. Then Aſa took all the ſilver and the gold that were left in the treaſures of the houſe of the Lord, &c.] To wit, ſince Shiſhak king of Egypt carried away the treaſures of the Temple, chap. 14.25, 16. and thus was Solomons Temple twice robbed of its treaſures, within the compaſſe of foure and thirty years or thereabout: we cannot ſay whether this Ben-hadad to whom Aſa ſent theſe treaſures, was the grand child of Rezon, who became a king of Damaſcus in Solomons dayes, chap. 11.23. (as ſome conceive; affirming Rezon to be the ſame that is here called Hezion) or whether he were the ſonne of Hadad the Edomite, that became an adverſary to Solomon, and at length became king of Damaſcus, and was therefore called Ben-hadad, as others hold: But doubtleſſe a great ſinne this was in Aſa, that he ſhould rob the Temple of God, therewith to hire an infidell to break the covenant that he had made with the Iſraelites their brethren, and to make warre with them; eſpecially if we conſider what a wonderfull victory God had lately given him over that innumerable hoſt of the Ethiopians and the Lubims; and indeed, after ſo great and memorable a proof of Gods readineſſe to help him, he did ſo farre diſtruſt God, as to hire a heathen perfidiouſly to invade the Iſraelites: the prophet Hanani was ſent to him to reprove him ſharply, and to make known Gods diſpleaſure againſt him, as is largely related, 2. Chron. 16.7. &c.
Verſ. 20. And ſmote Ijon, and Dan, and Abel-beth-maachah, and all Cinneroth.] Abel-beth-maachah is called Abel-maim, 2. Chron. 16.4. and Cinneroth is that which is called in the new Teſtament the land of Geneſereth, Matth. 14.34.
Verſ. 21. He left off building of Ramah, &c.] To wit, to go and withſtand Benhadad; and ſo, when he had ſecured his land againſt him, then as it is ſaid in the next words, he dwelt in Tirzah, that is, there he abode quietly, without ſeeking any revenge againſt Aſa.
Verſ. 22. And they took away the ſtones of Ramah, and the timber thereof, &c.] That is, whileſt Baaſha was gone thence to defend his countrey againſt Benhadad, the men of Judah and Benjamin came and took away both ſtones and timber, and therewith built two cities of Benjamin, Geba and Mizpah. And this Aſa choſe rather to do, then to ſeiſe upon Ramah, and fortifie it for his own uſe; either, becauſe he feared leſt Baaſha ſhould return again before the work was finiſhed; or, becauſe he was loth there ſhould be in that place any ſuch ſtrong hold, knowing how prejudiciall it would be to the kings of Judah, if the kings of Iſrael ſhould hereafter get it into their poſſeſſion; or rather, becauſe he conceived theſe might be made more defenſable places then Ramah could be; for that he did fortifie theſe two towns of Geba and Mizpah, for fear of Baaſha, is evident, Jerem. 41.9. where we reade of a pit that Aſa had in Mizpah, that continued it ſeems unto the captivitie, and was doubtleſſe ſome trench, or ſome place made for the receit of water, in caſe it ſhould be beſieged, the pit wherein Iſhmael had caſt all the dead bodies of the men (whom he had ſlain, becauſe of Gedaliah) was it, which Aſa the king had made for feare of Baaſha, &c.
Verſ. 23. Nevertheleſſe, in the time of his old age he was diſeaſed in his feet, &c. To wit, in the three laſt yeares of his reigne: for when Hanani the Prophet had reproved him, for ſeeking help from the king of Syria; he not onelyonly caſt the Prophet into priſon, but alſo at the ſame time oppreſſed ſome of the people (ſuch perhaps, as ſhewed their diſlike of theſe his courſes,) wherefore the Lord in the nine and thirtieth yeare of his reigne, impriſoned him; ſtriking him with moſt grievous pains of the gout in his feet; and when in his ſickneſſe he ſought not to the Lord, but to the Phyſitians, about two yeares after he dyed, 2. Chron. 16.7, 13. having ſeene ſeven kings of Iſrael; to wit, Jeroboam, Nadab, Baaſha, Elah, Zimri, Omri, and Ahab.
Verſ. 24. And Aſa ſlept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers, &c.] And that with great magnificence, 2. Chron. 16.14. And they buried him in his own ſepulchre which he had made for himſelf in the citie of David, and laid him in the bed, which was filled with ſweet odours and divers kinds of ſpices prepared by the Apothecaries art, and they made a very great burning for him.
Verſ. 27, And Baaſha ſmote him at Gibbethon, which belongeth to the Philiſtines, &c.] This Gibbethon belonged to the tribe of Dan, Joſh. 19.41. and was in the dayes of David and Solomon in the Iſraelites poſſeſſion: but now it ſeems the Philiſtines had gotten it, and whileſt Nadab laid ſiege againſt it that he might recover it, he was treacherouſly ſlaine by Baaſha; and ſo the ſiege it ſeems was raiſed: for twenty ſix yeares after, or thereabouts, the ſonne of Baaſha did again lay ſiege to this citie as we may ſee, chap. 16.15.
Verſ. 30. Becauſe of the ſinnes of Jeroboam, &c.] So that the idolatry wherewith Jeroboam thought to have continued the kingdome to him and his poſterity, was the very cauſe why his whole family was rooted out, and the kingdome was transferred to another.