17 Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and built Ramah, that he might not allow anyone to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.
18 Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of Yahweh, and the treasures 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 Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, who lived at Damascus, saying,
19 [There is] a league between me and you, between my father and your father: behold, I have sent to you a present of silver and gold; go, break your league with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me.
20 Ben Hadad listened to king Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel, and struck Ijon, and Dan, and Abel Beth Maacah, and all Chinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali.
21 It happened, when Baasha heard of it, that he left off building Ramah, and lived in Tirzah.
22 Then king Asa made a proclamation to all Judah; none was exempted: and they carried away the stones of Ramah, and the timber of it, with which Baasha had built; and king Asa built therewith Geba of Benjamin, and Mizpah.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on 1 Kings 15
Commentary on 1 Kings 15 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 15
In this chapter we have an abstract of the history,
1Ki 15:1-8
We have here a short account of the short reign of Abijam the son of Rehoboam king of Judah. He makes a better figure, 2 Chr. 13, where we have an account of his war with Jeroboam, the speech which he made before the armies engaged, and the wonderful victory he obtained by the help of God. There he is called Abijah-My father is the Lord, because no wickedness is there laid to his charge. But here, where we are told of his faults, Jah, the name of God, is, in disgrace to him, taken away from his name, and he is called Abijam. See Jer. 22:24.
1Ki 15:9-24
We have here a short account of the reign of Asa; we shall find a more copious history of it 2 Chr. 14, 15, and 16. Here is,
1Ki 15:25-34
We are now to take a view of the miserable state of Israel, while the kingdom of Judah was happy under Asa's good government. It was threatened that they should be as a reed shaken in the water (ch. 14:15), and so they were, when, during the single reign of Asa, the government of their kingdom was in six or seven different hands, as we find in this and the following chapter. Jeroboam was upon the throne in the beginning of his reign and Ahab at the end of it, and between them were Nadab, Baasha, Elah, Zimri, Tibni, and Omri, undermining and destroying one another. This they got by deserting the house both of God and of David. Here we have,