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A prophet arrives to warn Jeroboam.
| Back in 1 Kings 12, Jeroboam sinned against God. He built altars and picked priests to make sacrifices on them. But the priests were not from the tribe of Levi. God's law said that only men from the tribe of Levi could be priests. |
Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn
incense. A prophet came from Judah. God told the prophet to travel there
to see Jeroboam.
[1] And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the
LORD unto Bethel: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense.
 |
|
From
BiblePlaces.com Evidence of a four-horned altar has been found as well as religious objects such as three iron shovels, a small horned altar, and an iron incense holder." |
The prophet talked to the altar. He told the altar that someday a baby
named Josiah will be born in David's family. Josiah will grow up. Then
he will burn bones on the altar. The bones will be from the priests who
make sacrifices on the altar.
[2] And he cried against the altar in the word of the LORD, and said, O
altar, altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold, a child shall be born unto
the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the
priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones
shall be burnt upon thee.
The prophet had a way to prove that what he
said was true. He said that the altar would break in half. The ashes on
the altar would fall out.
[3] And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the
LORD hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that
are upon it shall be poured out.
King Jeroboam heard what the prophet said to
the altar. He stopped burning incense and reached toward the prophet. He
told his helpers to get the prophet. Then his hand dried up. He couldn't
pull it toward him.
[4] And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man
of God, which had cried against the altar in Bethel, that he put forth
his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he
put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again
to him.
The altar broke. The ashes fell out. It proved
that the prophet was telling the truth. The prophet was telling them
what God wanted him to say.
[5] The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar,
according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the
LORD.
Jeroboam asked the prophet to pray. He wanted
him to ask God to fix his hand. He wanted his hand to be normal again.
The prophet prayed to God, and Jeroboam's hand became normal.
[6] And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Intreat now the
face of the LORD thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored
me again. And the man of God besought the LORD, and the king's hand was
restored him again, and became as it was before.
Jeroboam asked the prophet to go home with him.
He wanted the man to eat at his house. Jeroboam said that would be
a reward for the prophet.
[7] And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and
refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward.
But the prophet said no. He said that
even if Jeroboam gave him half of his kingdom, he would not go with him.
He would not eat or drink in Jeroboam's land.
[8] And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half
thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor
drink water in this place:
The prophet said that God told him not to eat
or drink there. He also told him to travel on a different road when he left
to go home.
[9] For so was it charged me by the word of the LORD, saying, Eat no
bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest.
Then the prophet left to go home. He did not
travel on the same road. He went home a different way.
[10] So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to
Bethel.
An old prophet meets the prophet from Judah.
There was an old prophet who lived in Bethel.
His sons came and told him about the prophet from Judah. They told him
what the prophet from Judah told King Jeroboam.
[11] Now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel; and his sons came and
told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel:
the words which he had spoken unto the king, them they told also to
their father.
The sons saw the Judah prophet leave. The
old Bethel prophet asked his sons which way he went. He told his sons to put
a saddle on a donkey. Then he rode the donkey to go find the Judah
prophet.
[12] And their father said unto them, What way went he? For his sons had
seen what way the man of God went, which came from Judah.
[13] And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him
the ass: and he rode thereon,
The old Bethel prophet found the Judah prophet
sitting under an oak tree. He asked him if he was the prophet of
God from Judah. He said yes.
[14] And went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak:
and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah?
And he said, I am.
The old Bethel prophet invited him to go eat at his
home.
[15] Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread.
The Judah prophet said he could not go back with
him and go to his home. He said he could not eat or drink in Jeroboam's
land. God told him he could not eat or drink in that place.
He could not travel on the same road that he already traveled on.
[16] And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee:
neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place:
[17] For it was said to me by the word of the LORD, Thou shalt eat no
bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou
camest.
Then the old Bethel prophet lied to him. He
said he was a prophet, too. He said that an angel told him that God
said he should go home with him. He lied and said it was all right for
him to eat and drink.
[18] He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel
spake unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee
into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied
unto him.
The Judah prophet believed the old Bethel
prophet. So he went home with him. He ate food and drank water.
[19] So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank
water.
While they were sitting at the table eating, God talked to the
old Bethel
prophet.
[20] And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the
LORD came unto the prophet that brought him back:
The old Bethel prophet told the Judah prophet
that God had a message for him. God said that the Judah prophet did not
obey Him. Before, God had told him he could not eat or drink in Bethel.
He told him not to travel on the same road more than once. But the
prophet traveled back to the old Bethel prophet's house. He ate
and drank there. Now God will punish him. After he dies, he will
not be buried with his ancestors.
[21] And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus
saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the LORD,
and hast not kept the commandment which the LORD thy God commanded thee,
[22] But camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place,
of the which the LORD did say to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water;
thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers.
Later, after he ate and drank, the old
Bethel prophet put a saddle on a donkey. The Judah prophet rode on
the donkey.
[23] And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had
drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, to wit, for the prophet whom he
had brought back.
 |
| The lion and donkey stood by the
prophet's body. Artist: J. Smith From Breadsite.org |
After he left, a lion killed the Judah
prophet. The Judah prophet's body was in the road. The lion and
the donkey stood by his body.
[24] And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and
his carcase was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also
stood by the carcase.
Some men saw the prophet's body in the road.
They saw the lion standing by the body. They went to the old Bethel
prophet's city. They told what they saw.
[25] And, behold, men passed by, and saw the carcase cast in the way,
and the lion standing by the carcase: and they came and told it in the
city where the old prophet dwelt.
When the old Bethel prophet heard the news, he
knew it was the Judah prophet. The Judah prophet did not obey God. God
told him he would be punished. Now God sent the lion to kill him.
[26] And when the prophet that brought him back from the way heard
thereof, he said, It is the man of God, who was disobedient unto the
word of the LORD: therefore the LORD hath delivered him unto the lion,
which hath torn him, and slain him, according to the word of the LORD,
which he spake unto him.
The old Bethel prophet told his sons to put a
saddle on the donkey. Then he went and found the Judah prophet's body in
the road. The donkey and the lion were standing by the body.
The lion did not eat it or attack the donkey.
[27] And he spake to his sons, saying, Saddle me the ass. And they
saddled him.
[28] And he went and found his carcase cast in the way, and the ass and
the lion standing by the carcase: the lion had not eaten the carcase,
nor torn the ass.
He got the Judah prophet's body and put it on
his donkey. Then he brought it back to his city. He was sad for him and
planned to bury him.
[29] And the prophet took up the carcase of the man of God, and laid it
upon the ass, and brought it back: and the old prophet came to the city,
to mourn and to bury him.
He buried the Judah prophet in the grave he
planned for himself. He and his sons were sad for the Judah
prophet. After they buried him, the old Bethel prophet talked to his
sons. He said that when he died, they should bury him in the same place.
He wanted to be buried beside the Judah prophet.
[30] And he laid his carcase in his own grave; and they mourned over
him, saying, Alas, my brother!
[31] And it came to pass, after he had buried him, that he spake to his
sons, saying, When I am dead, then bury me in the sepulchre wherein the
man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones:
| Back in verse 2, the prophet warned Jeroboam. He said that a baby named Josiah will be born in David's family. Josiah will grow up. Then he will burn bones on the altar. The bones will be from the priests who made sacrifices on the altar. |
He said that everything the Judah prophet
warned about will happen. The prophet also warned about altars in the
area named Samaria.
[32] For the saying which he cried by the word of the LORD against the
altar in Bethel, and against all the houses of the high places which are
in the cities of Samaria, shall surely come to pass.
| God's law said that only men from the tribe of Levi could be priests. |
After all of this happened, Jeroboam did not
change. He continued to sin and do evil, bad things. He let anyone be
a priest no matter if they were from the tribe or Levi or not.
[33] After this thing Jeroboam returned not from his evil way, but made
again of the lowest of the people priests of the high places: whosoever
would, he consecrated him, and he became one of the priests of the high
places.
Jeroboam's sin will cause his family to be
destroyed.
[34] And this thing became sin unto the house of Jeroboam, even to cut
it off, and to destroy it from off the face of the earth.
1 Kings 14
Jeroboam's wife visits a prophet.
At the same time, Jeroboam's son became sick. His name was Abijah.
[1] At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick.
Jeroboam told his wife to put on a disguise (try to look like someone else). He didn't want anyone to know she was his wife. He told her to travel to the city named Shiloh and find Ahijah the prophet. Ahijah is the one who told Jeroboam that he would be king of Israel. She should take food with her -- 10 loaves of bread, some small cakes, and some honey. He said that Ahijah will tell her what will happen to their child.
[2] And Jeroboam said to his wife, Arise, I pray thee, and disguise thyself, that thou be not known to be the wife of Jeroboam; and get thee to Shiloh: behold, there is Ahijah the prophet, which told me that I should be king over this people.
[3] And take with thee ten loaves, and cracknels, and a cruse of honey, and go to him: he shall tell thee what shall become of the child.
Jeroboam's wife did what he said to do. She went to Shiloh and went to Ahijah's house. Ahija was blind because he was very old.
[4] And Jeroboam's wife did so, and arose, and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. But Ahijah could not see; for his eyes were set by reason of his age.
God talked to Ahijah. He told him that Jeroboam's wife was coming to see him. She would pretend to be someone else. She would ask him about her sick son. God said He will tell Ahijah what to say to her.
[5] And the LORD said unto Ahijah, Behold, the wife of Jeroboam cometh to ask a thing of thee for her son; for he is sick: thus and thus shalt thou say unto her: for it shall be, when she cometh in, that she shall feign herself to be another woman.
Ahijah heard Jeroboam's wife when
she came to the door. He told her to come in. He asked her why she
pretended to be someone else. He said he would give her bad news.
[6] And it was so, when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet as she came
in at the door, that he said, Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam; why
feignest thou thyself to be another? for I am sent to thee with heavy
tidings.
Ahijah the prophet told Jeroboam's wife to give
Jeroboam a message. God said that He made Jeroboam special. He
made him the prince over His people, Israel. He took the kingdom
away from David's family and gave it to him. David obeyed God's laws.
David always followed God with all of his heart. But Jeroboam did not
obey Him. He did more bad things than any king in the past. He made
false gods and statues. He made God very angry.
[7] Go, tell Jeroboam, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Forasmuch as I
exalted thee from among the people, and made thee prince over my people
Israel,
[8] And rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it thee:
and yet thou hast not been as my servant David, who kept my
commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do that only
which was right in mine eyes;
[9] But hast done evil above all that were before thee: for thou hast
gone and made thee other gods, and molten images, to provoke me to
anger, and hast cast me behind thy back:
Now God will punish Jeroboam and his family. No
males from Jeroboam's house will live. God will
destroy all of Jeroboam's family. God will carry them all away like a
man carries away manure until it is gone.
[10] Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam,
and will cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall, and
him that is shut up and left in Israel, and will take away the remnant
of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it be all
gone.
When any of Jeroboam's family
dies in the city, the dogs will eat them. If they die out in a
field, the birds will eat them. God said this will happen.
[11] Him that dieth of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat; and him
that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat: for the LORD
hath spoken it.
Ahijah told Jeroboam's wife to go home. As soon
as she goes into her city, her child will die.
[12] Arise thou therefore, get thee to thine own house: and when thy
feet enter into the city, the child shall die.
Everyone in Israel will be sad for the child
that dies. They will have a funeral and bury him. That is because
the child was good toward God. But the rest of Jeroboam's family will
not have funerals when they die.
[13] And all Israel shall mourn for him, and bury him: for he only of
Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found some
good thing toward the LORD God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam.
God will make a new king over Israel very soon.
The new king will kill all of Jeroboam's family.
[14] Moreover the LORD shall raise him up a king over Israel, who shall
cut off the house of Jeroboam that day: but what? even now.
God is angry with Israel and Jeroboam because
they worshiped false gods and statues. He will punish Israel like
a plant is moved in the water. He will pull them up out of their land.
God gave the land to their fathers and ancestors, but God will make them
move out. He will scatter them to places across the Jordan River.
[15] For the LORD shall smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water,
and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which he gave to
their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the river, because they
have made their groves, provoking the LORD to anger.
[16] And he shall give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who
did sin, and who made Israel to sin.
Jeroboam's wife left to go home to her city of
Tirzah. When she walked through her door, her child died. All of Israel was
sad for the child. They buried him and had a funeral. That is what
God told Ahijah would happen.
[17] And Jeroboam's wife arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah: and
when she came to the threshold of the door, the child died;
[18] And they buried him; and all Israel mourned for him, according to
the word of the LORD, which he spake by the hand of his servant Ahijah
the prophet.
| The Bible sometimes refers to other books. But these other books cannot be found now in modern times. Verse 19 refers to a book about the kings of Israel. No one knows for sure what this book said. No one can find the book now. |
Jeroboam's son, Nadab, becomes
king of Israel.
The book about the kings of Israel tells
about the other things Jeroboam did. The book tells about the wars he
was in and things he did while he was king.
[19] And the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he warred, and how he
reigned, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the
kings of Israel.
Jeroboam was king for 22 years. Then he died, and his son Nadab became
the king of Israel.
[20] And the days which Jeroboam reigned were two and twenty years: and
he slept with this fathers, and Nadab his son reigned in his stead.
|
The kings of divided Israel (dates may not be exact) |
|||
| King of
Israel (northern part) |
King of
Judah (southern part) |
||
| Year started | King's name | Year started | King's name |
|
922 B.C. |
Jeroboam |
922 B.C. |
Rehoboam |
|
905 B.C. |
Abijam | ||
|
900 B.C. |
Nadab | ||
More about Rehoboam's time as king of Judah.
Solomon's son, Rehoboam, was 41 years old when
he started to be the king of Judah. He was king for 17 years. He
was king in the city of Jerusalem. Jerusalem was the city that God chose
for his name. Rehoboam's mother's name was Naaham (she was from
the group of people called the Ammonites).
[21] And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was
forty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen
years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD did choose out of all the
tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother's name was
Naamah an Ammonitess.
The people in Judah sinned against God and
broke His laws. They made God more angry than He had been with their
fathers.
[22] And Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and they provoked him
to jealousy with their sins which they had committed, above all that
their fathers had done.
They made altars and statues to worship false
gods. They made groves of trees to worship false gods on every hill and
under every tree.
[23] For they also built them high places, and images, and groves, on
every high hill, and under every green tree.
Many people committed sexual sins. They did bad things the same as the
people who lived in Canaan before. They behaved like the
Canaanites who God put out of Canaan.
[24] And there were also sodomites in the land: and they did according
to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD cast out before
the children of Israel.
 |
| Shishak, the king of Egypt, took
the valuable things from the temples and King Rehoboam's
house. From Breadsite.org |
When Rehoboam was king for 5 years, the king of
Egypt named Shishak attacked Jerusalem. He stole all of the valuable
things out of God's temple in Jerusalem. He stole all of the gold
shields that Solomon made.
[25] And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that
Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem:
[26] And he took away the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the
treasures of the king's house; he even took away all: and he took away
all the shields of gold which Solomon had made.
King Rehoboam made brass shields to replace the
gold shields. The leader of the temple guards had the job to keep
the shields safe.
[27] And king Rehoboam made in their stead brasen shields, and committed
them unto the hands of the chief of the guard, which kept the door of
the king's house.
When the king went to the
temple, the guards used the shields. After the king left, they put the
shields away.
[28] And it was so, when the king went into the house of the LORD, that
the guard bare them, and brought them back into the guard chamber.
| The Bible sometimes refers to other books. But these other books cannot be found now in modern times. Verse 29 refers to a book about the kings of Judah. No one knows for sure what this book said. No one can find the book now. |
There are more things that Rehoboam did when
he was the king. The book about the kings of Judah
tells about the other things Rehoboam did.
[29] 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?
While Rehoboam and Jeroboam were kings, there were wars all of the time.
[30] And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days.
Rehoboam died. He was buried with his father
and grandfather in David's city of Jerusalem. Rehoboam's mother's name
was Naamah. She was from the group of people called the Ammonites.
Then Rehoboam's son Abijam became the new king of Judah.
[31] And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried with his
fathers in the city of David. And his mother's name was Naamah an
Ammonitess. And Abijam his son reigned in his stead.
1 Kings 15
Abijam becomes king in Judah.
|
The kings of divided Israel (dates may not be exact) |
|||
| King of
Israel (northern part) |
King of
Judah (southern part) |
||
| Year started | King's name | Year started | King's name |
|
922 B.C. |
Jeroboam |
922 B.C. |
Rehoboam |
|
|
|||
|
905 B.C. |
Abijam | ||
|
902 B.C. |
Asa | ||
|
900 B.C. |
Nadab | ||
Jeroboam was king in Israel (the northern part) for 22 years. In year 18, Abijam became the king in Judah (the southern part).
[1] Now in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam the son of Nebat reigned Abijam over Judah.
Abijam was king for 3 years. He lived in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Maachah (her father's name was Abishalom).
[2] Three years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom.
Abijam did not obey God like his great-grandfather David did. He sinned the same as his father Rehoboam sinned.
[3] And he walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father.
| Uriah the Hittite was a soldier in David's army. David fell in love with Uriah's wife, and she became pregnant. David sent Uriah into the front of the war so that he would be killed. After he was killed, David married his wife. |
Abijam was part of David's family, so God
let his son be king. David kept Jerusalem bright and special. David
obeyed God and obeyed His laws. The only time he broke God's law was
about Uriah the Hittite.
[4] Nevertheless for David's sake did the LORD his God give him a lamp
in Jerusalem, to set up his son after him, and to establish Jerusalem:
[5] Because David did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD, and
turned not aside from any thing that he commanded him all the days of
his life, save only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.
Kings Rehoboam and Jeroboam fought wars for
their whole lives.
[6] And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his
life.
| The Bible sometimes refers to other books. But these other books cannot be found now in modern times. Verse 7 refers to a book about the kings of Judah. No one knows for sure what this book said. No one can find the book now. |
Abijam and Jeroboam fought in wars, too.
Everything else that Abijam did is in the book about the kings of Juah.
[7] 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.
Abijam died. He was buried in Jerusalem with
his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. Then his son
became king. His son's name was Asa.
[8] And Abijam slept with his fathers; and they buried him in the city
of David: and Asa his son reigned in his stead.
|
The kings of divided Israel (dates may not be exact) |
|||
| King of
Israel (northern part) |
King of
Judah (southern part) |
||
| Year started | King's name | Year started | King's name |
|
922 B.C. |
Jeroboam |
922 B.C. |
Rehoboam |
|
|
|||
|
905 B.C. |
Abijam | ||
|
902 B.C. |
Asa | ||
|
900 B.C. |
Nadab | ||
Asa becomes king of Judah.
Jeroboam was king of Israel for 20 years.
Then Asa became the king of Judah. Asa was king for 41 years.
Asa's mother's name was Maachah. Maachah's father's name was
Abishalom. (note: Maachah may have raised Asa like a mother, but she
was really his grandmother).
[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 Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom.
Asa obeyed God's laws the same as David
did. Asa removed all of the statues of false gods. He made
people who committed sexual sins leave Judah.
[11] And Asa did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD, as did
David his father.
[12] And he took away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the
idols that his fathers had made.
Asa did not let Maachah be a queen because
she had an idol or statue of a false god in some trees. Asa
destroyed her idol, and he burned it by the brook (creek) named
Kidron.
[13] And also Maachah his mother, even her he removed from being queen,
because she had made an idol in a grove; and Asa destroyed her idol, and
burnt it by the brook Kidron.
Asa did not destroy all of the altars to
false gods. But his heart was with God for his whole life. He
brought the valuable and holy silver and gold items back into the
temple.
[14] But the high places were not removed: nevertheless Asa's heart was
perfect with the LORD 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,
silver, and gold, and vessels.
Asa and Baasha, the king of Israel, fought
wars all their lives.
[16] And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their
days.
Baasha fought with the army of Judah. He
made the town named Ramah stronger. He didn't want people from Judah
going in or out.
[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.
|
The kings of divided Israel (dates may not be exact) |
|||
| King of
Israel (northern part) |
King of
Judah (southern part) |
||
| Year started | King's name | Year started | King's name |
|
922 B.C. |
Jeroboam |
922 B.C. |
Rehoboam |
|
915 B.C. |
Abijam | ||
|
|
913 B.C. |
Asa | |
|
900 B.C. |
Nadab | ||
|
897 B.C. |
Baasha | ||
|
|
872 B. C. |
Jehoshaphat | |
Asa planned to contact the king of the
country of Syria. He took all of the silver and gold in the temple
and gave it to his workers. Then the workers took it to the king of
Syria. The king of Syria was named Ben-hadad (his father was
Tabrimon, and his grandfather was Hezion). He lived in the city of
Damascus.
[18] Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the
treasures of the house of the LORD, 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 Tabrimon, the son of Hezion, king of
Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying,
Asa said that Judah and Syria have a treaty
(agree to have peace). Syria and Judah had the peace treaty with Asa's
father and Ben-hadad's father. Now Asa is sending valuable gifts to Ben-hadad.
He is asking Syria to break the peace treaty with Israel, so that Baasha
and Israel will leave Judah.
[19] There is a league between me and thee, and 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.
Ben-hadad listened to King Asa. He sent
his army to fight some of the cities in Israel. They destroyed the
cities of Ijon, Dan, and Abel-beth-maachah. They also fought in the
areas of Cinneroth and Naphtali.
[20] So Ben-hadad 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.
When Baasha heard about the Syrian attacks, he
left Ramah and stayed in his area named Tirzah.
[21] And it came to pass, when Baasha heard thereof, that he left off
building of Ramah, and dwelt in Tirzah.
King Asa made an announcement through all of
Judah. No one was left out. They took the rocks and wood from
Ramah that Baasha used. They used the rocks and wood to made 2
Judah cities stronger. The 2 cities were Geba in the land of Benjamin
and Mizpah.
[22] Then king Asa made a proclamation throughout all Judah; none was
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.
| The Bible sometimes refers to other books. But these other books cannot be found now in modern times. Verse 23 refers to a book about the kings of Judah. No one knows for sure what this book said. No one can find the book now. |
The book about the kings of Judah tells
about the other things that Asa did. It tells about his strength and
the cities he built. When Asa was old, he had problems with
his feet.
[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 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.
Asa died. He was buried in Jerusalem with
his ancestors. Then his son Jehoshaphat became the king of
Judah.
[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.
|
The kings of divided Israel (dates may not be exact) |
|||
| King of
Israel (northern part) |
King of
Judah (southern part) |
||
| Year started | King's name | Year started | King's name |
|
922 B.C. |
Jeroboam |
922 B.C. |
Rehoboam |
|
915 B.C. |
Abijam | ||
|
|
913 B.C. |
Asa | |
|
900 B.C. |
Nadab | ||
|
897 B.C. |
Baasha | ||
|
|
872 B. C. |
Jehoshaphat | |
Nadab becomes king of Israel.
Jeroboam's son, Nadab, began to be king
of Israel when Asa was king of Judah for 2 years. He was king
for 2 years.
[25] And Nadab the son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel in the
second year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned over Israel two years.
Nadab did bad and sinful things. He did the
same things his father did. He made Israel sin, too.
[26] And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of
his father, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin.
Baasha's father was Ahijah. He was from the
tribe of Issachar. Baasha made plans against Nadab. Then
Baasha killed Nadab at the place named Gibbethon. Gibbethon
once belonged to the people called the Philistines. In the past,
Nadab and the Israelite army had captured Gibbethon.
[27] And Baasha the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, conspired
against him; and Baasha smote him at Gibbethon, which belonged to the
Philistines; for Nadab and all Israel laid siege to Gibbethon.
Baasha killed Nadab when Asa had been king of Judah for 3 years.
Then Baasha became the king.
[28] Even in the third year of Asa king of Judah did Baasha slay him,
and reigned in his stead.
When Baasha became king, he killed everyone
in Jeroboam's family. There were none left. Back in 1 Kings
14, the prophet named Ahijah said this would happen. God told him it
would happen because Jeroboam made statues of false gods and idols.
Now it has come true.
[29] And it came to pass, when he reigned, that he smote all the house
of Jeroboam; he left not to Jeroboam any that breathed, until he had
destroyed him, according unto the saying of the LORD, which he spake by
his servant Ahijah the Shilonite:
[30] Because of the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned, and which he made
Israel sin, by his provocation wherewith he provoked the LORD God of
Israel to anger.
| The Bible sometimes refers to other books. But these other books cannot be found now in modern times. Verse 31 refers to a book about the kings of Israel. No one knows for sure what this book said. No one can find the book now. |
The book about the kings of Israel tells
the other things that Nadab did when he was king.
[31] Now the rest of the acts of Nadab, and all that he did, are they
not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
Baasha becomes king of Israel.
Kings Asa and Baasha fought wars with each
other all during their lives.
[32] And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their
days.
Baasha began to be king when Asa was in his
third year as king. Baasha was king for 24 years. He lived in
Tirzah. Baasha did bad things and did not obey God. He behaved
like Jeroboam. He caused the other Israelites to sin.
[33] In the third year of Asa king of Judah began Baasha the son of
Ahijah to reign over all Israel in Tirzah, twenty and four years.
[34] And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of
Jeroboam, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin.
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