1 IN the six and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah, and built Ramah, to the intent that he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.
2 Then Asa brought out silver and gold out of the treasures of the house of the Lord and of the king’s house, and sent to Ben-hadad king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying,
3 There is a league between me and thee, as there was between my father and thy father: behold, I have sent thee silver and gold; go, break thy league with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me.
4 And Ben-hadad hearkened unto king Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel; and they smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abel-maim, and all the store cities of Naphtali.
5 And it came to pass, when Baasha heard it, that he left off building of Ramah, and let his work cease.
6 Then Asa the king took all Judah; and they carried away the stones of Ramah, and the timber thereof, wherewith Baasha was building; and he built therewith Geba and Mizpah.
7 And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said unto him, Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria, and not relied on the Lord thy God, therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thine hand.
8 Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubims a huge host, with very many chariots and horsemen? yet, because thou didst rely on the Lord, he delivered them into thine hand.
9 For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.
10 Then Asa was wroth with the seer, and put him in a prison house; for he was in a rage with him because of this thing. And Asa oppressed some of the people the same time.
11 And, behold, the acts of Asa, first and last, lo, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.
12 And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not to the Lord, but to the physicians.
13 And Asa slept with his fathers, and died in the one and fortieth year of his reign.
14 And they buried him in his own sepulchres, which he had made for himself in the city 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.

1In the sixe and thirtieth yeere of the reigne of Asa, Baasha king of Israel came vp against Iudah, and built Ramah, to the intent that hee might let none goe out or come in to Asa king of Iudah.

2Then Asa brought out siluer and golde out of the treasures of the house of the Lord, and of the kings house, and sent to Benhadad King of Syria that dwelt at Damascus, saying;

3There is a league betweene me and thee, as there was betweene my father and thy father: beholde, I haue sent thee siluer and golde, goe, breake thy league with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me.

4And Benhadad hearkened vnto king Asa, and sent the captaines of his armies against the cities of Israel; and they smote Iion, and Dan, and Abelmaim, & all the store-cities of Naphtali.

5And it came to passe, when Baasha heard it, that hee left off building of Ramah, and let his worke cease.

6Then Asa the king tooke all Iudah, and they caried away the stones of Ramah, and the timber thereof, wherewith Baasha was a building, and hee built there with Geba and Mizpah.

7 And at that time Hanani the Seer came to Asa king of Iudah, and said vnto him, Because thou hast relyed on the king of Syria, and not relyed on the Lord thy God, therefore is the hoste of the king of Syria escaped out of thine hand.

8Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubims a huge hoste, with very many charets and horsemen? Yet because thou diddest relie on the Lord, he deliuered them into thine hand.

9For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shewe himselfe strong in the behalfe of them, whose heart is perfite towards him. Herein thou hast done foolishly; therefore, from hencefoorth thou shalt haue warres.

10Then Asa was wroth with the Seer, and put him in a prison-house; for he was in a rage with him because of this thing. And Asa oppressed some of the people the same time.

11 And behold, the actes of Asa first and last, lo, they are written in the booke of the Kings of Iudah and Israel.

12And Asa in the thirtie and ninth yeere of his reigne, was diseased in his feete, vntill his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease hee sought not to the Lord, but to the Physicians.

13 And Asa slept with his fathers, and died in the one and fourtieth yeere of his reigne.

14And they buried him in his owne sepulchres which he had made for himselfe in the citie of Dauid, and laide him in the bed, which was filled with sweet odours, and diuers kindes of spices prepared by the Apothecaries arte: & they made a very great burning for him.

I == 1st Kings 15:17 ; 2nd Chr 15:9

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

VII == 1st Kings 16:1 ; 2nd Chr 19:2 ; Isa 31:1 ; Jer 17:5

 

 

 

VIII == 2nd Chr 12:3 ; 14:9

 

 

IX == 1st Sam 13:13 ; 1st Kings 15:32 ; Job 34:21 ; Prov 5:21 ; 15:3 ; Jer 16:17 ; 32:19 ; Zech 4:10

 

X == 2nd Chr 18:26 ; Jer 20:2 ; Matt 14:3

 

 

XI == 1st Kings 15:23

XII == 1st Kings 15:24 ; Jer 17:5

 

 

 

 

XIV == Gen 50:2 ; 2nd Chr 21:19 ; Jer 34:5 ; Mark 16:1 ; John 19:39-40

 

1 In the thirty-sixth year of Asa's reign, Baasha, king of Israel, attacked Judah and fortified Ramah to prevent any communication with Asa, king of Judah.

2 Asa then brought out silver and gold from the treasuries of the temple of the LORD and of the royal palace and sent them to Ben-hadad, king of Aram, who lived in Damascus, with this message:

3 "There is a treaty between you and me, as there was between your father and my father. See, I am sending you silver and gold. Go, break your treaty with Baasha, king of Israel, that he may withdraw from me."

4 Ben-hadad agreed to King Asa's request and sent the leaders of his troops against the cities of Israel. They attacked Ijon, Dan, Abel-maim, and all the store cities of Naphtali.

5 When Baasha heard of it, he left off fortifying Ramah; he stopped his work.

6 Then King Asa commandeered all of Judah to carry away the stone and wood with which Baasha had been fortifying Ramah, and with them he fortified Geba and Mizpah.

7 At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa, king of Judah, and said to him: "Because you relied on the king of Aram and did not rely on the LORD, your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped your hand.

8 Were not the Ethiopians and Libyans a vast army, with great numbers of chariots and drivers? And yet, because you relied on the LORD, he delivered them into your power.

9 The eyes of the LORD roam over the whole earth, to encourage those who are devoted to him wholeheartedly. You have acted foolishly in this matter, for from now on you will have wars."

10 But Asa became angry with the seer and imprisoned him in the stocks, so greatly was he enraged at him over this. Asa also oppressed some of his people at this time.

11 Now the acts of Asa, first and last, can be found recorded in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.

12 In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa contracted a serious disease in his feet. But even in his sickness he did not seek the LORD, but only the physicians.

13 Asa rested with his ancestors; he died in the forty-first year of his reign.

14 They buried him in the tomb he had hewn for himself in the City of David, having laid him upon a couch which was filled with spices and various kinds of aromatics compounded into an ointment. They also burned a very great funeral pyre for him.

V 1-6 Asa is Judah’s first really good king, and starting in the twentieth year of Jeroboam, he reigned 41 years. Maacah was actually his grandmother, but he did not show partiality. He destroyed the idol she she had made in a grove and removed her from being queen, 2 Chr. 15:16. The groves were Ashera poles set up with fertility symbols (private parts) carved on them. Apparently it was in his early years that he removed the homosexuals and idols from the land. In keeping with Lev. 26:30, he removed the high places, according to 2 Chr. 14:2-5, but there were many and he did not get them all removed, v 14 and 2 Chr. 15:16. He was able to bring in dedicated items from the war Abijah won over Jeroboam and from his own victory over the Ethiopians, read 2 Chr. 14:6-15. God had given Asa rest after his early reforms, so he built fortified cities, a 580,000 man army and prospered. Zerah, an Ethiopian came against him with a million men and 300 chariots. Asa called upon the Lord in trust with a well known verse, 2 Chr. 14:11, the Lord can help with many or with the weak. God aided him in practically destroying the enemy, so Asa smote all the cities round about and brought back an abundance of spoils.
At this point 2 Chr. 15:1-7 takes place.  The Prophet Azariah met Asa, perhaps as he was returning from the battle, and gave him an admonition that if he sought the Lord, the Lord would be with him, but if he forsook the Lord, the Lord would forsake him. Azariah pointed out that this had been the case with Israel in the past, so if Asa would strengthen himself in the Lord, he would be rewarded. (Gal. 6:9)
Jeroboam’s death after 22 years is recorded 14:19, 20 and 2 Chr. 13:20. For more information on him see 1 Kings 22 and 2 Chr. 17-20. Read 2 Chr. 16:11-17:1 for better detail than here. Throughout Asa’s life he had trusted the Lord until the treaty with Syria, and again in his old age, in the 39th year of his reign, he became diseased in his feet and tried to rely on physicians to help him instead of calling upon the Lord. He died in his 40th year and had an elaborate funeral, befitting one who had followed the Lord most of his life.
He was laid on a bed of spices but placed in the tomb he had prepared. Some say the “Great burning” in 2 Chron. 16:14 refers to the burning of the spices. because cremation was not practiced by the Jews. It is pointed out that at Herod’s funeral five hundred men bearing spices.
Others say royal cremation was prevalent at the time of the kings, among Jews
Jehoshaphat, Asa’s son reigned in his place, after a co-regency of 2 or 3 years.
For the beginning of the reign of Jehoshaphat, see notes in 2 Chr. 17. The reign of Ahab and the major part of Elijah’s ministry are in 1 Ki. 16:28 -21:29 and we pick up on Jehoshaphat again in 1 Ki 22 and 2 Chr. 18.
After Baasha died, his son, Elah,  reigned shy of two years and was killed by Zimri, captain of half his chariots. Zimri committed treason and murdered him while he was getting drunk at his steward’s house.
Zimri ruthlessly slew all of Baasha’s household, all his kindred, and all who were known to be friends to him. Elah was wicked like his father, v 13, and this his fulfilled the prophecy of v 4, but it did not excuse Zimri’s murders.
Zimri only ruled seven days, when the people who were encamped against the Philistines heard of it, and they made Omri king right there in the camp. Omri and the army went right up, besieged the city of Tirzah and took it. When Zimri saw that, he committed suicide by burning the palace down over himself. God allowed that as judgment for his sin of murder and other sins which he copied from Jeroboam.
A power struggle ensued with half the people following Tibni and half following Omri, but Omri’s side won and Tibni died. In other words he was killed.
Omri ruled from Tirzah six years, then bought the hill of Samaria from it’s owner, Shemer, built on it, and reigned six more years.
Omri not only followed in the sins Jeroboam, but was more wicked than all the kings who were before him.
When Omri died, his son Ahab began rule in the 38th year of Asa, king of Judah. All the kings of the ten tribes have been getting progressively worse, following in the sins of Jeroboam, but Ahab, son of Omri exceeded them in wickedness,v 33. He began in the 38th year of Asa in Judah and reigned 22 years in Samaria. His greatest sin was in marrying Jezebel, who got him to build a house for Baal and worshiping him. Jezebel was the chief princess of the Tyre god Baal. (Baal was an indiscriminate term for gods in various places, slightly different in practice but similar. In Tyre, Baal was believed to be the god that controlled storms and rain, hence God’s judgment and proof of power in chapter 17. Tyre Baal worship also involved worship of snakes, male and female prostitution, and murder and sacrifice of babies (children). In Ahab’s days, Hiel rebuilt Jericho at the cost of the life of his oldest son when he laid the foundation, and the death of his youngest when he set up the gates. (Some think all sons in between died also.) This was nearly 600 years later, but was exactly the curse pronounced by Joshua in Josh. 6:26.