The following commentary covers Chapters 14, 15, and 16.
Jeroboam's
neglect of God's warning: its results on himself and his
house
In spite of this testimony,
Jeroboam perseveres in his sin. The only one of his sons
in whom any piety is seen dies; and the judgment of God
is pronounced upon his house.
Judah's condition
after Solomon's death: constant war between the two
kingdoms
Judah having walked in all
sorts of iniquity also, during the reign of Rehoboam,
Jerusalem is taken, and all the riches which Solomon had
amassed became the prey of the Egyptians. Abijam, his son,
follows no better course. There was constant war between
the two kingdoms—the sad story, so often renewed, of
man placed in the enjoyment of God's blessing, and the
effect of his fall. In what a condition do we see the
kingdom of God's people, and the house of David itself,
recently so glorious!
Transgression
against Jehovah and hastening doom
Asa, pious himself and
faithful to Jehovah, pressed by the power of Baasha, king
of Israel, who had dethroned the house of Jeroboam, seeks
that help from the Syrians which he did not know how to
find in God. The family of Baasha falls, as that of
Jeroboam had done, and the chief captains contend
together for the throne, which remains at last in the
hands of Ahab's father. Ahab added to the sin of his
predecessors the worship of Baal, the god of his
idolatrous wife; and, in the enormity of his
transgressions against Jehovah, he went beyond all the
kings of Israel that were before him.
But in the midst of all
this moral ruin, the word of God reaches those who
violate it; and Joshua's prophetic judgment upon
whosoever should rebuild Jericho is fulfilled in the
family of Hiel, the Bethelite. Not only are the ways and
government of God manifested in full vigour, however
great His patience with a rebellious people, but the
energy of the king's iniquity, in the presence of God's
long-suffering, gives occasion for a testimony remarkable
in proportion to the evil which made it necessary.
The reign of Ahab was the
occasion of the testimony of the prophet Elijah. Israel,
at that time, was hastening to its doom. But, whatever
their iniquity may be, God does not smite a people who
have forsaken His ways, until He has sent them a
testimony. He may chastise them previously, but will not
definitively execute His judgment upon them.
The testimony of
the prophets in Judah unaccompanied by miracles
The character of the
testimony deserves particular attention here.
In Judah the prophets, who
bore testimony in the midst of an order of things which
God Himself had established, performed no miracles. They
dwell upon the people's sin, and put them in mind of the
law of Jehovah, His ordinances, and the obedience due to
Him. They proclaim the advent of the Messiah, and the
future blessing of Israel; but, the system in the midst
of which they give this testimony being still owned of
God, they perform no miracles.
1 Kings 15 Bible Commentary
John Darby’s Synopsis
Jeroboam's neglect of God's warning: its results on himself and his house
In spite of this testimony, Jeroboam perseveres in his sin. The only one of his sons in whom any piety is seen dies; and the judgment of God is pronounced upon his house.
Judah's condition after Solomon's death: constant war between the two kingdoms
Judah having walked in all sorts of iniquity also, during the reign of Rehoboam, Jerusalem is taken, and all the riches which Solomon had amassed became the prey of the Egyptians. Abijam, his son, follows no better course. There was constant war between the two kingdoms—the sad story, so often renewed, of man placed in the enjoyment of God's blessing, and the effect of his fall. In what a condition do we see the kingdom of God's people, and the house of David itself, recently so glorious!
Transgression against Jehovah and hastening doom
Asa, pious himself and faithful to Jehovah, pressed by the power of Baasha, king of Israel, who had dethroned the house of Jeroboam, seeks that help from the Syrians which he did not know how to find in God. The family of Baasha falls, as that of Jeroboam had done, and the chief captains contend together for the throne, which remains at last in the hands of Ahab's father. Ahab added to the sin of his predecessors the worship of Baal, the god of his idolatrous wife; and, in the enormity of his transgressions against Jehovah, he went beyond all the kings of Israel that were before him.
But in the midst of all this moral ruin, the word of God reaches those who violate it; and Joshua's prophetic judgment upon whosoever should rebuild Jericho is fulfilled in the family of Hiel, the Bethelite. Not only are the ways and government of God manifested in full vigour, however great His patience with a rebellious people, but the energy of the king's iniquity, in the presence of God's long-suffering, gives occasion for a testimony remarkable in proportion to the evil which made it necessary.
The reign of Ahab was the occasion of the testimony of the prophet Elijah. Israel, at that time, was hastening to its doom. But, whatever their iniquity may be, God does not smite a people who have forsaken His ways, until He has sent them a testimony. He may chastise them previously, but will not definitively execute His judgment upon them.
The testimony of the prophets in Judah unaccompanied by miracles
The character of the testimony deserves particular attention here.
In Judah the prophets, who bore testimony in the midst of an order of things which God Himself had established, performed no miracles. They dwell upon the people's sin, and put them in mind of the law of Jehovah, His ordinances, and the obedience due to Him. They proclaim the advent of the Messiah, and the future blessing of Israel; but, the system in the midst of which they give this testimony being still owned of God, they perform no miracles.