1 Reis 15

1 Reis 15

1 Kings Commentaries Chart from recommended resource Jensen's Survey of the OT - used by permission 1 Kings Chart from Charles Swindoll THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL (NOTE: Many consider Amaziah and Hezekiah as "good" kings) SEE ALSO: ESV chart - kings of Israel - more information ESV chart - kings of Judah - more information Another Chart with Variable Dates for Reigns of Kings 1 Kings 15:1 Now in the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, Abijam became king over Judah. 1Ki 14:31 2Ch 13:1-22 1 Kings 15 Resources - multiple sermons and commentaries Related Passages: 2 Chronicles 12:16 And Rehoboam slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David; and his son Abijah became king in his place. ABIJAM SUCCEEDS REHOBOAM IN JUDAH Note that 1 Kings 14:21-15:24 focuses on the Kings of Judah. 1 Kings. 15:25-16:33 then deals with the kings of Israel. Note that one must read 2Ch 13:1-22 to get a fuller picture of Abijam's reign. Now in the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, Abijam (see names below) became king over Judah - Note that Abijam (Abijah 2Ch 13:1) is NOT the same Abijah who were Jeroboam's son (1Ki 14:1). Abijam was not Rehoboam’s oldest son, but he was the son of his favorite wife Maachah. Names were important in the OT but did not always give an accurate assessment of character. Abijah means "Jehovah is my father," (used in 2Ch 11:20, 22, 2Ch 12:16, 2Ch 13:1-4,15,17,19, 20-22, 14:1) but he did not emulate the heavenly Father but his earthly father (1Ki 15:3). He is called Abijam ( ‘my father is Yam.’) in 1 Ki. 14:31; 1 Ki. 15:1; 1 Ki. 15:7; 1 Ki. 15:8. Abijah is the name retained in the lineage of the Messiah Matthew 1:7+ recording "Solomon was the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asa." Warren Wiersbe on Abijam/Abijah - He was from David's line through both parents, for David's infamous son Absalom was Abijah's paternal grandfather. Abijah may have had David's blood flowing in his veins, but he didn't have David's perfect heart beating in his breast. Abijah's father, Rehoboam, had kept up a running war with Jeroboam, and Abijah carried on the tradition. (Bible Exposition Commentary - Old Testament) Dilday has an interesting thought on the various names of Abijam noting that “Chronicles spells his name Abijah, which means ‘Yahweh is my father.’ Kings spells the name Abijam, which means ‘my father is Yam.’ Yam was a Canaanite sea-god. (ED: In Canaanite religion, Yam [Yamm, Yamu, or Yaw] was the god of the sea, chaos, and primordial waters. He was often depicted as a powerful and turbulent deity, associated with storms, floods, and untamed waters.) Could it be that he started out as Abijah, a follower of Yahweh, and ended up as Abijam, a follower of a false god?” (See The Preacher's Commentary - Vol. 09: 1 and 2 Kings - Page 11) Iain Provan points out that in chapter 15 "We remain for the moment in Judah, with Rehoboam’s immediate successors. Abijam is the characteristically bad Judean king, indulging in the idolatry of Solomon’s later years and of Rehoboam. Asa is the characteristically good Judean king, behaving relatively faithfully like David and the younger Solomon. These two between them set the pattern for all subsequent Judean kings, who are measured in terms of whether they have been “like David” or not." (See 1 & 2 Kings - Understanding the Bible Commentary Series - Page 78) Peter Pett: We are never told the age of Abi-yam, but the Chronicler tells us that he had fourteen wives, twenty two sons and sixteen daughters (2 Chronicles 13:21), so that he was well matured when he began to reign, possibly approaching forty. Bob