1 KINGS 15 (FROM CAC'S NOTES)
1 KINGS 15 (FROM CAC’S NOTES)
Abijam follows his father’s evil course and “his heart was not perfect with Jehovah his God”. But he obtains favour on account of what David had been (verse 4). Jehovah had spoken to Jeroboam of David having a lamp always before Him in Jerusalem (see 1 Kings 11: 36 and 2 Kings 8: 19). God remembers past faithfulness and His ways have regard to it for a long time, down to Jehoram’s time, the son of Jehoshaphat: I do not doubt that we have benefited in the ways of God by the faithfulness of devoted men who have preceded us. What we have in the way of divine favour is not the fruit of our own faithfulness but of that of others who have gone before.
Asa’s reign is of much interest because in it we see the first movements of recovery. There was the unsparing judgment of evil and what was idolatrous. He did not follow his father or his grandmother but goes back in principle to David, so that we get dedicated things brought into the house of Jehovah, silver, gold and vessels. The silver speaks of redemption as that which is brought back to God in the value of the death of Christ.
Gold, being a new-creation thought, speaks of all things of God. Vessels suggest persons dedicated so that God has His portion in them.
Baasha comes up to restrict Asa’s liberty, showing a movement against what was going on for God. Lamentably Asa does not count on God to preserve his liberty but looks to the king of Syria. He expends the silver and gold in the treasures to secure the help of the world. He becomes a contributor to the world out of what should [p. 131] have been kept as divine wealth. It is like christians taking part in politics to secure liberty for themselves.
They got what they wanted. The device seemed to succeed. All Judah was summoned to carry off the spoil. Certainly advantages can be secured by buying the help of the world, but they come back on the people of God. We are not told here how Jehovah regarded it but we are in 2 Chronicles 16. We get the public history more in Kings, but the moral conditions in Chronicles.
The reformers fell into this snare. They dealt with much that was idolatrous and secured something that should have had a result in dedication to God. But they thought they must have the help of the world to secure their liberty. So they gave the treasures to the world: they made the church contributory to the world powers to secure their protection from Rome. All the reformed churches have done so. They have entered into political association for their protection so that the precious things are alienated from their true place in the house of God and are made part of the wealth of the world. The church has lost much more than it gained. What is gained in the way of public plenty involves a far greater loss spiritually. Syria was a power that God would have given to the house of Asa but by making a league with Ben-Hadad he lost the chance of overcoming him. It was in the 36th year of his reign that this happened; it was getting on to the end of the reign. It is very exercising to see so many break down at the end. In his old age he was diseased in his feet (verse 23).