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Scripture Reading: 1 Kings 14:20, 31; 1 Kings 15; 1 Kings 16
Although we respect the fundamental teachings of the Bible, the New Testament shows us many things beyond the fundamental teachings. We are very much for the preaching of the gospel by visiting sinners to bring them into Christ. However, the goal of our preaching is not to "win souls" or to bring people to heaven but to create, to produce, members of Christ for the building up of His organic Body, which will consummate in the New Jerusalem.
In doing this, our goal is to reach Zion, to have Zion today, for the fulfillment of God's eternal economy. Otherwise, God will have no way to fulfill His economy to consummate in the New Jerusalem. The last book of the New Testament sounds out the call to be overcomers (Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21), and these overcomers will be Zion (14:1). This Zion will be the standard of what the New Jerusalem will be. In the new heaven and new earth, when the New Jerusalem comes in, Zion will disappear because the entire New Jerusalem will become Zion, with all the believers as overcomers. The church life in the Lord's recovery must go on and on until at least some of us, if not all, reach Zion.
If we love the Lord and His recovery and if we mean business to practice the church life in the recovery, we need to endeavor to see all the visions concerning God's economy, the center and reality of which are Christ and the church. In the last ten years of my ministry, I have been struggling to reach this high point. This is why I do not like to touch the books of history in the Old Testament without seeing what is related to God's economy. In the history books Christ and the church are typified. As we continue our life- study of 1 and 2 Kings, we should pay our attention to these things.
First Kings 15 and 16 cover the reigns of Abijam and Asa over Judah and of Nadab, Baasha, Elah, Zimri, and Omri over Israel and the beginning of the reign of Ahab over Israel. In this record there is confusion, which always comes out of division. Wherever division is, there is confusion.
Abijam was born of the daughter of Abishalom (15:2b).
Abijam began to reign over Judah in the eighteenth year of Jeroboam king of Israel and reigned three years in Jerusalem (14:31b—15:2a).
Abijam walked in all the sins of his father Rehoboam, and his heart was not perfect with Jehovah like the heart of David his forefather (v. 3).
For David's sake Jehovah gave David a lamp in Jerusalem, raising up his son after him and establishing Jerusalem. Jehovah did this because David did what was upright in the sight of Jehovah, not turning aside from anything that Jehovah had commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite (vv. 4-5).
Abijam fought with Jeroboam, slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David (vv. 7b-8a).
Verses 8b through 24a speak of the reign of Asa over Judah. Asa was a good king, perhaps the best among the eight good kings of Judah.
Asa began to reign over Judah in the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel and reigned for forty-one years in Jerusalem (vv. 8b-10a).
Asa did what was upright in the sight of Jehovah with a perfect heart all his days, as David his forefather had done. Asa put away the male cult prostitutes out of the land and removed all the idols that his forefathers had made. He also removed his grandmother Maacah from being queen mother. She had made an abominable image for Asherah, but Asa cut it down and burned it at the brook Kidron (vv. 11-14).
Asa brought into the house of Jehovah the things his father had sanctified and also the things that he himself had sanctified to God (v. 15).
War was waged between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. Asa made an alliance with Ben-hadad, the king of Syria, in order to overcome Baasha (vv. 16-22).
Asa was diseased in his feet in his old age. He slept with his fathers and was buried with them in the city of David (vv. 23-24a).
Nadab continued after his father Jeroboam to reign over the northern kingdom of Israel for two years. His reign began from the second year of Asa king of Judah (14:20b; 15:25).
Nadab did evil in the sight of Jehovah and walked in the way of his father and in his sin by which he caused Israel to sin (v. 26).
In the third year of Asa king of Judah, Baasha conspired against Nadab, killed him and all the house of Jeroboam his father, and usurped the throne (vv. 27-31). The record of Nadab thus concludes with rebellion, conspiracy, murder, and usurpation of the throne.
In 15:32—16:7 we have an account of the reign of Baasha over Israel.
Baasha began to reign over Israel in the third year of Asa king of Judah and reigned for twenty-four years (15:33).
Baasha also did evil in the sight of Jehovah and walked in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin by which he caused Israel to sin (v. 34).
The prophet Jehu came to rebuke Baasha and told him that God would sweep up after Baasha and after his house, making his house like the house of Jeroboam because of his walking in the way of Jeroboam, causing God's people to sin and provoking God to anger, and because he had killed all the house of Jeroboam (16:1-7).
Elah was crowned to reign over Israel in the twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Judah and reigned for two years (vv. 6b, 8).
In the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, Zimri, the captain of half of Elah's chariots, conspired against Elah and struck him down. He then reigned in his place and destroyed all the house of Baasha (vv. 9-14).
Zimri was crowned in the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah and reigned for just seven days (v. 15).
When the people heard that Zimri had struck down the king, they made Omri, the captain of the army, king over Israel that day in the camp (v. 16).
Omri with all the people of Israel besieged Tirzah. Zimri went up to the citadel of the king's house and burned the house over him with fire and committed suicide because he did evil in the sight of Jehovah and walked in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin by which he caused Israel to sin (vv. 17-20).
Verses 21 through 28a speak of the reign of Omri over Israel.
The people of Israel were divided into two. Half went after Tibni, making him king, and half went after Omri (v. 21).
The people who followed Omri prevailed over the people who followed Tibni, and Omri began to reign after the death of Tibni (v. 22).
In the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah, Omri reigned over Israel for twelve years, reigning six years in Tirzah (v. 23).
Omri purchased the hill of Samaria and built a city upon the hill and called the name of the city that he built Samaria (v. 24).
Omri did evil in the sight of Jehovah more than all who were before him and went in all the way of Jeroboam and in his sin by which he caused Israel to sin, provoking Jehovah to anger with their idols (vv. 25-27).
Omri died and was buried in Samaria (v. 28a).
In 16:28b—22:40a we see the reign of Ahab over Israel.
In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab began to reign over Israel, and he reigned in Samaria for twenty-two years (16:28b-29).
Ahab did what was evil in the sight of Jehovah more than all who were before him (vv. 30-33). He considered it a light thing to walk in the sins of Jeroboam (v. 31a). He took Jezebel, the daughter of the king of the Sidonians, as his wife. Then he went and served Baal and worshipped him, raising up an altar to Baal in the house of Baal, which he built in Samaria (vv. 31b-32). Furthermore, he made the Asherah and did more to provoke Jehovah to anger than all the kings of Israel preceding him (v. 33).
In the days of Ahab, Jericho was rebuilt, and this brought in the curse to them as Joshua had prophesied (v. 34; Josh. 6:26).
