1 Kings 15:22

_THEN KING ASA MADE A PROCLAMATION THROUGHOUT ALL JUDAH; NONE WAS EXEMPTED: AND THEY TOOK AWAY THE STONES OF RAMAH, AND THE TIMBER THEREOF, WHEREWITH BAASHA HAD BUILDED; AND KING ASA BUILT WITH THEM GEBA OF BENJAMIN, AND MIZPAH._ Then king Asa made a proclamation. The fortifications which Baasaha had erected at Ramah were demolished, and with the materials were built other defenses, where Asa thought they were needed; at Geba (now Jeba), and Mizpah (now Neby Samwil), about two hours' traveling north of Jerusalem....

9-24 Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. That is right indeed which is so in God's eyes. Asa's times were times of reformation. He removed that which was evil; there reformation begins, and a great deal he found to do. When Asa found idolatry in the court, he rooted it out thence. Reformation must begin at home. Asa honours and respects his mother; he loves her well, but he loves God better. Those that have power are happy when thus they have hearts to use it well. We must not only cease to do evil, but learn to do well; not only cast away the idols of our iniquity, but dedicate ourselves and our all to God's honour and glory. Asa was cordially devoted to the service of God, his sins not arising from presumption. But his league with Benhadad arose from unbelief. Even true believers find it hard, in times of urgent danger, to trust in the Lord with all their heart. Unbelief m...

Verse 1 Kings 15:22. _NONE WAS EXEMPTED_] Every man was obliged to go and help to dismantle the fortress at Ramah which Baasha had built. This was a general _levee en masse_ of the people: every one was obliged to lend a helping hand, as the state was then supposed to be in danger, and all exemptions necessarily ceased. This is a maxim of civil policy, _Ubi adversus hostem muniendi sent limites,_ _omnis immunitas cessat_: "Where the boundaries are to be fortified against an enemy, then all exemptions cease....

Geba, situated opposite to Michmash 1 Samuel 14:5, is almost certainly “Jeba,” which stands picturesquely on the top of its steep terraced hill on the very edge of the “Wady Suweinit.” Its position was thus exceedingly strong; and, as it lay further north than Ramah, Asa may have considered that to fortify and garrison it would be a better protection to his northern frontier than fortifying Ramah. For Mizpah see the marginal reference From Jeremiah 41:9 we learn that Asa, besides fortifying the place, sank a deep well there to secure his garrison from want of water if the town should be besieged....

EXPOSITION THE REIGNS OF ABIJAM AND ASA, KINGS OF JUDAH. _The Reign of Abijam_. 1 KINGS 15:1 NOW IN THE EIGHTEENTH YEAR OF KING JEROBOAM, THE SON OF NEBAT, REIGNED ABIJAM [see note on 1 Kings 14:31. It is implied in 2 Chronicles 11:20-14 that he was not the firstborn among Rehoboam's twenty-eight sons, but the eldest son of the favourite wife. As he left behind him thirty-eight children ...

THEN KING ASA MADE A PROCLAMATION THROUGHOUT ALL JUDAH,.... Summoned men of all sorts, ranks, and degrees: (NONE WAS EXEMPTED;) the Jews z say, not so much as a newly married man, whom the law excused from war the first year, nor the disciples of the wise men: AND THEY TOOK AWAY THE STONES OF RAMAH, AND THE TIMBER THEREOF, WHEREWITH BAASHA HAD BUILDED; or fortified the place; these; the men of Judah, whom Asa summoned, carried off: AND KING ASA BUILT WITH THEM GEBA OF BENJAMIN, AND MIZPAH; which were both in the tribe of Benjamin, and which he fortified, Joshua 18:24. z Jarchi Kimchi in loc....

3. ABIJAM AND ASA, KINGS OF JUDAH CHAPTER 15 _ 1. Abijam of Judah (1 Kings 15:1; 2 Chronicles 13)_ 2. Asa of Judah (1 Kings 15:9; 1 Kings 2 Chronicles 14-16) Abijam is called in Chronicles Abijah; in 2 Chronicles 13:21 he is called Abijahu. Abijam was undoubtedly the older form. It is possible that on account of his great address of rebuke to Jeroboam (2 Chronicles 13:4) they may have called him Abijah (Jehovah is my fat

ABIJAM AND ASA OF JUDAH, AND NADAB AND BAASHA OF ISRAEL. Abijam, called Abijah (2 Chronicles 13:1), had a short and evil reign. It would appear, notwithstanding 1 Kings 15:8, that he was succeeded by his brother Asa, as both are said to have had the same mother, Maacah, the daughter of Abishalom. Josephus says the granddaughter of Absalom; see 2 Chronicles 11:20). Except that Asa could not remove the high places he is said to have done right during his long reign of forty-one years. Asa deposed Maacah from the position of queen-mother for her idolatry. She had made (1 Kings 15:13) an abominable image (Heb. a horror o

_Asa made a proclamation throughout_[R.V. UNTO] _all Judah_ Literally -caused all Judah to hear." The people, rather than the land, are spoken of, as is shewn by the next words -none was exempted." The whole labouring population was gathered on the king's requisition that the work might be completed while the pressure of the Syrians on the north was being sharply felt. _and they took_[R.V. CARRIED] _away the stones of Ramah_ As in many previous instances R.V. takes the rendering from Chronicles, but only that the two may be made alike where the original is the same. The king of Israel had intended to make a great fortress out of Ramah. Hence there was prepared an immense quantity of stone and wood for his fortifications. This is what is meant by -building" in this whole passage. Ramah was to have been -fortified", and the materials sufficed to fortify Geba and Mizpah for Judah. _built w...

C. THE REFORMATION UNDER ASA 15:9-24 At the outset of his reign, Asa launched a national movement to bring his people back to the old paths of fidelity to God. But as time went on, Asa's religious fervor cooled. The text here briefly alludes to these two aspects of his reign: (1) Asa's exercise of faith (1 Kings 15:9-15); and (2) Asa's failure of faith (1 Kings 15:16-22). To these two major themes the historian adds (3) his customary concluding statement regarding this king (1 Kings 15:23-24). _1. ASA'S EXERCISE OF FAITH_ (1 Kings 15:9-15) TRANSLATION (9) And in the twenti