Study Desk

Rehoboam, son of Naamah from Ammon, died and was buried with his ancestors in Jerusalem, and his son Abijam became king in his place.

Abijam ruled in Jerusalem for three years. His mother was Maacah daughter of Abishalom.

He did all the same sins his father before him had done. Abijam was not faithful to the Lord his God as David, his great-grandfather, had been.

David always did what the Lord said was right and obeyed his commands all his life, except the one time when David sinned against Uriah the Hittite.

Abijam died and was buried in Jerusalem, and his son Asa became king in his place.

His grandmother's name was Maacah, the daughter of Abishalom. Asa ruled in Jerusalem for forty-one years.

Asa did what the Lord said was right, as his ancestor David had done.

He forced the male prostitutes at the worship places to leave the country. He also took away the idols that his ancestors had made.

His grandmother Maacah had made a terrible Asherah idol, so Asa removed her from being queen mother. He cut down that idol and burned it in the Kidron Valley.

The places of worship to gods were not removed. Even so, Asa was faithful to the Lord all his life.

Asa brought into the Temple of the Lord the gifts he and his father had given: gold, silver, and utensils.

Asa took the rest of the silver and gold from the treasuries of the Temple of the Lord and his own palace and gave it to his officers. Then he sent them to Ben-Hadad son of Tabrimmon, who was the son of Hezion. Ben-Hadad was the king of Aram and ruled in the city of Damascus. Asa said,

Ben-Hadad agreed with King Asa, so he sent the commanders of his armies to attack the towns of Israel. They defeated the towns of Ijon, Dan, and Abel Beth Maacah, as well as all Galilee and the area of Naphtali.

Everything else Asa did—his victories and the cities he built—is written in the book of the history of the kings of Judah. When he became old, he got a disease in his feet.

After Asa died, he was buried with his ancestors in Jerusalem, the city of David, his ancestor. Then Jehoshaphat, Asa's son, became king in his place.

and he did what the Lord said was wrong. Jeroboam had led the people of Israel to sin, and Nadab sinned in the same way as his father Jeroboam.

As soon as Baasha became king, he killed all of Jeroboam's family, leaving no one in Jeroboam's family alive. He destroyed them all as the Lord had said would happen through his servant Ahijah from Shiloh.

Everything else Baasha did and all his victories are written down in the book of the history of the kings of Israel.

So Baasha died and was buried in Tirzah, and his son Elah became king in his place.

The Lord spoke his word against Baasha and his family through the prophet Jehu son of Hanani. Baasha had done many things the Lord said were wrong, which made the Lord very angry. He did the same evil deeds that Jeroboam's family had done before him. The Lord also spoke against Baasha because he killed all of Jeroboam's family.