1 Kings 15:11

1Ki 15:11 And Asa did [that which was] right in the eyes of the LORD, as [did] David his father.

Ver. 11. And Asa did that which was right.] Right, for the matter of his obedience; uprightly, for the manner.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Ki_15:11-15

Asa did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord.

The character of Asa

In Asa, King of Judah, we have one of the most melancholy, yet perhaps one of the most marvellous instances on record in the Holy Scriptures of the depravity of our nature. What strikes us in this prince is not merely that sort of inconsistency which is, more or less, part of every mans character; that strange admixture of opposing principles and motives which may be said to influence the actions of the generality of men; neither is it--what is a still more common evil among men--the succumbing to the power of any one evil disposition which is not sufficiently counteracted by a corresponding virtue. It is his failure in that very point in which the chief of his virtues seemed to lie--his faith and perfect confidence in God.

I. The impossibility of mans arriving at a sinless state of perfection so long as he is clothed with this mortality. In Asa we have a proof that a man may be perfect before God, and yet have sin. In many things we offend all, and If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves--if we were to infer that a state of faultless perfection were attainable in this world from the fact that there are many who, like Noah, Abraham, or Asa, are said to have walked perfectly with God, it would he difficult to reconcile such an inference with the sins they are known to have committed. When we find such injunctions as this--Walk thou before Me, and be thou perfect. It is plain that the word perfect must be interpreted in that sense of general uprightness of character which it is only possible to apply to the best of men in this world. The main difference between the righteous and unrighteous--and this we ought chiefly to bear in mind--lies in habitual character. It is this which God principally regards, and not occasional sins, grievous though they be. The pith of all true religion, the grand substance of the doctrines of both Old and New Testaments, is summed up for us at the conclusion of both--the last words of the Old Testament being: Then shall ye return and discern between him that serveth God and him that serveth Him not; while among the last utterances of the Holy Ghost speaking by St. John, are these: His servants shall serve Him--He that loveth not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema maranatha. Thus the constant service of God is spoken of in both Testaments as the distinctive feature of the righteous.

II. The more practical lesson of caution in the manner of our daily walk. If Satan be suffered to exercise so great power over the hearts of the faithful servants of God, how watchful over our own hearts should we be! How necessary to each one of us the godly admonition of the apostle: Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall! And how are we to take heed lest we fall? By standing always in the grace of God--this is the secret of final perseverance; this is the secret of Asas heart being perfect all his days. It is a mere matter of history that the saving mercy of God is more generally shown to those in whom we find habitual goodness of heart to have pre-existed, or, more strictly speaking, by whom grace given has been constantly used and persevered in, than to those whose habit of life has been careless and negligent of Gods service. The case of a seemingly virtuous child being led astray might well presuppose a want of real hearty piety, or a degree of pride and self-confidence which has withdrawn the special care and love of God, and left that child a prey of his enemies. This is not, however, the case of a really righteous person fallen from his uprightness. In all this we have a strong caution. If habitual piety is never forgotten, and rarely goes unrewarded at last, how much ought we to be on our guard lest we lose aught of that piety, lest we slacken the fervour of our zeal, and suffer our love to grow cold, or even lukewarm; lest, in a word, we forfeit aught of that grace wherein alone we stand. (J. B. Litler, M. A.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15:11-13 did what was pleasing: In addition to reforms mentioned here, the Chronicler records the positive spiritual influence of God’s prophet Azariah upon the king (2 Chr 15:1-7) and Asa’s convening of a great assembly to renew the covenant with the Lord (2 Chr 15:9-15). • shrine prostitutes: See 1 Kgs 14:23-24. Asa’s efforts to restrict idolatry and pagan fertility rites even extended to Maacah, deposing her from her influential role as queen mother (15:13; 2 Chr 15:16). • The Kidron Valley became a place for reforming kings of Judah to destroy pagan idols (2 Kgs 23:4-15; 2 Chr 29:16; 30:14).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

(11) Asa did that which was right.—This reign—happily, a long one—was a turning-point in the history of Judah. Freed from immediate pressure by the victory of Abijah over Jeroboam, Asa resolved—perhaps under the guidance of the prophets Azariah and Hanani (2Ch_15:1; 2Ch_16:7)—to renew the true strength of his kingdom by restoring the worship and trusting in the blessings of the true God, extirpating by repeated efforts the false worships introduced by Rehoboam and continued by Abijah, and solemnly renewing the covenant with the Lord, in the name of the people, and of the strangers from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon, who joined them. Of all this the text here gives but brief notice: the record in the Chronicles (2 Chronicles 14, 15) contains a detailed account. From the same record we find that he fortified his cities and strengthened his army, and that he was able to repel with great slaughter a formidable invasion from Egypt, under “Zerah the Ethiopian,” in his fifteenth year.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And he brought in the things which his father had dedicated,.... The spoils he had taken in war from Jeroboam, and which he had devoted to religious uses, but lived not to perform his vows, which his son now did for him; so that it seems, notwithstanding the sins he fell into, he had some regard to God and his worship, see Ch2 13:19.

and the things which himself had dedicated; out of the spoils taken from the Ethiopians, Ch2 14:13, these he brought into the house of the Lord, silver, and gold, and vessels; of various sorts.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

That which was right in the eyes of the Lord; as to the government of his kingdom and life, and the reformation and establishment of God’s worship.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

11. Asa did that which was right — Literally, Asa did the right. It is a relief amid these records of regal crimes and follies to find at times the record of a righteous sovereign.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And Ass did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, as did David his father. "It is a wonder how Ass should be good, of the seed of Abijam, of the son of Maachah" (Hall).

Vers. 11-26.

The Reign of Asa.

Though this prince reigned forty and one years a longer period than any of his predecessors, and, with two exceptions, a longer period than any of the kings who came after him yet his reign, so far as it is recorded here, may be summed up in few words. "Happy is the nation," it has been said, "which has no history." But happier still the nation whose history, like that of Judah in the time of Asa, may be comprehended under these two headsinternal reforms, and external discipline.

I INTERNAL REFORMS. Two questions present themselves for consideration here. First, What were Asa"s reforms? Secondly, In what way were they accomplished?

1. His reforms were practically of two kinds: (a) Moral, and (b) Religious. It is not implied that he either put morality before religion, or believed that the one could be separated from the other. It may be a question in these days it is at least hotly disputed whether morality can long support itself without a religious basis and religious sanctions; but it was no question in that dark age, or for many hundred years afterwards. Then it was a choice between the one true religion and the most shameful immoralities practised under the name of religion. All that is meant here, therefore, is that Asa"s reforms resulted in purging and raising the tone of public morality by suppressing the idolatry which sanctioned and consecrated impurity.

(1) The moral reformation is suggested, to our minds by the words "He took away the Sodomites out of the land (ver. 12). What an abyss of corruption does this one brief sentence reveal to us. "It is a shame even to speak of those things which" were "done of them in secret". (Eph_5:12) And this among the holy people, the bride of the Lord! No wonder that Asa"s first effort was directed against these horrible enormities. This suppression of the Sodomites was a first step towards

(2) The religious reformation. He next "removed all the idols that his fathers had made." "His fathers." Solomon, as well as Rehoboam and Abijah. Probably none of the three had himself reared idol shrines. But all the three had, to say the least, permitted idolatry, and connived at it. It was sin enough that they had not vigorously and promptly suppressed it. They were, each in his turn, the representative of the mighty God of Jacob. What were they doing that they permitted any rivalry between the bestial gods of the heathen and the Holy One of Israel? But probably we see here the bitter fruits of Solomon"s sin so true it is that "the evil that men do lives after them." When that powerful prince had once granted to foreign deities and shameful superstitions a footing in Tmmanuel"s land, it was more than his comparatively feeble successors could do to dislodge them. The people loved to have it so, and neither Rehoboam nor Abijah was strong enough to say them nay. Thus did Solomon, down to Asa"s days, yes, and down to the time of the captivity, (2Ch_36:14) go on sinning in his grave.

And let us notice here an instructive contrast between Asa and Solomon. It was the wise king, the most magnificent of the monarchs of the earth, at the height of his prosperity., and towards the end of a long and peaceful reign, built altars for the abominations of neighbouring nations. It was a young prince, unknown to fame, with no special gifts or endowments, with a restricted dominion, and encompassed with difficulties, who was the first to stem this tide of sin and shame with which his great ancestor had flooded the land. "The first last, and the last first." Compare 1Co_1:27-29. Wealth has greater dangers than adversity.

2. But let us now consider the way in which these great reforms were brought about.

(1) He began at the right place. "Even Maachah his mother he removed," etc. The Gebirah, the first lady in the land, whose conduct would of course be an example to all the women of his realm, (Est_1:17, Est_1:18) was deposed from her lofty station. The history of Israel shows repeatedly how the country took its tone, as indeed every country must do, more or less, from the court. It is not only in dress that the queen sets the fashion. The Japanese have a striking proverb, "Fish begin to stink at the head." If the court be corrupt, profligate, irreligious, the commonalty will soon follow suit, for we all imitate our superiors. In this sense is that word true, corruptio optimi pessima. It would consequently have been of little use for Asa to put down idols elsewhere had he tolerated them in the harem, the nursery of his successors. This hydra could not be slain by hewing its feet, or piercing its body; it was only mortal in its head. Maachah"s "horror" must be destroyed or idolatry will live and flourish. Moreover in beginning with her, Asa shows that he appraised aright the power of female influence. He might have realized that those who "rock the cradle, rule the world." The sinister influence of the harem had ruined Rehoboam; it should not ruin Jehoshaphat. Here, again, let us mark the contrast between the conduct of Asa and that of Solomon; between the cases of Maachah and Naamah. Solomon built idol altars for his wives: Asa burnt the idol of his mother. The strong king was brought into subjection by weak and foolish women; the weak king humbled and degraded the proudest and strongest woman of her time. The former could not resist the blandishments of one of his many foreign mistresses when she petitioned for the gods and rites of her native country; the latter was deaf to the entreaties of his mother when she prayed to retain, not her idol, but her place. It must have cost him an effort to deal with the queen-mother who had exercised so great an influence in former reigns.

It has been said that the devil often "comes to a man in the shape of his wife and children" (J. Hinton), and truly a man"s real foes are not unfrequently those of his own household. Just as their flattery is the most insidious and mischievous (Whately), so are their faults too often considered venial, and their sins, when manifest, are the hardest to reprove. (1Ki_1:6; 1Sa_3:13) These are the "hand" and the "eye," which cause men to offend, and which they must cut off or pluck out and cast from them. (Mat_5:29 sqq.) Hence the charge of Deu_13:6 sqq.; cf. Mat_10:37.

And the moral effect of this act, the public deposition of the queen-mother, can hardly be overestimated. It showed the country that the king was in real earnest; that he was no respecter of persons; that no idolatry could expect tolerance at his hands. Probably but for this he could neither have taken away the Sodomites nor removed the idols. Possibly it was because neither Rehoboam (see 2Ch_11:21) nor Abijam dared to deal with the idolatries of Maachah, who would seem to have been a woman of imperious will, that these foreign superstitions had defiled the land so long. Asa struck at their root in removing her from being queen.

(2) He did not stop halfway. He destroyed "with both hands earnestly". (Mic_7:3) He not only cut down her idol, he burnt it in the valley of the Kedron. There was no place left her for repentance. He had burnt his ships behind him; had destroyed the nests, so that the rooks might not return. This public burning, witnessed, no doubt, by crowds of spectators, spoke louder than any words or ordinances could do. When they saw the "horror" reduced to ashes, and the ashes cast into the brook, they could have no doubt as to the purpose of their king. They would remember how Moses had acted before. (Exo_32:20)

(3) He did what he could. It is no reproach to him that "the high places were not removed" (ver. 14), for the chronicler, (1Ki_14:5 1Ki_15:12, 1Ki_15:18, 1Ki_15:17) as well as our author, testifies that this was no fault of his. "His heart was perfect all his days." He did what in him lay, and his service was accepted accordingly. (2Co_8:12) "The fleetest horse cannot escape from its tail.

(4) His reformation was followed by a restitution.

It was not merely destructive, as too many so-called reforms have been.

(1) He gave up to the sacristy of God the silver and gold he had taken from the Ethiopians. It was his happiness to restore to it some of the treasure of which it had been denuded in the reign of Rehoboam. (Observe: When idolatry came in, the treasures went out of the land. When idolatry was expelled, prosperity returned. Godliness has the promise of the life that now is.) His, consequently, was no cheap reform. He offered of that which cost him something. (2Sa_24:24) He might have converted his spoil into drinking vessels of pure gold, (1Ki_10:21) but he surrendered it to the service and keeping of the Most High.

(2) He induced his people to dedicate themselves anew to the Lord (2Ch_15:12 sqq.; cf. 2Co_8:5) This was the crown and blossom of his reformation. "They sware unto the Lord with a loud voice.

And, as the fruit of this righteous policy, we find that he enjoyed, for a part of his reign at least,

(1) quietness, (2Ch_14:1) "The Lord gave him rest" (ver. 6) the effect of righteousness is quietness and assurance; (Isa_32:17)

(2) prosperity (ver. 7), and

(3) growth, in the shape of a large accession of God-fearing, law-abiding subjects. "They fell to him out of Israel in abundance when they saw that the Lord his God was with him." Not all the numerical superiority of Israel, not all its fruitful territory, availed against the attraction of a realm, in one sense a rival kingdom, where respect for God"s law promised security, liberty, and peace.

But let us now observe that these reforms and this courageous piety did not exempt him from

II EXTERNAL TROUBLES. The quiet only lasted ten years His fenced cities did not save him from invasion. He had to encounter, first, the invasion of Zerah, (2Ch_14:9) and secondly, the aggression of Baasha. (1Ki_15:17) He may have been tempted to think when that overwhelming host of swart barbarians marched against him that his piety profited him nothing. He may have argued, when he saw the fortress of Ramah threatening his very capital the city God had chosen to put His name there that God made no difference between the righteous and the wicked, between His faithful people and the calf-worshipping Israelites. But observe: both these troubles were really blessings in disguise. Afflictions and adversities may be either punitive or disciplinary. Solomon"s were of the former, Asa"s of the latter class. For

1. when Asa had learned his own weakness, and learnt whither to look for (2Ch_14:11) lessons both of them of singular blessedness the Lord smote the Ethiopians. This invasion resulted in the enrichment of the country. The spoil was enormous. And the victory ministered, not to pride, but to piety. (2Ch_15:8)

2. The only result, so far as we know, of the menaces of Baasha was that that king drew upon himself an invasion of Syrians (in which it is to be observed, Dan, one of the seats of the calf worship, was smitten), and Asa gained two fortresses as a protection against future inroads (ver. 22). It is true that Asa betrayed a want of faith in taking the consecrated gold and silver wherewith to bribe the northern barbarians, (2Ch_16:7, 2Ch_16:8) and that he was chastised for the deed (ver. 9), but, all the same, his generally "perfect heart" was rewarded by more than deliverance. If he ever cried with Jacob, "All these things are against me," he must have subsequently exclaimed with Joseph, "Ye thought evil against me, but God meant it unto good". (Gen_1:20) His troubles must have taught him this lesson, "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth him out of them all". (Psa_34:19)

And so we see in the dangers and assaults which this reformer underwent proofs of the loving discipline of God trials intended for his reformation and for the chastening of his country. It is difficult at first sight to see how so brutal and hateful a thing as war can ever be for the good of any people, especially when we remember that a "victory is the next worst thing to a defeat." But those have some reason on their side who tell us that war is the purgatory of nations, and that battles in the moral are something like thunderstorms in the physical world. There are victims in either case what hecatombs of victims in some cases but the atmosphere is all the clearer afterwards. The campaign of Zerah probably taught him and his people to bridle their ambition, and to leave their neighbours alone; it certainly taught Asa and Israel to trust in the Lord and to cling closer to Him. They learned that "Providence does" not "always help the biggest battalions that everything turns on the blessing of God. They proved the truth of that promise," Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight," etc.. (Lev_26:8) Psalm 20. might have been penned with reference to this war. It certainly breathes the spirit of that time. "Deo adjuvante this is its keynote. And this, too, is the burden of Asa"s prayer, (2Ch_14:11) of Azariah"s prophecy, (2Ch_15:2 sqq.) of Judah"s praises (vers. 12, 14, 15). It has been remarked that in the history of the covenant people we may see pourtrayed the trials, deliverances, etc., of the covenant soul (Keble). And certainly the prosperous reign of Asa is a picture of what a truly Christian life involves. Happy are those whose lives, in their main features, may be thus characterized: "Internal reforms," "external discipline." The three things which, Luther said, made the minister also make the man, "Prayer, meditation, and temptation." The idols must be utterly abolished by "the expulsive force of a new affection;" "the horror," the fear and horrible dread that possesses the unreconciled, must be cast out by perfect love; "everything that defileth" must be consumed by its ardent flames; the heart must be "dedicated," and then the loving correction of God will do the rest, and after we have suffered awhile, in the battle of life, in the chamber of sickness, (1Ki_15:28) will make us perfect, (1Pe_5:10) and grant us "quietness and assurance forever."

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Right - As to the government of his kingdom, and the reformation, and establishment of God's worship. That is right indeed which is so in God's eyes. Those are approved whom he commendeth.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.