Abijah and His Son Asa - The Book of 1 Kings

In this Bible Story, Abijah rules with a brutal fist and sinful arrogance. His son, Asa, rules with the fear of God and a righteous heart and is able to topple the idols in Judah and bring the people of God back to their first love. This story is inspired by 1 Kings 15 & 2 Chronicles 13-16. Go to BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.

Today's Bible verse is 1 Kings 15:12 from the King James Version.

Episode 121: Abijah was harsh, like his father Rehoboam, and his reign was filled with war and strife. Constantly fighting against his brothers in Israel. Yet in all this despair God was faithful to His promise to David that there would always be a king from his line on the throne. After Abijah died, his son Asa came to rule. His heart was turned toward rescuing the people from the idolatry in Judah and with God’s help, he galvanized the people of Judah into a spirit of unity.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Let it us pray, and he took away the Sodomites out
of the land and removed all the idols that his
fathers had made First Kings fifteen twelve. Dear Lord, more
than ever, I desire to be a change agent in
the world to day. I desire to make a difference

(00:20):
wherever I go, because I know that I am a
world changer whenever I enter a room or a new
place I have not yet been. Give me the ability
to be a physician to the hearts of others. Give
me the right words to speak at just the right
time if there are any ungodly idols and limiting beliefs,

(00:44):
like a skilled surgeon with a scalpel. Allow me to
operate in the areas of their lives that hinder them
so they are free to experience the full life you
desire to bring to and through them, Give me the
boldness of asa to do what's right at the perfect time.

(01:04):
Thank you that, through you and your power, I can
bring restoration and reconciliation to a broken world filled with
limitless potential. In Jesus's name, Amen, listening to these daily
prayers strengthens your relationship with God. Continue hearing from the

(01:27):
Lord by listening to today's Bible in a Year, brought
to you by Bible in a Year dot.

Speaker 2 (01:33):
Com Abaijah and his son Atha. In our last story,
we learned about the downward spiral of Judah and Israel.

(01:54):
They're kings, Riaboum and Jeroboem led their people into an
era of idle world worship, war, and cynicism. The past
glory of David and Solomon seemed like a distant memory,
and the people of Israel grew accustomed to sin and shame.
In this story, we witness the next generation of kings

(02:14):
rise up. They too seemed to be lost in the
unhealthy patterns of idolatry and sin, just as their fathers. However,
small glimpses of future hope emerge in the midst of suffering.
Inspired by the Book of First Kings.

Speaker 3 (02:33):
Hello, this is Jack Graham with today's episode of the
Bible in a Year. In our previous time together, we
heard about the descent of Judah and Israel into idolatry
and wickedness and therefore judgment under kings Jeroboam and Raaboam.
God's people moved further and further away from the commandments
of God. And the two nations suffered greatly because of it.

(02:57):
These days were a far cry from the former glory
of the unified nation of Israel under David and Solomon.
Today we'll learn of the kings that follow Jeroboam and Reebaam,
and tragically it will be more and more of the same,
more evil and more judgment. But even in the midst

(03:17):
of such unfaithfulness, we will see how God remains faithful
to the descendants of David, to his spiritual family Israel.
And even in the presence of great suffering, there is
a promise of hope for his people. A king will
rise up in Judah who will have a heart for God.
So let's listen now to today's reading.

Speaker 2 (03:40):
The sun set on the painful empire of King Rio Boham,
the tyrant son of Solomon, ruled the nation of Judah
with harshness, arrogance, and ignorance. There was a hopelessness that
permeated the streets of Jerusalem. Men who did not die
in battle were destined to die in the hot sun.
King for the king. When Riebauam died, his sin did

(04:04):
not die with him. Out of his line came Abaijum
the next King of Judah. He was harsh like his
father and filled with a pompous spirit. His rule was
marked with war and suffering. He fought against Israel constantly
and only lived to rule three years. Yet even in

(04:24):
the sadness and despair, God continued to allow David's grandchildren
to rule. God had made a promise to David that
his descendants would bring about peace to the world. The
evil of Riaboam and Abijah was but a small stain
on the vast tapestry of God's story. Redemption would come,
just not yet. When Abaijem died, his son Aetha became king.

(04:48):
One day, Atha was walking the city streets. As new
King of Judah. He desired to truly know who was ruling.
He watched as shrine prostitutes lured men and women into
their arms. He smelled the incense burning at altars dedicated
to false gods. He heard the screams and cries of
women and children being taken advantage of. Unlike his father

(05:11):
and grandfather before him, Aitha looked at these things with
sadness in his soul. Ather was gifted with a righteous
heart and looked to God as a source of strength
and wisdom. The heart of David was still alive and
well in him. Aitha knew he had to take a
hard stance against the evil that gripped Judah's heart. While
his father saw the enemy as Israel, Athos saw the

(05:34):
true enemy as idols. Aitha waved a righteous hand through
the streets of Jerusalem. He called for his men to
banish the shrine prostitutes and topple the idols of foreign gods.
Aitha even banished his own grandmother, who was responsible for
leading hundreds of people astray with the worship of Asherah.
Aitha desired for Judah's heart to be cleansed with the

(05:56):
refreshing wave of God's presence. He knew that this would
be no easy task. He restored riches back into the
Temple of God. However, conflict still knocked on Atha's door.
The nation of Israel was still in a season of wickedness.
King Basha of Israel launched attack after attack against Judah.

(06:16):
Arrows and steel penetrated the walls of Jerusalem. Atha remained
calm before he launched a counter attack. He took some
of the riches from the temple and put it to
good use. He used it to form an alliance with
the nation of Damascus. Together, they formed a treaty and
fortified Judah to withstand the onslaught of Israel. Israel had

(06:37):
been building fortification within the borders of Judah. However, when
they heard that Judah had gained an ally, they abandoned
their project and left. Atha was a thoughtful man and
wise beyond his years. Like Solomon, he knew that the
people needed to take care of their land. He believed
strongly that if the people of Judah banned together, they

(06:58):
would be stronger and closer. So Atha sent a royal
decree throughout the land, having every citizen cleaned the wreckage
that had been caused by Israel's armies. Together, the people
galvanized under the leadership of Atha. His reign was marked
with growth in many ways. Atho worked as a physician
over the sick hearts of Judah. He cleansed them of

(07:20):
the disease of idolatry. He strengthened them with the presence
of God. When Aitha died, his son Jehusaphat became king
over Judah.

Speaker 3 (07:32):
As today scripture passage begins Rae Boam's reign has ended,
but his legacy endures through his son Avajam. Where David
was a humble king and quick to repent when he sinned,
and a ruler who truly cared for the souls of
his people, Raa Boam had been prideful and cruel. David
the Great King was a man who had a vision

(07:55):
for God's glory, but Rae Boam had only his own
glory in mind, and so the people had suffered and
perished under his terrible rule. Abijam followed in his father's footsteps,
surely having observed his father. We tend to think of
legacies in a positive light, but the truth is that

(08:16):
we all leave a legacy for our children and for
our families, whether it is good or whether it is bad.
And Abijam was left with a legacy of idolatry, pride,
and cruelty. And so Judah continued to suffer, and the
people gave their hearts to false gods and their own

(08:36):
wicked desires. We have to wonder why God continued to
allow these evil kings to rule his people. But we
also remember from God's word that our Lord had promised
David that one of his descendants would one day bring
peace to the world. And God always keeps his promises.

(08:56):
You can count on the fact that God is always
true to his word. He is faithful. And though the
time had not yet come for the true and one
final Prince of Peace to enter the scene, the Messiah,
God did allow David's family to remain on the throne,
and sometimes one of those descendants offered just a bit
of hope in an otherwise dark time of history for

(09:18):
the people of God. When Abajan died, he was succeeded
by his son Asa, and this young man was different.
Unlike his father and his grandfather, Asa loved the Lord.
It really is time for some good news and our reading,
isn't it. This man Asa loved the Lord and sought

(09:39):
after God. Asa was likened not to his immediate predecessors,
but to Israel's great king, First King fifteen eleven says this,
and Asa did what was right in the eyes of
the Lord, as David his father had done. We should
pray that we would leave a godly legacy with our

(09:59):
children and our children's children. The fact is that all
of our titles, our wealth, our social standing or status,
none of those things matter if we do not do
what is right in the eyes of the Lord. Aesa
was a godly king, and he saw the sin in
Judah and the suffering of God's people. He understood that

(10:21):
the cause was unfaithfulness to God's sin against a holy God.
So he tore down the shrines and banished the prostitutes
who stood outside the shrines. But Asa did not just
clean up the streets and remove the idols from the people.
He cleaned his own house, and he banished his own
mother because she was leading people astray and into idol worship.

(10:43):
Years later, our Lord Jesus would say, you must be
willing to leave father and mother if necessary, to follow me.
That nothing can be above me, not even the bond
of family can be stronger than our commitment to follow Jesus.
Ssah understood this about his relationship with God. He not

(11:04):
only took down the pagan symbols, but he also honored
God by restoring treasures to the temple in Jerusalem. Powerful
changes were being made in Judah. Revival was happening as
people were turning their hearts back to God, but all
was still not well in Judah. From the north, Israel's
king Bhatia attacked and began to fortify the city of

(11:25):
Rama within Judah's borders, Asa remained focused and calm. Rather
than rushing into war and costing many lives in his army,
Asa formed an alliance with Damascus. Together they fortified Judah
for a potential war, and this alone sent Israel packing
fearful of a conflict with Judah and its ally. Because

(11:47):
Asad turned back to God and turned his nation from idolatry,
he was able to unify the people, and God's powerful
presence returned to Judah. Tomorrow we will meet a man
whose heart was also on fire for God, and he
would become a powerful force in the kingdom, speaking God's
truth to a stubborn and sinful people. Dear God, we

(12:11):
thank you for the story of King Asa. It's such
a positive and hopeful word in the midst of so
much judgment and sin and suffering in Israel. We thank
you that you raised up this godly man to continue
the line of Christ through the Bible. We pray that we,
like Asa, will make good decisions in our lives and

(12:32):
always turn our lives and our families towards You. May
our legacy be a legacy of faith and faithfulness to You.
In Jesus' name, Amen. Thank you for listening to today's
Bible in a Year podcast. I'm Pastor Jack Graham of Dallas, Texas.
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(12:53):
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(13:14):
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