What is the meaning of 1 Kings 15:28? In the third year • The writer fixes the moment with precision: “In the third year …” This is literal chronology, linking Israel’s history to real time, not myth or legend (cf. 1 Kings 15:25, which places Nadab’s accession in the second year of Asa). • Scripture’s careful dating encourages confidence in its reliability (Luke 3:1–2). God works inside actual calendars and kings’ reigns, anchoring faith to verifiable events. of Asa’s reign over Judah • Asa is on the throne in Jerusalem, ruling 41 years and doing “what was right in the eyes of the LORD” (1 Kings 15:11; 2 Chron 14:2). • The contrast is striking: while Judah begins a season of reform under Asa—removing idols, renewing the altar (2 Chron 15:8)—Israel spirals deeper into instability. • God’s covenant promises to David (2 Samuel 7:16) safeguard Judah, even as Israel’s northern kingdom wobbles under repeated coups. Baasha killed Nadab • This is the moment judgment falls on Jeroboam’s dynasty. The prophet Ahijah had warned, “I will cut off from Jeroboam every last male” (1 Kings 14:10–14). Nadab, Jeroboam’s son, is the second and last king of that line. • Baasha’s assassination fulfills that word to the letter (1 Kings 15:27, 29). • The episode reminds us that sin carries consequences: Jeroboam’s idolatry (1 Kings 12:28–30) led to national turmoil. • God’s sovereignty is evident; even a violent coup comes under His foretold plan (Isaiah 46:10). and reigned in his place • Baasha establishes a new dynasty and rules 24 years (1 Kings 15:33). From a human angle it looks like ambition succeeded; from God’s angle it merely shifts players on the board of His purposes. • Yet Baasha repeats the very sins that doomed Jeroboam (1 Kings 15:34). A change of ruler without repentance changes nothing in God’s assessment. • The prophet Jehu soon announces the same fate for Baasha’s household (1 Kings 16:1–4). History turns, but the moral law of sowing and reaping stands firm (Galatians 6:7). summary 1 Kings 15:28 records a literal, date-stamped transition: in Asa’s third year, Baasha fulfilled prophecy by killing Nadab and taking Israel’s throne. The verse puts on display God’s precise control of history, the sure judgment that follows idolatry, and the futility of regime change without heart change. |
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