1 Kings 15:25-32--Nadab Reigns in Israel

Q1 Kings 15:25-32
English Standard Version

Nadab Reigns in Israel
25 Nadab the son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel two years. 26 He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin which he made Israel to sin.

27 Baasha the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, conspired against him. And Baasha struck him down at Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines, for Nadab and all Israel were laying siege to Gibbethon. 28 So Baasha killed him in the third year of Asa king of Judah and reigned in his place. 29 And as soon as he was king, he killed all the house of Jeroboam. He left to the house of Jeroboam not one that breathed, until he had destroyed it, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by his servant Ahijah the Shilonite. 30 It was for the sins of Jeroboam that he sinned and that he made Israel to sin, and because of the anger to which he provoked the LORD, the God of Israel.

31 Now the rest of the acts of Nadab and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 32 And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.

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We're now going back to the Northern Kingdom of Israel and will stay there for most of the book of 1 Kings as we're going to now talk about the line of kings until we get to King Ahab and his wife,  Queen Jezebel who will be in power at the time of the prophet Elijah (who is the major character in 1 Kings).  We'll pick up in this passage with Nadab, the son of Jeroboam who started his reign in Israel in the second year of king Asa of Judah.  Nadab only reigned over Israel for two years because he was evil in the sight of the LORD and walked in the way of his father Jeroboam both in personal sin and in leading the people of Israel into sin.

The LORD raises up Baasha, the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar to conspire against Nadab and overthrow him, kill him and take the throne from him.  Notice that there is no one tribe or clan or family in charge in Israel.  It's not like Judah where we know all the kings are to be from the house and lineage of David (from the tribe of Judah).

Apparently all of Israel was against Nadab at the point of his assassination, because it says that all of Israel (probably meaning all of the men of fighting age) were lying in wait for him with Baasha at Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines,  So Baasha killed Nadab in the third year of King Asa and took Nadab's place as king of Israel.

Nadab's first act as king was to kill all the house of Jeroboam so that there would be no one from that household that would challenge him for the throne, but this was to fulfil the prophecy that the LORD had made against Jeroboam and his household that someone else would come along and put all the male members of his family to death and that the line of kings from him would be cut off.  This fulfilled the word of the LORD spoken by the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite in 1 Kings 14:14.

However, Nadab did not repent and turn away from the sin of idolatry that Jeroboam had started, and so he too was a wicked king that personally worshiped idols and led Israel into idolatry.  As we have been told with all the other kings so far, the rest of their deeds can be read about in the book of Chronicles.  There was war between Asa and Baasha all the days of Baasha's reign.  We'll see this pattern all throughout the rest of the Old Testament until the time of captivity and exile for both kingdoms.  Until then, and even during that time, the LORD will send prophets to the people of Israel and Judah to call them to repent and to return to the covenant that he made with Moses so that He might be able to bless them and not give them the punishments due under the Law.  We're getting to the time where the LORD seems to no longer speak through the kings or the priests because both of those systems are so corrupt, but He instead chooses to send prophets to speak to both systems of power (the political and religious systems) to warn them that they will not be exempt from His judgment.