Grasp the Gospel — Bible Comprehension Quizzes

1 Kings 15 Devotional

For the Sake of Another

“Nevertheless, for the sake of David, the LORD his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem by raising up a son to succeed him and to make Jerusalem strong.”1 Kings 15:4 (BSB)

Abijam's verdict is short: he walks in his father's sins, and his heart is not fully devoted to the LORD (15:3). Yet the very next verse says the LORD gives him a lamp in Jerusalem, a son to succeed him, for David's sake (15:4). Even David's record is named honestly, with the matter of Uriah (15:5). God's faithfulness here does not rest on a spotless record. It rests on a promise.

Asa, who follows, removes idols and even demotes his grandmother for her Asherah pole, and his heart is fully devoted to the LORD (15:12-14). In the north, Baasha kills Nadab and destroys Jeroboam's whole household, just as Ahijah had said (15:29). Kings come and go, but David's line continues because God keeps his word. The gospel has the same shape. Paul says God made the sinless Christ to bear our sin so that we might share his righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). God receives sinners for the sake of another. That is ground you can stand on.

To think about: How does it change your prayers today to know that God receives you for the sake of Jesus, not your own record?

About 1 Kings 15: Abijam, Asa, Nadab and Baasha

Abijam rules Judah in his father's sins, yet God keeps David's line for David's sake. His son Asa purges idols and demotes his grandmother Maacah, and he pays Aram to turn on Baasha. In Israel, Baasha kills Nadab and wipes out Jeroboam's house as Ahijah foretold.

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