The Day the King of Israel Built a Berlin Wall

Fifty years ago, in 1961, the Berlin Wall was constructed by communists to prevent people from fleeing from East Germany to the West.  It represents the Iron Curtain that separated Western Europe from the Eastern bloc during the Cold War.

In a similar fashion, 2,900 years ago in the 9th century BC, King Baasha of Israel built the original Berlin Wall in Ramah, five miles north of Jerusalem, to keep the people from going to Jerusalem in Judah.

In the case of Israel, Baasha had become king by killing King Nadab of Israel and all of his relatives.  The Bible recounts that he did evil in the eyes of the Lord.

In the case of Judah, or Southern Israel, Asa had become King by being descended from King David and inheriting the kingship peacefully after his father King Abijah died.  In general, King Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.

The book of Kings recounts King Baasha’s building of the original Berlin Wall:

There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel throughout their reigns. Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and fortified Ramah to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the territory of Asa king of Judah.  (1 Kgs 15:16-17)

It was wrong for King Baasha to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the territory of Asa King of Judah.  It was imperative for the children of Israel to go to Jerusalem because there was a temple in Jerusalem – Solomon’s Temple.  The children of Israel, whether they lived in Israel or in Judah, had entered into a covenant with God that involved worshipping God at the place where God had placed His name: the Temple in Jerusalem. 

One of the repetitive sins of the children of Israel documented in the books of Kings, Chronicles and the Prophets, was that they offered up sacrifices upon every high hill and under every leafy tree rather than at the Temple in Jerusalem.

The book of Kings documents King Asa of Judah’s reaction to King Baasha of Israel’s building of the Berlin Wall:

Asa then took all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and of his own palace. He entrusted it to his officials and sent them to Ben-Hadad son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, the king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus. “Let there be a treaty between me and you,” he said, “as there was between my father and your father. See, I am sending you a gift of silver and gold. Now break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so he will withdraw from me.”

Ben-Hadad agreed with King Asa and sent the commanders of his forces against the towns of Israel. He conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel Beth Maakah and all Kinnereth in addition to Naphtali. When Baasha heard this, he stopped building Ramah and withdrew to Tirzah. Then King Asa issued an order to all Judah—no one was exempt—and they carried away from Ramah the stones and timber Baasha had been using there. With them King Asa built up Geba in Benjamin, and also Mizpah. (1 Kgs 15:18-22)

It was good for King Asa of Judah to destroy the Berlin Wall but he did it the wrong way – by paying off a foreign power rather than relying on God.  While evil King Baasha had built the Berlin Wall, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent God had not done anything to remove it.

The Book of Chronicles documents:

At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him: “Because you relied on the king of Aram and not on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand. Were not the Cushites and Libyans a mighty army with great numbers of chariots and horsemen? Yet when you relied on the Lord, he delivered them into your hand. For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war.” (2 Chr 16:7-9)

Asa then compounds his sin by throwing the messenger in prison, a common response in the Bible when prophets confront people with the reality of their mistakes, their sins, and their evil acts.

The book of Chronicles documents:

Asa was angry with the seer because of this; he was so enraged that he put him in prison. At the same time Asa brutally oppressed some of the people. (2 Chr 16:10)

Before the Berlin Wall episode, King Asa was a good King.  He led Judah in entering into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, with all their heart and soul.

The book of Kings and Chronicles documents many of Asa’s good works before he hired the King of Aram to destroy the Berlin Wall:

Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. He removed the foreign altars and the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He commanded Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and to obey his laws and commands. He removed the high places and incense altars in every town in Judah, and the kingdom was at peace under him. He built up the fortified cities of Judah, since the land was at peace. No one was at war with him during those years, for the Lord gave him rest. (2 Chr 14:2-6)

But King Asa’s reign ended badly.  He was diseased in his feet and instead of seeking God he relied solely on physicians, just as he had not sought God during the Berlin Wall episode.

Sometimes God permits Berlin Walls to be built by evil people, and sometimes it’s up to us to wait on God to remove the Berlin Walls in His own time.