The peace which his kingdom now enjoyed was soon disturbed by the hostility of Baasha, who marched against Asa, and having recovered the territory which he had lost, fortified Ramah, about 6 miles north of Jerusalem, not only to annoy his enemy, and stop the tide of emigration from his own kingdom into that of Judah, but also to cut off Asa’s communications with the central portion of Israel. On this that monarch resolved to purchase the aid of the king of Syria, Benhadad I.[349], and persuade him to break off his alliance with his rival. Sending, therefore, all the silver and gold left in the treasuries of the Temple to the Syrian monarch, he succeeded in inducing him to fling an army into northern Palestine, which smote Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-Maachah, Cinneroth, and all the land of Naphtali. This forced Baasha to withdraw his forces, and retire to Tirzah; whereupon Asa summoned all Judah, and having destroyed the works at Ramah, used the stones and timber to fortify two towers, Geba and Mizpeh, as checks to any similar attempts in future. This is the first instance of a Hebrew king courting an alliance with a heathen power in a great crisis of the national fortunes, and it did not pass unnoticed by the prophetical order. Hanani the seer denounced such faithless leaning on an arm of flesh, and foretold that from henceforth he should have wars. The outspoken rebuke roused the anger of Asa. He flung the bold prophet into prison, and oppressed some of the people, who probably sympathised in his denunciations. In other respects he had ruled his kingdom with energy, loyalty, and piety, and after a severe attack of gout, died in the 41st year of his reign, and was committed to the tomb amidst general sorrow, bequeathing his throne to his son JEHOSHAPHAT (2 Chr. xvi. 7–14), B.C. 914.
Meanwhile there had been great vicissitudes in the kingdom of Israel. After destroying the whole house of Jeroboam, Baasha made the beautiful city of Tirzah[350] his capital, and in spite of the warnings of the prophet Jehu the son of Hanani (1 K. xvi. 1–7), persisted in walking in the ways of Jeroboam, _wherewith he made Israel to sin_. His reign of 24 years was chiefly distinguished by his persistent hostility to his rival Asa, which cost him, as we have seen, several cities in the northern part of his dominions, in consequence of Asa’s alliance with Benhadad. He was succeeded in the year B.C. 930 by his son ELAH; who had barely reigned for the brief space of a year, when on the occasion of a riotous feast in the house of his steward at Tirzah, he was assassinated by ZIMRI, _the captain of half his chariots_, B.C. 929. The usurper signalized his accession by ruthlessly murdering every member of the family of Baasha, but had barely occupied the throne for seven days, when OMRI, captain of the army then besieging Gibbethon, attacked him at Tirzah. Despairing of aid Zimri anticipated the wishes of his rival by firing the palace over his head, and perished in the flames.