With the verse before us, the inspired writer turns from the spiritual evaluation of the reign of Asa to a narrative of some of the events of his reign.
The first verse of the section establishes the context for the narrative. The situation is one of war between Israel, ruled by Baasha, and Judah, ruled by Asa. The writer will formally introduce Baasha at a later point, but we can say here that he did not come from the family of Jeroboam. And by that we can understand that the unbearable message of the Lord to Jeroboam was being fulfilled. Nevertheless, by the condition of war between the two kingdoms, the change in ruling families in Israel did not end the hostility between the two kingdoms.
The statement that there was war continually between the two kingdoms requires some explanation. This probably does not mean that there was active combat going on during all of these years. Instead, there was probably sporadic fighting, especially along the border that separated the two nations. We say this because there was a continuous state of armed conflict when the armies of the two kingdoms were drawn from their populations. The soldiers would have interests in their home that would be severely hampered if the fighting was without any breaks. Crops needed to be gathered, family raised, and this would be severely hampered if there was continuous fighting.
16 Il y eut guerre entre Asa et Baescha, roi d'Israël, pendant toute leur vie.