1 Kings 15:3
And he walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father. And he walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father.
The verse belongs to the account of Abijah, also called Abijam, and his brief wicked reign over Judah. It stands in the history of the divided kingdom told in 1 Kings 12 to 16, coming after Rehoboam and before Asa. It comes after the weak and foolish Rehoboam, the revolt of the ten tribes to Jeroboam, and the spoiling of the temple by Shishak of Egypt, and before the better reign of Asa and the prosperity of Judah under his sway. It falls in the time after the division of the kingdom into Judah and Israel when there was war and strife between the two divisions, an account described more fully in Chronicles.
The verse describes Abijah as walking in all his father's sins done before him and having a heart that was not wholly devoted to the Lord, unlike David. It is part of a sad record with important lessons, illustrating the fruits of backsliding and sin. It shows the general downward moral course of Judah and Israel and the strong influence of leaders, so that when leaders failed to lead rightly, the people failed with them.
The apostasy under the kings was forsaking the worship of the living God for the worship of idols. That meant turning away from the God-given plan of worship which pointed to Christ and revealed the way of salvation from sin. It meant forsaking all that was pure and true and uplifting for the worship of Baal and Ashtoreth, which was impure, untrue, and degrading, the worship of the creature instead of the Creator.
By contrast David's heart was perfect with the Lord his God, making him a man after God's own heart. His positions as companion of the king, leader in the army, and later king brought far greater trials and temptations that he was not always able to meet, and his life record is marred with mistakes and sins, yet his heart remained perfect. His example is worthy of following, and his achievements, especially while a young man, can inspire higher ambitions and greater efforts.
The verse shows the common history of a family where a father leads into irreligion, with a son following his father's sins. It reveals how a father's irreligion and conduct can lead his children to imitate him and follow a destructive path. Faithful pulpit invitations and warnings are drowned by an irregular home because sons imitate what fathers model. Talk of nothing but money breeds boys whose chief ambition is to be rich, talk of horses and games breeds young sportsmen, and a father hearing eleven strike in the theater or clubhouse breeds sons hearing twelve strike in the drinking-saloon or gaming-room or haunts of the profligate. A home fenced around with God's commandments and lit up with domestic comforts and pleasures, with a father anchored to it, is the best restraint from dangerous evening resorts, and a happy Christian home is the surest antidote for evil amusements. Yet even under the strongest restraints some sons will break through into sin, and when a parent leads into irreligion only God's omnipotent grace can keep his imitative household from following him to perdition.