Baasha was responsible for the murder of the family of Jeroboam. The LORD sent Jehu the son of Hanani to speak to Baasha. Words which I’m sure he didn’t want to hear, “Inasmuch as I lifted you out of the dust and made you ruler over My people Israel, and you have walked in the way of Jeroboam, and have made My people Israel sin, to provoke Me to anger with their sins, surely I will take away the posterity of Baasha and the posterity of his house, and I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. The dogs shall eat whoever belongs to Baasha and dies in the city, and the birds of the air shall eat whoever dies in the fields.” (v1-4)
God was telling him that he would face judgment as Jeroboam had for his wickedness. You will notice that the same judgment was to Baasha as that on Jeroboam (see chapter 14). Jehu and his father Hanani were faithful prophets (see 2 Chronicles 16, 19, 20). Baasha died and his son Elah reigned in his place (v5-7).
Elah became king of Israel in the twenty-sixth year of Asa, king of Judah. The LORD had sent word through Jehu that Baasha and his descendants would not prosper, and this was again evident in the short reign of Elah who was getting himself drunk in the house of Arza his steward in Tirzah. Zimri who was commander of his chariots, went in and killed him, and reigned in his place (v8-14). The first thing Zimri did was to kill all the family of Baasha, household including relatives and friends. This was in accordance with word of the LORD through Jehu. The book of chronicles of the kings contains the rest of Elah’s acts.
One writer stated that in less than fifty years the first two dynasties of Israel’s kings had come to an end and all their families had been wiped out.
Zimri’s reign lasted only seven days in Tirzah; therefore, he worked very quickly in wiping out the family of Baasha, because, when the people were encamped against Gibbethon, in Philistine occupation, they heard that Zimri had killed their king, they made Omri, commander of the army, king of Israel (v15-20). Omri then went from Gibbethon and besieged Tirzah. When Zimri saw what was happening, he went to the citadel of the king’s house, set fire to it, and brought the house down on himself to his death. He committed suicide because of his sins in which he followed Jeroboam.
Suicide is sin, self-murder, but it is not the unforgivable sin, it is yielding to the deception of the devil. Samson, Saul and Judas were all examples of cowardice and failing to trust in God. It is usually a last resort with a failure to repent.
Zimri only reigned for seven days but his sins were many like those of Jeroboam. The sins of Jeroboam were so serious that they led Israel into sin, and he committed treason.
After this (v21-28) the people of Israel were divided into two, half following Omri as their king and the other half following Tibni to make him king, but Omri’s people overcame those of Tibni. This led to Tibni’s death and Omri became king and reigned for twelve years, for six years in Tirzah. He then bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver, built on it a city which he named Samaria. Omri was an evil king, worse than all before him, walking in the ways of Jeroboam, proving the LORD God of Israel to anger with their idols. During this Asa was king of Judah. When he died, he rested with his fathers and was buried in Samaria. Omri was the sixth king of Israel after Jeroboam, and they all walked in Jeroboam’s evil ways. Jeroboam is always noted for causing Israel to sin. Worse was to come as we shall see. Records show that Omri was a great warrior and a shrewd king. Even the building of his city, which was to become the capital city of the northern kingdom, Israel, was well founded and strategically built on a hill, in a strong defensive position.
In the thirty-eighth year of Asa, king of Judah, Ahab the son of Omri became king of Israel. He reigned twenty-two years and did more evil than all before him (v29-34). He seemed to consider the sins of Jeroboam to be trivial, so he went further and did worse and married Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians. He went and worshiped Baal, set up an altar in the temple for Baal which he built in Samaria, and he also built a wooden image of Baal. Baal was a new pagan god. Ahab was totally anti-God as was his wife, and together they exhibited thoroughly evil ways. He passed laws which made people commit idolatry (see Micah 6:16 – “…. the statutes of Omri are kept, and all the works of the house of Ahab”)
Solomon’s foreign wives led him astray and were his downfall, but Ahab’s wife Jezebel led the whole nation into idolatry. We shall see more about her wicked ways and character shortly. Ahab was a weak man controlled by an unscrupulously cruel woman.
The chapter ends with the fulfilling of Joshua 6:26 – “Then Joshua charged them at that time, saying, “Cursed be the man before the LORD who rises up and builds this city Jericho; he shall lay its foundation with his firstborn, and with his youngest he shall set up its gates.”
“Ahab did more to anger the LORD than any king before him (v33).” Thus, there may be a connection between that fact and the prophecy in Joshua. It seems that as a result of the wicked regime led by Ahab, that Hiel rebuilt Jericho. Could it have been Ahab challenging the curse laid down by God? Hiel of Bethel carried out this plan and “He laid its foundation with Abiram his firstborn, and with his youngest son Segub he set up its gates, according to the word of the LORD, which He had spoken through Joshua the son of Nun.” (v34)
We are not told how his sons died but archeological excavations have shown that there was a practice called ‘foundation sacrifices’ in which children were buried alive.
It was certainly a warning to Ahab that he must take God seriously, but he failed to heed it.
Similarly, we must take God’s word seriously, otherwise we will suffer the consequences. The Bible tells us that we must be born again otherwise we won’t see the kingdom of God, never mind enter it.
