1 Kings 16.
JEHU, son of that Hanani who had reproved Asa, and been put in prison (1 Chronicles 16:7-107Then on that day David delivered first this psalm to thank the Lord into the hand of Asaph and his brethren. 8Give thanks unto the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people. 9Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him, talk ye of all his wondrous works. 10Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord. (1 Chronicles 16:7‑10)), a prophet of Judah, was now given to pronounce the judgment of God on the murderer Baasha, that the same fate should be his children’s as befell the children of Jeroboam. Baasha died and was buried, and Elah his son became king. but in less than two years he was killed by his servant Zimri who made himself king, and forthwith killed every other member of Baasha’s family, and besides that, his relatives and friends. This bloody man only reigned seven days, for the people generally were encamped against Gibbethon, evidently still trying to capture the place from the Philistines, and when they heard what Zimri had done, they made Omri, the captain of the host (military leader of the nation) their king. Omri and the people left Gibbethon, and besieged and captured Tirzah, whereupon Zimri burned the king’s house, himself being in it, and so died.
Confusion followed this last horror; half of the people followed Tibni who finally died, and Omri reigned. Omri is noted because he built the capital city of Samaria, and much more because he was worse in his ways than all that were before him. Details of his life were written, like those of other kings of Israel in “the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel” which was evidently well known when the Books of Kings were written, but have not been preserved.
It is well to remember that all the books of the Bible as we have it, have been known as such, as to Old Testament books, since before the Lord was here on earth and as to the New Testament books, none have been lost. God has been careful, even though many highly interesting books of history may have been destroyed, to see to it that His Word should be preserved through all the changing events of man’s career.
Omri died and was buried in Samaria, and Ahab his son reigned in his stead, and alas! he was worse in God’s estimation than Omri or Jeroboam. And as if it had been a light thing to walk in the sins of Jeroboam, he married Jezebel. daughter of the king of the Sidonians, and served and worshiped Baal, rearing an altar for his god in a temple built in its honor at Samaria. In Ahab’s days, Jericho was rebuilt. In Joshua 6:2626And Joshua adjured them at that time, saying, Cursed be the man before the Lord, that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho: he shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it. (Joshua 6:26) you will find the curse put upon the man who should restore the city, but the word of God was disregarded at painful cost, for the man who did it lost all his children by death, as the word of Joshua had foretold.
In this stage of Israel’s history, every year, or at least with every king, getting farther and farther sunk in idolatry and other forms of wickedness utterly offensive to God, and now under the leadership of Ahab with his thoroughly wicked wife, Satan apparently triumphant, God was about to introduce a servant whom he had been preparing, Elijah the Tishbite.
ML 07/31/1927