Omri and Ahab

From: Elijah the Tishbite By: William Woldridge Fereday

• 10 min. read • grade level: 9

Omri did not secure the throne of Israel without a long struggle. Comparison of verses 15 and 23 of 1 Kings 16 suggests that the civil war raged four years. Seeing that half the nation preferred Tibni to Omri this is not surprising; but the condition of the country while these unprincipled men were contending must have been pitiful. Only a few years before, probably within the memory of living persons, the twelve tribes of Israel were a united people. They stood high amongst the nations by the goodness of God and their sovereign was receiving the homage of all the kings round about. The country was wealthy and peaceful. Gold was so plentiful that silver was thought nothing of in the days of Solomon (2 Chron. 9:20²⁰And all the drinking vessels of king Solomon were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold: none were of silver; it was not any thing accounted of in the days of Solomon. (2 Chronicles 9:20)). Now—they were divided into two mutually antagonistic nations, and two ruthless military leaders were contending for the mastery in the Northern State. Also vast amounts of Solomon’s accumulated treasure had been seized and carried away from Jerusalem into Egypt. “How are the mighty fallen!” (2 Sam. 1:27²⁷How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished! (2 Samuel 1:27)). Truly the consequences of turning away from God and His Word are disastrous! Let us take heed!

Omri was apparently an able man as the world speaks, for he brought order out of chaos, and after twelve years rein he left the throne of the ten tribes unchallenged to his son. He seems to have overhauled the laws of the nation. In Micah 6:16¹⁶For the statutes of Omri are kept, and all the works of the house of Ahab, and ye walk in their counsels; that I should make thee a desolation, and the inhabitants thereof an hissing: therefore ye shall bear the reproach of my people. (Micah 6:16), long after Omri’s death, Jehovah complained that “the statutes of Omri” were preferred to His holy ordinances. “The statutes of Omri are kept, and all the works of the house of Ahab, and ye walk in their counsels; that I should make thee a desolation, and the inhabitants thereof a hissing: therefore ye shall bear the reproach of My people.” It is no uncommon thing for the professing people of God to prefer human rules and regulations to the plain teaching of his blessed Word. The Lord Jesus told the religious leaders of His own time: “Full well ye reject the commandment of God that ye may keep your own tradition... making the word of God of none effect through your tradition which ye have delivered” (Mark 7:9-13⁹And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. ¹⁰For Moses said, Honor thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death: ¹¹But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free. ¹²And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother; ¹³Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye. (Mark 7:9‑13)). Since the Lord spake thus, the Scriptures have been completed; the whole revelation of God is in our hands; yet the great majority of souls in Christendom are far more subject to ecclesiastical regulations and human dictation than to the wholesome Word of God!

In the middle of his reign Omri decided to transfer his capital from Tirzah to a preferable site which had attracted his attention. Being a man of military genius, he desired for his seat of government a place of greater strategic value than Tirzah had proved to be when Zimri endeavored to hold it. It could not sustain even a week’s siege! (1 Kings 16:18¹⁸And it came to pass, when Zimri saw that the city was taken, that he went into the palace of the king's house, and burnt the king's house over him with fire, and died, (1 Kings 16:18)). So “he bought the hill Samaria of Shemer for two talents of silver, and built on the hill, and called the name of the city which he built, after the name of Shemer, owner of the hill, Samaria” (1 Kings 16:24²⁴And he bought the hill Samaria of Shemer for two talents of silver, and built on the hill, and called the name of the city which he built, after the name of Shemer, owner of the hill, Samaria. (1 Kings 16:24)). Such a memorial of his reign would suit the vanity of Omri, besides making for greater security in time of war. Although firm rule, and a new up-to-date Metropolis may be considered desirable things in men’s eyes, it is the moral and spiritual condition that counts with God; and Ormi became a more wicked ruler than even his bad predecessors. “Omri wrought evil in the eyes of Jehovah, and did worse than all that were before him.” He continued the worship of Jeroboam’s golden calves and added fresh devilries of his own devising. When he died he was buried in the new city which he had created on the hill of Shemer. But “there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust” (Acts 24:15¹⁵And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust. (Acts 24:15)).

“Ahab his son reigned in his stead—Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty and two years.” The new king exceeded his father and all others in transgression against Jehovah. “Ahab did more to provoke Jehovah the God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him” (1 Kings 16:28-33²⁸So Omri slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria: and Ahab his son reigned in his stead. ²⁹And in the thirty and eighth year of Asa king of Judah began Ahab the son of Omri to reign over Israel: and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty and two years. ³⁰And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord above all that were before him. ³¹And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him. ³²And he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. ³³And Ahab made a grove; and Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him. (1 Kings 16:28‑33)). Things were thus ripening fast for the heavy stroke which fell upon the nation with such devastating effects by the instrumentality of Elijah.

One of the daring evils of Ahab’s reign was the rebuilding of Jericho by Hiel the Bethelite. Indeed, anything was possible in those dark days. Flesh had utterly broken loose, and all divine restraint was cast aside. “In his days did Hiel the Bethelite build Jericho: he laid the foundation thereof in Abiram his firstborn, and set up the gates thereof in Segub his youngest son, according to the word of Jehovah which He spake by Joshua the son of Nun” (1 Kings 16:34³⁴In his days did Hiel the Beth-elite build Jericho: he laid the foundation thereof in Abiram his firstborn, and set up the gates thereof in his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Joshua the son of Nun. (1 Kings 16:34).) At the time of the conquest of Canaan by the people of Israel, Jericho was the first city to oppose their progress. It typifies the world as that which would hinder the Christian enjoying his present heavenly portion in Christ Jesus. Jericho’s walls fell flat by direct divine action, and the wicked city was given to the flames. Joshua pronounced the curse of God upon anyone who should venture to rebuild it, and Joshua charged them with an oath at that time (R.V.) saying “Cursed be the man before Jehovah, that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho: he shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and in his youngest son he shall set up the gates of it” (Josh. 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)). Five hundred years elapsed between Joshua and Ahab; but, during all that time, when the people of Israel frequently turned aside into paths of disobedience, no one was bold enough to brave the divine imprecation. Its terms were serious; the daring builder, whoever he might be, would pay the penalty of his impiety in the death of his firstborn son at the beginning of his undertaking, and in the death of his youngest at its completion. In Ahab’s day Hiel the Bethelite was sufficiently infidel to dare the Almighty in this matter; but it happened to him “according to the word of Jehovah which He spake by Joshua the son of Nun.” Abiram his firstborn died when he laid the foundation, and Segub his youngest died when he set up Jericho’s gates. Truly, “God is not mocked!” (Gal. 6:7⁷Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. (Galatians 6:7)).

A form of evil is suggested in Hiel’s open defiance of God which has become painfully common in our day. The judgments of God are openly challenged; from many modern pulpits eternal punishment is never mentioned; and multitudes say impudently that they do not believe in Hell. We cannot but recall Satan’s first move against our race. Adam and his wife were placed by the generous Creator in a garden of abundance and delight, with one single prohibition. There was a tree in the midst of the garden of which they must not eat, or the judgment of death would ensue (Gen. 2:17¹⁷But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. (Genesis 2:17)). The serpent approached Eve, as we all know, challenging God’s word as to this, saying definitely, “Ye shall not surely die” (Gen. 3:4⁴And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: (Genesis 3:4)); but the Word of God stood nevertheless, and so it must ever be. “By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Rom. 5:12¹²Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (Romans 5:12)).

Hiel the Bethelite, and his wife with him (if she were living), surely felt the bitterness of beholding both the eldest and youngest of their sons laid low in death. Why not abandon the mad enterprise when Abiram died? Alas, for the stubbornness of flesh! Satan was ready enough with some natural explanation of the young man’s death, and so the building operations continued to the predicted tragedy. Let all the cavilers in Christendom beware! Whatever Satan and his agents may say, there is a “Hell of fire that never shall be quenched, where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9).

The Holy Spirit notes that Hiel was a Bethelite. His hometown had many sacred memories which should have influenced the man’s soul. Nearby, Abram pitched his tent and reared his altar when he first entered the land (Gen. 12:8⁸And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Beth-el, and pitched his tent, having Beth-el on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord. (Genesis 12:8)). There he enjoyed manifestations of Jehovah, and listened to His gracious promises of blessings for days yet to come. It was at Bethel that God spoke to Jacob in a dream, and opened out to him the future in a very full way, assuring him of His continued interest in him, even though at that moment his ways were displeasing in His sight. Jacob felt that that spot was the very house of God, although no visible temple stood there. (Gen. 28:11-22¹¹And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. ¹²And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. ¹³And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; ¹⁴And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. ¹⁵And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. ¹⁶And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not. ¹⁷And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. ¹⁸And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. ¹⁹And he called the name of that place Beth-el: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first. ²⁰And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, ²¹So that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God: ²²And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee. (Genesis 28:11‑22)). Some years later, when Jacob was suffering at the hands of Laban, he received this precious word in a dream, “I am the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst the pillar” (Gen. 31:13¹³I am the God of Beth-el, where thou anointedst the pillar, and where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred. (Genesis 31:13)). This was a sweet reminder that amidst all his troubles and vicissitudes he had to do with a faithful God. Still later, after years of wandering, “God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there, and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother” (Gen. 35:1¹And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Beth-el, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother. (Genesis 35:1)). This call exercised Jacob deeply. He became aware of many things in himself and family that did not suit the presence of a holy God. He charged his household to put away all the strange gods that were among them, and to purify themselves, and change their garments. To Jacob’s soul, now divinely stirred, it was impossible to take strange gods and other evil things to a spot that was to him the very house of God. The assembly is the house of God today; our exercises should be deep and thorough when we gather together to have to do with God.

When Jacob arrived in Bethel, “he built there an altar, and called the place El-Bethel: because there God appeared unto him when he fled from the face of his brother.” Note again how Jacob connected the presence of God with the place. In calling it “El-Bethel,” which means “the God of the house of God,” he took much higher ground than when he built an altar near Shechem, and called it “El-elohe-Israel,” i.e. “God the God of Israel” (Gen. 33:20²⁰And he erected there an altar, and called it El-elohe-Israel. (Genesis 33:20)). Self was the center of his thoughts when he said the latter, the expression of his trust that God would look after him; but at Bethel he rose to the thought of having to do with God in His own house, and thus everything connected with himself must be in suitability to the holy One who dwelt there.

Hiel might well have learned great lessons from these memories; but his mind was too utterly alienated from God to learn anything. Bethel in his time horrible to say was one of the chief seats of idolatry. There stood Jeroboam’s golden calf, glaring proof that the early sin of Exod. 32. had never been truly judged. Let us not miss the lesson of these Old Testament records. “They were written aforetime for our learning” (Rom. 15:4⁴For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. (Romans 15:4)). From whence comes the repudiation of God’s judgments in our day? From those circles which claim to know God, and where the term “house of God” is freely used; in other words it is not so much the non-professing world which speak against the judgments of God, as the leaders and teachers of those “who profess and call themselves Christians.” The results of this widespread denial of the judgments of God are disastrous; morality everywhere declines, and deceived souls glide carelessly down to eternal ruin.

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