I Kings Chapter 16
Please read: I Kings 16 –
In reading through the succession of kings of the northern kingdom of Israel, one could almost forget that these were God’s people because they were behaving like the heathen nations that God had called the people to drive out of the promised land. The description of the kings describes a downward spiral of sin and destruction that gets worse as one king followed another. There was no godly leadership present in these men and with each new king that took the throne the statement of “he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD” became “he did more evil than all the kings before him.”
Throughout this chapter you will read references of Asa the king of the southern kingdom. The previous chapter told us that “he did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD.” Asa is mentioned as a time reference, so we can know who was reigning in Judah while all of these evil kings were reigning in Israel.
Baasha, the son of a prophet, had been on the throne for quite a long time. He reigned 24 years over Israel. He had taken the throne by force, killing the previous king, Nadab, and murdering all the household of Jeroboam. A prophet of God named Jehu came to Baasha and told him how God was going to judge him for his actions.
Let's Reflect
1. Through the prophet Jehu, Baasha was told that he had angered God. He had done evil in the same way Jeroboam had. What made God angry about the leadership of Baasha?
2. The punishment for Baasha was that his reign would end, he would die and his death would be marked by his family dying undignified deaths. As you may recall God had used Baasha to be a judgement over the house of Jeroboam. Baasha had an evil heart already and wanted to kill Jeroboam’s son Nadab. God allowed him to do what was in his heart already. Proof that Baasha had evil intent in his heart was the fact that after assuming the throne he murdered all of Jeroboam’s relatives. Who reigned in Baasha’s place after his death, and how long did he reign?
3. The reign of Baasha’s son was short. He was killed by one of his own servants, a commander over his chariots. Zimri took the life of Baasha’s son, while his son was doing what?
4. Zimri set himself up as the next king, but his reign was very short because the people of Israel were not happy with him for killing the king. Who did the people decide should be their next king as opposed to Zimri?
5. Zimri heard that the army was coming for him and so he shut himself up in the house at Tirzah (the house that Baasha had built) and set it on fire. He committed suicide. The Bible says that Zimri only reigned 7 days, but in that time, he was guilty of what according to verse 19?
6. While Omri was set as the new king of Israel there was a revolt of some of the people who thought that Tibni should be the next king. What happened to Tibni?
7. What city did Omri build in place of the house of Tirzah that had been burned? This city will become the capital of the northern kingdom.
8. What type of a man was Omri?
9. Omri reigned for 12 years and then his son Ahab took the throne. His reign is marked by pure evil. Adding to his evil was the woman he married. The Bible says a lot about the evil of this woman. She was the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians. Jezebel was “A woman infamous for her idolatry, and cruelty, and sorcery, and filthiness” [Poole] They worshipped Baal and what did they build in Samaria?
10. Ahab did something that was very prideful and arrogant. He had the man Hiel rebuild the walls of Jericho. You may recall that God had forbid that city to ever be rebuilt. What happened to two of Hiel’s sons in the construction of Jericho?
Joshua 6:26“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”
