1 Kings 16 -- A Contest To See Who's Worse

My commentary summed up what was going on in Israel quite well – “One thing we learn from history is that we don’t learn from history.”  The books of 1^st and 2^nd Kings deal more with Israel’s apostasy than anything else, and while Asa’s kingdom continued for decades in Judah, Israel was on a course to meltdown.

 

Jeroboam’s son Nadab only served two years as king before Baasha killed him and ended the first family dynasty in Israel.  Baasha somehow managed to hang on to power for 24 years, but his idolatry took its toll and God said, “You were nothing, but I took you and made you a leader over my people Israel.  But you have … led my people Israel to sin … so I will soon destroy you and your family.”  He died and his son Elah became king, but he ruled for only two years before being assassinated by Zimri, one of his officers, who declared himself king.  The second family dynasty was gone.

 

Zimri held onto power for one week before the army of Israel decided to take charge, making their commander Omri king.  They attacked their own capital city, leading Zimri to commit suicide by burning down his own palace as the attackers watched!  The third dynasty ended almost before it began.

 

Each succeeding king after Jeroboam seemed to fall farther and farther into idolatry, and each was labeled worse than the one before.  Omri ruled for 12 years and died, with his infamous son Ahab becoming king in his place.  Ahab married a non-Jewish woman named Jezebel, and together they took the nation to unfathomable lows, worshiping the Canaanite god Baal, building a temple for the idol, and making an idol for worshiping Asherah.

 

The nation had spat in God’s face for far too long, and God’s about to do something about it.

 

Father, it’s unimaginable to me how a nation could fall into such a horrible state, plagued with idolatry and assassination.  But moving away from You, chaos always reigns.  Please redirect our nation and cause us to seek after You before it’s too late.  We don’t want to suffer the same fate as Israel.

 

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford