Fear No Fear

(All scripture from Lexham English Bible, Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software)

The problem with looking at the kings of the books of Kings is that you only get part of the story. The rest of the story is in Chronicles, but we won’t get there for a while. When we get to stuff that seems abrupt, it might be here, take a note and compare it to Chronicles – either on your own (never a bad idea) or when we get to it at the end of the Old Testament (we’re going through in the original order of the books this year, not the order they appear in current bibles. Just something different for fun.)

We start in Judah. In the eighteenth year of Jeroboam (he was in Israel and reigned a total of twenty-two years), Abijam (also called Abijah) the son of Rehoboam took the throne. He reigned for three years, but he wasn’t a good king. Any good that happened with him was because of his great-grandfather David. He stayed at war with Jeroboam, and when he died he was buried in Jerusalem. His son Asa took over in the twentieth year of Jeroboam. Asa could NOT have been old. Twenty tops. But Asa was a GOOD king.

Asa followed Yahweh. He did what David did. He removed the idols from the temples Solomon had made (but not the buildings themselves). He removed his grandmother from her position as queen mother because she was an idol worshipper, and he destroyed what she had made. His heart was loyal to the Lord all his days, but he had trouble with trust. He paid the king of Syria for protection from Israel at one point. And at another he sought only the doctors for help with a problem with his feet – he never asked God what He wanted to do. He reigned forty-one years and was buried in Jerusalem. His son Jehoshaphat took over.

Back to Israel. When Jeroboam died, Nadab his son took over. He did the same stuff his father did. Idolatry. This was false Yahweh worship, claiming the two golden calves were representative of Yahweh who brought them up from Egypt (which happened five hundred and thirty-eight years previous). Nadab took the throne in the second year of Asa, king of Judah. He reigned for almost, but not quite two years. Baasha conspired against him and killed him, taking the throne in the third year of Asa. But after Baasha became king he slaughtered the whole house of Jeroboam. Not one person was left breathing – instead of just the male heirs as was customary. This was a fulfillment of a prophecy the Lord made in 1 Kings 11:29-39, but something about it wasn’t done the way the Lord wanted. Perhaps the prophecy was only reporting what WOULD happen, not what God WANTED to happen. Sadly, Baasha changed nothing about the idolatry they practised as a nation. He reigned for twenty-four years, but God told him he would be destroyed for that idolatry like Jeroboam was.

“So Zimri destroyed all of the house of Baasha according to the word of Yahweh which he spoke against Baasha by the hand of Jehu the prophet” (1 Kings 16:12)

Baasha died and his son Elah took the throne. They still reigned from the city Jeroboam had built: Tirzah. Elah reigned starting in the twenty-sixth year of Asa, king of Judah. He reigned for two years. The commander of half of Elah’s chariots was Zimri. He killed Elah when he was drunk, and Zimri took the throne. First thing he died was kill the entire household of Elah – plus his relatives and friends. The news spread and the people wanted Omri to be king. Omri was the commander of the army and he was off encamped against Gibbethon, a Philistine city. Everyone heard of the slaughter and they made Omri king.

Omri and the army packed up and went to Tirzah. Zimri notices the city was surrounded. He saw which way the wind was flowing, so he went into the citadel and burned the entire house of the king down around himself. He had reigned seven DAYS. Why did God let this punishment happen? Because Zimri hadn’t lifted a finger to change the idolatry and had engaged in it himself.

You’d think that was it, but it wasn’t. Omri had been proclaimed king, but now Tibni, the son of Ginath wanted to be king. The people were split into two groups. Civil war broke out and probably lasted about four years. In the end, Tibni was killed and Omri took the throne of the country. He reigned from Tirzah for six (probably including the four year civil war) and built himself a new city called Samaria, which he bought from the owner for a lot of silver. Now Omri reigned a total of twelve years. And he did more evil than those before him. Think about that. Jeroboam started idolatry in the nation, Baasha committed genocide against Jeroboam’s family, Zimri did the same for Elah plus killed friends and extended family. All of them stuck with the idolatry. And Omri was worse than these guys. How? He extended the idolatry in some way. When he died, his son Ahab took the throne.

Ahab is a special guy. He took the throne of Israel in the thirty-eighth year of Asa, king of Judah’s reign. Ahab reigned a total of twenty-two years. He did more evil than his father Omri. How? He didn’t just worship effigies of Yahweh (forbidden in the Law – Exodus 20:4). He worshipped the Caananite god Baal. He also married Jezebel, who was a VERY devoted worshipper of that god. So this is the first king of Israel who blatantly and publicly worshipped a god that wasn’t the Hebrew God Yahweh. Ahab built a temple in Samaria and an altar in the temple. They installed four hundred prophets in the temple AND Jezebel had another four hundred and fifty who served their god in ‘sacred’ groves.

Things were so casual about Yahweh and things related to Him, that Hiel of Bethel rebuilt Jericho. Do you remember what Joshua had said about it? “And Joshua swore at that time, saying, “Cursed is anyone before Yahweh who gets up and builds Jericho, this city. At the cost of his firstborn he will lay its foundation, and at the cost of his youngest he will set up its gates.”” (Joshua 6:26). Hiel didn’t care or pay attention. He rebuilt Jericho and lost his firstborn and his youngest. How hardhearted do you need to be to sacrifice your KIDS??? This was becoming the culture of Israel under the leadership of Ahab and Jezebel. She may have been a politically powerful woman or perhaps even beautiful, but she became the symbol for all immorality on earth and Ahab’s name is forever tagged with evil men. What a pitiful legacy.

Summary

Key Players: God, Asa, Baasha, Zimri, Omri, Ahab, Jezebel

Key Themes: Repentance, Right Worship, Succession, Idolatry, Judgment

Key Verse(s): 1 Kings 15:9-15, 25-28; 16:8-10, 18-19, 21-22, 29-33