1 Kings 16

The Explanation

This chapter reads almost like a news report from a country in chaos. Five kings pass by in one chapter, and hardly any of them dies peacefully in bed.

It starts with a prophet named Jehu, son of Hanani. He brings a message from God to King Baasha of Israel. God says something striking: "Because I exalted you out of the dust, and made you prince over my people Israel." Baasha was nobody. God lifted him up. And what did Baasha do with that? He walked in the way of Jeroboam, the king before him who had made Israel worship idols. So Baasha's family will be swept away, just like Jeroboam's.

Then it goes fast. Baasha dies and his son Elah becomes king. Elah is sitting somewhere drinking himself drunk when one of his own officers, Zimri, walks in and kills him. Zimri wipes out Baasha's whole family, exactly as the prophet had said. Zimri sits on the throne for seven days. Seven. Meanwhile the army is out at Gibbethon fighting the Philistines, and when the soldiers hear what happened, they make their commander Omri king on the spot. Omri marches to Tirzah and surrounds the city. Zimri sees that it is over, walks into the strongest part of the palace, and sets it on fire over his own head.

After that, the people split in two. Half want Tibni, half want Omri. Omri wins. He buys a hill from a man named Shemer, builds a city on it, and names it Samaria. He is a strong, successful king. And the Bible says: he "dealt wickedly above all who were before him."

Then comes his son Ahab, who does even worse. He marries Jezebel, a princess from Sidon, and starts worshiping her god Baal. He builds a temple and an altar for Baal in Samaria. The chapter ends with a strange, sad little note about a man named Hiel who rebuilds Jericho and loses two sons doing it, exactly as God had said long ago through Joshua.

What Does This Mean?

You might wonder why God put a chapter like this in the Bible. There is no hero in it. Nobody prays. Nobody repents.

But notice what keeps coming back, like a drumbeat. "According to Yahweh's word." "According to Yahweh's word, which he spoke by Joshua." Kings murder each other, armies choose sides, palaces burn. It looks like pure chaos. And underneath all of it, the only thing that actually holds is what God said.

That is the point. The kings think they are running the show. They are not. God's word is.

There is something else worth seeing. Every single one of these kings is described the same way: he walked in the way of Jeroboam. Nobody stopped to ask, "Wait, is this actually working?" Baasha saw with his own eyes what happened to Jeroboam's family, and then did exactly the same thing. Sin has a way of copying itself. People follow the path already worn down, even when they know where it leads.

And honestly, the chapter leaves questions open. Why did God let this go on so long? Why does Omri get to be strong and successful while being wicked? The text does not answer that. I do not fully know either. But the Bible does not hide the mess. It shows it to us plainly.

The Common Thread

Israel is desperate for a good king, and every one of them fails. That is the deepest thing this chapter is doing: it makes you hungry for someone better.

God had promised long before that a king would come who would truly belong to Him. Not a man who claws his way to the throne by killing the previous one, but a King who gives up His own life instead of taking someone else's. Jesus is that King. Zimri burned a palace down around himself; Jesus let Himself be nailed to a cross for people who did not deserve it.

And that same reliable word that came true in every grim detail of this chapter is the word that promises: whoever comes to Jesus will not be turned away.

For You

Look at Baasha. God pulled him up out of the dust, and he forgot it. That can happen to anyone. Ask yourself sometimes: what do I actually have that I did not receive?

And watch out for the well-worn path. When everybody in your class does something a certain way, when the joke everybody laughs at is a mean one, it takes real courage to stop and ask, "Where does this actually lead?" You do not have to walk in the way of Jeroboam just because everyone else is.

Talk About It

Why do you think not one of these kings looked at what happened to the king before him and changed course?

This chapter shows evil kings succeeding for years. Does that bother you? What would you want to ask God about it?

Praying Together

Lord God, this chapter is dark, and Your word still stood in the middle of it. Thank You that what You say is true and holds firm. Give us the courage not to just follow the crowd. And thank You for Jesus, the King who is good all the way through. Amen.