Day #178

Sermon - Audio
1 Kings 15:25-16:34, 2 Chronicles 17 - Audio
1 Kings 15:25-16:34, 2 Chronicles 17 - Reading

Daily Insights - Please Comment

Daily Reading: 1 Kings 15: 25-16:34 & 2 Chron 17

Remember, although 1 Kings falls under “historical writings” in our English bibles, Jewish tradition considers them Prophetic. Tradition says it was written by Jeremiah. Even if this is not true, notice the frequent occurrence of prophets. Keep in mind that most prophesy in the Bible is not “predictive” but rather applies God's teaching (torah) to contemporary circumstances. Notice that Israel and Judah's kings are not measured by their worldly power, but measured by their following of Torah.

1 Kings 15:25-16.34 Kings of Israel

“From Nadab to Ahab. The fulfillment of the prophecy against the house of Jeroboam has been delayed until it has been made clear how differently God treats the house of David, whose wicked kings do not bring the downfall of the dynasty “because for David's sake the Lord his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem” (15:4). Now, however, everything turns out as Ahijah had prophesied in ch. 14.” (ESV Study Bible)

This is a very unstable time for the nation of Israel. In the course of 25 years, 5 kings sought power in Israel. Four of them came to a violent death. We can blame the recurring sin that each of these Kings commit: “the same sin Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit.” Briefly, this refers to the golden calves (resembling baals) set up at Bethel and Dan, which he told the people: “Here are your gods, who brought you out of Egypt (1 Kings 12).”

Nadab (1 Kings 15.25-32)

15.29 Jeraboam's line is short lived, Nadab only reigns 2 years. The murder of Jeroboam's family is a fulfillment of the prophesy in chapter 14.9-11: “You have made for yourself other gods, idols made of metal; you have aroused my anger and thrust me behind your back. Because of this, I am going to bring disaster on the house of Jeroboam...” Most of the action that occurs in this section points forward to Baasha's time as king

Baasha (1 Kings 15.33-16.7)

Although the details of his war with Asa King of Judah are not recorded here, this is the same Baasha as yesterday.

15.34 While Baasha on the one hand is used by God to bring judment on Nadab (Jeroboam's son), he too committed the same sin as Jeroboam.

16.1 Enter prophet Jehu. Interesting that even though Israel has been in rebellion, God still refers to them as “my people.” The judgment Jehu announces is almost in the same words as the judgment given to Jeraboam. This make sense since the crimes are the same. With a just God, the judgment always matches the crime. (In our case, the penalty for our sin (death) has been taken by Jesus on the cross).

16.7 This is a tricky verse. We learn not only that Baasha was punished because he was like Jeroboam, but also because of the blood he shed in Jeroboam's family. But this judgment was God ordained. According to the ESV Study Bible: The fact that God had ordained that Jeroboam's house be destroyed did not absolve Baasha of moral responsibility for his actions.” God often punishes the people of Israel for shedding blood. We find this out way back in the times of Noah, when God points to the violence on the earth as his reason for sending the flood. A “way out” of this problem is that Baasha had gone far beyond the meaning of Ahijah’s prophecy, which mentioned only the killing of ‘every last male’ The purpose was that Jeroboam will be left with no male descendants who could lay claim to the throne. The language of 15:29 implies that Baasha went further than this and slaughtered the entire family. (New Bible Commentary)

Elah (1 Kings 16.8-14)

Elah's reign piggybacks on Baasha's. The details of Elah's reign closly mirror Nadab (a similar prophesy against his father comes to fulfillment after just two years). Both dynasties end with murder. Elah is infamous for being killed by one of his own officials while he was drunk.

Zimri (1 kings 16.15-20)

Zimri's seven day reign is the shortest of any Israelite King. With the power vacuum left by Elah, both Zimri and Omri try to claim the throne at the same time. Omri, though, had the power of Israel's army. He surrounds Tizrah, and when Zimri see's his cause is lost-he sets the palace on fire to cause as much damage as he can in his own suicide.

Omri (1 Kings 16.21-28)

Things get ugly during Omri's reign. His reign begins with a civil war that lasts an undefined amount of time. “The writer tells us nothing of Omri’s political stature. However, we can assume he was “noteworthy” by historical standards, which we glimpse only from Assyrian inscriptions and the Moabite stone (NBC).” At the least, he restored political stability by establishing his dynasty in Israel. The only other detail we know from the text is that the capital of Israel moves from Tizrah to Samaria. Rememeber, these kings are being evaluated by Torah. So all that gets recorded is that “he sinned more than any king before him.”

Ahab (1 Kings 16.29-34)

The next five verses introduce the rest of 1 Kings that will recount the reign of the most evil king in Israel's history: Ahab.

16.31 This verse tells us that he made the sins of Jeraboam look tame. It also links his establishment of Baal worship in Israel to his marriage of Jezebel. The fact that Ahab built the altar to Baal in Samaria (Israel's capital) suggests that he makes Baal worship the new “state religion” of Israel (NBC).

16.34 Jericho gets rebuilt during Ahab's time. The destruction of Jericho and command not to rebuild goes back to the very beginning of Israel's history in the promised land. This shows how fundamentally evil things got during Ahab's reign.

Jehoshaphat King of Judah (2 Chronicles 17)

17.1-6 “Jehoshaphat's actions at the start of his reign are directed toward reforming the nation's religious life and strengthening its military capabilities, no doubt in view of the border conflicts with the northern kingdom that marked the previous reigns. As long as he continues in this attitude of faith in God and loyalty to the ways of David (vv. 3–6), his kingdom will enjoy security and prosperity. On later occasions, however, Jehoshaphat will be drawn into alliances through marriage or military and commercial arrangements with the northern kingdom, and all of these will lead to potentially disastrous consequences (ESV Study Bible)” Jehosaphat is in stark contrast to Ahab: “he did not consult Baals” and did not follow “the practices of Israel.”

17.7-9 This is a true sign of devotion. Jehoshaphat mobilizes his resources to teach the people the Torah. This includes not only “moral” devotion, but more importantly standards of justice and guidelines for worship.

17.10-19 Because of the great armies Jehoshaphat is able to amass, even the Philistines respect his sovereignty. Lots more on Jehoshaphat in the days to come.