(23) “In the thirty and first year of Asa king of Judah began Omri to reign over Israel, and reigned twelve years: six years reigned he in Tirzah. (24) And he bought the hill Samaria of Shemer for two talents of silver; and he built on the hill, and called the name of the city which he built, after the name of Shemer, the owner of the hill, Samaria. (25) And Omri did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, and dealt wickedly above all that were before him. (26) For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in his sins wherewith he made Israel to sin, to provoke Jehovah, the God of Israel, to anger with their vanities. (27) Now the rest of the acts of Omri which he did, and his might that he showed, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? (28) So Omri slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria; and Ahab his son reigned in his stead.
(29) “And in the thirty and eighth year of Asa king of Judah began Ahab the son of Omri to reign over Israel: and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty and two years. (30) And Ahab the son of Omri did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah above all that were before him. (31) And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshiped him. (32) And he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. (33) And Ahab made the Asherah; and Ahab did yet more to provoke Jehovah, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him.”
Golden Text.—“Righteousness exalteth a nation; but sin is a reproach to any people.” Prov. 14: 34.
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.
(1) Who began to reign in Israel when Asa had reigned in Judah thirty-six years? How long did Omri reign in Israel? Verse 23. Note 1. (2) What prominent place did he buy? What did he build there? What name did he give to the city? Verse 24. (3) What is said of Omri’s course as king? Verse 25. (4) In whose way did he follow? How did God regard this course? Verse 26. (5) Where were the rest of Omri’s acts written? Verse 27. (6) When Omri died where was he buried? Who reigned in his stead? Verse 28. (7) In what year of the reign of Asa king of Judah did Ahab take the throne of Israel? How long did Ahab reign? Verse 29. (8) What was the character of his reign? Verse 30. (9) How did Ahab’s character compare with that of Jeroboam? Whom did he take for a wife? What did this alliance lead him to do? Verse 31. (10) What prominence did Ahab give to Baal worship in Samaria? Verse 32. (11) In what other manner did he exalt Baal before the people? How did all of Ahab’s course compare with that of his predecessors? Verse 33. Note 2.
NOTES.
1. Omri came to the throne just fifty years after the division of the kingdom. From the time of Jeroboam, who “made Israel to sin” there was a gradual going from bad to worse. Jeroboam’s son Nadab reigned but two years, when he met a tragic death (1 Kings 15: 25-31), and the prophecy of Ahijah (ch. 14: 7-11) was fulfilled. Baasha, who slew Nadab and reigned in his stead, did no better, although he enjoyed a reign of twenty-four years. He followed “in the way of Jeroboam,” and the prophet Jehu predicted for him and his house the same end that befell the house of Jeroboam. Ch. 16: 1-4. His son Elah repeated the history of Nadab in that he reigned but two years and met death by violent hands; also in that his murderer destroyed all his house and took the throne. Verses 8-13. But Zimri, the murderer of Elah, only reigned seven days, when the army declared Omri king, and came in force to the capital. When Zimri saw them, and understood the import, he burned the palace and perished in the flames. Verses 15-20. This brief retrospect brings us to the subject of the lesson. It should be noted that the one good reign of Asa, king of Judah, spanned those of all these wicked kings of Israel, as he came to the throne two years before the death of Jeroboam. Ch. 15: 9, 10; 14: 20.
2. While Omri did worse than all the kings of Israel who had gone before him, walking in the way that Jeroboam had laid out for the people, Ahab did still worse. He counted the sins of Jeroboam “a light thing.” He married a heathen woman whose father’s very name was Ethbaal (with Baal), and she seems to have had complete control of Ahab. While Jeroboam started the evil course of Israel in a way more blasphemous and more daring than any predecessor had ventured to go, those who came after him went to even greater lengths. And such is the natural course of sin. It is like the noisome weeds that grow luxuriantly, without special cultivation, in the most barren soil. The only remedy is to have it thoroughly uprooted, washed away by the blood of Christ. “Sin is the transgression of the law” (1 John 3: 4), but “the blood of Jesus Christ ... cleanseth us from all sin” (ch. 1: 7). “Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Rom. 5: 1. Then “the just shall live by faith” (ch. 1: 17); having come into covenant relation with God, His law is written in the heart (Heb. 8: 8-10), and “sin shall not have dominion” (Rom. 6: 14). “The carnal [fleshly, unconverted] mind” can not keep the law of God (ch. 8: 7); it can not keep from sinning, and even afterward it can do so only through faith in Christ, who alone is “able to keep you from falling” (Jude 24). This keeping is “by the power of God through faith.” 1 Peter 1: 5. “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” Rom. 10: 17. See, also, Luke 10: 25-28; John 17: 17; James 1: 21-25.
