1 Kings 16:16
And the people that were encamped heard say, Zimri hath conspired, and hath also slain the king: wherefore all Israel made Omri, the captain of the host, king over Israel that day in the camp. And the people that were encamped heard say, Zimri hath conspired, and hath also slain the king: wherefore all Israel made Omri, the captain of the host, king over Israel that day in the camp.
When the army of Israel encamped in the field heard that Zimri had murdered King Elah and seized the throne, it made Omri its commander king over Israel that same day and came in force against the capital. Elah's drunken reign of two years thus ended with the house of Baasha, and Zimri the usurper reigned only seven days before he burned the palace over himself and perished when he saw what the army meant. That was Omri's first election, contested for four years by Tibni whom half the people had chosen until Tibni died and Omri became sole king, and he then bought the hill of Samaria and built it for the royal capital where he reigned wickedly twelve years and became father of Ahab. The verse stands in the steady decline from Jeroboam who made Israel to sin to Ahab son of Omri who provoked God more than those before him by Baal worship, yet even in that great apostasy God kept a faithful remnant and showed that faithful leaders mold the people while unfaithful leaders bring failure upon them. Omri is independently attested on the Moabite Stone, which gives added evidence for the historical accuracy of the brief biblical account of his reign.
Succession in Divided Kingdom
This verse belongs to the history of the kings after Israel and Judah divided, with ten tribes in Israel and two and a half tribes in Judah and war and strife between the two divisions. It stands in the succession of the kings of Israel running through Nadab and Baasha and Elah and Zimri and Omri and the wicked Ahab, about fifty years after the division of the kingdom. Elah's drunken reign lasted two years and ended when Zimri slew him, with whom the house of Baasha died, and Zimri's reign as murderer and usurper lasted only seven days or a week.
When the Israelite army encamped heard that Zimri had killed King Elah and seized the throne, it made Omri, its commander and captain of the host, king over Israel that same day, showing the army's decisive role in the rapid change of rule, and came in force to the capital. Omri rose against the traitor Zimri and slew him, and when Zimri saw the army and understood what it meant he burned the palace over himself and perished in the flames. This was Omri's first election as king, four years before he gained control of the whole kingdom. His rule was contested by Tibni, whom half the people had chosen, while Omri held the capital and commanded the army, and after opposition for a little time that was soon crushed out he became sole king when Tibni died.
Omri thereby became the strongest influence among the Ten Tribes. Leaving the royal seat at Shechem because of its associations and to add luster and strength to his own reign, he bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver, almost on the eastern border of the great plain of Sharon stretching westward to the Mediterranean Sea and six miles north of Shechem, a natural stronghold where he built the city of Samaria for the royal capital of Israel. There he reigned wickedly for twelve years while the city ever increased in grandeur and beauty, and from him sprang the wicked Ahab whose reign and the work of Elijah follow.
Apostasy and Moral Lessons
The verse belongs to the account in 1 Kings 15 and 16 of the apostasy of Israel under her kings, who forsook the worship of the living God for idols. They turned away from the God-given plan of worship pointing to Christ and revealing the way of salvation from sin. They forsook what was pure and true and uplifting for what was impure, untrue and degrading in the worship of Baal and Ashtoreth, the worship of the creature instead of the Creator. Since Jeroboam who made Israel to sin there had been a steady decline from bad to worse. It was brought to a climax when Ahab the son of Omri ascended the throne to do more to provoke God than the kings before him. It was the time of Ahab and Jezebel, whose Baal worship corrupted Israel and led the nation into idolatry and transgression of God's commandments.
The chapter records a great apostasy in Israel during the days of Elijah. Even then God found a faithful remnant that responded to the prophet's call. The verse is part of a wholly historical yet sad record that is full of important lessons. It stands in the time after David when the general moral tendency in Judah and Israel was downward though with times of reviving. It shows that whenever the people sought God He wrought for them and through them abundantly, and it shows the responsibility resting on leaders, since faithful kings and priests molded the people greatly while unfaithful leaders brought failure on the people with them.
Outside Evidence for Historicity
The man whom the encamped host made king that day is Omri, king of Israel. His reign is independently attested on the Moabite Stone, which confirms the historical accuracy of the biblical record. That stone preserves historical accounts of his reign, supplying added evidence alongside the brief biblical account. The biblical account itself records that the army, encamped when it heard that Zimri had slain King Elah, made its commander Omri king that same day.