Observations and interpretations:
(1) Severe punishment seemed not enough to deter the king of Israel (and his people) from worshipping idols
A. The sin of Jeroboam caused Baasha to kill his entire family
15: 29 When he became king, he executed Jeroboam’s entire family. He wiped out everyone who breathed, in keeping with the LORD’s message that he had spoken through his servant Ahijah the Shilonite. 30 This happened because of the sins which Jeroboam committed and which he made Israel commit. These sins angered the LORD God of Israel.
B. Baasha committed the same sins as Jeroboam even though he was the one who executed God's punishment on Jeroboam.
B. Baasha committed the same sins as Jeroboam even though he was the one who executed God's punishment on Jeroboam.
16:1 “I raised you up from the dust and made you ruler over my people Israel. Yet you followed in Jeroboam’s footsteps and encouraged my people Israel to sin; their sins have made me angry. 3 So I am ready to burn up Baasha and his family, and make your family like the family of Jeroboam son of Nebat. 4 Dogs will eat the members of Baasha’s family who die in the city, and the birds of the sky will eat the ones who die in the country.”
Note:
1. The punishment was brutal and would have called for people's attention. However, that seemed not to be enough to call the attention of Baasha who chose to follow in Jeroboam's footsteps and worship idols.
(BKC) The fact that Baasha did not turn to the Lord in spite of his being God’s instrument of judgment on the house of Jeroboam suggests his complete blindness to the importance of spiritual matters in his own life and in that of his nation. Baasha committed the same sins himself. This indicates that the level of his apostasy was deep.
2. The king was supposed to lead his people under God's guidance, but now, he encouraged God's people to sina and made God angry v.2.
C. The sin of Baasha caused Zimri to kill his entire family, his relatives and his friends.
16: 11 When he became king and occupied the throne, he killed Baasha’s entire family. He did not spare any male belonging to him; he killed his relatives and his friends. 12 Zimri destroyed Baasha’s entire family, in keeping with the LORD’s message which he had spoken against Baasha through Jehu the prophet. 13 This happened because of all the sins which Baasha and his son Elah committed and which they made Israel commit. They angered the LORD God of Israel with their worthless idols.
D. Zimri killed himself when Omri besieged his city.
16: 17 Omri and all Israel went up from Gibbethon and besieged Tirzah. 18 When Zimri saw that the city was captured, he went into the fortified area of the royal palace. He set the palace on fire and died in the flames. 19 This happened because of the sins he committed. He did evil in the sight of the LORD and followed in Jeroboam’s footsteps and encouraged Israel to continue sinning.
D. Omri was the only one that was not killed by others, but he got a son, Ahab, who was more evil than anyone else before him.
16: 30 Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the sight of the LORD than all who were before him. 31 As if following in the sinful footsteps of Jeroboam son of Nebat were not bad enough, he married Jezebel the daughter of King Ethbaal of the Sidonians. Then he worshiped and bowed to Baal. 32 He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal he had built in Samaria. 33 Ahab also made an Asherah pole; he did more to anger the LORD God of Israel than all the kings of Israel who were before him.
Baal=(BKC) Baal (meaning “lord”) is a name used generally in the Old Testament for the male deity the native Canaanite tribes worshiped under various other titles. (NET) The Canaanites worshiped Baal as a storm and fertility god.
Asherah poles (cf. 14:15, 23; 15:13)=(BKC) idols carved to stimulate worship of Baal’s female counterpart. (NAC) Full-blown fertility rites have come to Israel. Idolatry as an institution has become even more entrenched than in the past.
Reflection: (1) The rising of the prophet, Elijah, meant the failure of the kings. Kings after kings, they were stubborn in their sins. Even those who executed God's judgement on the previous committed the same sins. Are we stubborn in our own sins? Have we learned from our failures?
(2) First, the idols were made by the Israelite king himself, and then, Ahab introduced the foreign idols and their evil worship. Are our sins like that? When we did not stop our sins when it just started it will have time to become full-grown.
(2) During the time of Ahab, the king no longer no longer had any possibility to lead people to God
(2) During the time of Ahab, the king no longer no longer had any possibility to lead people to God
17: 1 Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As certainly as the LORD God of Israel lives (whom I serve), there will be no dew or rain in the years ahead unless I give the command.”
18: 17 When Ahab saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is it really you, the one who brings disaster on Israel?” 18 Elijah replied, “I have not brought disaster on Israel. But you and your father’s dynasty have, by abandoning the LORD’s commandments and following the Baals.
People of Israel did not follow God wholeheartedly any more
18: 19 Now send out messengers and assemble all Israel before me at Mount Carmel, as well as the 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah whom Jezebel supports.
18: 21 Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long are you going to be paralyzed by indecision? If the LORD is the true God, then follow him, but if Baal is, follow him!” But the people did not say a word
Reflection: Do our sins affect the people we lead, our children, our students, and people around us?
(3) The result and purpose of the miracle
18:38 Then fire from the LORD fell from the sky. It consumed the offering, the wood, the stones, and the dirt, and licked up the water in the trench. 39 When all the people saw this, they threw themselves down with their faces to the ground and said, “The LORD is the true God! The LORD is the true God!”
From the time of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the LORD was known by their ancestors as the true God. Israel as a nation promised to be the people of God when they received the 10 commandments. Now, they needed to see this miracle to proclaim that, "the LORD is the true God." That was a low point of the spiritual status of Israel. Plus, the repentance of the people was only temporary. They returned to worship idols until their exile.
Audrey
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