First Kings 16:8

The Bible says in First Kings 16:8-14, “In the twenty and sixth year of Asa king of Judah began Elah the son of Baasha to reign over Israel in Tirzah, two years.[9] And his servant Zimri, captain of half his chariots, conspired against him, as he was in Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza steward of his house in Tirzah.[10] And Zimri went in and smote him, and killed him, in the twenty and seventh year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in his stead.[11] And it came to pass, when he began to reign, as soon as he sat on his throne, that he slew all the house of Baasha: he left him not one that pisseth against a wall, neither of his kinsfolks, nor of his friends.[12] Thus did Zimri destroy all the house of Baasha, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake against Baasha by Jehu the prophet,[13] For all the sins of Baasha, and the sins of Elah his son, by which they sinned, and by which they made Israel to sin, in provoking the LORD God of Israel to anger with their vanities.[14] Now the rest of the acts of Elah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?” We have seen this before among the kings of the northern ten tribes of Israel. It is a very sad pattern, but very predictable. Assassinations and murder. These things happened because of sins. And because of sins that were not repented of. Every person will either repent of their sins or face judgment. It is even worse when your sins cause other people to sin. And so it says in verse thirteen, “For all the sins of Baasha, and the sins of Elah his son, by which they sinned, and by which they made Israel to sin, in provoking the LORD God of Israel to anger with their vanities.”

The Bible says in First Kings 16:15-20, “In the twenty and seventh year of Asa king of Judah did Zimri reign seven days in Tirzah. And the people were encamped against Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines.[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.[17] And Omri went up from Gibbethon, and all Israel with him, and they besieged Tirzah.[18] And it came to pass, when Zimri saw that the city was taken, that he went into the palace of the king's house, and burnt the king's house over him with fire, and died,[19] For his sins which he sinned in doing evil in the sight of the LORD, in walking in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin which he did, to make Israel to sin.[20] Now the rest of the acts of Zimri, and his treason that he wrought, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?” Zimri was not king very long: just 7 days according to verse fifteen. Do not fret who your leaders are. If God wants to remove someone from power, He can do it. God will do it if He wants to. Why was Zimri judged in that way: it says in verse nineteen, “For his sins which he sinned in doing evil in the sight of the LORD, in walking in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin which he did, to make Israel to sin.”

The Bible says in First Kings 16:21-28, “Then were the people of Israel divided into two parts: half of the people followed Tibni the son of Ginath, to make him king; and half followed Omri.[22] But the people that followed Omri prevailed against the people that followed Tibni the son of Ginath: so Tibni died, and Omri reigned.[23] In the thirty and first year of Asa king of Judah began Omri to reign over Israel, twelve years: six years reigned he in Tirzah.[24] And he bought the hill Samaria of Shemer for two talents of silver, and built on the hill, and called the name of the city which he built, after the name of Shemer, owner of the hill, Samaria.[25] But Omri wrought evil in the eyes of the LORD, and did worse than all that were before him.[26] For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin, to provoke the LORD 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 shewed, 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.” Verses twenty-one and twenty-two tell us about more turmoil in the northern Israel. It sounds like civil war, and this time it is among the northern kingdom of Israel. And we are told that the next king lasts seven years, and he is replaced. Omri became king, and guess what…he was evil too. It says in verse twenty-six, “But Omri wrought evil in the eyes of the LORD, and did worse than all that were before him.” In other words, things kept getting worse. Everyone is on a path that heads in a certain direction. If you are heading in the wrong direction, you will get worse. That is why repentance is so important. Turn from the direction that you are going, and turn to the Lord Jesus.

Finally, Ahab becomes king, and now we will be given much more detailed information about how bad it became in the ten tribes of Israel under wicked King Ahab. We are told in First Kings 16:29-34, “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 evil in the sight of the LORD 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 Zidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped 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 a grove; and Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him.[34] In his days did Hiel the Bethelite build Jericho: he laid the foundation thereof in Abiram his firstborn, and set up the gates thereof in his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Joshua the son of Nun.” Verse thirty says that Ahab was worse than all the kings that came before him, and they were all very wicked. Verse thirty-one mentions two of the horrible things that Ahab did. First, he married Jezebel, and she was a wicked one. She may have been more wicked than Ahab himself. And also Ahab became a worshipper of the false God, Baal. That was probably due to the influence of Jezebel.

The Bible says in First Kings 17:1-6, “And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.[2] And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying,[3] Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.[4] And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.[5] So he went and did according unto the word of the LORD: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.[6] And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.” Elijah was a contemporary of Ahab and Jezebel, and Elijah was a prophet. The prophets of the Old Testament were often sent to the kings to give the kings God’s Word. God wants everyone to hear His Word, both rich and poor: small and great. God sends Elijah the prophet with this message as stated in verse one: “there shall not be dew nor rain these years.” God controlled the weather then, and He still controls it. The apostles were amazed of Jesus and said, “What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him.” God uses the weather to bring into our lives what He wants to bring according to His plan for us. This drought will be a disaster to the nation. But notice that even in the midst of a national disaster, God takes care of His people. God told Elijah where to go and he would be taken care of. He would have water to drink from the brook Cherith and the ravens would come and feed Elijah. God controls the animals too. Go where God wants you to go, and He will take care of you. Jesus said in Matthew 6:33, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.”

The Bible says in First Kings 17:7-12, “And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.[8] And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying,[9] Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.[10] So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.[11] And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand.[12] And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.” Things change. We are passing through this world. We have no final resting place here. Our final resting place is in heaven with the Lord. Sometimes God wants us to move because there are people that need help from the Lord, and if you know the Lord, He will use you to help them. God sent Elijah to a widow in Zerepath. It is interesting that God said in verse eight even before Elijah meets the widow, “I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.” God controls everyone. God decides what every person does. Every life is in His hands. God likes using people that others think little of. God likes it when someone has few resources but who dedicates those resources to God’s glory. God also likes to help people who are in dire straits and whose backs are against the wall. The widow thought that she and her son were going to die because they were out of food. She was a widow. She had no man to help her. She was poor, and she was at the bottom of the barrel. But God knew her circumstances, and God sent the great prophet Elijah just for this widow woman.

The Bible says in First Kings 17:13-16, “And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.[14] For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth.[15] And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.[16] And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah.” The woman obeyed the Word of the Lord. God can do anything. Because she put the Lord first, her needs were supplied. That is exactly what Jesus promised.

The Bible says in First Kings 17:17-18, “And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him.[18] And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son?” A very bad thing happened to this woman. Her son died. We live in the shadow of death, and any one of us and any one of our loved ones are only one heartbeat away from eternity. Notice the woman’s initial reaction to this terrible event, the death of her son. She thinks that it is a punishment from God because of past sins. First of all, it is very important to know that you are forgiven of your sins. Make sure that you have repented and turned to Christ. If you have, then all of your sins are forgiven. Accept God’s forgiveness and believe in it. The day will come when you will need to believe that you are forgiven. Too many people live in guilt needlessly. The child did not die because of this woman’s past sins. The child died because it was God’s will. Life is temporary. Everyone dies. But every death fits into God’s plan somehow. The child died because God was going to perform a miracle and bring the child back. Everything in life, even death itself, fits into the plan of God. Make sure that you know Jesus as Savior, and you will live forever.

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