1 Kings 16: 1 – 34
He got a taste of his own medicine
16 Then the word of the LORD came to Jehu the son of Hanani, against Baasha, saying: 2 “Inasmuch as I lifted you out of the dust and made you ruler over My people Israel, and you have walked in the way of Jeroboam, and have made My people Israel sin, to provoke Me to anger with their sins, 3 surely I will take away the posterity of Baasha and the posterity of his house, and I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. 4 The dogs shall eat whoever belongs to Baasha and dies in the city, and the birds of the air shall eat whoever dies in the fields.” 5 Now the rest of the acts of Baasha, what he did, and his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 6 So Baasha rested with his fathers and was buried in Tirzah. Then Elah his son reigned in his place. 7 And also the word of the LORD came by the prophet Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasha and his house, because of all the evil that he did in the sight of the LORD in provoking Him to anger with the work of his hands, in being like the house of Jeroboam, and because he killed them. 8 In the twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Judah, Elah the son of Baasha became king over Israel, and reigned two years in Tirzah. 9 Now his servant Zimri, commander of half his chariots, conspired against him as he was in Tirzah drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza, stewardof his house in Tirzah. 10 And Zimri went in and struck him and killed him in the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah and reigned in his place. 11 Then it came to pass, when he began to reign, as soon as he was seated on his throne, that he killed all the household of Baasha; he did not leave him one male, neither of his relatives nor of his friends. 12 Thus Zimri destroyed all the household of Baasha, according to the word of the LORD, which He spoke against Baasha by Jehu the prophet, 13 for all the sins of Baasha and the sins of Elah his son, by which they had sinned and by which they had made Israel sin, in provoking the LORD God of Israel to anger with their idols. 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? 15 In the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, Zimri had reigned in Tirzah seven days. And the people were encamped against Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines. 16 Now the people who were encamped heard it said, “Zimri has conspired and also has killed the king.” So, all Israel made Omri, the commander of the army, king over Israel that day in the camp. 17 Then Omri and all Israel with him went up from Gibbethon, and they besieged Tirzah. 18 And it happened, when Zimri saw that the city was taken, that he went into the citadel of the king’s house and burned the king’s house down upon himself with fire, and died, 19 because of the sins which he had committed in doing evil in the sight of the LORD, in walking in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin which he had committed to make Israel sin. 20 Now the rest of the acts of Zimri, and the treason he committed, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 21 Then the people of Israel were 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 who followed Omri prevailed over the people who followed Tibni the son of Ginath. So Tibni died and Omri reigned. 23 In the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah, Omri became king over Israel, and reigned twelve years. Six years he reigned in Tirzah. 24 And he bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver; then he built on the hill, and called the name of the city which he built, Samaria, after the name of Shemer, owner of the hill. 25 Omri did evil in the eyes of the LORD and did worse than all who were before him. 26 For he walked in all the ways of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in his sin by which he had made Israel sin, provoking the LORD God of Israel to anger with their idols. 27 Now the rest of the acts of Omri which he did, and the might that he showed, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 28 So Omri rested with his fathers and was buried in Samaria. Then Ahab his son reigned in his place. 29 In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab the son of Omri became king over Israel; and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty-two years. 30 Now Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD, more than all who were before him. 31 And it came to pass, as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians; and he went and served Baal and worshiped him. 32 Then he set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. 33 And Ahab made a wooden image. Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him. 34 In his days Hiel of Bethel built Jericho. He laid its foundation with Abiram his firstborn, and with his youngest son Segub he set up its gates, according to the word of the LORD, which He had spoken through Joshua the son of Nun.
We say this statement a lot, ‘He got some of his own medicine. Is there a logical story behind this phrase? Because when looked at from a naive perspective, giving somebody their own medicine sounds like a kind thing to do as it would only treat their illness.
The most popular origin story I could find about "dose/taste of one's own medicine" is a tale where a cheat sells a medicine that does nothing, then gets sick and people wind up giving him his own medicine.
During the nineteenth century, medicines often tasted quite horrible, and many were of dubious efficacy (if not downright harmful) to the patient. Under those circumstances, the idea of "receiving what you prescribe for others" may be understood as similar in sense to such folk expressions as "what's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander" or "turnabout is fair play."
Today we should notice this happening over and over to some evil people. In the tiny nation of Israel men rose to power by killing off their competition.
16 Then the word of the LORD came to Jehu the son of Hanani, against Baasha, saying: 2 “Inasmuch as I lifted you out of the dust and made you ruler over My people Israel, and you have walked in the way of Jeroboam, and have made My people Israel sin, to provoke Me to anger with their sins,
Once more a prophet is called upon to deal with the affairs of Israel. Israel was not left without a witness. Here it is Jehu the son of Hanani. He pointed out that it was YHWH who had raised Baasha from the dust (from low beginnings) and made him prince over His people Israel, allowing him to remove the house of Jeroboam. But in spite of that he had walked in the way of Jeroboam and had continued and encouraged the false cult established by Jeroboam, making the people sin and provoking YHWH to anger.
3 surely I will take away the posterity of Baasha and the posterity of his house, and I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
Because of this YHWH would do to the house of Baasha what He had done to the house of Jeroboam. He would ‘sweep them away’ and all his sons would be destroyed.
4 The dogs shall eat whoever belongs to Baasha and dies in the city, and the birds of the air shall eat whoever dies in the fields.”
This is the same fate as Ahijah the prophet had prophesied of Jeroboam. The bodies of his male household would be left out in the open to be eaten by scavengers, a fate considered to be worse than death. Just stop and consider your children being torn apart by scavengers.
5 Now the rest of the acts of Baasha, what he did, and his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
As usual we are informed that the remaining acts of the king, what he did and the might that he demonstrated, can be found in the court annals of Israel.
6 So Baasha rested with his fathers and was buried in Tirzah. Then Elah his son reigned in his place.
Baasha himself died peacefully and was buried in Tirzah. And Elah his son reigned instead of him, but only very briefly, for he was assassinated by one of his commanders. When a king of Israel died the throne was up for grabs.
Tirzah had probably become Jeroboam’s capital towards the end of his reign (14.17) and would remain Israel’s capital city until Omri transferred it to Samaria.
7 And also the word of the LORD came by the prophet Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasha and his house, because of all the evil that he did in the sight of the LORD in provoking Him to anger with the work of his hands, in being like the house of Jeroboam, and because he killed them.
But Baasha had been so evil that the prophetic author could not leave it there, and he repeats that YHWH had sent his prophet Jehu to him, and this time it is emphasized that it was with ‘the word of YHWH’, Being YHWH’s word, its effectiveness was certain (Isaiah 55.11). This guy’s descendants got some of his medicine. And the double charge was that he had continued in the way of Jeroboam, and especially that he had murdered the house of Jeroboam. For both sins he was to be especially punished.
Once again, we have a lesson concerning God’s holiness and hatred of sin, and the certainty of punishment for those who continue in sin and who allow other ‘gods’ to interfere with their worship of Him. It is a recurrent lesson of this book.
8 In the twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Judah, Elah the son of Baasha became king over Israel, and reigned two years in Tirzah.
The death of a king after a long reign often ushered in a period when rivals for the throne reared their heads, and Israel had no established dynasty. Elah, the son of Baasha, does, however, appear to have been generally accepted as the rightful king, for the army were carrying out their usual responsibilities and only intervened when they learned that Elah had been assassinated.
9 Now his servant Zimri, commander 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 struck him and killed him in the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah and reigned in his place.
This occurred because unfortunately, among their number was a prominent chariot commander named Zimri, who saw Baasha’s death as an opportunity to seize the kingship for himself. Assassinating Elah in the capital, he immediately destroyed all his male heirs, and himself seized power. The army on hearing of the blood bath that had taken place in Tirzah, were not pleased and appointed Omri, a prominent commander in the field, as rival king, and he immediately proceeded to besiege Tirzah where all the action had taken place. With this counter action Zimri realized the hopelessness of his position committed suicide. He had reigned for seven days! This would then introduce for Israel a period of civil war, for a further claimant named Tibni arose with strong support, and he and Omri contested with each other until finally Omri emerged triumphant. In all this Israel were suffering because of their insistence on following the evil ways of Jeroboam about false worship.
Due to the way Israelites calculated the reigns of their kings at this time, this means that he reigned only for a few months, part of his accession year, and part of the following year.
11 Then it came to pass, when he began to reign, as soon as he was seated on his throne, that he killed all the household of Baasha; he did not leave him one male, neither of his relatives nor of his friends. 12 Thus Zimri destroyed all the household of Baasha, according to the word of the LORD, which He spoke against Baasha by Jehu the prophet, 13 for all the sins of Baasha and the sins of Elah his son, by which they had sinned and by which they had made Israel sin, in provoking the LORD God of Israel to anger with their idols.
Zimri in fact only reigned for seven days, but during that seven days he engaged in a bloodbath greater than any previously, not only slaying all the males in Baasha’s own house, including all who might feel that they had the responsibility of blood vengeance (‘his redeemers’) but also all those who were Elah’s friends and associates. He was taking no chances.
This evil behavior fulfilled what God had said through his prophet would happen to the house of Baasha. And it was because of Baasha’s sins, and Elah’s sins, and because they had failed to false religion which Jeroboam had initiated, and which led the people into sin, provoking YHWH’s righteous anger over their follies.
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?
Elah’s acts during his short reign could also be found in the official annals of the kings of Israel. While the account may appear a little repetitive we should notice that the sin was getting deeper and deeper. Israel were receiving the kings that they deserved and were suffering accordingly. It is a reminder to us that unless we are very prayerful and thoughtful we too can get the leaders that we deserve. The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.
15 In the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, Zimri had reigned in Tirzah seven days. And the people were encamped against Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines. 16 Now the people who were encamped heard it said, “Zimri has conspired and also has killed the king.” So, all Israel made Omri, the commander of the army, king over Israel that day in the camp.
Zimri’s reign was short and brief, but it was found in the annals of the kings of Israel and so it is included. His excessive bloodbath may have been what enraged the army against him, or they may have considered that he was too junior in command to be allowed to be king.
News reached the camp of what Zimri had done in Tirzah. And as soon as they heard that Elah was dead, and that Zimri was playing the king, they appointed their own commander-in-chief as king, in the camp that very day.
17 Then Omri and all Israel with him went up from Gibbethon, and they besieged Tirzah.
Omri then left the siege at Gibbethon along with his troops (‘all Israel’ is not to be taken too literally. It meant all Israel who were with him. In other words, he had unanimous support from his men) and besieged Tirzah.
18 And it happened, when Zimri saw that the city was taken, that he went into the citadel of the king’s house and burned the king’s house down upon himself with fire, and died, 19 because of the sins which he had committed in doing evil in the sight of the LORD, in walking in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin which he had committed to make Israel sin.
Omri then went and besieged Zimri in Tirzah, and when Zimri saw that the city was quickly taken he went into the king’s own house and burnt it around him, dying as a result. It was a fitting end for a fiery man. And it was the end that he earned because of the support that he had throughout his adult life given for the false worship of Jeroboam, and which he had intended to continue, and for all his sins. The point here was that his rebellion had had nothing to do with seeking to re-establish the true worship of YHWH. He had only had himself in mind.
20 Now the rest of the acts of Zimri, and the treason he committed, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
Once more we close with reference to the annals of the kings of Israel. But in this case only we learn that Zimri’ behavior was ‘treasonable’.
The whole story is a vivid reminder of Paul’s words, that whatever a man sows that will he also reap (Galatians 6.7).
21 Then the people of Israel were 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 who followed Omri prevailed over the people who followed Tibni the son of Ginath. So Tibni died and Omri reigned.
Omri’s reign began with civil war as Tibni, the son of Ginath, vied with him for the kingship. Omri’s name was possibly not Israelite, although some see it as being a shortening of ‘Omri-yahu’ (YHWH is my life) or ‘Omri-baal (‘Baal gives me life’ - many Israelite names contained the name of Baal seeing it as signifying ‘Lord’ and therefore as referring to YHWH e.g. Ish-baal, Meri-baal the descendants of Saul), and the fact that he was appointed by ‘all Israel’ (i.e. his men) suggests that he himself must have been seen as an Israelite,, He was possibly part Israelite, part Canaanite.
23 In the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah, Omri became king over Israel, and reigned twelve years. Six years he reigned in Tirzah. 24 And he bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver; then he built on the hill and called the name of the city which he built, Samaria, after the name of Shemer, owner of the hill.
It took a few years for the civil war to be decided, but almost inevitably, because of his superior military skill, Omri was victorious, and the result was that ‘Tibni died’. Omri then proceeded not only to support the false religion of Jeroboam but to ‘deal wickedly above all who were before him’. The one noteworthy thing about him was that he founded Samaria as Israel’s capital city. That was so noteworthy an achievement that it had to be recorded, not only because Samaria became a famous city, but also because it became a center for the worship of Baal.
25 Omri did evil in the eyes of the LORD and did worse than all who were before him. 26 For he walked in all the ways of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in his sin by which he had made Israel sin, provoking the LORD God of Israel to anger with their idols.
Omri may have had a number of reasons for his change of city:
• 1). That he wanted a city which belonged to him (as the city of David belonged to David) and would establish his name. He could then have a new beginning and decide who lived in it.
• 2). That he wanted a strong and invulnerable city which would stand the test of time. He had cause to know that Tirzah was vulnerable to attack, and as an experienced general recognized the potential of a city built on the hill of Samaria. It would certainly prove a tough nut to crack.
• 3). That he wanted a city where he could introduce his own ideas of worship along Canaanite ideas. This would explain why he was wicked above all who were before him.
• 4). That he wanted a city more open to the trade routes with Tyre and Sidon.
• 5). That he wanted a city around which all Israel could rally without it reminding them of the past. They would see it as ‘Omri’s city’.
27 Now the rest of the acts of Omri which he did, and the might that he showed, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 28 So Omri rested with his fathers and was buried in Samaria. Then Ahab his son reigned in his place. 29 In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab the son of Omri became king over Israel; and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty-two years.
Omri added to the confusion towards true worship of the God of Israel Yahweh, and that in this regard he was worse than ‘all who were before him’ including Jeroboam. Just as Jerusalem was the center for the worship of YHWH, so Samaria became the center for the worship of Baal.
The account of Ahab’s reign commences with an initial summary of his reign indicating its corruption in the eyes of YHWH. In this summary it is made clear that Ahab ‘did what was evil in the eyes of YHWH above all who were before him’, and this is expanded by reference not only to following in the sins of Jeroboam with his watered down worship of Yahweh, but also to his willingness on behalf of his wife Jezebel to encourage the distinctive worship of Baal.
29 In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab the son of Omri became king over Israel; and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty-two years.
Ahab came to the throne in the thirty eighth year of Asa of Judah and reigned over Israel in Samaria for twenty- two years. The name Ahab means ‘brother-father’, or ‘Abba is my brother’.
30 Now Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD, more than all who were before him.
Ahab sank to a depth that none other had before him. Ahab, heavily under the influence of his wife Jezebel, sought to introduce pure Baalism and thus oust the Loving God Yahweh Who had brought the Israelites out of Egypt.
31 And it came to pass, as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians; and he went and served Baal and worshiped him.
Ahab had married Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal the king of the Sidonians (i.e. of Tyre), and under the influence of his wife sought to dispense with Yahweh God altogether as far as the court were concerned, for he ‘went and served Baal and worshipped him’.
This was not just a contest about two different perceptions of the living God. It was a battle to decide whether men would look to the God of creation, who was concerned for men, and required them to walk righteously before Him, and called them to account when they fell short, or would look to the forces of nature, which they could manipulate and turn to their own advantage, while living as immorally as they liked. Baalism was a nature religion. Baal represented the source of storm and rain, and the crude openly sexual ‘worship’ was with a view to persuading him and his consort Asherah to make the land fruitful and supply plentiful rain. The people of Israel had cause to be aware of what the lack of rain did. Every hot summer everything around them would die, apart from what was artificially watered. But then the rains came, and life sprang up everywhere. They saw in this the results of the activity of the gods. And their aim was to stimulate these gods into action by incorporating their warped way of religious worship.
Ahab’s marriage to Jezebel was clearly a political one, sealing a treaty between Israel and Tyre, securing for Israel a market for their agricultural produce and their olive oil, and for Tyre the supply of these products on a permanent and lasting basis. But there is no doubt that Ahab was enamored of his wife, and deeply influenced by her and her worship of Baal.
Ethbaal is probably a transliteration of ‘Itto-baal’ (Baal is alive) based on the cry to Baal, ‘Baal the Mighty is alive, the Prince, Lord of the earth exists’, which occurred each year when Baal was coming back to life as the crops began to grow and the trees became fruitful. Eth-baal was king of Tyre and its surrounding area.
32 Then he set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal, which he had built in Samaria.
Ahab raised up an altar to Baal in a temple which he built for Baal in Samaria. This may have been as a temple for his wife to worship in, but it would seem to many as though Baalism was now launched as the official religion of the king, and all those who wanted to please him served Baal. Samaria had become the center for Baal worship, just as Jerusalem was the center for YHWH worship.
Ahab, however, continued also to recognize YHWH as is apparent from the names of his sons. He found himself on the horns of a dilemma. On the one hand was Yahwism, his ancestral religion (as distorted by Jeroboam), of which he was king-priest as Jeroboam had been, and on the other was the influence of his wife (again it was the curse of foreign princesses as it had been with Solomon). Unlike Jezebel Ahab appears to have been torn between the two. The kingdom of Israel can therefore be being split into three groups, with Ahab hovering between them, those who worshipped God truly under the guidance of the prophets, those who worshipped God in a half-hearted and diluted way in the sanctuaries set up by Jeroboam, and those who were whole-hearted for Baal. We learn later that his wife Jezebel recognized this, and instituted a persecution of the prophets of YHWH, seeking to have them all put to death (18.13). Things were getting very serious.
33 And Ahab made a wooden image. Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him.
Ahab also made the Asherah-images, which were symbols of the goddess Asherah/Ashterah who was a consort to Baal, and these were set up along with the pillars and images of Baal. Thus, Ahab provoked YHWH to righteous anger more than any other king before him.
34 In his days Hiel of Bethel built Jericho. He laid its foundation with Abiram his firstborn, and with his youngest son Segub he set up its gates, according to the word of the LORD, which He had spoken through Joshua the son of Nun.
The depths to which things had fallen in Israel came out in that a man who wanted to rebuild Jericho felt that he could reverse Joshua’s curse by sacrificing his two sons, presumably to Baal, knowing that no one would do anything about it. Things were at a very low ebb.
In Joshua 7.26 Joshua gave this charge after the destruction of Jericho - “cursed be the man before YHWH who rises up and builds this city Jericho. With the loss of his firstborn will he lay its foundation, and with the loss of his youngest son will he set up its gates.” It was on this basis that Hiel, probably stirred by religious fervor for Baal, behaved as he did. There are several theories about this. Some have argued that all it meant was that his sons died because of accidents during the building. But that is unlikely, simply because the curse was taken seriously, and no father would under those conditions have allowed his sons to be involved in the building of the city, and especially not after he lost the first. Besides the reason for mentioning the incident here was to bring out the depths to which Israel had sunk under Ahab.
It should be noted that Joshua’s purpose had not been to encourage such a situation (i.e. the sacrifice of two sons, which to him would have been a horrific thought). His aim had been to prevent the rebuilding of Jericho at all, and he had succeeded in that while the hill of Jericho had been at times inhabited, it had never again become a walled city.
