Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Zimri

Would you like to read James McNaught’s novel Sinking Sand”? click here: Sinking Sand
(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
1 Kings 16:1–14, “Then the word of the LORD came to Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasha, saying, Forasmuch as I exalted thee out of the dust, and made thee prince over my people Israel; and thou hast walked in the way of Jeroboam, and hast made my people Israel to sin, to provoke me to anger with their sins; Behold, I will take away the posterity of Baasha, and the posterity of his house; and will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. Him that dieth of Baasha in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth of his in the fields shall the fowls of the air eat. Now the rest of the acts of Baasha, and what he did, and his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? So Baasha slept with his fathers, and was buried in Tirzah: and Elah his son reigned in his stead. And also by the hand of the prophet Jehu the son of Hanani came the word of the LORD against Baasha, and against his house, even for 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 him. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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, 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. 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?”

The Lord established a pattern that was true of the entire kingdom period during the reigns of both Saul and David. When these men sinned the Lord sent prophets to tell them that they had sinned and to warn them of the consequences. Saul refused to listen to the Lord’s warning when Samuel told him of his sin and he lost the crown to David. David sinned, Nathan came told him of his sin. David repented and the Lord forgave him because he trusted in the Lord’s mercy. When Solomon sinned, he was warned by a prophet, didn’t repent and most of the kingdom was taken away from his son. However, the Lord remembered David and allowed his grandson to keep part of the kingdom. When Rehoboam established the northern kingdom, he sinned against the Lord and taught Israel to worship strange gods. His dynasty failed and was replaced. This happened a second time and the sad history continued. However, the Lord didn’t lose His integrity and He continued to send warnings before He acted in judgment. Baasha and his family were completely destroyed because they failed to take the warning of history and the personal warning the Lord sent as well. Elah, Baasha’s son took the kingdom and he was replaced by Zimri, who made sure that any of his descendants who may try to regain the throne were killed.

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