1Ki 16:28-34 | KingComments | STEP | Omri is not immediately ruler over all of Israel. There is a part of Israel that is following Tibni, possibly a peaceful man. Omri prevails over the people who followed Tibni. Tibni probably died a natural death. When he is dead, the people who follow Tibni are without a leader and have to submit to Omri and the people who chose him. Omri becomes king. He builds the city of Samaria and settles there. With Omri a period begins that leads to an even worse low point. It says of him that he makes it worse than all who have been before him ( ). He has not only maintained idolatry, but has commanded it. He has connected statutes to it for the whole people and thereby made idolatry obligatory for the whole people ( ). It is exactly what we find in the letter to the church in Thyatira ( ), which prophetically refers to the roman-catholic church, which also imposes her statutes on the people.

‏ 1 Kings 16:28-34

Omri King Over Israel

Omri is not immediately ruler over all of Israel. There is a part of Israel that is following Tibni, possibly a peaceful man. Omri prevails over the people who followed Tibni. Tibni probably died a natural death. When he is dead, the people who follow Tibni are without a leader and have to submit to Omri and the people who chose him. Omri becomes king. He builds the city of Samaria and settles there.

With Omri a period begins that leads to an even worse low point. It says of him that he makes it worse than all who have been before him (1Kgs 16:25). He has not only maintained idolatry, but has commanded it. He has connected statutes to it for the whole people and thereby made idolatry obligatory for the whole people (Mic 6:16a). It is exactly what we find in the letter to the church in Thyatira (Rev 2:20), which prophetically refers to the roman-catholic church, which also imposes her statutes on the people.

Ahab Becomes King Over Israel

After Omri’s death, his son Ahab becomes king. The period that started with Omri is developing rapidly in an even worse direction. Ahab is even worse than his father. He leads the people to an absolute low point in their history. The sin of Jeroboam fades with what this man performs by what he introduces in the midst of the people of God. He marries the full-blown idolatress Jezebel. This woman guarantees that from that moment on Baal will become the official god of Israel. Ahab builds a house and an altar for Baal. What an abominable insult to the God of Israel. This is worse than anything that has happened before.

Jericho Rebuilt

The government of Ahab over Israel, or perhaps better the government of Jezebel over Israel, is possible because king and people have put God’s Word aside. The last verse of this chapter makes this clear. Someone from Bethel (= house of God), Hiel (= God lives), is so audacious to defy the word spoken by God five centuries before and to rebuild Jericho as a fortress city (Jos 6:26). The city itself has been inhabited for some time.

Although man may have forgotten what God said, God does not forget what He said. He does do what He has said. When the man has laid the foundations of Jericho, his eldest son dies. However, there does not ring a bell. Tirelessly he continues to work on the execution of the curse. When he has set up the gates, his youngest son also dies. Still there is no memory of what God once said. For anyone who wants to be faithful to God’s Word, there is a warning and encouragement in what is happening here: God makes His Word come true, both in judgment and in blessing.

The five kings of this chapter show a descending line. The cause is forgetting God, not taking into account what He has said.