The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 67, King Omri Of Israel

In Monday's study we learned that a man named Zimri, who was commander of half of King Elah's chariots, assassinated Elah and assumed the throne in his place. He then ordered all of Elah's male family members slaughtered. Zimri likely had some supporters in the capital city of Tirzah since he was able to get away with as much as he did, but the army of Israel did not support him. They elected their commander, Omri, as king when they heard the news and they marched back to Tirzah from Gibbethah to lay siege to the palace.

Upon realizing he would not be able to keep hold of the throne, Zimri committed suicide by self-immolation. He set the palace on fire around him and perished in the blaze.

Now Omri is king of Israel but he is not unopposed. "Then the people of Israel were split into two factions; half supported Tibni son of Ginath for king, and the other half supported Omri." (1 Kings 16:21) We don't know who Tibni was or why he was popular with half of the people. The historian Josephus states that a civil war ensued due to this division, though the Bible doesn't provide us with that information. I think we can safely assume that the division did result in a military conflict that culminated in the death of Tibni and the defeat of his followers, for the Bible says, "But Omri's followers proved stronger than those of Tibni son of Ginath. So Tibni died and Omri remained king." (1 Kings 16:22) I think Tibni either died in battle or was executed for treason.

The division in the nation took several years to resolve. In yesterday's text we were told that Zimri became king in the twenty-seventh year of King Asa of Judah. Since his reign lasted only a week, this means that Omri was declared king of Israel during the twenty-seventh year of King Asa of Judah. But he does not reign unopposed until the thirty-first year of King Asa of Judah, according to this next verse. "In the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah, Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned twelve years, six of them in Tirzah." (1 Kings 16:23) 

Asa will reign for a total of forty-one years, so he still has ten years to go when Omri becomes king in Israel. It's important for us to note the contrast between the political stability of the kingdom of Judah during this time and the political instability of the kingdom of Israel. The political stability of Judah is a direct result of the religious reforms made by Asa and his refusal to take part in any form of idolatry. The political instability of Israel is a direct result of the idolatry taking place in the nation. I don't believe all the people are following the state-sponsored religion instituted by King Jeroboam but a large majority of them probably are. The kings are engaging in this idolatrous religion, from King Jeroboam on down to Omri, who the Bible will tell us is a worse sinner than the kings before him.

He reigns in Tirzah for six years but we do not know whether he reigned from the palace (which may have undergone restorations after sustaining fire damage) or whether he reigned from his own home or from some other structure. But after his first six years as king he moves the capital of Israel from Tirzah to a city he will call by the name of Samaria. "He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver and built a city on the hill, calling it Samaria, after Shemer, the name of the former owner of the hill." (1 Kings 16:24) From now on in the Old Testament this will be the capital of the northern kingdom. This is where the word "Samaritan" comes from, such as in the New Testament parable of "the good Samaritan". The man in Jesus' parable was from Samaria.

"But Omri did evil in the eyes of the Lord and sinned more than all those before him. He followed completely the ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat, committing the same sin Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit, so that they aroused the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, by their worthless idols." (1 Kings 16:25-26) King Jeroboam instituted a state religion primarily as a means of controlling his people. Setting up the golden calves and encouraging the people to worship at those locations rather than at Jerusalem was a means of keeping his people from going into the kingdom of Judah and perhaps transferring their loyalties away from him. We don't know how much he believed in his own religion or whether he really believed in much of anything at all. But his actions caused his people to be unfaithful to the Lord. Many of them wholeheartedly fell into idolatry because of the temptation into which he led them. Omri is not serving idols only to keep the people in line with the state religion; he is a person who has given himself up to idolatry. When the author of 1 Kings tells us he "sinned more than all those before him" and that he "followed completely" the religion instituted by Jeroboam, we know he is one hundred percent committed to idolatry. His enthusiasm for it has a great deal of influence on his people. I believe that during his reign there are more people than ever before who are worshiping false gods.

Omri reigns for twelve years and apparently dies a natural death. "As for the other events of Omri's reign, what he did and the things he achieved, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel? Omri rested with his ancestors and was buried in Samaria. And Ahab his son succeeded him as king." (1 Kings 16:27-28) We don't know Omri's age at death since we don't know how old he was when he became king. Considering he was commander of the army before he became king, he was likely middle aged or beyond when his soldiers declared him king of Israel. He had to have been a very experienced soldier to have been put in command of the army, so my guess is that he may have been at least forty when he began to reign in Israel. Still, if he was forty at his coronation then he was only fifty-two when he died. That's not an old age. (I'm fifty-two and I still think of myself as being in the prime of life although some days my lower back and my left knee say otherwise!) Twelve years is not a particularly long reign either. His death, though it may have been from a natural cause, was quite possibly a judgment of the Lord for his sins. 

But Omni's sins have already done a lot of damage. They've done a lot of damage to the people of his nation and they've done a lot of damage to his successor. His son Ahab, who was brought up in idolatry, will be the most wicked king of Israel so far---indeed, one of the most wicked kings Israel ever had.