Daily Bible Reading: 1 Kings 16

God told Jehu to tell Baasha that his house would meet the same fate as Jeroboam’s, for the same reason.

When Baasha died, his son, Elah reigned in his place. Asa had been king over Judah for 26 years when Elah began to reign in Israel.

Zimri, and half of Elah’s chariot drivers began to conspire against him. He killed Elah, and began reigning over Israel in the twenty-seventh year of King Asa of Judah. Zimri left none of Elah’s house alive. He killed them all.

Zimri reigned for one week when word got out that he had killed the king and his household. So Israel made Omri king, and Omri went after Zimri. So Zimri burned down the king’s house with himself inside, committing suicide.

Then there was a civil war. Some of Israel liked Tibni as king, and some wanted to keep Omri. So they fought, and Tibni died and Omri reigned.

Omri bought a hill for two talents of gold and named it Samaria. Omri did worse in the eyes of the Lord than any of his predecessors. Then he died, and Ahab, his son, ruled in his place.

Ahab was even more evil than Omri. He married a woman named Jezebel, and he went and worshipped Baal. He did more to provoke God's anger than anyone.

In his days, Hiel the Bethelite rebuilt Jericho.

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A wise man once said that those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. You can tell a non-believer what God is going to do, and when He does it, the non-believer will still not believe it. In Matthew 13:15 it says:


For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

It is simply out of spite that most people refuse to come to God, humble themselves before Him, and repent and ask for forgiveness. Only spite could turn away such blessings, such love.

Daily Bible Reading: 1 Kings 15

Jeroboam had been ruling for eighteen years when Abijam took the throne in Judah. Abijam and Jeroboam warred. Then, Abijam died after only being on the throne for two years, and his son Asa took his place.

Asa followed God. He cleansed the land of the sodomites (homosexuals) and took down all the idols of the land that his father put up. He even removed his mother Maachah from being queen because she built an idol in the grove. He tore down her idol and burnt it. He didn't remove the altars, but God found no fault in Asa all his life. Asa and Baasha, king of Israel, warred throughout his reign.

Baasha developed the city of Ramah and would not let Asa (or any from Judah) go out or come into the city. Asa sent all of the treasures of the House of God to Benhadad, the grandson of the King of Syria, who lived in Damascus, and said, "There has always been good relationship with me and you, and my father and yours, and I need you to break your treaty with the King of Israel so he will leave me alone." Benhadad did, and he attacked some of the cities in Israel. When Baasha found out why, he quit his work in Ramah and went to live in Tirzah. So Asa took all the materials Baasha was using to build in Ramah and used it to build Geba and Mizpah.

When Asa was old, he was diseased in his feet. (Maybe he had gout?) When he died, Jehoshophat ruled in his place.

Nadab, son of Jeroboam, ruled Israel two years after Asa took the throne. He did evil in the sight of God. Baasha had killed him, which is how he became king in Israel. He destroyed everyone that lived in the house of Jeroboam, as the prophet had predicted.

But Baasha also did as Jeroboam did and did not walk in the way of the Lord.

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God doesn't talk just to hear Himself speak. Asa's family inherited the throne because Asa walked in God's ways. But Jeroboam did not and was annhilated. Then Baasha turned around and did the same thing. Will Baasha be destroyed, too? We will have to read more to find out!

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