Zimri had murdered King Elah. He also killed off all of the remaining family of Baasha. The people didn’t want a murderer as their king, so they conspired against him and made Omri, the army commander, king. And so, Zimri lasted only seven days before he committed suicide in his palace. He died not because of the conspiracy against him, but because of the sins he had committed against the Lord. Omri was a strong king and built the city of Samaria. However, he too sinned against the Lord. He did more evil in the sight of the Lord than all the other kings had done before him. So he died too.

After Omri died, his son Ahab became king in Israel. Ahab did even more evil than Omri had done. Sin builds up and becomes a completely destructive force, just like a tiny snowball rolled down a mountain can become a massive boulder. Ahab continued to worship idols. He also married Jezebel, the daughter of a Sidonian king. During Ahab’s reign, Hiel rebuilt the city of Jericho. According to the Lord’s word, it was at the cost of his firstborn and youngest sons. Even when kings are invoking his anger, God is faithful to his word.
Application: Father, help us to repent our own idol worship and follow your ways.
One Word: God is always faithful to his word