1 Kings 16

1 Kings 16:3

BAASHA’S DEATH, AND THE REIGNS OF ELAH AND ZIMRIBaasha reigned longer than any other king in the north up to this point. He reigned for twenty-four years. But we are told that this man is to be put down because he did evil. The word of the Lord against Baasha came through Jehu: This was a sad period in the life of the king. Because Baasha chose to share in the sins of the house of Jeroboam, he would also share in the severe penalty, even to the point of being devoured by dogs.

1 Kings 16:6

Elah had not reigned but two years until Zimri his captain conspired and led a rebellion against him:

1 Kings 16:9

When Elah got drunk, Zimri went in and killed him. It seems that because of the conspirators in the northern kingdom no man was really safe. After Zimri killed Elah, he began to reign. However, Zimri did not last very long eitheronly seven days.

1 Kings 16:15

Another conspiracy and another rebellion got rid of Zimri.

1 Kings 16:21

TIBNI AND OMRI ARE RIVAL KINGS OF ISRAELAfter Omri’s conspiracy succeeded in establishing him as king, another problem arose. A rival of Omri’s also claimed to be kinghis name was Tibni. Omri put Tibni to death, and then Omri reigned. He ruled for twelve years. He was a bad king and exceeded the other kings in his evil deeds.

1 Kings 16:28

ACCESSION OF AHAB; HIS MARRIAGE TO JEZEBELOmri is succeeded by his son Ahab. Omri had been the most corrupt ruler up to that time, but his son Ahab exceeded him in evil.

1 Kings 16:30

Omri is succeeded by his son Ahab. Omri had been the most corrupt ruler up to that time, but his son Ahab exceeded him in evil.

1 Kings 16:31

Ahab was evil, and he had a wife that helped him with his evil ways. She was a real helpmeet in the area of evil. What Ahab didn’t think of, Jezebel did. What she didn’t think of nobody else couldshe was a mean woman. The combination of Ahab and Jezebel was the worst possible. You can be sure that Mr. and Mrs.

Haman were bad. Herod and Herodias were evil enough. And we know of Ptolemy Dionysius and Cleopatrathey were quite a couple. Philip I of Spain and Bloody Mary also did pretty well together. These are four of the most infamous couples in history. In particular there were also several couples where the wife was dominant in diabolical designs.

For example, there was Catherine de’Medici and Henry II of France; Lucrezia Borgia (she was the daughter of a pope) and Alfonso; Macbeth and Lady Macbeth; Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette of France; and finally, coming down to our day, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. All of these are couples who stand out on the pages of history as being evil, but none can exceed Ahab and Jezebelthey head the list. Jezebel was the daughter of a king who was also a priest of Baal and who murdered his brother. It is interesting to note that the name Jezebel means “unmarried” or “without cohabitation.” In other words, the marriage of Ahab and Jezebel was not a romanceit was not a love match. Rather than a true marriage, it was just a wedding. Apparently there had never been a real meeting of these two people in a love relationship. She was a masculine woman with strong intellectual powers and a fierce passion for evil. She was strong-willed and possessed a dominant personality, but she had no moral sense. She was hardened into insensibility. She was unscrupulous and the most wicked person in historybar none. In the Book of Revelation, our Lord gave a message to the church of Thyatira: “Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols” (Rev_2:20). Jezebel was a dominating and domineering woman. Christ gave this message to Thyatira because it was a period without natural affectionit was a picture of Jezebel. How did Jezebel and Ahab ever get together? I think it was quite easy. For years I went to young people’s conferences. It was quite interesting how there could be a boy who was a bad apple and a girl who was a bad egg, and for some strange reason the bad apple and the bad egg always got together and started dating. It always happened that way, and that is the way it was with Ahab and Jezebel. Something else happened during this period which reveals how ominous and critical those days were:

1 Kings 16:32

At the time of the destruction of Jericho, Joshua said, “…Cursed be the man before the LORD, that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho …” (Jos_6:26). It had not been rebuilt until the time of Ahab and Jezebel, and the curse that was pronounced by Joshua came upon the builder, Hiel.