Baasha had the opportunity to begin a new page for Israel. He wasn’t a descendent of Jeroboam and he was appointed by God to wipe out that line of rebellion. He could have turned things around for himself and, as king, for the whole nation of Israel. Instead, he followed the bad example of his predecessors and rebelled against God. So, he died and his son became king.
Elah son of Baasha began to rule over Israel in the twenty-sixth year of King Asa's reign in Judah. He reigned in the city of Tirzah for two years. Then Zimri, who commanded half of the royal chariots, made plans to kill him. One day in Tirzah, Elah was getting drunk at the home of Arza, the supervisor of the palace. Zimri walked in and struck him down and killed him. This happened in the twenty-seventh year of King Asa's reign in Judah. Then Zimri became the next king. (1 Kings 16:8-10 NLT)
Elah paid for the sins of his father. He only reigned as king for two years before he was assassinated. Baasha didn’t just hurt himself. He hurt his son as well.
Zimri immediately killed the entire royal family of Baasha, leaving him not even a single male child. He even destroyed distant relatives and friends. So Zimri destroyed the dynasty of Baasha as the LORD had promised through the prophet Jehu. This happened because of all the sins Baasha and his son Elah had committed, and because of the sins they led Israel to commit. They provoked the anger of the LORD, the God of Israel, with their worthless idols.
(1 Kings 16:11-13 NLT)
When we “hit” ourselves by fighting God through sin, we don’t just hurt ourselves. We hurt our children as well. We teach them to rebel against God just like we are doing. Rebellion against God never goes well for us. It will not go well for our children either. We need to stop hurting our children.
How about you? Do you rebel against God? Do you teach your children to do the same? Do you pass this rebellion down from generation to generation? Are you hurting your children? Stop hurting your children.
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