Honor God before it’s too late.

But now the people of Israel were split into two factions. Half the people tried to make Tibni son of Ginath their king, while the other half supported Omri. But Omri's supporters defeated the supporters of Tibni. So Tibni was killed, and Omri became the next king. (1 Kings 16:21-22 NLT)

This week was difficult for me to prepare and to teach.  Often times there is a “negative” or “warning” portion of a set of Scriptures that we cover.  The flip side of the coin (hope, redemption, love), however, is usually there as well.  This week, though, we have noting but kings following bad examples and leading the people of Israel into worse and worse situations.

Omri began to rule over Israel in the thirty-first year of King Asa's reign in Judah. He reigned twelve years in all, six of them in Tirzah. Then Omri bought the hill now known as Samaria from its owner, Shemer, for 150 pounds of silver. He built a city on it and called the city Samaria in honor of Shemer. (1 Kings 16:23-24 NLT)

Even Omri begins to set up a new headquarters for the northern tribes: Samaria.  Samaria will be the new center for political power in the north.  Later, it will become the religious (worship) center as well.  How does Omri name the town?  He honor’s the guy who owned the land, when he could honor the God who created the land.  Omri doesn’t walk together with God.

But Omri did what was evil in the LORD's sight, even more than any of the kings before him. He followed the example of Jeroboam son of Nebat in all the sins he had committed and led Israel to commit. The people provoked the anger of the LORD, the God of Israel, with their worthless idols. (1 Kings 16:25-26 NLT)

More than that, Omri led the rest of the northern tribes (Israel) to walk away from God as well.  His legacy would be the town of Samaria and the fact that he “did what was evil in the LORD’s sigtht, even more than any of the kings before him.”

How about you?  Do you have negative trends that have come before you?  Do you continue to follow those negative trends and pass them down from generation to generation?  Or, will you turn things around and begin to honor God?  Will you honor God before it’s too late?

Stop hurting others.

When Baasha turned against God, it brought about his own death and loss of the kingdom.  It didn’t just affect, him.  His, Elah, son learned bad habits, rebelled against God, and lost the kingdom after reigning only two years.  But it didn’t just affect them.

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)

Their whole family paid the price for their sin.  If only it would have stopped with their family.  But it didn’t.

Zimri began to rule over Israel in the twenty-seventh year of King Asa's reign in Judah, but his reign in Tirzah lasted only seven days. The army of Israel was then attacking the Philistine town of Gibbethon. When they heard that Zimri had committed treason and had assassinated the king, that very day they chose Omri, commander of the army, as the new king of Israel. So Omri led the entire army of Israel up from Gibbethon to attack Tirzah, Israel's capital. When Zimri saw that the city had been taken, he went into the citadel of the palace and burned it down over himself and died in the flames. For he, too, had done what was evil in the LORD's sight. He followed the example of Jeroboam in all the sins he had committed and led Israel to commit. (1 Kings 16:15-19 NLT)

Evil begets evil.  Zimri followed in their pattern just like they followed in the pattern of Jeroboam.  Each one affected the next and all of them led the northern tribes of Israel to do the same.  All the evil that they did affected other people around them.  The same is true for us today.

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:21 NIV)

When we do evil, we influence others to do evil as well.  But we don’t have to follow the patterns passed down to us or surrounding us.  We can break the pattern.  We can effect positive change.  We can decide to stop hitting ourselves and help others to stop hitting themselves, too.  We can choose to overcome evil with good.

How about you?  Do you see patterns around you where evil begets more evil?  Have you been a part of that process?  Are you still a part of that process today?  Are you ready to break the negative cycle?  Are you ready to stop hitting yourself?  Are you ready to stop hurting yourself, your children, and others?

Stop hurting your children.

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.

Stop hurting yourself.

God wants what is best for us.  Jesus called it an “abundant” or “full” life (John 10:10).  When the LORD spoke with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Israel), they were promised a land “flowing with milk and honey” (Exodus 3:8).  Adam and Eve, the first people, were placed in the Garden of Eden with everything provided - including a sense of purpose (Genesis 2:4-25).  These provisions and promises, however, come with a choice.  God gives these things to us and then warns us that we can lose them.  We need to decide whether or not we will walk together with God (Genesis 2:16-17; Deuteronomy 6:3; Luke 6:23, 14:27).

This message from the LORD was delivered to King Baasha by the prophet Jehu son of Hanani: "I lifted you out of the dust to make you ruler of My people Israel, but you have followed the evil example of Jeroboam. You have provoked My anger by causing My people Israel to sin. So now I will destroy you…” (1 Kings 16:1-3 NLT)

Whether he didn’t see it or simply didn’t care is not the point.  Baasha did not receive these blessings from God as gifts.  He did not accept and enjoy the role of king.  He turned away from God and worshiped false gods.  The result was that he “hit” himself.  The result was that he hurt himself.

The rest of the events in Baasha's reign and the extent of his power are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Israel. When Baasha died, he was buried in Tirzah. Then his son Elah became the next king. (1 Kings 16:5-6 NLT)

How about you?  Do you see the “best” that God has in store for you?  Do you want the “abundant” and “full” life that Jesus offers to us?  Do you walk together with God or do you “hit” yourself?  Do you hurt yourself?

Stop fighting God.

This message from the LORD was delivered to King Baasha by the prophet Jehu son of Hanani: "I lifted you out of the dust to make you ruler of My people Israel, but you have followed the evil example of Jeroboam. You have provoked My anger by causing My people Israel to sin. So now I will destroy you and your family, just as I destroyed the descendants of Jeroboam son of Nebat. The members of Baasha's family who die in the city will be eaten by dogs, and those who die in the field will be eaten by vultures." (1 Kings 16:1-4 NLT)

This was a bad day for Baasha.  One minute he’s the king of Israel (the north) and the next minute he is condemned to death.  To make things worse, the message was a “special delivery” from God through a true prophet.

The message from the LORD against Baasha and his family came through the prophet Jehu son of Hanani. It was delivered because Baasha had done what was evil in the LORD's sight (just as the family of Jeroboam had done), and also because Baasha had destroyed the family of Jeroboam. The LORD's anger was provoked by Baasha's sins.  (1 Kings 16:7 NLT)

Really, though, Baasha’s bad days started long, long before this day.  Baasha’s bad days began when he purposefully ignored the Word of the LORD.  You see, Jehu wasn’t the first prophet of God to walk the face of the earth.  Many prophets came before him.  One of the most famous, Moses, gave us all kinds of revelation and instructions from the LORD, including the ten commandments, the Levitical law, and more.  Baasha had those messages from God long before this personal message through Jehu.  But, he ignored those messages and fought against God.  So, he had another bad day.  Things did not go well for Baasha.

How about you?  Have you taken the time to read God’s revelation and instructions through the prophets of the past?  Do you take what the LORD said to heart or do you just ignore what God says?  Do you have bad days because you fight against God?  Do you need to stop fighting God?

Stop following the wrong people.

Baasha killed Nadab in the third year of King Asa's reign in Judah, and he became the next king of Israel. He immediately slaughtered all the descendants of King Jeroboam, so that not one of the royal family was left, just as the LORD had promised concerning Jeroboam by the prophet Ahijah from Shiloh. This was done because Jeroboam had provoked the anger of the LORD, the God of Israel, by the sins he had committed and the sins he had led Israel to commit. (1 Kings 15:28-30 NLT)

Baasha did a good job with a tough calling.  The LORD wanted to have Nadab put to death for his rebellion against God and for his father’s rebellion against God.  The LORD sent a prophet to tell him that his entire family line would be stopped.  Baasha was given the responsibility by God to carry out this justice.

Baasha son of Ahijah began to rule over all Israel in the third year of King Asa's reign in Judah. Baasha reigned in Tirzah twenty-four years. But he did what was evil in the LORD's sight and followed the example of Jeroboam, continuing the sins that Jeroboam had led Israel to commit.  (1 Kings 15:33-34 NLT)

You would think that Baasha would understand the ramifications of going up against God.  He was, after all, the arm of the LORD against Jeroboam, Nadab, and his family.  But, he clearly did not learn from his actions.  He followed the same pattern that they did.  He did not walk with God.  Instead, he followed the example of people who were in rebellion against God.

How about you?  Have you ever hung out with the “wrong crowd”?  Did it affect your walk together with God?  Did it affect the way you treated people?  Do you need to stop following the wrong people?

Stop hitting yourself.

Have you ever played the ‘game,’ “Stop hitting yourself.”  I put it in quotes because it’s hard to call it a game.  One person grabs another person’s arm and swings it so that they hit themselves.  They they say, “Stop hitting yourself.  Stop hitting yourself. Stop hitting yourself,” over and over again as they swing the person’s hand to hit himself in the face.  It’s not really a game and, if you’ve ever been a part of the ‘game,’ it’s not really funny either.

Nadab son of Jeroboam began to rule over Israel in the second year of King Asa's reign in Judah. He reigned in Israel two years. But he did what was evil in the LORD's sight and followed the example of his father, continuing the sins that Jeroboam had led Israel to commit. (1 Kings 15:25-26 NLT)

That’s all I could think about when I read the passages of Scripture we were going to be covering this week.  Israel (the tribes of the north) are going to go through a series of kings that lead for relatively short periods of time.  Each of these kings are going to do “evil in the LORD’s sight.”  Each of them are going to bring more pain upon the northern tribes of Israel than the king before them.  These kings, and their followers, keep hitting themselves.  Only they are not being forced by another person moving their arms.

Then Baasha son of Ahijah, from the tribe of Issachar, plotted against Nadab and assassinated him while he and the Israelite army were laying siege to the Philistine town of Gibbethon. Baasha killed Nadab in the third year of King Asa's reign in Judah… (1 Kings 15:27-28 NLT)

How about you?  Do you see times in your life that you “hit yourself” and make things worse than they were before?  Do you blame others for “grabbing your arm” and making you hit yourself?  Do you sometimes “hit yourself” without help from anyone else?  Are you doing it now?  Are you ready to stop hitting yourself?