1 Kings 16:21-28--Omri Reigns in Israel

1 Kings 16:21-28
English Standard Version

Omri Reigns in Israel
21 Then the people of Israel were divided into two parts. Half of the people followed Tibni the son of Ginath, to make him king, and half followed Omri. 22 But the people who followed Omri overcame the people who followed Tibni the son of Ginath. So Tibni died, and Omri became king. 23 In the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah, Omri began to reign over Israel, and he reigned for twelve years; six years he reigned in Tirzah. 24 He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver, and he fortified the hill and called the name of the city that he built Samaria, after the name of Shemer, the owner of the hill.

25 Omri did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and did more evil than all who were before him. 26 For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in the sins that he made Israel to sin, provoking the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger by their idols. 27 Now the rest of the acts of Omri that he did, and the might that he showed, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 28 And Omri slept with his fathers and was buried in Samaria, and Ahab his son reigned in his place.

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There is no clear successor after the death of Zimri.  Even though it was Omri who overthrew Zimri, another faction of the people wanted to anoint another man named Tibni, son of Ginath, as their king.  Omri's supporters were able to overcome the supporters of Tibni put Tibni to death so that Omri became king over Israel.  This occurred in the thirty-first year of King Asa (just look at how many bad kings Israel has gone through during the reign of one good king in Judah).  The LORD allowed Omni to reign for 12 years.  His first six years, he reigned in Tirzah (the old capital), but then he bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver and he fortified the hill and called the name of the city that he built Samaria after the name of Shemer, the owner of the hill.  This will be the capital city of Israel moving forward until they are taken away into captivity by the Assyrians.

Now Omri was more wicked than all the previous kings of Israel put together.  Yes, he walked in the ways of Jeroboam the son of Nebat and made Israel to sin and provoked the LORD just like the kings before him had done, but there is much more that Omri did to upset the LORD.  We don't read about it here, but are told we can read about them in the Book of Chronicles.  We get some indication of what kind of person he was though by looking at his son who took the throne after him, the wicked King Ahab.  I know it's not totally fair to judge a father by the acts of his son or a son by the acts of his father, but Omri failed in his first duty as a father--to teach his son to fear God and keep His commandments.  The [rotten] apple of King Ahab did not fall too far from the tree, and I think it's fair to say that Ahab will be more wicked than all the kings before him, including his father.

Omri died and was buried in Samaria, the new capital city that he had built.  As I just mentioned, his son Ahab ruled in his place.  Pretty much everything up to this point is going to feel like it has bene introduction and laying the groundwork for how wicked Israel got so quickly and why a prophet like Elijah needed to be sent to them.  Hopefully we have some sense of the wickedness that accompanies paganism and idolatry, and get the idea that the northern ten tribes are at this point indistinguishable from their wicked, pagan neighbors.  If God used them to judge the Canaanites, then He is about to have to use some other nation (and there is no righteous nation around, so he will use a pagan nation) to judge the nation of Israel who is as bad or worse than the Canaanites at this point.  God however will send his prophets to call His people back to repentance.