Stupid KingsMinta

The Drunkard, the Fool, and a Hill 

After King Baasha came his son Elah, another short-stint king. We don’t know much about Elah; we don’t even know if he angered God or caused Israel to sin like his father. But one thing we do know: Elah was no teetotaler. The text makes special mention of Elah being murdered while "drinking himself drunk" (vs 9). This verse leaves us wondering whether King Elah maybe liked his parties too much.

Whatever the case, during his reign he blithely ignores the biblical warning that “it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to crave strong drink, lest they drink and forget what is decreed, depriving all the oppressed of justice” (Proverbs 31:4-5). His story leaves him with the not-so-sober epithet, "King Elah: The king who liked his drink". 

If Elah’s rule as king was short, that of his murderer, Zimri, was a mere breath: one week, to be exact. Assuming the Israeli postal system wasn’t lightning fast, the letter to his parents informing them of his new position would have been old news by the time it reached them. He did have time, however, to murder all of Baasha’s family. Oh... and also Baasha’s friends. 

Maybe all the chariot riding went to his head, but if a vital element of any effective coup is that the military is with you, Zimri somehow missed this part. Enter Omri, the actual commander of the army. Omri comes with all of Israel to dethrone Zimri who, realizing he has no escape, simply burns the palace down over himself. To summarize the rule of Zimri: failed-coup leader, murderer, arsonist, and self-immolator, all before Sunday. 

With Zimri burnt to the crisp, Omri eventually comes out on top of yet another power tussle. But the main point made about Omri is that in his 12 years of rule he does evil, more than all before him. What else about Omri? He buys a cheap hill and makes it into a city that becomes a heap of ruins within a century. This is the one recorded achievement of Omri.

Lessons: 

We are presented here with three evil, short-tenure kings. Even though their length of rule was not long, they were somehow able to fit in much sin against the Lord. Sin is basically their legacy. If we had asked King Omri what he would like the millions of people reading the Bible to know about him, it probably would not have been a short paragraph as to how he outshone his predecessors in evil. At the very least, he would have wanted a list of his accomplishments. Over the course of the text, however, we see that one question alone really matters: Do these men follow God and do right, or do they rebel against God and do evil?

The phrase “did evil in the sight of the Lord” is used to describe most of Israel’s kings. For the few kings who did follow the Lord, the phrase “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord” is used. In all cases, it is the Lord's perspective and estimation that are deemed significant, not the king’s leadership accomplishments or expertise. 

Doing right before the Lord is not necessarily about doing big and outstanding things, nor is it just a matter for kings. Deuteronomy 6:18 states: "And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, that it may go well with you.” This command is for all of God’s people. Doing what is right before the Lord may not give us large accolades, but it holds great significance to God. 

Often, so much stands in the way of doing what is right. In the fourth chapter of Matthew, Satan takes Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple and goads him to throw himself down and let angels catch him. The temptation is to test God and show off Jesus’ status. One could make an argument that Jesus allowing himself to be caught by angels would have been another great miracle for the records. Perhaps there would have been many miracles that Jesus was tempted to perform that would have demonstrated God’s great power. But Jesus did only what the Father told him. He did not succumb to the temptation to put power on show. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. 

In the decisions that we take, does doing right before the Lord take precedence? When faced with temptations to do wrong before God, Jesus is the example we look to. Following his will and word will be our real legacy. 

Prayer:

Father, I can easily make my accomplishments, even for you, the most important part of my relationship with you. Deep down, I desire your love and closeness more than anything else. When it comes to my tasks, help me to make right decisions, even if they are small, thankless, or difficult, so that I may do right in your eyes. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Limerick:

There once were three kings

Of whom God’s good word sings: 

“They did evil before the Lord

Which was their whole record” 

Hopefully, to give us awakenings!