Stupid KingsSample

Baasha’s Buffoonery

When King Jeroboam died, his son Nadab came to the throne. In this case, the apple did not fall far from the evil-father tree. Nadab ruled for only two years, but that time was long enough for him to follow his father down the highway of folly. 

While Nadab was fighting to reclaim Promised Land territory from the Philistines, a man named Baasha rose out of obscurity to fulfill God’s promise to destroy the house of Jeroboam. Baasha first butchers Nadab, then swiftly murders the whole family of Jeroboam. The family line is gone. Hopefully now Israel will have a wise king ruling, right? Not so fast.

For someone with such a murderous penchant against Jeroboam, Baasha emulates him remarkably well. He comes from no royal lineage, commits the same sins, and fights a similar bunch of mostly unsuccessful wars. He even angers God enough to be given the special guarantee, through the prophet Jehu, that he and his family's bodies will be eaten by dogs and birds. Read on and the promise comes to pass through his son Elah. His dynasty is pretty much the same as Jeroboam’s: he reigns in evil for many years, then his son takes over and after two years is murdered by another king wannabe. 

Lesson:

The slain families of Jeroboam and Baasha gave wild animals sustenance, but how can they provide us with spiritual sustenance? A theme emerges from the kings of Israel: When sin and evil run wild, God, in his time, intervenes with judgment declared through a prophet. Such an intervention is seen in the case of Saul, and even David was prophetically accosted for his murder and affair involving Bathsheba.

The difference in the case of David, however, is that when rebuked by the prophet Nathan, David acknowledged his wrongdoing. He proclaimed, “I have sinned against the Lord”, and although his judgment came to pass, God relented and refrained from destroying David’s line. In the case of both Jeroboam and Baasha, no acknowledgment of sin or repentance took place. Perhaps God would have shown mercy on them had some form of penance occurred. 

The lack of repentance in Baasha shows that he neither feared God nor really knew God’s ways. He refused to take heed of God’s rebuke, and so the tragic prophecy came to pass. Proverbs 12:1 says, “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.” This statement summarizes King Baasha’s attitude. 

We don’t know for sure, but when confronted by his sin, Baasha was probably self-righteous and self-justified. Think of the last time someone confronted you over sin or folly. How did you respond? Did you prayerfully weigh the words, even if you disagreed? Did you get angry or try to justify yourself? Not all of us have a prophet declaring judgment over us, but perhaps we have friends who call us out when we go down the wrong path. Are we open to allowing such people to confront us?

May the Lord strengthen us to not respond like Baasha to his voice and to repent when we go away from his path.

Prayer: 

Lord, when I do wrong, give me the strength to repent and change course. When others correct me, help me to receive it in humility and, if it is from you, change. Teach me to discern between your voice and the other voices that swirl around me, so that I may make decisions that are pleasing to you. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Limerick:

There once was a king called Baasha

Who was King Jeroboam's line smasher

He sinned sans restraint

This man was no saint

God’s judgment was his party crasher