1 Kings 16:1-7 (CLICK HERE FOR BIBLE VERSES)
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is 1 Kings 16:1-7. As usual, I encourage you to open your Bible and read the passage yourself first. See what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help. Then read the GAME sharing below. Let’s go!
1 Kings 16:1-7 (NIV)
1 Then the word of the LORD came to Jehu son of Hanani against Baasha:
2 “I lifted you up from the dust and made you leader of my people Israel, but you walked in the ways of Jeroboam and caused my people Israel to sin and to provoke me to anger by their sins.
3 So I am about to consume Baasha and his house, and I will make your house like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat.
4 Dogs will eat those belonging to Baasha who die in the city, and the birds of the air will feed on those who die in the country.”
5 As for the other events of Baasha’s reign, what he did and his achievements, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?
6 Baasha rested with his fathers and was buried in Tirzah. And Elah his son succeeded him as king.
7 Moreover, the word of the LORD came through the prophet Jehu son of Hanani to Baasha and his house, because of all the evil he had done in the eyes of the LORD, provoking him to anger by the things he did, and becoming like the house of Jeroboam–and also because he destroyed it.
On verses 1-7: Because King Jeroboam had turned away from the Lord to worship idols of his own making and led Israel to do the same, God sent a prophet to say that one day the kingship would be stripped from Jeroboam’s family and his family would be eradicated (1 Kings 14:9-11). In 1 Kings 15, Baasha is the one who kills Jeroboam’s entire family and takes over the throne. Yet soon after Baasha becomes the new king Baasha commits the very same sins Jeroboam committed. Following in Jeroboam’s footsteps, Baasha worships idols and causes the Israelites to do the same. Failing to learn from the mistakes of his predecessors, Baasha receives a message from God through the prophet Jehu: just like God wiped out the house of Jeroboam for their sins, God would also wipe Baasha and his house (v3-4).
What can we learn from this?
1. No matter how different we might think we are compared to the previous generation, from time to time we will be tempted to repeat the same mistakes that our predecessors have made. So we must be extra vigilant and careful not to repeat those mistakes, and ask God for help in this area.
2. When it comes to sin, God does not show favouritism. Baasha was the instrument God ended up using to fulfill His promise against the house of Jeroboam, but when Baasha himself had fallen into the same sins as Jeroboam, Baasha would suffer the same fate as Jeroboam as well.
3. Like Baasha, all of us have worshiped idols of our own making and deserve to be cut off from God’s presence. However, praise God that in His love and mercy God sent Jesus Christ to die for our sins and to be our Saviour, so that our sins can be forgiven and we can be reconciled to God.
Father, since no one is perfect other than You, I pray that we would be extra aware of what mistakes were committed by the generations that went before us. Give us wisdom to guard our hearts so that we would not repeat those same mistakes. Thank You for Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross so that we can be forgiven. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
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