WORSE AND WORSE. 1st Kings 16 Even in the worst times, God has those through whom He speaks to His people. Warnings and instructions are often ignored when they disagree with the accepted practices and desires of those they are given. This is not new by any means. Prophets of old were repeatedly sent to warn the people, but they would not listen. Hanani, the father of Jehu the prophet, was a prophet himself who had been imprisoned for rebuking Asa. Jehu came from Judah to Israel with a warning message to Baasha that because of his evil leadership, his whole family would suffer the consequences, just like the family of Jeroboam.
There is a sad, dark pattern of events as each king of the northern tribes, Israel, came into the place of leadership. Because of Jeroboam's grievous sin in making the golden calves and setting up a worship center that was not of God, he died a violent death. His son Nadab sinned in the same way as his father and was soon killed by Baasha. Baasha continued the evil pattern, and his whole family was cut off. His son, Elah, was king for two years when he was killed by Zimri when he was drunk while his army was laying siege against a Philistine city. Zimri, a leader in the military, took over as king and eliminated all the family of Baasha and his friends. Zimri died by suicide when he burned the palace with him in it. Omri, "captain of the host," was the one from whom Zimri fled when he committed suicide. He was even worse than the leaders before him. Ahab, his son, was even worse than his father.
The downward course of evil does not level off at some acceptable place and time, but historically and practically, it is not stopped until a nation is no more. Rome is another example of what unchecked evil in leadership can do to the population at the time and the nation as a whole. Modern-day nations follow the same path, and now this nation is doing the same thing. Families and churches will also disintegrate when those leading set the wrong example. In a family, a father has about fifteen years to set the course of his children. When they leave home, they usually practice some of what they have seen modeled in their early years. To that, they will add or take away practices of their own.
Shrewd, capable leaders can affect the outward practices of those who follow them, but their spiritual condition is seen and taught when they are open and consistent in their personal testimony of faith in God. All of the skills one may have learned do not change the heart. When a hard-hearted, cut-and-dried leader seeks to guide others, that attitude and the accompanying actions will usually be transmitted to those who take their place.
Ahab went beyond the worship of the golden calves and brought Baal into the "worship of the Lord." In an effort to please Jezebel, his wife, who had come from Phoenicia, bringing her false religion with her, he elevated Baal's worship to official status at the beginning of his reign as king over the northern tribes. Righteous, divine anger was aroused in the Lord God of Israel against those to whom He had been so gracious, longsuffering, and kind.
If any of the Lord's people of any time and place think they can do what they want, God will accept that they need to learn again that our God does not change. His standards remain; His character and His actions are always consistent with each other. No matter what people may do "in His name," unless it is consistent with God's word and His will, it is evil—and will eventually be dealt with by divine authority.
Samaria, the city Omri built to be his capital, gave him some military advantage because it was situated on a hill, making it easier to defend. Politically and religiously, it gave Omri and Ahab after him advantages, not because they cared about the nation's spiritual condition, but because it gave them a royal city with which the people could identify. It put the people farther from God's divine order and put more power into the hands of the king.
The momentum evil and self-will build is so great that death is the only way to stop its course. It may start in the leadership, but the whole nation is soon affected. Spiritual separation is followed by a declining moral order that claims the life of the nation, church, or family. We may think an edict or promise from God that happened so long ago it is of no importance now. All of God's promises are "Yea and Amen" and must be counted on to take place and be considered when we make decisions.
Under Ahab’s leadership, the lowest point in the degeneration of the spiritual life of the kings of Israel was reached. The sins of Ahab made the sins of Jeroboam look small and trivial by comparison. His marriage to Jezebel to seal the alliance made with Ethbaal, king of Tyre and Sidon, led to the widespread worship of Baal through the ten northern tribes of Israel. Ahab participated in worshipping this false deity. However, the meaning of the names of his sons indicates he wanted to mix the worship of Baal with the worship of God.
Similar syncretism is practiced today by those who want to unite what God has separated. The ecumenical movement has been successful in many religious groups by seeking to join those who believe in the infallible word of God with those who do not. Various humanitarian projects, “Christian unity” programs, and sometimes evangelism bring religious groups together without a clear message of salvation. These practices fail to define or even practice biblical Christianity and increase confusion, spiritual darkness, and rejection of the message of the Gospel. The powers of darkness are not satisfied with any spiritual light that lasts.
Ahab built a temple for Baal in Samaria and elevated Baal worship to become the official religion of the northern tribes. The departure from God continued and rapidly spread to rebuilding Jericho, the city of the curse. Five hundred years earlier, Joshua pronounced a curse on anyone who rebuilt Jericho into a fortified city. "According to the word of the Lord," this was done in defiance to the Lord, and Hiel's sons died, either in the construction work or as a sacrifice to Baal worship.
It doesn't go away once evil is compromised and allowed a permanent place in society, culture, and nation. The same is true in assemblies of God’s people. Turning away from revealed truth leads to departure in the hearts of the Lord’s people, and soon, there will be no defining difference between the children of God and the children of the devil.
We look around at our day's evil practices and attitudes and say, “It has gone too far; there is no way things can get worse than they already are.” But even though the deeds of many are evil every day, some evil thoughts and deeds go beyond description and are waiting for a time to become acts. We look back and remember dark days in history and think there is no way it can be worse than those. People then burned their children to idols, and they scorned the holy God. But now, in this country where I live, millions of children are killed before they’re born.
We look ahead and fear what the future will bring as a result of such heinous acts. We wonder if any worse evil will spring from man's heart. What will happen when sin becomes so light and accepted that reading the Bible and praying brings a fatal fight? We look within at our own hearts and find treachery and the danger of becoming like what we see around us. The only hope I have is to fix my eyes on Him, who, at the great cost of His own life, was my substitute for sin.
We look up to heaven and say, “O Lord, how long will it be until You come to take us to Your Father’s house?” The thought that the Lord could come today purifies my heart, as I think that any moment now, I will meet Him in the sky. We look into the Bible, and there are lessons to learn that keep us alert as we see the “signs of the times.” Sin has terrible wages that everyone who chooses to make light of things important to God will earn. It was better for those who took such a path in life if they were never born.