THE CONSEQUENCES OF EVIL RULE

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked ruler over a helpless people. A tyrannical ruler practices extortion, but one who hates ill-gotten gain will enjoy a long reign. 

By justice a king gives a country stability, but those who are greedy for bribes tear it down.

Proverbs 28:15-16, 29:4

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Go back to Old Testament history and the reign of the kings. All seemed pretty good after Saul as David and then Solomon provided Israel with quality leadership because they weren’t leading on their own but rather with the Lord’s direction. Things began shortly before Solomon’s death.

You’ll recall that Solomon had made Jeroboam one of his officials, placing him in charge of the labor forces of the tribe of Joseph. During the course of carrying out his duties, Jeroboam was met by a prophet named Ahijah who was bringing what had to be a surprising message from the Lord:

The two of them were alone out in the country, and Ahijah took hold of the new cloak he was wearing and tore it into twelve pieces. Then he said to Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces for yourself, for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘See, I am going to tear the kingdom out of Solomon’s hand and give you ten tribes. But for the sake of my servant David and the city of Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, he will have one tribe. I will do this because they have forsaken me and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Molek the god of the Ammonites, and have not walked in obedience to me, nor done what is right in my eyes, nor kept my decrees and laws as David, Solomon’s father, did.”

“‘But I will not take the whole kingdom out of Solomon’s hand; I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of David my servant, whom I chose and who obeyed my commands and decrees. I will take the kingdom from his son’s hands and give you ten tribes. I will give one tribe to his son so that David my servant may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to put my Name. However, as for you, I will take you, and you will rule over all that your heart desires; you will be king over Israel. If you do whatever I command you and walk in obedience to me and do what is right in my eyes by obeying my decrees and commands, as David my servant did, I will be with you. I will build you a dynasty as enduring as the one I built for David and will give Israel to you. I will humble David’s descendants because of this, but not forever.’”  1 Kings 11:29-39

Scripture tells us that Solomon would try and kill Jeroboam but to no avail as Jeroboam fled to Egypt and would remain there until Solomon’s death (1 Kings 11:40). God had spoken through His prophet and soon Israel, once united, would become divided with Jeroboam becoming ruler of Israel, having twelve tribes to rule over while Judah and Benjamin would be ruled over by Solomon’s son, Rehoboam (1 Kings 12).

Of interest, the division happened when Rehoboam chose to not seek the Lord’s wisdom when faced with a quandary. His father Solomon had not left popular with the people he had led who were complaining about the “heavy yoke” and “harsh labor” he had placed upon them. After sending the people of Israel away for three days, Rehoboam consulted with two groups of advisors. The elders urged him to listen to the needs of the people, saying that if Rehoboam did so, the people would want to serve him. Meanwhile, the young men who Rehoboam had grown up with told him to rebut the pleas of the people and let them know that he would reign harsher than Solomon (1 Kings 12). And so Israel and its twelve tribes broke away from Judah, just as the Lord had promised and appointed Jeroboam as their king. He would rule with the Lord’s blessing as long as he walked in obedience to the Lord’s commands and did right in His eyes (1 Kings 11:38).

Unfortunately, that’s not what took place as Jeroboam turned toward sin and wickedness, setting things in motion for a long stint of evil rulers over the northern kingdom of Israel.

Why do I mention this biblical history lesson today and what does it have to do with the Proverbs, the book I have been writing from for around eight months now? Look at these two verses in Chapter 28:

Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked ruler over a helpless people. A tyrannical ruler practices extortion, but one who hates ill-gotten gain will enjoy a long reign.  Proverbs 28:15-16

If a good ruler enjoys a long reign, then the opposite must be true for a wicked one. Go back to the matter of the first kings of the divided kingdom. You’ll find the following scriptural account of the eight evil kings of Israel that reigned during the time of one good king of Judah. Here’s the scorecard with associated scriptures:

Bad kings of Israel:

Jeroboam I - 930—909 BC

The first king of Israel after the divided kingdom knew that the people of Israel would be drawn back to Jerusalem and the “house of David” to “offer sacrifices at the temple of the Lord.” Once there, he feared they would “give their allegiance to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah” and then want to kill Jeroboam.

And so Jeroboam did something supremely evil in the eyes of the Lord. He had “two golden calves” made and presented them as the gods who had brought the people “out of Egypt.” He set up one calf in Bethel and the other in Dan and the people sinfully followed the guidance of their king and worshipped the idols.

That wasn’t all that Jeroboam did. He built shrines on high places and appointed priests from all sorts of people, even though they were not Levites and “instituted a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the festival held in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar” at “Bethel, sacrificing to the calves he had made.” He then “installed priests at the high places he had made” in Bethel and  “offered sacrifices on the altar he had built at Bethel” on “the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a month of his own choosing.” Jeroboam, using the very authority that God had given him, was doing everything except following the word and will of God and he led his people into sin during the process (1 Kings 12:26-33).

The Bible tells us that the “sin of the house of Jeroboam” led to “its downfall and to its destruction from the face of the earth” (1 Kings 13:34). And so it was as Jeroboam passed and his son Nadab assumed the throne. 

Nadab - 909—908 BC

Unfortunately, Nadab was no better than his father. In fact the scriptures tell us that he “did evil in the eyes of the Lord, following the ways of his father and committing the same sin his father had caused Israel to commit” (1Kings 15:26). He would be killed by the man who would take the throne away from him, Baasha, son of Ahijah.

Baasha - 908—886 BC

Looking at the 15th chapter of 1 Kings, we read that Baasha, son of Ahijah, was from the tribe of Issachar and had plotted against Nadab, the king of Israel, striking him down at “Gibbethon, a Philistine town, while Nadab and all Israel were besieging it.” Nadab was killed in “the third year of Asa king of Judah” and Baasha “succeeded him as king.” During his reign, he did evil in the eyes of the Lord, following the ways of Jeroboam and committing the same sin Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit” (1 Kings 15:27-28, 34).

Are you seeing the truth of the word of God from Proverbs come to life here?

Within the first three years of Asa’s stable rule over the southern kingdom of Judah, Israel went through three kings, all three having chosen to do evil in the sight of the Lord. As we will see, it wouldn’t end with Baasha who did get to rule for 24 years.

Elah - 886—885 BC

After Baasha passed away in the “twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Judah,” he passed his throne onto his son Elah who reigned for two years. We don’t know too much about Elah except that he liked alcohol and while he was “getting drunk in the home of Arza, the palace administrator at Tirzah,” he was struck down and killed by Zimri, “one of his officials who had command of half his chariots. Zimri murdered Elah in the “twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah,” the year “he succeeded him as king” (1 Kings 16:8-10).

Zimri - 885 BC

As you have guessed by now, Zimri was a bad character, willing to murder to get the throne so there is no surprise when God’s word in 1 Kings 16 tells us that he didn’t stop his murdering with Zimri for he also “killed off Baasha’s whole family” after he assumed the throne, ensuring that no male was spared, “whether relative or friend,” an action that fulfilled the Lord’s promise of judgment against Baasha and Elah for the sins they and their people had committed (1 Kings 16:11-13).

Zimri’s reign only lasted a week for the scriptures tell us that after “the Israelites in the camp heard that Zimri had plotted against the king and murdered him, they proclaimed Omri, the commander of the army, king over Israel that very day there in the camp.” This was followed by “Omri and all the Israelites” leaving Gibbethon and laying “siege to Tirzah, where Zimri lived. When “Zimri saw that the city was taken, the word of God tells us that “he went into the citadel of the royal palace and set the palace on fire around him.” And that was the end of Zimri, who died “because of the sins he had committed, doing evil in the eyes of the Lord and following the ways of Jeroboam and committing the same sin Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit” ( 1 Kings 16:15-19)

Tibni - 885—880 BC/Omri (overlap), extra bad, 885—874 BC

For a brief period of time, the people of Israel were split into two factions. Scriptures tell us that half the people “supported Tibni son of Ginath for king” while the “other half supported Omri.” It didn’t last long because “Omri’s followers proved stronger than those of Tibni” and so “Tibni died and Omri became king,” reigning twelve years but not changing anything in regard to the sinful reputation of Israel’s throne. 1 Kings 16 tells us that Omri “did evil in the eyes of the Lord and sinned more than all those before him” but the worst was yet to come in the transgressions his son Ahab would commit while in power (1 Kings 16:21-26).

Ahab - 874—853 BC

Asa had now been in rule over Judah for 38 years as Israel welcomed its seventh king into power. During his 27 years on the throne, the Bible tells us that Ahab “did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him” as he “not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam” but he also “married Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him,” setting up an “altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria” and making an “Asherah pole.” All and all, Ahab did more to arouse the anger of the Lord than did all the kings of Israel before him” (1 Kings 16:29-33).

That’s pretty bad, right? I mean, all the kings who were before Ahab were pretty evil. Anyways, we get the point of our proverb for today. Wicked kings were not to have lengthy reigns over God’s people.

Conversely, let’s look at Asa, the king of Judah who ruled and reigned during the entire period that Israel was going through seven different kings. As we’ll see, what set him apart was his complete devotion to the Lord who blessed him with the opportunity to lead His people.

Asa - 912—872 BC Judah

Asa reigned over Judah for 41 years and God’s word from 1 Kings 15 tells us that during that time he “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as his father David had done,” expelling the “male shrine prostitutes from the land” and getting “rid of all the idols his ancestors had made.” And to understand the depth of his devotion to God, Asa “deposed his grandmother Maakah from her position as queen mother” after she “made a repulsive image for the worship of Asherah,” an image that Asa cut down and burned in the Kidron Valley. Scripture tells us that “Asa’s heart was fully committed to the Lord all his life,” evident in the amount of time the Lord allowed him to rule.

So what’s the take away for today from this word of the Lord from Proverbs, shown to be truth through the Old Testament scriptures?

Rulers today should read, understand, and learn. For the Lord did and will send his harshest consequences onto the wicked rulers of the world who choose to abuse the people the Lord places under their care. The end message is clear. No one is greater than the King of kings and Lord of lords and every ruler is expected to lead as the Lord desires them to.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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