1 Kings 16:26
For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin, to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger with their vanities. For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin, to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger with their vanities.
Omri was captain of Israel's host who slew Zimri and, after contesting Tibni, gained the whole kingdom and reigned wickedly for twelve years, buying the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver and building it as the royal capital in place of Shechem. His walking in all the way of Jeroboam and in his sin and vanities means continuing the golden calves, turning from the living God to worthless idols and false gods, and carrying forward the separation of Israel from worship at the Lord's house in Jerusalem. He followed the pattern Jeroboam laid out even more fully and did worse than all the kings of Israel before him, showing the downward course of apostasy in which sin naturally goes from bad to worse. As an unfaithful king he molded his people so they failed with him, a course his son Ahab followed and carried further into enforced Baal worship that pointed away from Christ and salvation. The account is instructive especially for the present day, teaching that the only remedy for such progressing sin is to have it thoroughly uprooted and washed away by the blood of Christ.
Historical Setting and Meaning
The verse belongs to the connected history in 1 Kings 12 to 16 of the division of the kingdom after Solomon multiplied wives to himself and turned away his heart, leaving two and a half tribes in Judah under weak and foolish Rehoboam and ten tribes in Israel under Jeroboam who led the revolt and brought in idolatry. That history runs through the prediction against the altar and the king, and Ahijah's prediction concerning Jeroboam's seed, the spoiling of the temple by Shishak of Egypt, the brief wicked reign of Abijam over Judah and the better reign of Asa with prosperity for Judah. It continues with Nadab reigning two years and ending the house of Jeroboam, Baasha who slew him reigning twenty-four years, his son Elah ending his drunken reign in two years with the house of Baasha dying with him, Zimri the captain who slew him reigning only seven days, and Omri who slew Zimri and fathered wicked Ahab. The reign of Ahab and the work of Elijah that follows forms a narrative interesting and instructive especially for the present day.
Omri was captain of Israel's host who rose against the traitor Zimri and slew him, then crushed opposition and became the strongest influence among the ten tribes. He gained possession of the whole kingdom after four years of contesting Tibni. His was a strong but wicked reign that followed the house of Baasha after it lasted only two generations, a wicked reign of twelve years. He left Shechem as the royal seat because of its associations, to add luster and strength to his own reign.
He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver and built the city of Samaria there for the royal capital of the kingdom of Israel. The site was a natural stronghold six miles north of Shechem, almost on the eastern border of the great plain of Sharon stretching westward to the Mediterranean Sea. There the city ever increased in grandeur and beauty. He founded a dynasty that lasted three generations and four kings, the founder of Ahab's dynasty, and he was followed by weak and wicked Ahab dominated by his idolatrous wife Jezebel.
To walk in all the way of Jeroboam and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin was to set up altars against the altar of God. It was to continue the worship of the golden calves established by Jeroboam, following the same sinful course as the kings before him. It was to turn from the living God to worthless idols, to created things and false gods, a departure from worship pointing to Christ and salvation from sin. Omri carried that sinful policy forward vigorously, by measures that isolated Israel from worship at the Lord's house in Jerusalem and perpetuated and increased idolatrous practices, provoking the LORD God of Israel to anger.
Course of Worsening Apostasy
Jeroboam's idolatry became a pattern followed by later kings of Israel, and contributed to the kingdom's continued decline. It belongs to the sad historical record showing a general downward moral tendency in Judah and Israel from the time of David, though with times of reviving when the people sought God and He worked for them and through them abundantly. The verse shows the responsibility resting on leaders, where an unfaithful king molds the people, and when leaders fail to lead in right ways the people fail with them.
Omri followed Jeroboam's sinful course and led Israel into idolatry, provoking the Lord God of Israel to anger. He walked in all the way Jeroboam had laid out for the people and followed it even more fully, doing worse than all the kings of Israel before him. Omri and his son Ahab each did worse than the kings before them, and Ahab after him did still worse, counting the sins of Jeroboam a light thing, thus advancing Israel's gradual downfall. Sin naturally goes from bad to worse, like noisome weeds growing luxuriantly without cultivation even in barren soil.
Israel's apostasy was following Jeroboam's idolatrous way and turning from the living God to worship created things and false gods. This was a departure from God's worship, which pointed to Christ and salvation from sin, and it provoked God and led the nation toward the degrading worship of Baal and Ashtoreth. Omri continued the worship of the golden calves established by Jeroboam, following the same sinful course and policy as the kings before him, and carried that policy forward vigorously by measures that isolated Israel from worship at the Lord's house in Jerusalem and perpetuated and increased idolatrous practices. His son Ahab also succeeded him in this setting of calf worship, but went further by giving himself to heathen worship and enforcing it on his people. His encouragement of idolatry is also reflected in arranging Ahab's marriage to Jezebel, the daughter of the king of Tyre.
The verse is included in the account of a great apostasy in Elijah's days, in the time of Ahab and Jezebel when Israel was corrupted by idolatrous Baal worship and was transgressing God's commandments. Ahab's reign was a turning point in Israel's history marked by the conflict between the Lord and Baal, in which Elijah ministered. Yet even then God found a faithful remnant who responded to His prophet's call.
Outside Witness and Present Lesson
The reigns of Omri and Ahab around this verse are confirmed by outside records, with the biblical succession of Ahab, Hazael, and Jehu agreeing with Assyrian records. Omri is the founder of Ahab's dynasty, and his reign over Israel is recorded in 1 Kings 16:23-28, including his taking of Samaria and establishing the city as his capital while following Jeroboam's sinful way and provoking the Lord by Israel's idolatry. The Moabite Stone belongs to this same historical setting, its inscription saying that Chemosh allowed Omri to conquer Moab and impose tribute and that Moab regained independence after Ahab's death, harmonizing with the biblical record of Israel's relations with Moab. That stone yielded historical accounts of the reigns of Omri and Ahab, adding information to the biblical history surrounding this verse.
Omri's reign is reduced to condemnation for following Jeroboam's sinful way and leading Israel into idolatry that provoked God. This judgment stands although the account also notes that he built Samaria. Later Scripture recalls Omri's statutes as edicts associated with idolatry, as in Micah.
The narrative from the division of the kingdom through Omri who slew Zimri and fathered wicked Ahab, whose reign and the work of Elijah follow, is interesting and instructive especially for these present days. In it Omri walked in all the way Jeroboam had laid out and did worse than all the kings of Israel before him, and Ahab after him did still worse, counting the sins of Jeroboam a light thing. This shows that sin naturally goes from bad to worse, like noisome weeds growing luxuriantly without cultivation even in barren soil. The only remedy is to have sin thoroughly uprooted and washed away by the blood of Christ.