18 When Zimri saw that the city was taken, he wentinto the citadel of the royal palace and set the palace onfire around him. So he died, 19 because of the sins hehad committed, doing evil in the eyes of the LORD andfollowing the ways of Jeroboam and committing thesame sin Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit. - P80
24 He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for twotalents of silver and built a city on the hill, calling itSamaria, after Shemer, the name of the former ownerof the hill.
25 But Omri did evil in the eyes of the LORD and sinnedmore than all those before him.
- P81
26 He followed completely the ways of Jeroboam son ofNebat, committing the same sin Jeroboam had causedIsrael to commit, so that they aroused the anger of theLORD, the God of Israel, by their worthless idols. 27 Asfor the other events of Omri‘s reign, what he did and thethings he achieved, are they not written in the book ofthe annals of the kings of Israel? - P81
28 Omri rested with his ancestors and was buried inSamaria. And Ahab his son succeeded him as king. - P81
Pathways to power that rejectpeace and fail to honor God are, in reality, pathways to tragic endings. - P82
The decline of the kingdom of Israel is seen in its history of division.
From the beginning of the reign of its first king, Jeroboam, we witnessa downward spiral in the nation.
- P82
This is why, as leaders and followers in God‘s kingdom, we are called toserve as salt and light. The salt of our faithfulness acts as an agent thatchecks the corruption around us, and the light of our lifestyle pointsothers to the way of peace. - P82
As we continue to read about the reigns of various kings, what canwe learn about God and about ourselves? For one, God is a sovereign,
covenant-keeping God. Even through generations of upheaval, insta-bility, and exile, God kept His promise to His people that the Saviorwould be born through the line of David. - P83
More often than not,
the unrighteous kings cared more about their reputation, success, andwealth than repenting and turning back to the Lord. In their prideand greed, they also led others astray. - P83
Let us examine our hearts andsee what we hold as most important. Let us examine our lives and seewhat influence we have on others. May we seek to be faithful to theLord and live our lives for Him. - P83
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