Baasha
Israel · 909 – 886 BC · 24 years · 1 Kings 15:33 – 16:7
His Story
Of the tribe of Issachar, Baasha seized the throne by conspiracy and murder, exterminating Jeroboam’s house — fulfilling prophecy even while committing crimes. He fortified Ramah to strangle Judah’s border until Asa bought Syria’s help against him.
His Sin — How He Displeased the LORD
Though God had raised him from the dust and made him prince over Israel, he walked in all the way of Jeroboam — the calves, the idolatry, the provocation of the LORD — the very sins of the house he had destroyed.
The Good He Did
Scripture records none of his reign’s good; he is God’s instrument of judgment on Jeroboam’s house who learned nothing from the judgment he executed.
The LORD’s verdict
“And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin.”1 Kings 15:34 (KJV)
How His Reign Ended
The prophet Jehu, son of Hanani, pronounced the same doom on Baasha’s house as on Jeroboam’s: his dead would be eaten by dogs and birds. He died and was buried at Tirzah; his son Elah reigned briefly.
Lessons for Believers Today
- To execute judgment on another man’s sin while practicing the same sin is the height of blindness (Romans 2:1).
- God can use a man as an instrument without approving him as a servant.