The History of the Old Testament Methodized, Chapter 5 · Section 19 · Concurrent kings · Isreal · Jeroboam 1 – Omri
JEroboam being choſen King by the Ten Tribes, The firſt King of Iſrael JEROBOAM.he firſt repaired and fortified Shechem, and built himſelf a Palace there, and made it the chief place of his reſidence, and fortified Penuel on the other ſide of Jordan, and placed a Garriſon in it. And being now ſetled in his Kingdom, though God had promiſed him by Ahijah the Prophet [Ch. 11.38.] that if he would walk in his ways he would be with him, and build him a ſure houſe as he had done for David; yet having no confidence in this promiſe he began to think that if he ſhould ſuffer his ſubjects to go up to Jeruſalem to ſacrifice there (as God commanded) they would ſoon fall off from him to Rehoboam. For firſt, he apprehended they would be in danger to be ſeized upon as Traytors when they came up to Jeruſalem if they did not renounce their allegiance to him. 2ly, The Prieſts and Levites, and their Brethren of Judah he thought would be continually ſetting before them the ſin of falling off from their lawful Soveraign. 3ly, He ſuppoſed the very ſight of the Temple, and the worſhip of God there celebrated would much win upon them to come over to the Kingdom of Judah. And if their hearts were once turned to Rehoboam, he thought they would be ſure to kill him; and not having faith to believe that God would either prevent or divert theſe dangers from him, (if he were faithful to him) he reſolved to ſet up ſome other way of worſhip for his ſubjects, that they ſhould not need to go up to Jeruſalem to worſhip there. And thus that very thing which God appointed to keep the people of the Jews in one uniform way of worſhip, (viz. that there ſhould be but one Altar, and one place of Sacrifices, namely at the Temple at Jeruſalem) that proved the occaſion of ſetting up a new way of Worſhip. Wherefore Jeroboam by the advice of thoſe about him made two Golden Calves, in imitation of the Egyptians Idol-gods, among whom he had lived of late, and with whom 'tis like he deſired to hold a ſtrict league and amity, and that poſſibly was another politick reaſon that induc'd him to make ſuch Idols as theſe. However he pretended the peoples eaſe and accommodation to be the chief thing that mov'd him to take this courſe, and like a kind and indulgent Prince told them it was too much for them to go up thrice a year, (viz. at the ſolemn Feaſts) to Jeruſalem, and therefore he had found out a way to ſave them that labour, and accordingly had made two Golden Calves for them to worſhip in their own Country. And theſe he had made not to repreſent any falſe God but as remembrances and repreſentations of the true God of Iſrael who brought them up out of the land of Egypt; and therefore he was not afraid to ſay to them theſe be thy Gods O Iſrael. When he had given them this account of his proceedings, he placed one of his Calves in Bethel a City*By reaſon of Jeroboams impiety the Prophet calls it Bethaven, Hoſ. 10.5. belonging to the Tribe of Benjamin, but it ſeems it had revolted to him, and ſo was now in his power, and the Southern border of his Kingdom; the other Calf he placed at Dan, which was the Northern border. And ſo he provided that his ſubjects both in the North and South ſhould have a place to worſhip at. But this thing became a grievous ſin, and high provocation to the Almighty, and drew all Iſrael from God into Idolatry, and therefore 'tis put into his ſtile, Jeroboam the Son of Nebat who made Iſrael to ſin, 2 King. 10.31. For the people did preſently yield to worſhip theſe his Idols both at Dan and Bethel. And further, inſtead of Gods Temple at Jeruſalem he made a Temple on one of the high places or mountains where Altars were reared to commit Idolatry thereon; and he made Prieſts for the high places, and for the Devils †Such devotion as is not done to the true God is done to Devils, ſee Lev. 17.7. Idols there ſo called., and for the Calves which he had made [2 Chron. 11.15.] of the meaneſt of the people, and ſuch as were not of the Tribe of Levi but of other Tribes. Indeed the baſeſt of the people were Prieſts good enough for his Golden Calves, but becauſe he pretended to have erected them for the worſhip of the true God, this alſo is charged upon him as a provocation. And he ordained a Feaſt to be kept in the eighth month in imitation of the Feaſt of Tabernacles which God ordained to be kept on the 15th day of the 7th month, Levit. 23.34. he ordains it to be kept in another month, that the people might not take it for the ſame Feaſt of Tabernacles, and ſo think themſelves obliged to go to Jeruſalem to keep it. And to grace this Idolatrous worſhip that he had ſet up, even he himſelf did ſacrifice upon the Altar that he had built, to work in his peoples minds an higher eſteem of it, and alſo burnt incenſe to his Idols, whereby he uſurpt the Prieſts office*So did Uzziah, 2 Chro. 26.16. intrude himſelf into the Prieſts office..
Whilſt he was thus ſacrificing at Bethel a certain Prophet ſent by God out of Judah came unto him, (thus timely did the Lord give him warning, and called him to repentance) and in the zeal and fervency of his ſpirit, he cried in the word of the Lord (inventing nothing of his own head) againſt this Altar, ſaying, O Altar, Altar, thus ſaith the Lord, Behold a child ſhall be born unto the houſe of David, Joſiah †About 300 years after this Propheſie was fulfilled. See 2 King. 23.16.by name, and upon thee ſhall he offer the bones of the Prieſts of the High-places, that do now or ſhall hereafter burn incenſe upon thee; ſo that this Altar ſhall one day have a goodly ſacrifice burnt upon it, viz. the bones of the Prieſts that ſacrific'd upon it, and the defiling and polluting of this Altar in this manner will be a ſacrifice very pleaſing unto God. Poſſibly O Jeroboam (ſays he) thou wilt not believe this, therefore I will give thee a ſign from the Lord that this ſhall certainly come to paſs: Behold this Altar ſhall now be rent in ſunder, and the aſhes upon it ſhall fall upon the ground, to ſignifie the utter demoliſhing of it hereafter. Jeroboam hearing this, and being enraged at the Prophet, put forth his hand from the Altar (where he was burning incenſe) and cried out lay hold on him; and immediately his hand was dried up, and the fleſh withered, and the ſinnes ſhrank, ſo that he was diſabled from hurting the Prophet himſelf, and the people were ſcared from obeying their King in what he required. And immediately the Altar was rent, and clave aſunder. The King then intreated the Prophet to pray*1 King. 13.6. To intreat the face of one that is offended, is earneſtly to deſire the change of his countenance, & that his angry look may be turned into ſmiling. for him that his hand might be reſtored, which he accordingly did, and it was upon his prayer reſtored, and became whole as it was before. The King was ſo taken with this kindneſs that he invited the Prophet to come home with him and to refreſh himſelf, and he would reward him for it. The Prophet replied, If thou wilt give me half thine houſe I will not go with thee, neither will I eat bread or drink water in this City; for ſo God hath commanded me, intending I ſhould ſhew my deteſtation of your Idolatry by avoiding all communion with ſuch Idolaters. And he hath commanded me alſo that I ſhould not return the way I came, but ſome other way, as abhorring the very way that brought me to the ſight of ſuch abominations. So he returned another way, and not the way by which he came to Bethel. Now there dwelt an old Prophet in Bethel whoſe Sons came to him and told him all that this Prophet had ſaid to the King and what he had done to the Altar, and in healing Jeroboams hand, the old Prophet preſently enquired which way this Prophet went, and commanding his Aſſe to be preſently ſadled he rode thereon, and following after him found him ſitting under an oak, and then invited him to come home with him to eat bread. He told him could not do it, for he was expreſly forbidden it by the Lord. The old Prophet ſaid I am a Prophet as well as thou art, and an Angel ſpake unto me by the command of the Lord that I ſhould bring thee back to my houſe to eat bread, and drink water. But he lyed unto him. However the poor deluded Prophet upon this did go back with him, and did eat bread and drunk water. And as they ſat at the Table the word of the Lord came to the Prophet that fetcht him back by ſome internal inſpiration, or Prophetick extaſie, whereby he was (as it were) conſtrained to denounce againſt his deluded gueſt the judgment that would fall upon him for coming back, and eating and drinking with him, and ſo conſequently to condemn himſelf for the groſs lye he had told. He tells him thus ſaith the Lord, ſeeing thou haſt not kept my commandment, but cameſt back and haſt eaten and drunk in this place that I forbad thee, behold thy carcaſs ſhall not come into the Sepulcher of thy Fathers, and thou ſhalt not die among thy own kindred, nor be buried with thy progenitors; which intimated to him that he ſhould die in his return before he gat home to his own land; and this was a gracious warning to him that he might repent of his ſin before his death. So when they had eaten and drunken, the old Prophet cauſed his own Aſs to be ſadled for the Prophet he had brought back, and ſo diſmiſſed him. He was not gone far from the old Prophets houſe before a Lion met him and ſlew him, and his body being fallen in the way, the Aſs ſtood by it, as alſo the Lion. That the Aſs ſhould not fly from the Lion, nor the Lion prey upon the living Aſs, nor the dead body of the Prophet, but that both of them ſhould ſtand rather as a guard to preſerve it from other creatures, and that the Aſs ſhould ſtay there (as it were) on purpoſe to carry back the dead Prophets body to Bethel to be buried there, theſe are ſtrange paſſages of Providence, and do ſhew that 'twas not hunger that provoked the Lion to kill the Prophet, but the over-ruling hand of God, and that God had regard to the Prophets body, and would preſerve it for burial, though he teſtified his diſpleaſure againſt his ſin for the warning of others. And behold men paſſed by and ſaw the carcaſs caſt in the way, and the Lion ſtanding by the carcaſs, and they came and told it in the City where the old Prophet dwelt, who thereupon ſaid undoubtedly it is the man of God that was diſobedient unto the word of the Lord, therefore the Lord hath delivered him unto the Lion which hath ſlain him as the Lord threatned. So he went immediately and found his carcaſs caſt in the way, and the Aſs and the Lion ſtanding by it, ſo that the Lion had neither eaten the carcaſs, nor torn the Aſs. The Lion it ſeems ran away immediately upon the old Prophets coming, as having now done what he ſtayed for, and ſo the old Prophet took and carried the dead body of the other Prophet to be buried, and laid it in his own ſepulcher which he had prepared for himſelf, and he and his ſons mourned over him, and ſaid, alas my brother. See Jer. 22.18. And the old Prophet further ſpake unto his Sons, ſaying, When I am dead bury me in the ſepulcher wherein this man of God is buried, lay my bones by his bones, that ſo my bones may lye at reſt, and not be digged up and burnt by Joſiah. And for the accompliſhing of this end, he cauſed a ſuperſcription to be engraven on the Sepulcher, whereby it might be known who was buried there; and herein he had his deſire, as we may ſee 2 King. 23.17, 18. He further declared that the ſaying of the deceaſed Prophet which he uttered by the command of God againſt the Altar of Bethel, and againſt all the houſes of the high places which were in the cities of the Kingdom of Iſrael (afterwards call'd the Kingdom of Samaria) ſhall ſurely come to paſs. But notwithſtanding this fair warning Jeroboam returned not from his Idolatry and evil ways. One would have thought that his hand being miraculouſly ſtricken dead, and as miraculouſly healed upon the prayer of the Prophet, he ſhould preſently with that hand have plucked down his Idolatrous Calves and Altars, but neither that nor the cleaving of the Altar aſunder, nor the ſtrange death that befell the young Prophet (whereby the truth of what he had ſpoken was mightily confirm'd) could prevail with him to forſake that Idolaty, whereby he ſought to aſſure the Kingdom to himſelf and his poſterity, but therein he was miſerably deceived, for this Idolatry was not only the ruin of his own houſe, but of the whole Kingdom of Iſrael at laſt, and the cauſe of their captivity. And poſſibly from the violent death of the Prophet that came from Judah he took occaſion to harden himſelf in his evil ways, and not to regard his threatnings. And thereupon being obſtinate in his Idolatry, he caſt off the Prieſts that were of the lineage of Aaron, and the Levites, and made of the loweſt of the people Prieſts of the High-places, even whoſoever would offer himſelf he conſecrated him, and made him a Prieſt of that order. Whereupon many Prieſts and Levites leaving their poſſeſſions which they had in thoſe parts, retired into Jury, and were followed by all ſuch out of every Tribe of Iſrael who ſet their minds upon the true worſhip of God.
Some years after his Son Abijah fell ſick at Tirzah; for though Shechem was at firſt the Royal City of Jeroboams Kingdom, yet afterwards (as it ſeems) he built ſome ſtately Palace for himſelf at Tirzah, a goodly and pleaſant City, to which Solomon alludes, Cant. 6.4. and ſo both Jeroboam and the other Kings of Iſrael that ſucceeded him, did uſually keep their Courts there, till Samaria was built by Omri. From thence therefore he ſends his wife to Shiloh to the Prophet Ahijah who firſt told him he ſhould come to the Kingdom, and was now blind with old age. He appoints her to go diſguiſed leſt if the Prophet knew her he ſhould either refuſe to anſwer her (being offended with their Idolatry) or elſe give her ſuch an anſwer as they ſhould be loth to hear, he enjoins her therefore to go to him in this manner, and to carry a ſmall preſent to him, viz. ten loaves, and cakes, and a bottle of honey, that by ſo ſmall a preſent ſhe might be thought to be only the wife of ſome poor Country-man, and only came to ask him what ſhould become of her Son that was ſick. 'Tis to be obſerv'd that he ſends her not to him to beg his prayers for the child, though he had had experience of the efficacy of a Prophets prayers in the miraculous reſtoring of his own hand. It ſeems his obſtinacy in his Idolatry diſcouraged him from ſeeking ſuch a favour from him. His wife going accordingly to Shiloh, the Lord by the ſecret inſpiration of his Spirit inform'd Ahijah of her coming, and that ſhe would feign her ſelf to be another woman, and tells him what he ſhall ſay to her. Accordingly when Ahijah heard the ſound of her feet as ſhe came into the door of his houſe, he ſaid to her, Come in thou wife of Jeroboam, why feigneſt thou thy ſelf to be another woman? I am ſent from the Lord to thee with heavy Tidings, go tell Jeroboam, thus ſaith the Lord God of Iſrael, I exalted thee from among the people, and made thee King over Iſrael, and rent ten of the Tribes away from the houſe of David, and gave them unto thee, and yet thou haſt not been as my ſervant David who kept my commandments, and followed me with all his heart, and (as to my worſhip) did only that which was right in my ſight. But thou haſt done evil above all that were before thee. Saul though a wicked man was no Idolater; Solomon though by his wives inſtigation he permitted Idolatry, yet he was not an Idolater himſelf, but thou haſt made thee other Gods *Repreſentations of God are accounted as Gods., and molten Images to provoke me to anger, and haſt caſt my Law behind thy back, therefore behold I will bring evil upon thy houſe, and will ſo utterly deſtroy it, and all that belong to it, that I will not leave in it ſo much as a dog to piſs againſt the wall, and will deſtroy both him that is ſhut up at home, or left abroad in the field, and will take away the remnant of the houſe of Jeroboam as a man taketh away dung till it be all removed; for being a noiſome and filthy thing he will take it every whit away(a)The accompliſhment of this, ſee Chap. 15.29.. Furthermore let thy husband know, that him of the houſe of Jeroboam that dieth in the City, the dogs ſhall eat, and him that dieth in the field the fowls of the air ſhall eat (b)Intimating they ſhould die unhappy deaths, and not have the honour of burial., for the Lord hath ſpoken it. Ariſe therefore and go thy ways home and as ſoon as thy feet enter into thy houſe (which is in the City Tirzah) thy Son ſhall die; and this judgment is the beginning of your ſorrows: But all Iſrael ſhall mourn for him, and he ſhall be buried with lamentation, and he only ſhall come to the grave, becauſe of all Jeroboams family, in him only there is found ſome good thing, ſome ſeeds of piety, and the fear of the Lord, and conſequently ſome regard to the true worſhip of God. Moreover I muſt tell thee the Lord will raiſe up a King (c)Viz. Baaſha who made a conſpiracy againſt Nadab, Jeroboam's Son, and ſlew him in the ſecond year of his reign, and deſtroyed all the houſe of Jeroboam, Ch. 15.27.over Iſrael that ſhall cut off the houſe of Jeroboam. If thou askeſt when or at what time this ſhall come to paſs? I anſwer, very quickly, and ſooner than you do expect. And the Lord will ſmite Iſrael as a reed is ſhaken in the water. He will afflict both Prince and people with unceſſant wars and troubles, both inteſtine and forreign, ſo that they ſhall never abide long in any ſetled condition, but as reeds that grow in the water are continually ſhaken, ſo ſhall it be with this Kingdom; partly by the frequent transferring the Crown from one family to another, and partly by the frequent invaſions of the men of Judah, or ſome other neighbouring Nation. And the Lord will root up (b)Firſt by Tiglath-pileſar in the days of Pekak King of Iſrael, 2 King. 15.29. & the greateſt part after by Salmanaſſar in the days of Hoſhea, 2 K. 17.6.Iſrael out of this good land which he gave to their Fathers, and will ſcatter them beyond the river, to wit, Euphrates into the land of Aſſyria, Meſopotamia and Media, whither they ſhall be carried captive, becauſe they have made Groves for Idols, thereby provoking him to anger. And he will give up Iſrael into the hands of their enemies, becauſe they conſented to the Idolatry of Jeroboam who did ſin highly againſt God, and made Iſrael to ſin, by cauſing them to leave the Temple of the Lord, and to worſhip the calves he hath ſet up.
Ahijah having thus ſpoken, Jeroboam's wife departed, and as ſhe came to the door of her houſe her Son died. And they buried him, and all Iſrael lamented for him as God had foretold by the miniſtry of his Prophet. There were many bickerings and continual hoſtility between Jeroboam and Rehoboam all their days, and the borderers on both ſides did continually invade one another; but after Rehoboam's death, Jeroboam in the eighteenth year of his reign gathered together a vaſt army of eight hundred thouſand men to ſet upon Abijah, Rehoboam's Son, newly come to the Crown, and Abijah met him with four hundred thouſand, and with them diſcomfited his mighty Army, and ſlew five hundred thouſand of them, and purſuing his victory took from him Bethel, and two other Cities, as may be more fully ſeen in the life of Abijah. Neither did Jeroboam recover ſtrength again during Abijah's reign.
Jeroboam at laſt was ſtricken with ſome extraordinary ſickneſs or diſeaſe from the Lord in the days of Abijah, but he died not till the ſecond year of Aſa Son of Abijah, and (it ſeems) he died not an ordinary death. He reigned 22 years, and Nadab his Son ſucceeded him.
1 King. 12. from 12, to the end.
1 King. 13. wh. Ch.
1 King. 14. from 1, to 21.
2 Chron. 13. wh. Ch.
NAdab began his reign in the ſecond year of Aſa, Second King of Iſrael, Nadab.and reigned only two years, namely in part of the ſecond and third year of Aſa. He did evil in the ſight of the Lord, and walked in the way of his Father. Gibbethon a City belonging to the Tribe of Dan, [Joſh. 19.44.] was in the days of David and Solomon in the Iſraelites poſſeſſion, but now it ſeems the Philiſtines had gotten it; Nadab therefore and all Iſrael with him, went and laid ſiege to it to recover it, and here during the Siege he was treacherouſly ſlain by Baaſha of the Tribe of Iſſachar, and ſo the ſiege (as it ſeems) was raiſed; for twenty ſix years after, or thereabouts, the Son of Baaſha did again lay ſiege to this City, as we may ſee Chap. 16.15.
Baaſha now ſetting up himſelf in the Throne, he ſmote all the houſe of Jeroboam, according to the Propheſie of Ahijah, 1 King. 14.10. Behold I will bring evil upon the houſe of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam him that piſſeth againſt the wall, and him that is ſhut up, and left in Iſrael, and will take away the remnant of the houſe of Jeroboam as a man taketh away dung till it be all gone. So with Nadab the Regal power in Jeroboam's houſe ended. And thus the Idolatry wherewith Jeroboam thought to have eſtabliſhed the Kingdom to himſelf and his poſterity was the very cauſe of the ruin of his family, and the tranſferring the Kingdom to another.
1 King. 15. from 25, to 32.
BAaſha the Son of Ahijah of the Tribe of Iſſachar began his reign in the third year of Aſa, Third King of Iſrael, Baaſha.and reigned twenty and four years. He did evil in the ſight of the Lord, and walked in the way of Jeroboam.
In the thirty ſixth year of Aſa's Kingdom, as it ſtood divided from the Kingdom of Iſrael, but in the ſixteenth year of Aſa's own reign, and about the fourteenth of Baaſha's, he perceiving Aſa to grow potent, and that many of his ſubjects fell off to him, he began to arm againſt him, and never ceaſed from henceforward to make war upon him all his days; and he went up to build Ramah which lay between Samaria and Jeruſalem that he might ſuffer no man to come out from or go unto Aſa King of Judah; but he was fain to give it over, being recalled by an invaſion made into his Country by Benhadad King of Syria hired thereunto by Aſa, 2 Chron. 16. from 1, to 7. and 1 King. 15.32.
Jehu the Son of Hanani the Prophet delivers him a ſad meſſage from the Lord concerning the deſtruction of his houſe for his Idolatry and killing of Nadab (a)For though Baaſha did herein what God had decreed, yet he had no command from God to do it, but did it only to ſerve his own ends, and to get the Kingdom. Saepe Deus decreta ſua exequitur per malos homines, qui longe aliud agentes, ſua quaerunt, ideoque poena digni ſunt. Impii ſaepe imprudentes ſerviunt voluntati Dei, quam in lege patefactam ſcientes oppugnant.. This Jehu was that Prophet that was ſent afterwards to Jehoſhaphat to reprove him for his league with Ahab, [2 Chr. 19.2.] and he that wrote the Chronicles of thoſe times, 2 Chron. 20.34. And his father Hanani was the Prophet that reproved Aſa for ſeeking to Benhadad for aid againſt Baaſha, ſo that both Father and Son were eminent Prophets of the Lord at the ſame time, and both ſent to the Kings of Iſrael, to whom the Lord was pleaſed to ſend many Prophets to reclaim them. Jehu coming to Baaſha tells him, Thus ſaith the Lord, foraſmuch as I exalted thee out of the duſt, and from a mean condition made thee Prince (b)For it was the Providence of God that made Baaſha's attempt againſt Nadab ſo ſucceſsful. Collatio regni Deo, doll vero & parricidium Baaſae attribuuntur.over my (c)They were Gods people by Covenant and outward profeſſion, and they retained ſtill Circumciſion, and the Laws of Moſes, and there were many pious Prophets, and ſome good people among them.people Iſrael, and thou haſt walked in the ways of Jeroboam, and haſt made my people to ſin by thy example, and haſt provoked me to anger, behold I will cut off thy poſterity, and will make thy houſe as the houſe of Jeroboam. And as this judgment was pronounced againſt Jeroboam, 1 King. 14.11. viz. that ſuch of his houſe as died in the City the dogs ſhould eat, and ſuch as died in the fields the fowls of the air ſhould eat, (that is, they ſhould die unhappy deaths, and not come to an honourable burial) the very ſame judgment muſt I pronounce againſt thee, and in the ſame words [ſee v. 4.] becauſe thou perſiſteſt in the ſame ſins.
Baaſha died in the twenty fourth year of his reign and was buried in Tirzah, and his Son Elah reigned in his ſtead,
1 King. 15.33, 34.
1 King. 16. from 1, to 8.
ELAH began to reign in the 26th year of Aſa, Fourth King of Iſrael, Elah.and reigned two years though not compleat. Being upon the Throne his ſervant Zimri (Captain of half his Chariots) conſpired againſt him, and as he was drinking himſelf drunk in the houſe of Arza his Steward he ſlew him in the ſecond year of his reign, his forces lying then encamped againſt Gibbethon; and then Zimri immediately by the aſſiſtance of the Souldiers that were under his command ſlew all his kindred and near relations, and ſo deſtroyed all the houſe of Baaſha, he left him not one that piſſeth againſt a wall; by which Proverbial ſpeech an utter deſtruction of all that belonged to him is to be underſtood. Thus the Lord dealt with the houſe of Baaſha. For as Baaſha ſlew Nadab when he had reigned two years, and that whilſt he was laying ſiege to Gibbethon, and then immediately deſtroyed all the reſt of his family, ſo Zimri ſlew Elah the Son of Baaſha in the ſecond year of his reign, and then immediately cut off the reſt of his family and friends, and that whilſt his army lay encamped againſt Gibbethon. And thus God deſtroyed both the houſe of Baaſha and Elah for their great ſins and tranſgreſſions whereby they had provoked him, and particularly by their vanities, that is, Image-gods and Idols.
1 King. 16. from 8, to 15.
ZIMRI having thus wickedly made himſelf King, Fifth King of Iſrael, Zimri.his reign continued but a week; for notice that the King was ſlain coming to the Camp at Gibbethon, all the hoſt of Iſrael (that were there encamped) preſently made Omri (their General) King over Iſrael.
Omri haſtens with his Army to Tirzah to beſiege Zimri, and ſo the ſiege of Gibbethon was a ſecond time raiſed. Zimri when he ſaw the City was taken by ſtorm, betook himſelf to the Kings Palace, and burnt himſelf with it, that he might not fall into the hands of his enemies. Thus thoſe that are cruel to others are oftentimes given over to be cruel at laſt to themſelves. But though Zimri reigned but ſeven days before Omri was proclaimed King by the Soldiers, yet perhaps it was longer e're he was forced to burn himſelf. And beſides within the ſpace of thoſe ſeven days he might by his Edicts make known to the people his reſolution to continue the worſhip of Jeroboam's Calves, and might deſtroy the family of Baaſha, 1 King. 16 v. 17, 18, 19, 20.
Things being now at this paſs, the people of Iſrael were much divided, ſome of them miſliked that the Souldiers ſhould chooſe a King for them, and they choſe Tibni for their King. Between Tibni and Omri there were continual wars for about four years, till at laſt Omri prevailed, and Tibni dying, Omri reigned alone.
1 King. 16. from 15, to 23.
OMRI reigned twelve years, Sixth King of Iſrael, Omri.reckoning from his firſt election, whereof ſix years in Tirzah. Zimri having burnt the Royal Palace in that City, he removed the Seat of his Kingdom from thence to Samaria, which he built in the hill which he bought of Shemer for two Talents of Silver*A Talent of Silver was reckoned at 375 l. ſterling, (but a Talent of Gold at 3750 l.) ſo he paid 750 l. ſterl. for the Hill., and ſo made that his Royal City, and the Metropolis of his Kingdom.
He did evil in the ſight of the Lord, and worſe than all that went before him. For it ſeems he did not only obſtinately continue in the Idolatry of Jeroboam himſelf, but with violence forced and preſſed the people thereunto, notwithanding all the judgments he had ſeen on all the former Kings of Iſrael for that ſin. In Micah 6.16. we read of the Statutes of Omri, to wit, concerning their Idolatrous worſhipping of the Golden Calves. He was buried in Samaria, and Ahab his Son ſucceeded him.
1 King. 16. from 23, to 29.