1 Kings 16:1-7·~1 min

Jehu’s Prophecy against Baasha

The LORD sends Jehu to Baasha with a sentence of judgment: though lifted to rule Israel, he has followed Jeroboam’s path, so his house will be consumed and left disgraced.

T¹hen the word of the LORD came to Jehu son of Hanani against Baasha, saying: ²“Even though I lifted you out of the dust and made you ruler over My people Israel, you have walked in the way of Jeroboam and have caused My people Israel to sin and to provoke Me to anger by their sins. ³So now I will consume Baasha and his house, and I will make your house like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat: ⁴Anyone belonging to Baasha who dies in the city

Baasha’s reign closes with the usual royal notice, yet the prophetic word returns to explain his end. His evil, his imitation of Jeroboam, and his destruction of Jeroboam’s house all stand against him.

⁵As for the rest of the acts of Baasha, along with his accomplishments and might, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? ⁶And Baasha rested with his fathers and was buried in Tirzah, and his son Elah reigned in his place. ⁷Moreover, the word of the LORD came through the prophet Jehu son of Hanani against Baasha and his house, because of all the evil he had done in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger with the work of his hands and becoming like the house of Jeroboam, and also because Baasha had struck down the house of Jeroboam.

Section summaryJehu delivers the LORD’s word against Baasha: the king raised from lowliness has repeated Jeroboam’s sin and led Israel into it. The section joins prophecy, fulfillment, and obituary to show Baasha’s reign already standing under judgment.

Role in the chapterThis opening section sets the chapter’s frame. It explains that the dynastic violence to come is not random court intrigue but the outworking of the LORD’s judgment on a king who became like Jeroboam.