Upon participating in a world of violence, everyone is fair game. King Zimri learned this the hard way.
Jesus warned about violence when he addressed Peter in the Garden of Gethsemane. Peter had brought a sword, and when the soldiers came to arrest Jesus, Peter cut off a soldier’s ear. Jesus corrected Peter: “Those who live by the sword die by the sword” (Matthew 26:52). The great coming redemption wouldn’t happen by force of violence. Jesus would have to die for others.
Vengeance and recompense belong to God (Romans 12:19), and we take a dangerous road when we take that responsibility from the Lord’s hand.
Yet throughout the Scripture, especially the Old Testament history of Israel’s kings and the politics of the day, we see violence heaped upon violence.
How does King Zimri’s life demonstrate this principle? And what can we learn from him?
While the heroic King David and his wealthy and wise son Solomon ruled, Israel’s 12 tribes formed a vast and powerful nation. After Solomon’s death, Israel broke into civil war and division. There were then two nations: the southern kingdom of Judah (two tribes, ruled by David’s lineage), and the northern kingdom of Israel (the other ten tribes, ruled by various dynasties).
King Zimri’s name means “wild sheep” or “wild goat,” and he ruled over the northern kingdom of Israel. His brief and tumultuous reign is recorded in 1 Kings 16. Zimri ascended to the throne during a period of political instability and internal strife.
Zimri’s rule can be traced back to the aftermath of Jeroboam’s reign. After God’s people divided into the two kingdoms, Jeroboam became the northern kingdom’s first king. However, the northern kingdom experienced a succession of rulers and violent changes between different royal lines.
In Zimri’s time, the northern kingdom faced external threats from neighboring nations, but also internal threats as several factions vied for control and influence. Zimri seized an opportunity to ascend to the throne by orchestrating a coup against King Elah.
However, Zimri’s reign was far from stable. Internal and external threats persisted, contributing to Zimri’s short time on the throne.
Zimri’s rule is not just notable for being short. He also had some deep moral and political challenges. The Bible portrays Zimri as a king who continued his predecessor’s sinful legacy, contributing to a kingdom’s spiritual decline.
Elah, the son of Baasha, ascended to the throne of Israel following his father’s death. Baasha seized power by rebelling against the house of Jeroboam. However, the prophet Jehu warned Baasha that his sins meant that his line would be extinguished.
During Elah’s reign, the capital was in Tirzah, but the military headquarters was in Gibbethon, a strategic city bordering Israel and the Philistines.
The narrative describes Elah as a king who did what his predecessors did: he practiced idolatry. Elah “did what was evil in the sight of the Lord” and continued the sinful ways of the house of Jeroboam (a recurring theme in 1 Kings and 2 Kings).
While Elah was in Gibbethon, he got drunk. Then one of his military commanders, Zimri, assassinated him. Zimri declared himself king.
Elah’s brief reign and tragic end set the stage for Zimri’s turbulent rule. Unfortunately, he inherited a kingdom in disarray, which created problems for his reign as well.
King Zimri only reigned for seven days. Several factors contributed to Zimri’s all-too-short rule.
First, Zimri ascended to power by being ruthless. His swift betrayal set the tone for a tumultuous reign, where people returned the violence. The northern kingdom of Israel was plagued by strife and power struggles among various factions and tribes. The rivalry among military commanders and leaders created rapid, chaotic power transitions of power. What enabled Zimri to gain power also made it easy to eliminate him.
When the rest of Israel’s army heard about Zimri’s betrayal, they crowned another commander, Omri. Omri and his forces besieged Tirzah. When Zimri saw he would be beaten, he chose to take his own life. He locked himself into the citadel and burned it down around him.
Zimri also faced external pressures, including military threats from neighboring nations. The Philistines, Israel’s perennial adversary, posed a constant threat to the nation’s security. Zimri inherited a kingdom vulnerable to external aggression, where military commanders felt they had to squash any conflicts before the trouble affected other areas.
However, Zimri’s reign was also influenced by prophecy. Jehu had foretold the downfall of the house of Baasha. He and Elah both belonged to Baasha’s house. Jehu had predicted that Baasha’s line would be extinguished, and those words didn’t just mean bad news for Baasha. The prophecy predicted divine judgment and cast a shadow over Zimri’s rule.
Ultimately, the sin of idolatry from every king of the northern kingdom of Israel led to prophetic warnings and judgment by God. Zimri’s short reign showed the consequences could be more drastic than anyone imagined.
After Zimri’s tragic death, Omri succeeded him as the king of the northern kingdom of Israel.
During and following Zimri’s rule, the kingdom of Israel faced turmoil and uncertainty. The people needed stable and decisive leadership.
Omri emerged as a formidable figure during this tumultuous period. One of his key accomplishments was establishing a new capital: he founded the city of Samaria on a hill he purchased, strategically situating it to enhance defense and administration.
Omri’s reign lasted 12 years. While he ruled longer than Zimri, he continued his predecessor’s legacy by practicing idolatry. He did even worse. Omri “did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did more evil than all who were before him” (1 Kings 16:25). Despite his achievements, and witnessed Jehu pronouncing judgment on idolatry, Omri’s moral failings became a significant aspect of his legacy.
Omri’s influence extended beyond his reign: his dynasty kept shaping Israelite history. His son, Ahab, succeeded him, and Ahab’s marriage to the infamous Jezebel further entrenched idolatry and spiritual decline in the northern kingdom. The House of Omri provided some political stability, but their compromise and disobedience to God’s commands became their longest-lasting legacy.
Zimri’s life offers us some valuable insights for today.
Primarily, we must remember idolatry’s effects. Zimri’s life depicts the broader story of idolatry within the northern nation of Israel. Different dynasties came and went, but idolatry remained a constant. That sin led to strife, violence, betrayal, and many other sins. Not honoring and worshipping the one true Yahweh is at the heart of all sin and leads to destruction in a myriad of ways.
We often view idolatry as setting up some statue in a corner and bowing down to it. Yes, idolatry includes manufacturing our own images, but it is not limited to that. The lack of statues or shrines in our lives doesn’t mean we have no struggle with idolatry.
Idolatry is essentially worshipping the work of our own hands. Whether gold statues, achievements, pleasures, or intellect, when we make our own gods, we make ourselves gods. This is pride and self-reliance, all based on a lie instead of God’s sovereignty and love.
The Bible gives no evidence of righteousness or integrity when Zimri assassinated Elah. Zimri was a servant in Elah’s household—the commander of half of Israel’s chariots. Elah had likely given Zimri this position and raised him up.
Zimri may have known about Jehu’s prophecy against Baasha. But if Zimri had been motivated by keeping Israel from idolatry and serving God faithfully, he could have acted in several other ways with more honor. Instead, he killed his king while the man was drunk. Zimri’s actions showed ambition and betrayal—idolatrous actions in themselves, not righteously seeking justice.
We can’t justify evil in the name of standing against evil. That doesn’t break the cycle. On the contrary, it leads to more evil—as we see with the next king, Omri, whom the Bible claims was even more idolatrous than any other. When we see the world’s brokenness and corruption, we must be careful how we stand against it. As Jesus taught on the night before his death with Peter, how we act and respond is important. God calls us to fight against evil with love, grace, forgiveness, and being peacemakers.
There, we will see blessings and life instead of death and destruction.
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Javier Paredes Perez
This article is part of our People of Christianity catalog that features the stories, meaning, and significance of well-known people from the Bible and history. Here are some of the most popular articles for knowing important figures in Christianity:
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