The King Who Learned Nothing From Divine Justice
Baasha, son of Ahijah, was the third sovereign of the fragmented Northern Kingdom of Israel and the founder of its second dynasty (the House of Baasha). His rise to power was marked by ruthless violence, and his reign of twenty-four years was characterized by a fundamental rejection of the LORD’s Law. His story is a chilling reminder that proximity to God’s judgment is no guarantee of personal repentance.
The name Baasha is often interpreted to mean “wicked,” or perhaps, from a different root, “he that seeks or lays waste.” His actions certainly lived up to the former meaning.
An Instrument of Prophecy
Baasha began his career as a captain in the army of King Nadab (son of Jeroboam). While Nadab and his army were besieging the Philistine city of Gibbethon, Baasha led a conspiracy against the king.
1 Kings 15:27-28 (KJV): “But Baasha the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, conspired against him; and Baasha smote him at Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines… Even in the third year of Asa king of Judah did Baasha slay him, and reigned in his stead.”
To secure his throne and fully end the previous dynasty, Baasha committed a brutal act of political cleansing, destroying every single descendant of Jeroboam.
1 Kings 15:29 (KJV): “And it came to pass, when he reigned, that he smote all the house of Jeroboam; he left not to Jeroboam any that breathed, until he had destroyed him, according unto the saying of the LORD, which he spake by his servant Ahijah the Shilonite:”
Ironically, Baasha was the unwitting agent of God’s judgment upon the wicked house of Jeroboam, proving that God’s prophecies of destruction are always carried out, even through the wickedness of men.
Repeating the Fatal Sin
The tragedy of Baasha is that he failed to learn the clear lesson of Jeroboam’s destruction. Though he received the kingdom directly from God’s decree against his predecessor, he immediately repeated the same political and spiritual errors.
1 Kings 15:34 (KJV): “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.”
He maintained Jeroboam’s state-sponsored calf-worship at Bethel and Dan, prioritizing political stability and religious independence from Judah over spiritual obedience to the LORD. This commitment to idolatry ensured the moral decay of the entire northern kingdom.
The Prophetic Doom
Because Baasha chose wickedness over repentance, the LORD raised up the prophet Jehu, son of Hanani, to pronounce the very same devastating judgment upon Baasha’s house that he had executed upon Jeroboam’s.
1 Kings 16:2-4 (KJV): “Forasmuch as I exalted thee out of the dust… and thou hast walked in the way of Jeroboam… Behold, I will take away the posterity of Baasha, and the posterity of his house; and will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. Him that dieth of Baasha in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth of his in the fields shall the fowls of the air eat.”
The prophecy was swiftly fulfilled. After Baasha died and was buried in his capital, Tirzah, his son Elah reigned for only two years before being assassinated by Zimri, his own servant, who then executed Baasha’s entire lineage, leaving “not one that pisseth against a wall” (1 Kings 16:11, KJV).
The Defence of Warning
The life of King Baasha serves as a monumental warning for the “Defence of the Truth.” It demonstrates the severity of God’s judgment against those who promote idolatry and sin, and it highlights the spiritual danger of doing the right thing (fulfilling prophecy) for the wrong reasons (self-advancement).
Baasha was chosen “out of the dust” but was destroyed because he failed to choose holiness over political expediency. Those who await the Lord’s Return must take heed: God judges not only the wicked deeds we condemn in others but, with even greater scrutiny, the sins we commit ourselves after receiving His mercy.