Baasha, king of Israel
33 In the third year that Asa was king of Judah, Ahijah's son Baasha became the king of all Israel. He was living in Tirzah. Baasha ruled as king for 24 years. 34 Baasha did things that the Lord said were evil. He did the same sins that Jeroboam had done. He also caused the Israelites to do those bad things.
15:33Tirzah was a beautiful place. See Song of Songs 6:4. Perhaps that is why Israel's kings lived there instead of in Shechem. 1 Kings 16
1 Then God gave a message to Hanani's son Jehu about punishment for King Baasha. 2 This was the message: ‘Even though you were not an important person, I made you the leader of my people, the Israelites. But then you did all the bad things that Jeroboam did! Also, you caused my people the Israelites to do bad things. Their sins have caused me to become very angry. 3 So now I am ready to destroy you and your family. I will remove your family as I did to the family of Nebat's son Jeroboam. 4 If people of your family die in the city, dogs will eat their bodies. If they die in the country, vultures will eat them.’
5 The other things that happened while Baasha was king are written in a book. The book is called ‘The history of Israel's kings’. It tells about all the things that Baasha did and about his power. 6 Baasha died and they buried him in Tirzah. His son Elah became king after him.
7 Hanani's son Jehu, the prophet, had received a message from the Lord about Baasha and his family. Baasha had done many things that the Lord said were evil, in the same way that Jeroboam had done. Baasha had even destroyed Jeroboam's whole family. These bad things made the Lord very angry.
