“Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart.”
Ephesians 4:18
The following is an excerpt from “The Biblical Path of Life” Year Two, Quarter One – Lesson 2:
“We read about the first three kings of Israel in our last lesson. See they are described as kings whom: “…did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin” (1 Kings 15:26). Remember that King Jeroboam made two golden calves, one in Dan and the other in Bethel, for the people to worship so that they would not return to the Temple in Jerusalem. This was sin in God’s eyes. Notice that each king after Jeroboam was compared back to him. … We will meet five more kings of Israel from 1 Kings 16.
“Elah: When Baasha died, his son Elah became king (see 1 Kings 16:8). Elah’s servant, Zimri, conspired against him. Zimri was captain of half his chariots. After conspiring against him, Zimri killed him, becoming king in his stead (see 1 Kings 16:9-10).
“Zimri: As soon as Zimri became king, he killed the entire house of Baasha, according to the word of the Lord (1 Kings 16:11-13). Why did he do this? “For all the sins of Baasha, and the sins of Elah his son, by which they sinned, and by which they made Israel to sin, in provoking the LORD God of Israel to anger with their vanities” (1 Kings 16:13). Zimri was king for seven days. When the people heard that he killed Elah to become king, they made Omri their king. When the people did this, Omri went (and all of Israel with him) to besiege Tirzah. When Zimri saw the city was taken, he went into the palace of the king’s house and burned it — while he was still inside, killing himself (see 1 Kings 16:18). It was the Lord’s will that he die. Why? “For his sins which he sinned in doing evil in the sight of the LORD, in walking in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin which he did, to make Israel to sin” (1 Kings 16:19). However, there was a division among the people.
“Tibni: Half of the people followed Tibni to make him king, but the other half followed Omri. “But the people that followed Omri prevailed against the people that followed Tibni the son of Ginath: so Tibni died, and Omri reigned” (1 Kings 16:22).
“Omri: The people made Omri king and he reigned for twelve years. He bought a hill in Samaria and built a city. “25. But Omri wrought evil in the eyes of the LORD, and did worse than all that were before him. 26. For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin, to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger with their vanities” (1 Kings 16:25-26). Omri died and his son, Ahab, reigned in his stead.
“Ahab: Ahab, son of Omri, reigned over Israel for 22 years. “30. And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD above all that were before him. 31. And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him. 32. And he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. 33. And Ahab made a grove; and Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him” (1 Kings 16:30-33). As we will find in our study, Ahab was a wicked king with a very wicked wife.
“A Deeper Path: Notice that each generation seemed to be worse than the generation before them. When they rejected God and His commandments, the land filled with “darkness.” See what Jesus said in John 3:19: “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.”
“Remember that Jesus came to set us free from that darkness to walk as His dear children in Him (the Light). “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light” (Ephesians 5:8).
“A Christian cannot walk in “darkness” (sin). “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth” (1 John 1:6).
“As Christians (God’s people), we are to be different — not like the “nations” around us (as Israel’s kings chose to be). “17. This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, 18. Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart” (Ephesians 4:17-18).”
Are you like the wicked kings of Israel with their understanding darkened, because of the blindness of their heart?
Or
Are you light in the Lord, walking as children of light?