1 Kings 16:15-20

1 Kings 16:15-20

[15] In the twenty  and seventh  year  of Asa  king  of Judah  did Zimri  reign  seven  days  in Tirzah.  And the people  were encamped  against Gibbethon,  which belonged to the Philistines.  [16] And the people  that were encamped  heard  say,  Zimri  hath conspired,  and hath also slain  the king:  wherefore all Israel  made Omri,  the captain  of the host,  king  over Israel  that day  in the camp.  [17] And Omri  went up  from Gibbethon,  and all Israel  with him, and they besieged  Tirzah.  [18] And it came to pass, when Zimri  saw  that the city  was taken,  that he went  into the palace  of the king's  house,  and burnt  the king's  house  over him with fire,  and died,  [19] For his sins  which he sinned  in doing  evil  in the sight  of the LORD,  in the way  of Jeroboam,  and in his sin  which he did,  to make Israel  to sin.  [20] Now the rest  of the acts  of Zimri,  and his treason  that he wrought,  are they not written  in the book  of the chronicles  of the kings  of Israel? 

What does 1 Kings 16:15-20 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Zimri"s seven-day reign in885 B.C. was the shortest in the history of the Northern Kingdom.
Omri was commander-in-chief of Israel"s army. He outranked Zimri. When word of Zimri"s assassination of Elah reached the soldiers at Gibbethon (cf. 1 Kings 15:27), they immediately sided with their general and marched back to the capital to claim the throne for Omri. Zimri realized he could not oppose Omri successfully and chose suicide over execution. He also destroyed the palace in the process. It was because of his sins in following Jeroboam"s ways that God permitted Zimri to fail in his coup and to die ( 1 Kings 16:20).
"Out of the chaos portrayed in this section will come Omri, a man who will stabilize the Northern Kingdom, establish a new capital, and begin a new dynasty. His family will rule through2Kings10. They will therefore occupy more of the story than any other northern dynasty. Omrides will also serve as active opponents of the prophets and as patrons of idolatry, especially of Baal worship." [1]