Some additional thoughts regarding evaluations

I meant to include this in my original post, but I was getting a little long and I am planning on sending that article to a Pastor friend of mine who asked more for some devotional type articles for a church newsletter he is starting and I wanted to stay under the 800 word limit he recommended.

One of the most striking illustrations of God's evaluations in the lives of the kings comes from the life of King Omri.

When we look in Scripture, King Omri is not given a very prominent place. We read about his life in 1 Kings 16:16-28 and it is not very impressive.

The most important things that the Scriptures indicate about Omri are the unusual circumstances of his becoming king, the fact that he moved the capital of the Northern Kingdom to Samaria and that he "wrought evil in the eyes of the LORD, and did worse than all that were before him." (1Kings 16:25)

Yet, when we look at Omri's role from a secular standpoint, we may get the impression he was one of Israel's better kings - or at least most powerful and influential kings.

In regards to his military strength, he apparently had conquered the Moabites and subjugated them according the the Moabite Stone.

In regards to his foreign policy, he apparently had good relations with the Phoenicians based on the marrying of his son Ahab to the Phoenician Jezebel.

In regards to reputation, the Assyrian chronicles reveal that the Norther Kingdom is referred to as the "land of Omri" for years - even to the point of calling Israelite kings "sons of Omri" even though they were not of his actual line.

If an American president had made similar advances in these important areas - military, foreign policy, and cultural (the successful move and improvement of the capital), he would probably be given some prominence in the history of the nation. Instead, Omri is relegated to just a few verses and the fact that "he wrought evil in the eyes of the LORD."

Just some additional thoughts,

Frank