Skip to main content

Omri and a Name

 


      And he bought the hill Samaria of Shemer for two talents of silver, and built on the hill, and called the name of the city which he built, after the name of Shemer, owner of the hill, Samaria. But Omri wrought evil in the eyes of the LORD, and did worse than all that were before him. 1Ki 16:24-25

             Shakespeare wrote, What’s in a name? that which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet; So Romeo would were he not Romeo called. We refer to men as having a good name when it is deserved. We remember the most famous of names in our history such as Washington and Lincoln; we also remember the most infamous names. Omri, king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel was infamous in the same regard.

             People with infamous names can have success in their lives in some areas. For instance, Omri built the city of Samaria which was built on a high hill. Samaria stood as a strategic stronghold for the nation and became the capital city. Yet Omri, like those before him, came to power through a division as you remember with Tibni. Omri's status is truly marked the above passage where we read (He) did worse than all that were before him. This is a horrible thing to write about someone. It is even worse that it was true.

       Micah mentions Omri in His prophecy in Micah 6:16. The evil and idolatry of the reign of Omri and his son Ahab is representative of God's people in Micah's time. Progressive evil was present in the Northern Kingdom from its beginning and would continue. Omri, worse than all those before, became a standard-bearer for the sin in which Israel continued.

       Evil continues to progress in society. It has been bad before, real bad, and it will be really bad again. We must be willing to face the accuser Satan with the Truth. We can stand up and proclaim the name of Christ and the truth of His righteousness. We must not let the infamous man soil our name. We can boldly live with our Savior’s name. It can go either way, but each man chooses for himself the status of His name. That, Juliet, is what’s in a name.

Grace and Peace,

R.D. Beavers

 

 

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Don't Raise an Ahaz

           Twenty years old was Ahaz when he began to reign; and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: and he did not that which was right in the eyes of Jehovah his God, like David his father. But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, yea, and made his son to pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the nations, whom Jehovah cast out from before the children of Israel.   And he sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree . 2 Kings 16:2-4                   When was the first time you drove a car? What about the first time you jumped off a diving board or gave a speech? After that first time, it certainly became easier. What about the first lie you told? Did it become easier? King Ahaz of Judah was evil and far from the example of David. Ahaz was the first to offer child sacrifices to t...
Post a Comment
Read more

At the Feet of Jesus

          How amazing it must have been to sit at the feet of Jesus. Have you thought much about that? What would it have been like to be around the Master? It was obviously life altering for His disciples, the majority of which (by historical accounts) would go on to violent deaths. Christians would go on to be persecuted throughout the centuries. Why? Jesus is worth the shame (Acts 5:41). Jesus is worth it all, because “there is no other name, under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). It is for this very reason we think about how amazing it would have been to personally sit at the feet of Jesus. To Talk to Him Must Have Been Tender           Talking to Jesus must have been so tender. We know that He would tell people what they needed to hear, and sometimes that was rather forthright (see Matt. 23), but he was loving and compassionate to those who wanted to learn from Him. Remember when parents were b...
Post a Comment
Read more

Hanging On

Therefore let us also, seeing we are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising shame, and hath sat down at the right hand of the throne of God  Hebrews 12:1-2      In order to hang on, you must let go. This seems counterproductive at first glance. If we let go, we might fall and get hurt. If we let go, we might hurt someone else, and we might even hurt ourselves. Yet, letting go can also allow us to hang on to what matters.       We can hang onto the righteousness of God. This helps us to run with patience. When the race is long and arduous, and when life doesn’t end up as we planned, we can look forward to letting go of the doubts and sins that tell us to quit, give up, and stop running...
Post a Comment
Read more