Who Was King Omri in the Bible and What Made Him He So Evil?
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Omri had the odd distinction of being an Israelite king who experienced, or took part in, three rebellions or civil wars. Even though he was king for a comparatively short time, the Bible says that he surpassed the evil deeds of all the kings before him.
Who Was Omri in the Bible?
Omri was a commander of the army of Israel, first mentioned in 1 Kings 16. He lived after the nation of Israel had split into the nation of Judah (the 10 northern tribes) and Israel (the southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin). While Jeroboam was the first king of this reduced nation of Israel, he sinned terribly and his family was slaughtered by Baasha son of Ahijah (1 Kings 15:25-31). Baasha’s son Elah succeeded him, but another young leader decided it was time for an overthrow. This particular mutiny set the stage for Omri’s story:
One of Omri’s military colleagues, Zimri, was in charge of half of Elah’s royal chariots. Zimri decided he liked the idea of being on the throne, so he killed Elah while he was drunk, killing his entire family and associates as well (1 Kings 16:8-14). Zimri had hoped he could take over as king with few problems, and set his throne in the town of Tirzah. When the Israelites heard about Elah’s death, they gathered and made Omri king instead. Omri invaded Tirzah, and as Zimri saw his army was being defeated, he burned his palace down rather than surrender (1 Kings 16:15-20).
Evidently, revolts have a way of spawning new ones. Immediately after Zimri died, Omri had a civil war on his hands: half the Israelites supported him, the other half a man named Tibni, son of Ginath. Omri soundly defeated Tibni and his supporters and reigned as king of Israel for 12 years.
What Did Omri Do as King?
Specific details about Omri’s reign are few and far between. The only details we really get about his rule are that he brought the property to create a city called Samaria and that he followed Jeroboam’s example, leading Israel to anger God “with their worthless idols” (1 Kings 16:26). Eastman’s Bible Dictionary notes that the Assyrians called Samaria “the city of Omri,” although the name Samaria would eventually apply to both the city and the surrounding region. Over time, Samaritans became famous for syncretizing Judaism with other religions and various feuds, which led Jewish people to associate Samaritans with impure, blasphemers. Hence, the story of the Good Samaritan is intended as a story about seeing even those we hate as our neighbors.
After Omri’s death, his son Ahab succeeded him and married a Sidonian princess named Jezebel. Ahab is also mentioned as promoting the worship of false gods (at least somewhat spurned on by Jezebel). Ahab and Jezebel’s clashes with the prophet Elijah are some of the Old Testament’s most famous stories.
What Did He Do That Was So Bad?
We would automatically assume that the reason Omri is considered a bad king is that he overthrew people. However, the Bible’s descriptions of Zimri’s death describe it as happening because Zimri was sinful (1 Kings 16:18-19). This suggests that while Omri’s ascension may not have been God-ordained, he was at least being used by God when he started out. 1 Kings 16:25-26 says that Omri behaved badly, “even more than any of the kings before him.” This is especially a strong thing to say because the preceding chapters have set all the evil kings’ deeds up against what Jeroboam did, describing Jeroboam as the high mark of evil. Omri himself is described as following Jeroboam’s example “in all the sins he had committed,” but that he did eviler than all the kings before him (1 Kings 16:26). So, something he did was bad enough to pass Jeroboam and set a new record. However, the Bible is curiously vague about what those bad things were, which leads us to a new question.
Why Was Omri Considered the Evilest King (before Ahab)?
Since the only details we get about Omri’s reign are that he founded the city of Samaria and encouraged the people to follow idols, it’s hard to say exactly how he surpassed Jeroboam to become known as the evilest king of Israel. However, given the details we get of other kings who followed false gods—child sacrifices to Molech, temple prostitution to various gods, priests of Baal cutting themselves in ceremonies—we know that idolatry was shocking and corrupted people in terrible ways. Since the Bible doesn’t state exactly what idols Omri worshipped or how he worshipped them, it may be that he didn’t do anything innovative. He may not have introduced new gods, killed any new prophets, or invented a new way to insult God. He may have just taken what was already being done to new extremes.
That is perhaps especially likely if we consider the fact that Omri’s son Ahab went down in history as Israel’s most evil king ever, yet Ahab’s main problem appeared to be passivity. Ahab did some very evil things, but his defining traits in the Bible are sulking when he didn’t get what he wanted and calling others “troublers” when they called him out for behaving poorly. It’s possible that Ahab’s attitude (do the selfish thing and take it further than anyone else has) was learned from his father.
How Can We Watch for Bad Leaders?
Given how bad Omri was, and his interesting family legacy, we could draw a number of different lessons from his life. Here are three specific lessons we can learn from his life and his poor leadership:
The grass is not necessarily greener on the other side. Omri had a particularly messy ascension to power, revolting against one rebel and then having to fight against another rebel directly after that. He likely thought that becoming king would mean the end of his troubles, but it proved to be just the beginning. Eventually, we will all have situations where we feel dissatisfied, and think a single change, breaking one rule, will get rid of all our problems. In reality, breaking rules have a way of leading to new conflicts and concerns. For that reason, it’s important to always look for God’s guidance as we consider our next steps.
Just because we accomplish God’s purpose once doesn’t mean we’ll continue down that path. While the Bible doesn’t say that Omri was selected to become the next king in the way it does when talking about Jeroboam, it does make it clear that Omri’s predecessor died for his sins. This means that Omri was used by God to bring justice at least once, and yet he didn’t continue being used by God. We must be humble enough to admit we are fallible human beings, and no matter how powerful or old we get, we always need God’s wisdom.
Invest well in our families. While we don’t get many details about what kind of parent that Omri was, it’s probably not an accident that he was a terrible king, and his son Ahab continued in that pattern of behavior. Whether we recognize our flaws or not, those flaws affect our children and family members, cultivating behavior that will continue long after we’re gone. We must be willing, to be honest about ourselves and the family culture we are creating and seek guidance to correct flaws before the consequences become massive.
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Yurii Kifor
This article is part of our People from the Bible Series featuring the most well-known historical names and figures from Scripture. We have compiled these articles to help you study those whom God chose to set before us as examples in His Word. May their lives and walks with God strengthen your faith and encourage your soul.
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