(REFLECTIONS ON 1 Kings 15:25-34)

In today’s Scripture, Baasha conspired against and killed Nadab, the son of Jeroboam, king of Israel. He then became king in Nadab’s place, striking down all the household of Jeroboam. This was in fulfillment of the Lord’s words through His prophet Ahijah because of the sins of King Jeroboam.

29 It came about as soon as he was king, he struck down all the household of Jeroboam. He did not leave to Jeroboam any persons alive, until he had destroyed them, according to the word of the Lord, which He spoke by His servant Ahijah the Shilonite, 30 and because of the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned, and which he made Israel sin, because of his provocation with which he provoked the Lord God of Israel to anger.

However, regarding Baasha, the one the Lord chose to bring judgment on Nadab and the house of Jeroboam, we read,

34 He did evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin which he made Israel sin.

Baasha conspired against Nadab and delivered judgment on the house of Jeroboam, but in the end he also walked in Jeroboam’s ways.

As I was reading today’s Scripture, it reminded me of a trilogy that I read last year called The Poppy War. In the series, the main character, Rin, also stands in opposition to evil in order to protect her people, seek justice, and end oppression.

However, in the end, her pursuit of vengeance increasingly justifies extreme violence. Power and anger consume her, and she commits atrocities that mirror the brutality she originally condemned.

My biggest takeaway from the series was that no matter how good our intentions are in fighting for justice in this world, there is always a great danger that, even if we do end oppression and injustice, we may find that we ourselves have become the injustice and oppression.

In order to establish the justice we seek in the world, we are often tempted to oppress, keep down, and even destroy those who stand in opposition.

This is when we become the evil that we initially were trying to eliminate. Baasha came in opposition to the injustice and evil of Nadab, but in the process, all he did was replace evil with more evil. He removed the evil ruler but preserved the evil way.

Throughout the process of pursuing what is good and just, there is always the danger that we ourselves can become the evil we sought to eliminate. Scripture repeatedly shows that the fundamental problem is not merely evil rulers or corrupt systems, but the sinful human heart.

That is why, in the end, all we can really trust in is the will and sovereignty of God. God is love, and only He can be love through and through. Only He can judge without corruption and reign without becoming oppressive.

That is why our best course of action as the church is not to try to eliminate and reign over the evil of the world as though we ourselves were its saviors, but rather to submit to the will of God and let God eliminate evil and reign over us.

We pursue justice, love mercy, and do good, but we do so with humility and repentance, knowing that we too are susceptible to the very evils we oppose.

If we try to become the deliverers of justice, the freedom fighters, and the hope of the world in place of God, then we may very well end up becoming the evil that God will need to deal with next.

Pastor Michael Lu
Enduring Word Bible Commentary: 1 Kings 15