In this episode, Rabbi Yaakov Yosef Reinman describes the Northern Kingdom’s descent into Baal worship under Achav and Ezevel and its spread to Yehudah.
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Chapter Thirty-One: The Baal Cult Invades
Towards the end of his reign, Asa made a political decision whose catastrophic consequences would not become manifest for two generations. In 749 b.c.e., he agreed to the marriage of his son Yehoshaphat to the daughter of Omri, one of the pretenders to the throne of Yisroel.
Lacking the inherent political stability of Malchus Bais Dovid, the Kingdom of Yisroel had deteriorated badly after its first half century of independence. Yeravam ben Nevat had been succeeded by his son Nadav, who was cut from the same cloth. In 774 b.c.e., Nadav was assassinated during a revolt led by Baasha of the tribe of Yissachar.[1] Baasha wiped out the entire House of Yeravam and moved the capital to Tirzah. Baasha then laid siege to Yerushalayim, and Asa was only able to break the siege by bribing Ben-haddad, the Syrian king, to attack Baasha in the north. Internally, Baasha was as corrupt as Yeravam and Nadav. When he died in 751 b.c.e., he was replaced by his son Elah, who was not any better.
In 750 b.c.e., Elah was assassinated by one of his chariot commanders named Zimri, who then seized the throne and wiped out the entire House of Baasha. But his reign lasted a mere seven days. The military crowned Omri, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. In the brief civil war that ensued, Zimri perished. But Omri’s claim to the throne was still not undisputed. Although the military supported Omri, there was considerable popular support for a civilian candidate named Tivni ben Ginas.
At this point, Asa decided to interfere in the internal politics of the Malchus Yisroel. Civil war had raged between the two sister kingdoms for many years, and Asa had suffered through the siege of Yerushalayim by Baasha. The political turmoil following the death of Zimri now presented an opportunity to gain some control over the breakaway kingdom. By throwing his support to one of the pretenders, he could bring an end to the civil war and gain an influential voice in the new regime. He decided to take the plunge and accepted Omri’s daughter in marriage to his son Yehoshaphat. After five long years of strife, the support of Asa helped Omri consolidate his hold on the throne and the kingdom.[2]
The civil war did indeed come to an end, as Asa had hoped, but he had miscalculated badly. By forming a marriage bond with Omri, Asa had exposed the renascent Davidic dynasty to the endemic instability and corrosive influences of the royal houses of Yisroel. In the long term, this exposure would bring about the destruction of his kingdom.
As it turned out, Omri was worse than any of the kings who preceded him, but his reign was relatively short. After gaining undisputed control of the kingdom, he built a new royal capital in Shomron, where he reigned for six more years. In 739 b.c.e., he died and was succeeded by his son Achav.
As a king, Achav was a capable commander and politician, but as a Jew, he was a total disaster. He traveled to the Phoenician city of Sidon and chose as his wife a princess named Ezevel, a faithful adherent of the Baal cult. Ezevel was a thoroughly pagan woman, and it is unlikely that she converted to Judaism[3]; Achav probably did not demand a conversion. Even if he had, it only would have been pro forma and, therefore, invalid. While still in Sidon, Ezevel introduced Achav to the worship of the Baal, and upon their return to Israel, Achav built a temple for the Baal in the royal capital of Shomron, where he worshipped regularly.[4]
The abominations of Yeravam had finally played themselves out to their logical conclusion. By installing anthropomorphic symbols for God in the substitute temples in Bethel and Dan, Yeravam had blurred the Jewish conception of God, and as the years went by, the people were hard-pressed to differentiate between the God of Israel and the imaginary deities of the god race. Presently, the people of the northern kingdom began to adopt the tolerant pagan attitude towards foreign deities. As long as their neighbors didn’t interfere with the native religion, the people felt, what was wrong with respecting the religious beliefs of others? …
Read full chapter and earlier chapters at www.rabbireinman.com.
[1] With regard to Baasha, we once again find the use of the term nagid, ruler, as a qualification of his role as king, as with Shaul and Yeravam (I Kings 16:2).
[2] Rashi, I Kings 16:23
[3] Ralbag, I Kings 16:31
[4] Redak, I Kings 16:31