However great the feat of establishing a new city to be Israel’s capital, it did nothing to soften the negative evaluation of Omri’s rule. History repeats itself. We hear the now-familiar refrain. In fact, the writer informs us that Omri did greater evil than all the kings that were before him. He is even worse than, for example, Jeroboam, who incited Israel to sin against the Lord with futile idols. Nevertheless, the author does not inform his readers of the manner in which Omri more greatly excelled in evil than the former kings, since he mentions only that he followed the example of Jeroboam, and this is exactly the same charge that the writer had accused the previous kings. The writer does remind us of the nature of the provoking sins, and that is the use of idols in worship.
1 Kings 16:27, as usual in the writer’s treatment of a king, provides a reference for further information about Omri. The chorus about the lost location of his heroic deeds returns: once again, the source is the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.
1 Kings 16:28 records Omri’s death in the statement that he slept with his fathers.
It is exceptional in this bloody royal history that Omri died a natural death. The writer used this phrase frequently to speak of a particular king’s death. There is something to notice here, however. We should not conclude that the phrase necessarily means that a king was buried in the same location as his father. The text tells us that Omri was buried in Samaria, his new capital city, and, though it is possible that he had the bodies of his ancestors moved for re-burial at this site that surely cannot be proven.
Before we move on to consider the reign and rule of Ahab, which takes us most, but not all, of the rest of 1 Kings, one thing ought to be said. A narrative concerning the reign of three (or four) kings has taken this chapter and a very little of 1 Kings 15:1–34. On the contrary, the first third of the book deals with the reign of Solomon and another third deals with the reign of Ahab and the ministry of Elijah. We ought to ask, Why the disproportion? The lesson to learn is that God’s priorities and men's differ. There were great events by the world’s standards that no doubt took place. Nevertheless, they were of little importance in the Lord’s view. The building of Samaria is one example, and other matters equally great may not have been given even a mention.
If the same balance of priorities were used to record our lives, what matters would deserve even a mention? Would that mention be for good or evil? These are questions worth asking.
25 Omri did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and did more evil than all who were before him.