The writer gives us an evaluation of Baasha as Israel’s king. The evaluation is a negative one; it is said that Baasha did what God considered evil, and he did so by following the example of Jeroboam I, who led Israel into a pattern of sin and rebellion against God.
This is the common refrain in these chapters: doing what is evil in the sight of the Lord, following the example of Jeroboam, who led the people of Israel to sin. This always concerns the worship of images with bull calves in Bethel—that contagious sin. It is striking that, although Baasha executed the punishment of God on the family of Jeroboam, he was, nevertheless, guilty of the same sin. Thus, you already anticipate what will be told next.
God’s response to Baasha’s evil is the theme of 1 Kings 16:1–7. Yet, before we move on to the next chapter, it is well to make a comment based upon the length of Baasha’s reign. It is tempting to think that you can determine whether a king is good or evil by the length of his reign. While it is true, that some of the wicked kings of Israel and Judah had relatively short reigns, many (such as Baasha) had relatively long reigns. God is long-suffering. He sometimes gives the wicked a considerable time to repent before bringing his judgment to bear upon them.
34 He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and walked in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin which he made Israel to sin.