1 Kings 15:27-16:7

Living Bible

²⁷ Then Baasha (the son of Ahijah, from the tribe of Issachar) plotted against him and assassinated him while he was with the Israeli army laying siege to the Philistine city of Gibbethon. ²⁸ So Baasha replaced Nadab as the king of Israel in Tirzah during the third year of the reign of King Asa of Judah. ²⁹ He immediately killed all of the descendants of King Jeroboam, so that not one of the royal family was left, just as the Lord had said would happen when he spoke through Ahijah, the prophet from Shiloh. ³⁰ This was done because Jeroboam had angered the Lord God of Israel by sinning and leading the rest of Israel into sin.

³¹ Further details of Baasha’s reign are recorded in The Annals of the Kings of Israel.

^32-33 There was continuous warfare between King Asa of Judah and King Baasha of Israel. Baasha reigned for twenty-four years, ³⁴ but all that time he continually disobeyed the Lord. He followed the evil paths of Jeroboam, for he led the people of Israel into the sin of worshiping idols.

16 A message of condemnation from the Lord was delivered to King Baasha at this time by the prophet Jehu:

² “I lifted you out of the dust,” the message said, “to make you king of my people Israel; but you have walked in the evil paths of Jeroboam. You have made my people sin, and I am angry! ³ So now I will destroy you and your family, just as I did the descendants of Jeroboam. ^4-7 Those of your family who die in the city will be eaten by dogs, and those who die in the fields will be eaten by the birds.”

The message was sent to Baasha and his family because he had angered the Lord by all his evil deeds. He was as evil as Jeroboam despite the fact that the Lord had destroyed all of Jeroboam’s descendants for their sins.

The rest of Baasha’s biography—his deeds and conquests—are written in The Annals of the Kings of Israel.