God's Judgment Regarding King Omri

In spite of his impressive political and military achievements — most notably the construction of Samaria, a fortress capable of defending against anything except a determined siege by a world power — Omri's legacy is one of great evil. Though scripture gives little detail about Omri's evil deeds, he must be remembered as the progenitor of four sovereigns whose capacity for evil was unmatched: King Ahab, King Ahaziah, King Jehoram, and Judah's Queen Athaliah.

Omri's evil influence was so pervasive and long-lasting that over 150 years later, the prophet Micah spoke of it in the present tense, saying, “For the [evil] statutes of Omri are kept ...”¹

1 Kings 16:25-26   But Omri wrought evil in the eyes of the LORD, and did worse than all that were before him. For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin, to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger with their vanities.