Interview with Old Testament Figures – King Baasha: We have with us today, one of the kings of ancient Israel, specifically the Northern Kingdom. His name is King Baasha. It is important to note that our guest was not from the then ‘royal’ lineage of Jeroboam, the founder of the Northern Kingdom.
Shepherd Heart: Thank you very much Sir, for honouring our invitation.
King Baasha: Thank you for having me.
Shepherd Heart: Kindly introduce yourself to our readers.
King Baasha: I was the third king of the Northern Kingdom. My father, Ahijah was of the tribe of Issachar. I became king after overthrowing Nadab, son of Jeroboam.
Shepherd Heart: (Laughs). That was a mild way of saying that you killed the man and took over his throne!
King Baasha: (Laughs). I was trying to mind my language. I am sure your readers are conversant with what happens during military coup d’états.
Shepherd Heart: Not every coup in our generation ends in bloodshed. Anyway, we are not sitting in judgment against you dear King. Our interviews are learning processes. We aim at helping our readers to learn from experiences of Old Testament figures. No human is perfect; hence, we cannot cast stones at anyone for their misdeeds when ours testify against us.
King Baasha: I am glad to hear that. Actually, I have had the time to take stock of the things I did while on earth. Seeing things now in retrospect, I wish with all my heart that I could turn back the hands of the clock and make amends.
Shepherd Heart: What exactly would you have done differently if God had given you the opportunity to retrace your steps?
King Baasha: Let’s start with the murder of Nadab. Was it worth it? Yes, I became king. What impact did my kinship have on humanity? It was after my death that I found out that God measures our worth by what we do for others. Self-centredness is a terrible disease from the devil. When God pronounced His blessing on Abraham, He linked it to what Abraham would do for humanity.
In Genesis 12:2, God said to Abraham, “I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing.” God blesses us so that we can become channels of His blessings to others. I did not realise that at the time I was on earth. I allowed my inordinate ambition to control my life, causing me to shed innocent blood to actualise it.
Shepherd Heart: We all have those kind of moments when we thought that the earth revolved around us. It is a good thing that you have seen the errors of your ways and have repented of them. It would have served a more useful purpose if you had done that while still alive on earth. Were there people in your circle of friends or associates who could have pointed you in the right direction even after you killed Nadab?
King Baasha: It was not an easy thing for anyone to counsel a king in the ancient world except he solicited for it. I was not remorseful about killing Nadab. How could that have been an issue that warranted me asking for counsel from anyone? I was just happy to be king and of course, enjoying all the benefits of the office to be bothered about my conscience.
Shepherd Heart: That is what Paul the apostle referred to as the deceitfulness of sin in Romans chapter 7, verses 10-11. People who are held bondage by sin believe that they are having the best of their worlds. They see themselves as victors, but the Bible says that they are actually victims.
I was amazed the day the Holy Spirit showed me this in Proverbs chapter 1 verses 18 to 19, “And they lay in wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their own lives. So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof.”
King Baasha: Your generation is blessed to have so much godly materials that were not available in our time. I am not trying to justify what we did or the kind of life we lived; which was crude in the extreme. I hope you people also remember that to whom much is given, much is expected. Yeshua said in Luke 12:47-48, “And that servant who knew his Master’s will, and yet did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will be beaten with many lashes of the whip, but the one who did not know it and did things worthy of a beating, will only receive a few lashes.
From everyone to whom much is given, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.” Your generation has the complete book of the Bible and the Holy Spirit. You are like the first servant that has received much! What excuse would you people give for not doing the will of God?
Shepherd Heart: I agree with you that we have indeed received much from the Father, coupled with His daily mercies. What do you think we can do to change the trajectory of evil in our world?
King Baasha: Repentance is key. 2 Chronicles 7:14 is a timeless admonition to people of all ages: “If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sins and will heal their land.”
Shepherd Heart: Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts with us dear King. We pray that they would bless our readers and cause them to seek God’s mercy through genuine repentance from their sins.
King Baasha: The pleasure is mine.