This is the Bible Book Club. I'm Heather and I'm Susan. And we're in the book of First Kings. Welcome to the club.

Last time in chapter 16 and 17, Omri, the former commander of Israel's army killed Zimri and began a reign, a 12-year reign.

Amri was succeeded by his son Ahab.

Ahab reigned for 22 years and did even more evil than Omri.

He had help from his wife, Jezebel, who was an influencer for Baal.

God responded to Israel's evil by sending a

powerful prophet named Elijah. Elijah warned Ahab that because of their evil ways, there would be a drought

in the land. Jezebel was a killer queen. So to keep Elijah safe, the Lord provided him with food and a

hiding place far away. First, he hid by a brook

where the ravens fed him, then in the home of a widow from Zarifath. While staying with the

widow, her son became ill and died. Elijah, the power prophet, prayed, and the boy was then

brought back to life.

Elijah is the first of only four others in the Bible to repeat the miracle of raising someone

from the dead.

Okay, so before we get into this week's episode, I'm going to talk about the importance of

the Omri dynasty.

We've touched on it a little.

The Omri dynasty is considered the greatest of the northern

kingdom of Israel in all their history. The dynasty included Omri's son Ahab and two grandsons, and it lasted

almost 50 years well into the book of second kings. Now, Omri was a self-made king who left a legacy infamous for its evil.

He didn't inherit the kingship, in other words. The Bible does not record the power and

prosperity of the house of Omri, but others did. In fact, the Assyrian records referred to the nation of Israel as the house of

...