Who Lives Who Dies Who Tells Your Story

Omri was maybe the most powerful king of Israel’s northern kingdom. He built the capital city of Samaria. Artifacts from that period, like the Mesha Stele and the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III, refer to him and his reign. If fact, the nation of Israel was known by the Assyrians as the land of Omri. In history, he is a predominant figure.

However, the Bible only gives him eight verses (1^st Kings 16:21-28). Those deal with the civil war that brought him to power, how he bought the hill that Samaria would be built on and how “did evil in the sight of the LORD, and acted more wickedly than all who were before him”. It‘s not that is doesn’t acknowledge his reign as significant (it tells us where to look to see those details) but rather it is unimportant to God’s purpose.

Omri might have been great historically, but to God, he is rather inconsequential.

Many people think an important life is one that garners attention culturally or historically. A life that is a story people will tell. A name in the history books.

Consider what we read in Romans 14:12; “So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.” We will all get to tell our life story before God. Each one will stand before Him with a chance to tell him what we have done. That story will be judged by Him and our fate will be determined. What will impress him? Our mighty deeds? The power we acquired? The battles we won? Or rather will it be the right or wrong we did?

People talk about how history will judge them. I don’t think that is what we really should be concerned with. God will be our judge, no matter if the future world forgets all about us.

He must be the one that we please with our story.

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