I Kings 16 While Asa was ruling Judah, Israel had a string of kings - Baasha had killed Nadab.  After Baasha died, his son Elah reigned 2 years. Zimri, his servant, killed him and all his household.  Zimri lasted 7 days before he was confronted by Omri, the head of the army.  He burned down the king's house around himself and Omri reigned for 12 years.  After Omri died, his son Ahab became king.  

Every one of these kings did more evil than the one before him.  Ahab became even worse when he married Jezebel and added Baal to the idols that Israel already had.   Each king provoked God with their idolatry.  The Complete Jewish Bible says it this way, " [Ahab]... did more to anger Adonai the God of Israel, than all the kings before him."( v32)  They angered God "with their worthless idols.." ( v26)

In Tozer's book The Knowledge of the Holy, he writes this about God's holiness - "God is holy and He has made holiness the moral condition necessary to the health of His universe. Sin's temporary presence in the world accents this. Whatever is holy is healthy; evil is a moral sickness that must end ultimately in death. The formation of the language itself suggests this, the English word holy deriving from the Anglo-Saxon haling, has, meaning 'well, whole'. Since God's first concern for His universes is its moral health, that is, its holiness, whatever is contrary to this is necessarily under His eternal displeasure. To preserve His creation God must destroy whatever would destroy it. When He arises to put down iniquity and save the world from irreparable moral collapse, He is said to be angry. Every wrathful judgment in the history of the world has been a holy act of preservation. The holiness of God, the wrath of God, and the health of the creation are inseparably united. God's wrath is His utter intolerance of whatever degrades and destroys. He hates iniquity as a mother hates the polio that would take the life of her child." 

Over and over Israel, and later Judah, practiced idolatry and immorality.  This made God angry and He brought His righteous judgement upon them.  

As we look at our current world, we see the same "moral sickness" rising up more and more.  We know that the wrath of God will strike down all that are evil.  Tozer also wrote this.. "In the moral conflict now raging around us whoever is on God's side is on the winning side and cannot lose; whoever is on the other side is on the losing side and cannot win. Here there is no chance, no gamble. There is freedom to choose which side we shall be on but no freedom to negotiate the results of the choice once it is made. By the mercy of God we may repent a wrong choice an alter the consequences by making a new and right choice. Beyond that we cannot go." 

Father in heaven, we choose You. We do not have and do not want any worthless idols.  We want to be whole and well - completely Yours.  Help us to stay in Your Presence, walking in Your Light.  Come Spirit and guide us in the ways of Jesus our Lord and Redeemer, to the glory of His Name.  amen.