The Fellowship Residency Program has introduced me to the idea of reading commentaries alongside scripture. By next August, I will have read through the entire Bible as well as The King in His Beauty, our selected commentary. As I am reading, I am writing a little bit about each of the books of the Bible so you and I can have a more thorough understanding of the scriptures. I invite you to follow along with me as we learn the Bible in its entirety from Genesis to Revelation. This summary does NOT encompass the entire book, but it is a good place to start. I encourage you to read for yourself and begin your own Biblical journal along the way. To read any of my other Residency related posts, click here.
Introduction – Theology and history are one in the same in the book of Kings. The historical events that take place are argued to be a result of the theological principles that are ignored. Israel ends the book of Samuel in anticipation of becoming a blessing to the world. In Kings, Israel is instead overcome once again with evil, disobedient to God’s commands, and ultimately suffers a fate of exile. The writer is clear regarding who is ruling, whether they are ruling over Judah or Israel, and exactly when in history they are ruling. This is no small feat as Kings covers a time period of approximately 400 years of history. The story is full of prophets reminding the people that they will be blessed if they (and especially their King) obey God’s commands and cursed if they turn away from his rule. The prophet’s warnings become true as we see what appears to be a hopeless tale of sin and fall within God’s people. Thankfully, there is hope of the promise to come that God will someday provide a King from David’s line to make Israel a blessing to the world. We look forward with anticipation of what is in store for Israel. However, in the anticipation, they must suffer through and experience the chaos of the exile.
An Anticipation of Paradise: 1 Kings 1-10 – We open up 1 Kings by watching Solomon ascend to the throne. Adonijah, along with others, grip for the throne, but Solomon secures the throne by executing Adonijah and establishes himself as king with the comfort that there are no remaining threats to his reign as king. The first warning to Solomon comes when he marries Pharaoh’s daughter. Otherwise, he loved and obeyed God. God tells Solomon to request anything in prayer. Solomon requests wisdom and is granted his request as well as riches, long life, and deliverance from his enemies, because he did not ask selfishly for those things. The land of Solomon is considered to be a new Eden. Not only because of the peace and prosperity of the people, but also because of God’s presence with His people. Therefore, the building of the temple is highly emphasized. The name of God is great and highlights the centrality of God in Israel in the temple. Consistently, Solomon, through imperfect, upholds many of the same traits of the perfect king to come including wisdom, peace, building of the temple, respecting the Sabbath, and acting as king and priest. “Heaven is God’s dwelling place, and the temple on earth functions as an earthly counterpart to a heavenly reality.” Though God is to be feared, powerful, and cannot be contained by the temple, He is also the God that has kept His promise to His people and offered gracious love. At this point, God has encouraged a “come and see” mission where other nations would see that God is good rather than a “go and tell” approach. Solomon then spends a great deal of time in prayer that God would forgive the people and bless them if they repent. His prayer ushers in hope that the exile is not the end of the story. God responds to his prayer with a warning that if they disobey, he will allow their enemies to destroy the temple. His warning is to emphasize that the upcoming exile is a result of their disobedience and not a lack of ability to overpower their enemies. Chapter 10 ends by describing that vast amount of wisdom, riches, and wealth found in Israel during Solomon’s rule. It seems that the universal blessing is awaiting the people.
The Nation Unravels: 1 Kings 11-16 – What appears to be a time of paradise takes a quick turn as Solomon falls deep into sin. He has relations with numerous foreign women and even falls to the point of worshiping other gods. The kingdom eventually is split with Jeroboam being the most likely to successfully rule over the 10 tribes of Israel. However, his dynasty is also short-lived. The prophecy that the ten tribes would abandon the Davidic king became fulfilled with the king of Rehoboam, son of Solomon. The ten tribes elect Jeroboam as their King, but he goes against the Lord’s commandments. His son is killed, therefore ending the line of kings. We see that the rule in Judah is equally sinful and fallen. Though David sinned against Uriah, he was overall obedient. However, the kings of this time are overall disobedient and unstable as there are 10 dynastic changes. Time and time again, the kings get more disobedient with the peak fall happening with Ahab introducing Baal worship into Israel which would have fatal consequences in the years to come.
The Conflict with Baal Worship: 1 Kings 17- 2 Kings 12 – Baal continued to spread to Israel and Judah. God sent prophets, Elijah and Elisha to challenge Baal. Elijah even challenged Baal to a contest against their Lord, Yahweh by asking him to bring fire to the altar sacrifice. Only Yahweh appeared, and the people’s hearts were won over. However, Elijah escapes to Mount Horeb for fear of being the only one left devoted to God. God responds to Elijah in a whisper as he had no new covenant to enact or message to share. Instead, Elijah is essentially a new leader similar to Moses that reaffirms the covenant with God. The remainder of 1 Kings focuses on the downfall of Ahab. It is made clear that disobedience to God’s commands will lead to destruction. Ahab did not want to hear from the prophets, because he only sought to hear what he wanted to hear which was not the truth. After deception, Ahab is killed in battle when he is hit with a “random” arrow. Elijah maintained the favor of God as fire came down and killed men trying to capture him. Elisha takes over in 2 Kings Chapter 2 when Elijah is taken away by the chariots into Heaven. Elisha performs great miracles that point towards the new creation that will transcend the life of Eden and dismiss the power of Baal. Elisha was also able to establish that the sovereign God would be recognized outside of Israel and prophesied the spreading of the gospel to the nations. He focused on emphasizing that Yahweh is the one and true God and all other gods, Baal included, must be rejected. Finally, Elisha’s miracles were to highlight that Israel could trust in God to provide for their needs, even in times of extreme need. Overtime, Baal is wiped out from Israel by Jehu and Judah by Jehoiada and Joash.
Exile: 2 Kings 13-25 – The removal of Baal worship leads readers to believe that prosperity is near for Israel. However, Israel continued to sin against the Lord and even allowed their evil to seep into the southern kingdom. The northern kingdom of Israel was exiled by Assyria. The initial fall from Jeroboam was never truly rectified, and they suffered the consequences of the covenant. While Israel was coming to an end, Judah was being redeemed by Hezekiah in a big way. The Lord spared Judah from Assyria to humble the Assyrians. However, Hezekiah ended his time reigning by showing the Babylonians his wealth and palace. His son, Manasseh, would restore idol worship and his son, Amon was one in the same. Josiah was a bright light in the kings, but he came too late. He repaired the temple, wept over the nation’s sins, and longed for God’s will to be done. He died in peace, but Judah would not be spared. Nebuchadnezzar of the Babylonians burned the temple and seized the city. Ultimately, Judah suffered exile as a result of their violations of the covenant.
Conclusion – Though the book of Kings begins on a high note, it evolves in a slow dissolution that begins with Solomon. The story of God’s people sinning began in Babylon and ends up in Babylon again. God highlights that he will ultimately punish those who abandon him and reminds them that they are in exile due to both Israel and Judah’s failure to uphold their part of the covenant. Yet, the book ends with hope. The Davidic King, Jehoiachin, is seen almost thriving in exile. No matter how far it seems they are from the promise, the Lord is true to His word and will restore His people. However, one thing is clear. Israel cannot carry out the will of God on their own. They need a righteous and gracious savior.
Themes: God is the one and only true God. God is sovereign over all. Sin consistently leads to destruction of individuals, families, communities, and nations. Wisdom and the kingdom of God are interrelated. The prophecy of God is irrevocable and will come to pass. God’s word is sacred. God continually tries to draw Israel back to Himself.