The book of 1 Kings continues the story of Israel, starting with the ascension of David's son, Solomon, to the throne. Eleven chapters tell about the reign of Solomon, describing his great wisdom, his impressive building projects, and at the end of his life, his great folly. He did what was evil in God's sight and followed other gods, the gods of his foreign wives. That folly proved to be his undoing and the undoing of the entire kingdom. At Solomon's death, the kingdom divided in two — ten tribes in the north called Israel, and two tribes in the south called Judah.
The second half of 1 Kings, chapters 12-22, describes the kings of these northern and southern kingdoms. The chapters note the reign of 13 different kings, many of whom turned their backs on God.
In chapter 17, God sends the prophet Elijah to warn the wicked kings about the great cost of their disobedience. The rest of 1 and 2 Kings contain the story of their response.
What does it say?
First Kings takes us deeper into the story we left at the close of 2 Samuel. David comes to the end of his life, and he transfers the throne to Solomon his son. From there, 1 & 2 Kings together move through four centuries of Israel's history, from Solomon to the fall of Samaria (722 B.C.) and Jerusalem (587 B.C.).
In 1 Kings we experience the golden era of Solomon's reign, read about the breakup between Israel and Judah (the northern and southern kingdoms) that occurred when Solomon died, and learn about the first group of kings over the newly divided kingdoms and the rather dramatic life of Elijah, the prophet God assigned to confront one of the very worst of them.
Faces & Places
First Kings is a book of kings, and there are a lot of them. The first half focuses on king Solomon. Adonijah, David's fourth son, was never really a king, but attempted to steal the throne that was eventually given to Solomon. Jeroboam rebelled against Solomon and became the first king of the northern kingdom. In an interesting episode from Soloman's life, the Queen of Sheba paid him a royal visit.
The prophet Elijah occupies several chapters of the book. Elijah lives during the reign of Ahab, a particularly evil king of the northern kingdom. Ahab's wife Jezebel was so evil, even her name seems to be associated today with all things bad.
Jerusalem, the center of Solomon's kingdom remained the capital of the southern kingdom of Judah. The northern kingdom placed its capital in Samaria. When Jeroboam established his separate kingdom, he set up worship centers to compete with Jerusalem at Bethel and Dan.
Key Verses & Themes
Division of the Kingdom:
1 Kings 11:11-13 "So the Lord said to Solomon, 'Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded to you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates. Nevertheless, for the sake of David your father, I will not do it during your lifetime. I will tear it out of the hand of your son. Yet I will not tear the whole kingdom from him, but will give him one tribe for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen."
Obedience/Disobedience of the Kings:
1 Kings 15:11 "Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as his father David had done."
1 Kings 16:30-31 "Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him. He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him."
So what?
Solomon probably never really meant to depart from the path God had set for him. He probably never intended to walk away in disobedience. But he began to compromise, particularly to social and cultural pressures, and maybe a bit too much enjoyment of his personal wealth and glory. And before he knew it, his family was filled with pagan wives and his kingdom was filled with sin.
First Kings carries on a theme that will run through the entire Old Testament. We are not to play with sin. That was the message of the prophets. Be true to God. No compromise.
