Agere Sequitur Esse

1 Kings

First Kings

Notes.. .

. ..Introduction. Authorship is unknown. Written to contrast the lives of those who live for God and those who refuse to do so and record the history of the kings of Israel and Judah. People include David, Solomon, Rehoboam, Jeroboam, Elijah, Ahab, and Jezebel.
. ..Themes. King, Temple, gods, Prophet’s Message, and Sin and Repentance.
. ..Outline. “These books provide a prophetic interpretation of the history of Israel to the reign of Solomon to the 37th year of [ ] event in Babylonian captivity” (William Seay 2019, L5 37:52–38:09).
. ..Application. “These books focus our attention of God’s sovereign control of history to fulfill His kingdom purpose. These inspired books call us to understand that God will indeed fulfill His kingdom purposes to obey and serve God will our hearts as the only basis for His lesson. (Seay 2019, L6 10:45–11:10).
. ..Timeline. Solomon reigned 40 years. David dies in 971. Solomon made king and prays for wisdom in 971. Solomon builds temple 957 to 965. Rehoboam was made king following the death of Solomon in 931. Contest at Mt. Carmel between Elijah and 450 prophets of Baal in 870. Elisha is called in 860. Elijah is taken up in whirlwind in 850. Jezebel dies in 841. Elisha dies in 798. Captivity of Israel by Assyria in 732. Jerusalem falls to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, in 586.

Introduction. I Kings. 30:00 – The purpose was to contrast the lives of those who live for God and those who refuse to do so. The history of the kings of Israel and Judah. The author is unknown. Some people speculate that it might have been Jeremiah, or it even possibly could have been a group of prophets. The key people are David, Solomon, Rehoboam, Jeroboam, Elijah, Ahab, and Jezebel.

Themes. I Kings. 32:15 – There are five major theological themes. (i) The King. Solomon’s power, wisdom, and achievement brought honor to the Israelite nation and to God. All the kings of Israel and Judah were told to obey God and to govern according to His law but their tendency to abandon God’s Word and worship other gods led them to change their religion and government to meet their own personal desires. This neglect of God’s law led to their downfall. (ii) The Temple. Solomon’s temple was a beautiful place of worship and prayer. This sanctuary was the center of Jewish religion. It was a place of God’s special presence and housed the ark of the covenant containing the ten commandments. (iii) Other gods. Although the Israelites had God’s law and experienced His presence among them, they became attracted to other gods. When this happened, their hearts became cold to God’s law resulting in ruin of families and government and eventually leading to the destruction of the whole nation. (iv) The Prophet’s Message. The prophet’s responsibility was to confront and correct any deviation from God’s law. Elijah was bolt of judgement against Israel, his messages and miracles were a warning to the evil and rebellious kings and people. (v) Sin and Repentance. Each King had God’s Word. A priest or prophet and lessons of the past to draw him back to God. All the people had the same resources. Whenever they repented and returned to God, He heard their prayer and forgave them.

Outline. Kings I and II. 37:40 – These books provide a prophetic interpretation of the history of Israel to the reign of Solomon to the 37th year of an event in Babylonian captivity. The reign of Solomon was a time of unprecedented glory, however, Solomon’s glory stemmed mainly from the blessings of God upon him for David’s sake rather than for Solomon’s own personal goodness. Although Solomon loved the Lord, his devotion was tainted by disobedience. In his later life, his disobedience led to his apostasy which caused the kingdom to be divided in the days of his son. Solomon’s sin cast a spell of doom across his wisdom, wealth, and building of chiefdom.

The kingdom was divided into Judah and Israel. From c. 974 BC until the fall of Israel in c. 722 BC, Israel, which was the northern kingdom, was born in sin. Its first king, Jeroboam, led the people from a true worship of God into a false worship of God under the figure of the fertility calf that involved ritual prostitution. Israel never had a king who did right in the sight of the Lord and never experienced a revival of true religion. In contrast, the many kings of Judah, which was the southern kingdom, were devoted to the Lord God of Israel. If not with a perfect heart, moreover, Judah experienced revivals from time-to-time from which brought people back to God. One ruling house after another arose to falls in Israel. In contrast, throughout these turbulent years, God maintained a son of David on the throne of Judah in Jerusalem in faithfulness to His promise.

Judah stood alone when they were swept away into Babylonian captivity. The God’s who reigned before Hezekiah before the exile brought fleeting hope for Juda’s salvation, but the unprecedented wickedness of Manasseh’s reign led Judah to cross the line of God’s mercy. Thereafter, He marked Judah for their destruction. Even the repentance of Manasseh in his later years and Godly reforms of Josiah could not avert Judah’s destruction. After deportation the end finally came with the fall of Jerusalem with the combined wicked reigns of four kings. The destruction of Jerusalem and exile in Babylon did not mark the end of God’s people; only His chastisement of them.

There is more than 400 years of history covered by First and Second Kings. The conditions then were much like the conditions today. God’s people were plagued by such problems as false religion, wickedness in high places, poverty, death, and disease; so God’s people were constantly urged to forsake their Lord God of Israel and to seek refuge in the fertility god Baal who was thought to have power to create new life among animals, crops, and people. Fertility religion was made more popular by its appeal to sensual desires and its easy access in the local high places.

God’s people were also pressed to adapt their worship to preclude the religious practices of their conqueror. With the fall of the nation and destruction of the temple and the exile of the nation’s leaders and citizens despair threatened to conquer the people. The God of Israel appeared to be dead. The prophetic authors of Kings saw history from a different perspective. Their inspired prophets called upon the people to worship with all their heart their Lord God of Israel. Their national and individual problem were due to their disobedience to God and their compromise of true worship. God still ruled world history. He had exercised His power to punish His people. Just as it was at other times, when He had punished foreign nations.

The prophets who wrote First and Second Kings called their nation to God; especially, they used the books to encourage the Israelites who would soon be brought back from captivity to establish themselves in the land and full obedience to God. The modern prophet finds in these books divinely interpreted historical experiences by which to call their nation back to God and encourage wholehearted obedience to God and the only way to build an enduring and blessed nation, society, church, family, and the individual life. The prophets used the introductory and concluding formula for each king to show God’s evaluation on the king on the basis of their faithfulness to God. Notice especially, the account of the kings of northern Israel and Judah.

For the kings of northern Israel, the author included the following information: (i) The date of the kings ascension in terms of year of the reign of each king of Judah. (ii) The length of the king’s reign. (iii) The condemnation of the king for his walking in the ways of Jeroboam. The name of the capital from which a king reigned is listed but not each time. For the kings of Judah, the introductory formula is expanded to include the age of the king when he began to reign, the name of the queen’s mother and sometimes that of her father. A comparison with David’s forbearer and doing right in the eyes of the Lord and only Hezekiah and Josiah are given unqualified approval. Six other kings are given modified praise. The remaining ten kings were condemned because they did evil in the sight of the Lord.

The fathers who wrote First and Second Kings carefully showed how God blessed those kings who wholeheartedly obeyed Him and honored His house. A notable example is Hezekiah. A notable exception is the death of good king Josiah who was killed in battle by a king of Egypt. The later inspirited historian explained that Josiah because he ignored the Word of God who came to him though the Egyptian king.

The main purpose of the prophet was to show God’s overthrow of the Hebrew kingdom because of their sin. Those who reject God, he rejects. The prophets show how the kingdom was divided and taken away in fulfillment of prophetic condemnation of the king and their people. If you look carefully, you will see that the division of the kingdom in the days of Solomon’s son. The taking of the kingdom from the house of Jeroboam, Ahab, Jeru and others. The point is that God rejects and judges those who disobey Him.

6:00 – The books of First and Second Kings magnify the use of His spokesman, the prophet to rebuke sin and inspire faith in God. Elijah’s contest on Mt. Caramel presents a case and point. The miracle of the fire of the Lord convinced the people that the Lord God of Israel was the one true God and they reverently followed Him.

An example of God’s control of a people who served His kingdom’s purposes is seen in His reassurance and commission of Elijah. Elijah’s joy over in his over the prophets of Baal were turned into fear. Plight and despair by the wrath of Jezebel who vowed to kill him as Elijah had killed the prophets of Baal. Elijah fled southward and finally came to Mount Sinai where God revealed Himself once again. The meaning of God’s revelation seemed to be that God would not punish sinful Israel and destroy Baalism by earthquake, tornado, or fire but God would by unseemly discourse of daily life. Accordingly, God would avenge Himself by the providentially controlled ministries of the Syrian king, Jehu, king of Israel, and Elisha the prophet. All of whom, Elijah was to appoint to their respective offices.

God’s use of Jehu to destroy the house of Ahab and purge Baalism from His people illustrates God’s hatred of sin and God’s determination to remove sin from His people. Sin is whatever separates God’s people from Himself. The prominent sin of the king was Baalism. Under the guise of serving Baal and honoring his deputies more than Ahab, Jehu summoned all the Samaritans and put to death all who worshiped Baal. Jehu was praised for his divine commission of destroying the wicked house of Ahab and purging Baalism from Israel. However, he was condemned because he continued to follow calf worship as instructed by Jeroboam, the first king of the northern kingdom. The point being that God wants all sin removed from His people.

The prophets also carefully demonstrated God’s faithfulness in fulfilling His promise to David to establish forever, his/His house and his/His throne. God’s covenant with David was both certain and conditional. Disobedience on the part of David’s descendants would result in chastisement but not forfeit the covenant. Accordingly, God has seemed to maintain the descendants of the throne of David throughout. The division of the kingdom in the days of Solomon’s son was an act of chastisement and not a permanent affliction.

When the wicked house Aaliyah sought to destroy all of David’s descendants, God spared Joash and raised him to the throne of David even when the sin of Manasseh produced corruption in the people necessitating expulsion from the land God maintained the life of David in exile. God’s faithfulness led to the sending of the Christ and ultimately will lead to the fulfillment in Christ of all His redemptive promises.

Application. I and II Kings. 10:35 – These books focus our attention of God’s sovereign control of history to fulfill His kingdom purpose. These inspired books call us to understand that God will indeed fulfill His kingdom purposes to obey and serve God will our hearts as the only basis for His lesson. To turn from sin, that which separates us from God and hinders His purpose for us. To fulfill our own role as spokespersons for God by rebuking sin and inspiring faith in God and to utilize the divinely interpreted events of First and Second Kings to call our nation to God as a way of receiving God’s blessing.

Timeline. 11:45 – The reign of Solomon was 40 years. The death of king David in c. 971 BC. Solomon was made king at David’s death. Solomon prays for wisdom in c. 971 BC. Solomon builds the temple from c. 957 to 965 BC. The death of Solomon in c. 931 BC. Rehoboam was made king at Solomon’s death. The contest at Mt. Carmel between Elijah and 450 prophets of Baal in c. 870 BC. The call of Elisha in c. 860 BC. Elijah the prophet was taken up in a whirlwind in c. 850 BC. The death of Jezebel in c. 841 BC. Death of Elisha in c. 798 BC. The captivity of Israel by Assyria in c. 732 BC. The fall of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, in c. 586 BC. In 1 Kings in the 18th chapter there was a contest between Elijah and 450 prophets of Baal.

Ref.

Seay, William. 2019. Old Testament Theology [MP3]. Andersonville Theological Seminary (ATS). Camilla, GA: ATS