I Kings

This book is a sequel to II Samuel and presents an account of Israel and its kings from shortly before Solomon’s reign (970 BC) until just after the death of Ahab (853 BC). While no author is given, Jewish tradition alleges Jeremiah was the writer. The direct tone of the spiritual evaluations supplied throughout supports such an idea.

Outline of! Kings

1,2 David’s last days and Solomon’s succession.
3,4 Solomon’s wisdom and prosperity. 5,6 Preparation and building of the temple.
7 Temple furnishings.
8 Solomon’s prayer, temple dedication.
9 God’s promises and warnings.
10 Visit of the Queen of Sheba, Solomon’s wealth.
11 Solomon’s apostasy and death.
12 Rehoboam’s demands, the kingdom divided.
13 Jeroboam’s false worship condemned. 14-16 Abijah, Asa of Judah; Nadab to Ahab of Israel.
17 Elijah’s exile.
18 Obadiah, prophets of Baal.
19 Elijah to Horeb.
20 Ahab vs. Benhadad.
21 Naboth’s vineyard.
22 Ahab, Jehoshaphat vs. Syria.

In the first eleven chapters, Solomon’s reign over all Israel is reviewed. The remaining chapters record the division of the kingdom and concentrate on events in the northern kingdom of Israel. The last six-and-a-half chapters describe events in the reign of Ahab, king of Israel, with emphasis on the work of the prophet Elijah.

Under the spirit’s guidance, the author has recorded, for the benefit of the people of God of all ages, factors having a positive or negative impact on the spiritual life of Israel. As you read this book, you will note that the king’s attitude toward God has a profound influence on the ordinary citizen. The failure of most kings to provide godly leadership eventually resulted in a corrupt society devoted to the worship of false gods. Although this situation was not new to Israel, idolatry had greatly diminished during the reign of David. The re-emergence of false worship made the godly life appear less attractive and provided great challenges to the true servants of God. We are faced with a similar challenge today as the fleeting pleasures of the world are paraded before us. Only a firm stand and prayer can save us from being overcome. As parents, we must provide godly leadership to our children.

Father to son

David, as the model of the godly king, exhorts Solomon in words that all subsequent kings should have obeyed. He admonished his son “…to walk in (God’s) ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest…” (2:3).

Included in those commands were some directed specifically to a king. He was to write out his own copy of the law and read it daily. Furthermore, he should “not multiply horses…wives…silver and gold” (Deut. 17:14-20). Unfortunately, Solomon did not follow his father’s instruction. We know he multiplied wives, but he also “had horses brought out of Egypt…and the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones” (10:27-28). To his peril, he ignored the specific instructions of the law.

Apostasy

As a result of Solomon’s failure, ten tribes were rent from the house of David and given to Jeroboam of Ephraim. God promised to prosper Jeroboam over the northern kingdom if he would obey the precepts of the Lord.

Instead of trusting God, Jeroboam doubted his kingdom would be secure if his subjects sacrificed in Judah. He established for them a system of worshiping God which imitated the law of Moses but substituted his own ideas for God’s commands. Instead of Jerusalem, Bethel to the south and Dan to the north became the new centers of worship for Israel. Golden calves were placed in each location imitating the cherubim; new feast days were appointed and non-Levites were made priests (12:28-29).

Jeroboam’s apostasy was so grievous that, “to walk in the way of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat” became the infamous measure to which his wicked successors were compared.

Baal worship

Ahab was the worst of the kings of Israel for he introduced into Israel the worship of Baal and Astarte, gods of Zidon. Married to the strong-minded Jezebel, princess of Zidon, Ahab found himself opposed by an equally strong-minded prophet of God in Elijah.

First, Elijah seeks divine retribution upon idolatry in the form of a prolonged drought (James 5:17). Then he challenges the false prophets to a contest on Mt. Cannel. In an exciting climax, God’s fire convinces Israel that “the LORD, he is the God” (18:39). For a brief moment, Elijah has the upper hand as 450 false prophets are slaughtered.

If only Israel had held to its conviction, that the Lord was the God to be followed, it would have headed in the right direction. When we believe strongly that, “The LORD, he is the God” we have the fundamental key to right worship. When we waver in that conviction, we become double minded and “a double minded man is unstable in all his ways” (Jam. 1:8).

The prophet’s hopes for a complete reformation were dashed by the obdurance of Jezebel and the attraction of false worship to Ahab and the people.

The relevance of Baal and Astarte to our own time becomes apparent when we realize that illicit sexual activity and absorption in materialism were encouraged by the priests of these false gods. The warnings of Elijah to Israel thus span the centuries to new heights of applicability.