Message
1 & 2 KINGS STUDY
Introduction
`For David had done what was right in the eyes of the Lord and had not failed to keep
any of the Lord’s commands all the days of his life’ (1 Kings 15:5)
I. Title
1 and 2 Kings (like 1&2 Samuel and 1&2 Chronicles) are actually one literary
work, called in the Hebrew tradition simply “Kings”. Around the third century the work
was divided into two books and was introduced by the translators of the Septuagint (the
pre-Christian Greek translation of the OT), and was subsequently followed in the Latin
Vulgate (c.a.d. 400) and most modern versions. Therefore, the two books should be read
as one.
II. Author and Dates
The author of Kings is unknown. According to the Talmud, Jeremiah or one of his
disciples authored 1 and 2 Kings, but we cannot be certain of this. It was written between
561 and 537 B.C. after Jehoiachin was freed (561 B.C., 2 Kings 25:27-30), and before the
first return from exile (537 B.C.).
III. Notes
1. There are two different views of Israel’s history: The Deuteronomistic History
and the Chronicler’s History. The Deuteronomistic History includes 6 books
beginning with Joshua and including Judges, 1&2 Samuel, and 1&2 Kings. The
reason why is it called “Deuteronomistic History” is that the writers saw Israel’s
history with the view of Deuteronomy. This means that when they obeyed, God
blessed them, but when they disobeyed, they would perish. In other words, when
they disobeyed God (sin), God punished them (punishment), but when they
realized their sin and repented (repentance), God relented his anger and saved
them (salvation). This 4 step cycle (sin-punishment-repentance-salvation) is the
basic structure needed to understand the Deuteronomistic history.
The Chronicler’s history contains 4 books, 1&2 Chronicles, Ezra, and
Nehemiah. The Babylonian Empire which invaded Judah and took her people
captive was destroyed by the Persian Empire in 539 B.C., and from then on Persia
ruled the Near East. The Persian Emperor, Cyrus, who brought down Babylon
was an “enlightened” conqueror and issued a proclamation to let the exiles from
Judah go back to their homeland. This was the “Edict of Cyrus”. The Chronicler’s
history relates about 200 years of Israel’s history from the return of the exiles to
the time during the Persian empire (539-333 B.C.).
2. The book of Kings deals with the history of Israel, a theocracy – God’s
chosen nation. It begins with Solomon’s ascension to the throne (971 B.C.) and
ends with the destruction of Jerusalem, the exile of the Israelites into Babylon, the
fall of the Judean monarchy, and Jehoiachin’s release from imprisonment in
Babylon (561 B.C.).
3. The book of Kings forms the background for 17 other books of the Bible: The
books of the Prophets. Many famous prophets such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Hosea,
and Amos preached during the time of Kings.
4. The book of Kings can be divided into three periods
a. The first period is Solomon’s reign (970-931 B.C.). This era was the
climax of wealth, prosperity, and glory throughout Israel’s history (4:20;
10:27), but it ends with the nation’s rapid decline in power as Solomon
became disobedient to God. Of all of Solomon’s accomplishments, there is
one that stands out above the others. He built the temple of God, the finest
building in the world of that day. Almost 200,000 workers labored for
seven years to complete it. Despite the successes of Solomon’s reign,
however, later in his life the king had dramatic downturn. His fall
eventually brought the kingdom crashing down around him, and the
second half of 1 Kings describes the grim process of dismemberment.
King Solomon brought peace and prosperity to the nation, but he also
sowed the seed of calamities that followed. Solomon started out with
every advantage of wealth, power, and wisdom. But 1 Kings gives this
tragic conclusion: “Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord; he did not
follow the Lord completely, as David his father had done.” (11:6)
b. The second period (931-722 B.C.) begins with the splitting off of
Southern Israel and ends with Northern Israel’s ruin by Assyria and their
subsequent exile and captivity.
c. The third period (722-560 B.C.) includes the destruction of Judea by the
Babylonians in 586 B.C. and Jehoiachin’s imprisonment and release in
Babylon.
5. Chapter 12 marks the beginning of a civil war that ruptured Israel into two
nations: Israel in the north and Judah in the south. The rest of 1 and 2 Kings
describes, ruler by ruler, the reigns of 20 kings in the north and 19 kings and 1
queen in the south.
• See chart of Israel’s history
6. Kings is not simply a book of Israel’s history but was written to give a proper
spiritual value system: If they loved God and obeyed His Word, they would
thrive; if the disobeyed they would come to ruin. Kings shows that Israel’s rise or
fall, and even survival, was not dependent on economic, military, or other external
conditions, but instead was dependent on their attitude toward the covenant with
the Sovereign ruler of all history. Thus the phrases, “Did what was right in the
eyes of the LORD” (1 Ki 15:5, 11, 22:43; 2 Ki 10:30, 12:2, 15:3,34, 16:2, 18:3,
20:3, 22:2) and “Did evil in the eyes of the LORD” (1 Ki 11:6, 14:22, 15:26,34,
16:19,25,30, 21:25, 22:52, 2 Ki 3:2, 8:18,27, 13:2,11, 17:2,17, 21:2,6,15,16,20,
23:32,37, 24:9,19) are repeated. The achievements of the king are reported, above
all, based on his fidelity or lack of fidelity to the LORD. The faithful prosper; the
unfaithful pay for their defections, since this is basically a narrative of sin and
retribution.
7. There is a sharp contrast between the `ways of David’ (1 Ki 11:6, 15:3-5,11, 2
Ki 16:2, 18:3,19, 22:2) and the `ways of Jeroboam’ (1 Ki 13:34, 15:26,34,
16:19,26, 16:31, 22:52, 2 Ki 3:3, 13:2,11). This teaches the importance of one
man’s influence on the next generation whether it is good or bad. There is no
middle ground.
8. The Prophets played an important role guiding the nation. In 1 Kings, Elijah
was instrumental in fighting idol worship (1 Ki ch. 17,18), and then in 2 Kings
Elisha was a shepherd for the people and counselor for the kings, giving spiritual
insight and direction (2 Ki 5:8, 6:8-10, 7:17-20, 13:14-21).
III. Contents
1 Kings
1. Solomon’s reign (1:1-11:43)
2. Rehoboam and Jeroboam (12:1-14:31)
3. Various Kings of Israel and Judah (15:1-16:34)
4. Elijah and Ahab (17:1-19:21)
5. Ahab and Jezebel’s reign (20:1-22:53)
2 Kings
1. Elijah and Elisha (1:1-8:15)
2. More Kings of Israel and Judah (8:16-17:6)
3. Israel’s exile to Assyria (17:7-41)
4. Judah’s freedom from Assyrian rule (18:1-23:37)
5. Judah’s exile into Babylon (24:1-25:30)
IV. Goal of Kings Study
From today we begin King’s bible study, which teaches us to have a godly value system.
We live in what many have called postmodern times. Many claim that there is no
absolute truth; everything is relative and there is no right or wrong. Each person wants to
live according to his own moral and spiritual standard. However, God made the world
with a clear spiritual value system, and with absolute good and right. We can learn what
this is from the study of Kings. Also, we need a sense of history. Kings study will teach
us this as well. So let’s thank God for this opportunity to study Kings.