1 Kings: Jesus the wise ruler
Chp. 1-11 United we stand
Chp. 12-22 Divided we fall
The focus of 2nd Samuel was David’s reign as king (seven years in Hebron as king over Judah and 33 years as King over both Judah and the rest of the nation). The focus of First Samuel was David’s life before him becoming king we can see a threefold preparation:
- Watching:
- Worshiping:
- Waiting:
First Kings traces the life of Solomon to the dividing of the nation and the reigns of Jehoshaphat in Judah and Ahaziah in the 10 northern tribes of Israel spanning 120 years. Like 1st and 2nd Samuel these two books were once connected and simply called “Kings”. The authorship according to Jewish tradition is the prophet Jeremiah who had both the historical and prophetic perspective to compile this book as well as the similarity in writing style.
Most of both 1st and 2nd Kings were written before the Babylonian captivity with the exception of the last two chapters of 2nd Kings. Based upon 11:41 the author used “the book of the acts of Solomon” and then in 14:19 “the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah” which were all around as well as the book of Isaiah. The theme of 1st Kings centers on the truth that the welfare of Israel and Judah depended upon the faithfulness of the people and their king to God’s word.
Historically it was written to give an account of the reigns of the Kings of Judah from Solomon to Jehoshaphat and in the 10 northern tribes from Jeroboam to Ahaziah. In so tracing the kings in their kingdoms we trace the monarchy from the greatest point of prosperity under Solomon to its captivity and destruction by the Assyrians and Babylonians.
The stories contained in this book are common ones in the annals of human history regardless of the form that man has chosen to govern himself. “Given time any and every form of government transgresses upon the same path from affluence and influence to poverty and paralysis”, (G. Campbell Morgan). This book looks at two kingdoms but three governments:
- Chp. 1-11 Monarchy: Under Solomon, we see a united kingdom and the heights that this nation reaches. He attempts to govern the people by a display of material grandeur and although glorious it is rather temporary as such glory corrupts him and through him the nation.
- Chp. 12-22 Divided kingdom:
- Rehoboam is an autocrat: He believes the people should trust in its leaders.
- Jeroboam is a democrat: He believes the leaders should trust in the people.
But all of these forms of government fail equally as any form of government by man are always going to fail. The other form of government in this book is behind the scenes restoring the damage that the other forms are creating and that is theocratic. And by theocratic I do not mean “religious”; I speak of relational. Religion will only be the grave clothes on what is already dead. No nation can be governed by insisting that its citizens adopt religious forms and ceremonies.
But neither will a nation make it by insisting that the nation trust in its leaders, as sooner or later this will lead to a revolution as people will see that their leaders are oppressing them and ruling them according to the leader’s interests instead of the people. Such revolution will lead to a government by the people for the people but without God, this will lead only to socialism.
Man can not govern himself he does not know how. No form of government will continually look out for the interests of its citizens apart from an intimate relationship with the throne of God. If man disregards a relationship with God it will not matter the form of government the outcome will ultimately fail the only question is when.
Chp. 1-11 United we stand
The story does not start with Solomon being king but rather David who is seeking the warmth of a young lady while his son Adonijah is seeking his throne. So Nathan David’s trusted prophet speaks to Bathsheba in verse 11 “Have you not heard that Adonijah has become king, and David our lord does not see it?” So in verse 17 she scurries over to David and said, “My, Lord, you swore by the Lord your God to your maidservant, saying, assuredly Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne.”
Then in 2:3-4 David said to his son Solomon “Keep the charge of the Lord your God: to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn; that the Lord may fulfill His word which He spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your sons take heed to their way, to walk before Me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul,’ He said, ‘you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.”
In 1 Kings 3:7-12, we are given Solomon’s prayer, “Now, O Lord my God, You have made Your servant king instead of my father David, but I am a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. And Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen, a great people, too numerous to be numbered or counted. Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who can judge this great people of Yours?”
The speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. Then God said to him: “Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked long life for yourself, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice, behold, I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you.” Yet with that said we are told that Solomon also made two errors that would cost him the throne and divide the nation:
- 3:1 “Solomon made a treaty with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and married Pharaoh’s daughter”. He made an alliance with the world and brought that alliance into the central life of the nation.
- 3:3 “Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of his father David, except that he sacrificed and burned incense at the high places.” The high places were the places where alters were made to the fertility sex gods. And as such we see that Solomon made his worship two places
Though the Ark lay in a temple of gold in Jerusalem he did not bow down there he bowed down at the altar of sex. Outwardly Solomon was impressive but inwardly he was not fully committed to God. In 4:29-34 we are told that “God gave Solomon wisdom and exceedingly great understanding, and largeness of heart like the sand on the seashore. Thus Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the men of the East and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all men–than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was in all the surrounding nations.
He spoke three thousand proverbs, and his songs were one thousand and five. Also, he spoke of trees, from the cedar tree of Lebanon even to the hyssop that springs out of the wall; he spoke also of animals, of birds, of creeping things, and of fish. And men of all nations, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom, came to hear the wisdom of Solomon.”
He had made a request from God for wisdom but it was only the wisdom to rule a nation and not the wisdom to rule over his life. Oh dear ones a man not ruled by God may possess the wisdom to run his business, but will fail so if his life is not ruled by the Lord. Solomon knew how to delegate the kingdom as he appointed 11 princes and 12 governors everything was well ordered yet he could not order his life by allowing the Lord to be over all his life.
In chapters 5-8 we are told of the crowning achievement of Solomon’s life the building of the temple. For 400 years Israel had been worshipping God in a mere tent but Solomon fulfilled the desire of his father David and constructed the temple. It was beyond description with its great hand-quarried stones and imported timbers, the interior was completely covered with gold in today’s dollars it would have cost billions.
The true beauty and grandeur was not in the gold but in the glory as God’s glory filled the temple as folks from all over the world came to see it. Yet with that said he still worshiped at the altar of the world. It was this lifestyle that led to his tragic demise in the 11th chapter where we are told in 11:1-3 “Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites– from the nations of whom the Lord had said to the children of Israel, “You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love.
And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart.” In Proverbs 18:22 Solomon would write “He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the Lord.” Apparently Solomon was not good in math as 1,000 wives are 999 to many. Though the temple Solomon would build would last for 400 years it would be stripped of all its gold and furnishings within 5 years after his death.
Chp. 12-22 Divided we fall
Upon Solomon’s death, his son Rehoboam takes over and he is foolish as he taxes the people even more than his father had saying in 12:14 “and he spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scourges!” This kind of action caused a revolt of the 10 northern tribes as they say in 1 Kings 12:16
“What share have we in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel! Now, see to your own house, O David!” But his ways are no better as we are told in 1 Kings 12:28 “Therefore the king asked advice, made two calves of gold, and said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt!”
The rest of this book is made up of kings who were evil, incompetent or both. The north would be plagued by apostasy while the southern kingdoms of Judah and Benjamin were plagued by idolatry. Of all the kings in this book we are told of only two; Asa 15:9-24 and Jehoshaphat, did “what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as did his father David.”
Ah but behind these kingdoms and kings is the King of Kings who despite man’s rebellions still desires to have a relationship with His people. This is most obvious through His speaking through the prophets starting in chapter 17 we hear of Elijah. By Him God would shut the heavens feed him through ravens and provide his needs through the caring ministry of the widow at Zarephath. He would raise the widow’s son and challenge a wicked king and his wife. Defeat 400 priests of Baal (Islam) and challenge a nation to decide who they should put on the throne of their hearts.
Yet as tough as Elijah was who faced down 400 priests he is terrorized by one angry woman in Jezebel. He is so defeated that he hides under a juniper bush and begs God to take his life but even there God provides him a baked cake and a jar of water, it must have been some protein as it sustained him for 40 days and nights, (19:4-8) And in a cave the Lord came to him, not in an earthquake, a raging fire nor a thunderstorm but in a still small voice by which he learns that God is not always to be found in the overwhelming power. No, sometimes His power is best demonstrated when He moves through the still small voice of a transformed heart and conscience!
From here, we are taken to the call of yet another prophet Elisha and the destruction of Ahab as he out-tricks himself and is killed by the arrow of his own army while wearing the robes of Judah’s king Jehoshaphat. Friends God is the God of all circumstances and He will accomplish His purposes through what seems to be accidents, chance and coincidences. He is behind the movements of our lives and His will is going to be done. So let us not allow outward circumstances to remove God from the throne of your heart, leave no room for anything or anyone on the throne of your heart!