Old Testament Survey
1 Kings
Rick Walker
1. Introduction to 1, 2 Kings.
A. 1, 2 Kings covers four hundred years of history which is critical to the
Old Testament.
1. Solomon comes to the throne of David (c. 960 B.C.)
2. Follows the history of the nineteen kings of Israel
until its fall in 722 B.C.
3. Follows the history of the twenty kings of Judah until
its fall in 587 B.C.
B. The Message of 1, 2 Kings. The history of Kings is recorded from the
standpoint of
those responsible for the people: kings and prophets.
1. One message is the failure of both the united and
divided monarchies to live
up to the covenant stipulations. The
Deuteronomistic History continues and mostly
what we see is the failure of the Jews
which resulted in covenant curse.
a. Rebellion and disobedience bring the
curses of Deuteronomy.
1. Disobedience takes
the form of idolatry and social injustice.
2. Curses take the form
of oppression by foreign powers, dynasties being
overthrown, and ultimately, exile from the Promises Land.
b. Obedience of the king brings the
blessings of the covenant.
1. Obedience is
measured in terms of centralized worship, opposition to
idolatry, and social justice.
2. Blessings take the
form of security, prosperity, and deliverance from
enemies.
2. Second message is that the Southern Kingdom is the
legitimate Davidic line.
I.e., it is the Southern Kingdom that has
the blessing of God in this context.
It was intended that the kings of the
South rule over all Israel.
2. The Reign of Solomon (1 Kings 3-11).
A. The Early Years of Solomon.
1. His throne was challenged at the outset.
a. Adonijah tries to take the throne for
himself.
1. He has horses and
chariots and fifty men run ahead of him -this is a
kingly activity (1:1-6).
2. It may have not been
known by the general public, or even David's own
sons,
that it had been determined that Solomon would be king from birth.
Such
information would have been dangerous to young Solomon as rivals
could
potentially have him murdered (F.W. Farrar, Solomon, His Life and
Times, 12 as cited by Purkiser, Exploring the Old Testament, 190).
b. Bathsheba becomes alarmed and tells
David, who is very old (1:15-21). Her
concern, of course, is
for her son, Solomon.
1. David announces that
Solomon is the king (1:29-40).
2. Adonijah becomes
afraid that Solomon will have him killed and takes hold
of
the horns of the altar to protect his life (1:49-53).
3. Solomon spares
Adonijah's life (1:51-53).
c. The Death of David (1:10, 11).
1. David had reigned a
total of forty years.
a.
Seven years in Hebron.
b.
Thirty three years in Jerusalem.
2. David was buried in
Jerusalem.
d. Solomon begins by "walking in the
steps of his father David" (3:3). This is
a phrase that means he
was faithful to God.
1. God appears to
Solomon while he was worshipping at a high place and God
tells
him he may ask for whatever he wants (1 Kings 3:5).
2. Solomon asks God for
wisdom to guide the nation (3:9-12). God grants him
several things.
a.
wisdom to guide the nation.
b.
wealth (3:13).
c.
honor (3:13).
d.
long life if he will live faithfully (3:14).
3. The Bible and
extra-Biblical Jewish literature abounds with examples of
the
wisdom of Solomon.
a. (1
Kings 3:16-28). Two prostitutes lived in the same house.
1. Both had a baby and at night one of the babies died.
2. A dispute developed over who the living baby belonged to.
3. The case comes before Solomon and he tells his men to cut the baby
in two and give each woman one-half.
a. One woman cried out, "No, let her have the child."
b. The other cried out, Cut him in two, neither one of us shall
have him.
4. Solomon determined that the first woman was the one who truly was
the mother.
b. (1
Kings 4:29-34). Solomon is described as wiser than all the wise men
of his day.
1. Wrote three thousand proverbs (4:32).
2. Wrote five thousand and five songs (4:32).
3. Wrote about plant life (4:33).
4. Taught about animals, birds, reptiles and fish (4:33).
5. Men of all nations were sent by kings to listen to the wisdom of
Solomon (4:34).
B. Solomon's Temple. Fifty percent of the text discussing the reign of
Solomon, is
devoted to his building the temple (1 Kings 5-8).
1. Unlike David, Solomon is able to build the temple of God
in Jerusalem because
he had peace on every side (1 Kings 5:4).
2. Solomon begins to build the temple as God had promised
David.
a. Phoenecian experts employed to build
the temple.
b. Thirty-thousand men were assigned to
be wood cutters in Lebanon. They took
three shifts so that
each month ten-thousand men were cutting wood (5:13-15).
c. Eighty-thousand men were stone cutters
(5:15).
d. Seventy-thousand men were burden
bearers (5:15).
3. Description of Temple.
a. Very elaborate
b. Doors and floors were inlaid with gold
c. Whole interior was covered with gold
d. Two huge cherub made of wood and
covered with gold. Their wings touched
the outer walls and
touched each other in the middle.
e. Iron tools were never used inside the
temple. All the stones were dressed
at the quarry (5:7).
f. Seven years to complete the structure
(6:38).
g. According to Jos. (Ant. 8.91-94;
Kittle, TDNT, 7:460, "Solomon") there
were:
1. 80,000 wine pots
2. 100,000 golden
goblets, 80,000 silver goblets
3. 20,000 golden
incense burners
4. 1,000 priestly
vestments for the high priests
5. 200,000 trumpets
6. 40,000 musical
instruments
4. Dedication of the Temple (1 Kings 8).
a. All Israel was present for the
dedication (8:5).
b. Ark of the Covenant was set in its
place (8:6).
c. Cloud of the Presence (Shekinah),
filled the temple.
1. priests had to
withdraw from the temple (8:6-11).
2. same cloud which led
Israel through the wilderness. The Cloud is the presence
of
God. Also at the Mt. of Transfiguration (Matt. 17:5 and Ascension
(Acts
1:9).
d. Solomon blesses the people (8:14-21),
offers prayer (8:22-61) and sacrifice
(8:62ff.). So many
sacrifices were offered that the altar could not contain
them. Part of the
courtyard was turned into an altar (8:64).
1. 22,000 oxen
sacrificed (8:63).
2. 120,000 sheep
sacrificed (8:63).
5. After the building of the temple, God appeared to
Solomon and warned him about
the importance of keeping the covenant.
a. The Lord promises to bless or curse
based upon whether Israel walks in
faithfulness (9:1-9).
b. The Deuteronomistic History theme
continues (cf. Deut. 27, 28).
6. Solomon's Other Achievements.
a. Built a Royal Palace, which required
thirteen years to complete (1 Kings 7:1).
b. Developed Trade: He had a fleet of
trading ships at sea. Once every three years
it would return
carrying gold, silver, ivory, apes and baboons (KJV, Russian
Synodal Version,
peacocks)(1 Kings 10:22; also cf. 9:26).
c. Military: Strengthened the
fortification of Jerusalem (11:27) and built a chain
of forts at strategic
points (9:15-19).
C. Solomon's Apostasy.
1. The downfall of David was a woman. The downfall of
Solomon was hundreds of women.
The downfall of Solomon, the
beginning of the breakup of his kingdom, and his
death are all recorded in rapid
succession in 1 Kings 11.
2. Solomon had seven hundred wives and three hundred
concubines (11:3).
a. These wives and concubines may
have been for political purposes. Kings would
often marry the
daughters of other kings as a gesture of peace, etc.
b. According to tradition, each of
his wives and concubines fixed breakfast
every morning in
hopes that the king would come and eat with her (Midr.
Ps. 50, 2 (140b);
Strack and Billerbeck, Kommentar zum NT aus Talmud und
Midrash, 2,
205ff.; Kittle,TDNT, 7:461, "Solomon").
c. When Solomon grew old, his
foreign wives turned his heart away from God
and worshipped
pagan gods (11:4, 33).
1. Kings are to
be under the authority of God (Deut. 17:14-20).
a. Kings must not accumulate silver and gold (Deut. 17:17).
b. Kings must not take many wives (Deut. 17:17).
1. If he does, they will lead the king astray.
2. The king was to write these laws on a scroll and read them all the
days of his reign (Deut. 17:19)
c. Solomon disobeyed. Solomon "had seven hundred wives and three
hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray (1 Kings 11:3).
1. Ashtoreth, goddess of the Sidonians (1 Kings 11:5).
2. Molech, god of the Ammonites. Molech demanded living, human
sacrifices (1 Kings 11:5).
3. Chemosh, god of the Moabites (1 Kings 11:7).
3. The result would be much the same as in the period
of the judges.
God raised up adversaries against
Solomon, which began the process by which
his kingdom would split after his
death.
a. God raised up foreign
adversaries (11:14-25).
b. Jeroboam, one of Solomon's
officials, rebelled (11:29-32).
1. Ahijah the
prophet of Shiloh met Jeroboam.
2. Tore his
garment into twelve pieces and gave ten to Jeroboam.
a. God will give you ten tribes.
b. God will keep one tribe in the south. The Southern Kingdom made of
Judah and Benjamin (1 Kings 12:21).
c. But the kingdom did not split until after his death.
3. The Divided Kingdom (1 Kings 12-22).
A. General Observations.
1. Important Dates to Remember.
a. Kingdom Split in 922 B.C. at the death
of Solomon.
b. Northern Kingdom lasted until 722 B.C.
c. Southern Kingdom lasted until 587 B.C.
2. The Kings.
a. The Northern Kingdom had 19 kings and
one queen, all of which are said to
have been evil. They
were not faithful to God, as was David.
b. The Southern Kingdom had 20 kings.
Eight of those kings are said to have been
good because they were
faithful to God: Asa, Jehoshaphat, Joash (also called
Jehoash), Amaziah,
Azariah (also, Uzziah), Jotham, Hezekiah, Josiah.
3. The Southern Kingdom was always more stable than the
Northern Kingdom. It also
seems to have an advantage in that it had
the wealth of Solomon's kingdom to
undergird it initially.
4. Why did the kingdom split?
a. From a theological viewpoint, it was
because of Solomon's idolatry.
b. From a secular point of view, there
were other contributing factors.
1. Taxation.
a.
The building projects of Solomon required high taxation. The temple
alone is estimated to have cost $600,000,000 (Ringenberg, The Living Word
in History, 167).
b.
Solomon's great army contributed to high taxation.
c.
Rehoboam, Solomon's son and first king of the Southern Kingdom, said he
would impose a tax rate even stiffer than Solomon (1 Kings 12:10-17).
2. Idolatry. Because
Solomon had introduced idolatry, the worship of God may
have
ceased to be a unifying force for the tribes of Israel.
B. Jeroboam Takes Ten Tribes.
1. Jeroboam went with an assembly to King Rehoboam and
asked about taxation.
Following the advice of his friends, he
told them taxes would be much stiffer
than in the past.
a. Jeroboam takes ten tribes and rebels.
b. 1 Kings 12:16 What share do we have in
David, what part in Jesse's son?
To your tents, O
Israel, Look after your own house, O David!
c. The Kingdom would never again be
united.
1. Rehoboam gathered an
army from his two tribes (Judah and Benjamin) to go
to
war against Ephraim (12:21).
2. Lord told him to go
home because this was God's doing (12:24).
2. Idolatry in the north.
a. One of Jeroboam's first acts was to
set up idolatrous worship centers at Dan
and Bethel because he
did not want the people to go south to Jerusalem to
worship. If they did,
their loyalty might turn to the Southern Kingdom
(1 Kings 12:25-29).
b. He had two golden calves made and one
was set up in each city
c. Jeroboam installed a non-Levitical
priesthood (12:31). Anybody who wanted to
be a priest was
appointed (13:33).
d. He held religious festivals at the
same time as those held in Jerusalem
(12:32, 33).
e. The Northern Kingdom would never
depart from this idolatry. Every king of
the Northern Kingdom
perpetuated Jeroboam's Golden Calf cult
3. Prophecy Concerning the Birth and Reforms of Josiah (1
Kings 13:1-3).
Prophet prophesied about the birth of a
king by the name of Josiah who would
be a reformer.
a. Josiah would burn the priests who
offered the sacrifices on this very altar.
b. As a sign that it would come to pass,
the prophet said the altar would split
and the ashes would
fall to the ground (13:3), which happened immediately
(13:5).
c. Josiah was born 640-609 B.C. Prophecy
fulfilled in 2 Kings 23:16-22). The
reign of Jeroboam was
from c. 931-910 B.C. (New Bibe Dictionary, 565).
d. The prophecy was spoken at least 270
years in advance. [This is more
remarkable than the
prophecy of Isaiah (c. 740-701 B.C) that Cyrus the
Persian would send the
Jews back to their homeland, which was fulfilled in
539 B.C.]
C. Rehoboam, First King of Judah (14:21-25).
1. Rehoboam instituted idolatry in the south.
a. They set up high places, sacred
stones, Asherah poles (14:23).
b. There were male shrine prostitutes in
the land (14:24).
2. Jerusalem is attacked by Egypt (14:25).
3. There was continual war between Jeroboam and Rehoboam
(14:31).
4. The Kings of the Northern and Southern Kingdoms down through the reign of Ahaziah
(1 Kings 15:9-22:53). In 1 Kings 15:1-16:28 we have the history of several
kings of
the Northern and Southern kingdoms are mentioned.
A. Abijah (15:1-8) (Judah): committed all the sins of his father Rehoboam
(15:3).
B. Asa (15:9-24). (Judah): did what was right in the sight of God (15:11).
He expelled the male prostitutes and rid Judah of idols.
C. Nadab (15:25-32). (Israel): did evil in the eyes of the Lord (15:26).
Remember all
the kings of Israel were evil.
D. Baasha (15:33-16:7) (Israel). Did evil.
E. Elah (16:8-14). (Israel): Did evil. While drunk, he was murdered by one of
his
officials, Zimri, who became the new king.
F. Zimri (16:15-20). (Israel): Did evil. He killed off the house of Baasha to
make
his throne secure (16:11).
G. Omri (16:21-28) (Israel): Did evil.
H. Ahab (16:29-22:40) (Israel): Did evil. Extensive treatment warrants
special
consideration (below).
I. Jehosphaphat (22:41-50) (Judah): Did was right in the sight of the Lord
(22:43).
J. Ahaziah (22:51-53) (Israel): Did evil (22:52).
5. The Ministries of Elijah and Elisha during the reign of Ahab (1 Kings 16:29-22:40).
A considerable amount of text is devoted to the reign of Ahab and Jezebel and
the
prophetic ministries of Elijah and Elisha.
A. Ahab was more evil than any of the kings before him (16:30).
1. Ahab married Jezebel of the Sidonians (16:31).
2. He introduced the worship of Baal into the Northern
Kingdom (16:31, 32). Baal
was the god of the Sidonians. His
marriage to Jezebel influenced him toward
Baalism.
3. He made an Asherah pole (16:33) and the four hundred
prophets of Asherah ate
at Jezebel's table (18:19).
4. Later, Jezebel set about to kill the true prophets of
God (18:4).
a. Obadiah hid one hundred prophets in
two caves to save them from Jezebel
(18:13).
b. He kept them supplied with food and
water (18:13).
B. Elijah and the Prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel (17:1-18:46).
1. Elijah the prophet is sent to Ahab to announce that it
will not rain for several
years (1 Kings 17:1).
a. James 5:17 says that this was in
answer to Elijah's prayer and it did not
rain for three and
one-half years.
b. God sends Elijah to hide east of the
Jordan in Kerith Ravine where he is fed
by ravens that brought
him meat and bread. He drank from the brook. It sounds
gloriously mystic,
except that the prophet is being fed by birds declared to
be unclean in the law
of Moses (Lev. 11:15).
c. During the famine Ahab is searching
everywhere for Elijah (1 Kings 18:9-15).
2. Elijah and the Widow of Zarephath (1 Kings 17:7-24).
a. The Lord sends Elijah to a widow in
Zarephath.
b. She was having a difficult time
because of the famine.
c. But, as long as she fed Elijah, her
flour and oil never ran dry.
d. When her son dies, Elijah took him
into an upper room, prayed, and stretched on
the boy three times.
e. Boy came back to life.
3. Elijah Challenges the Prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18).
a. Elijah meets Ahab and tells him to
have all the people of Israel and the
prophets of Baal and
Asherah to meet him on Mt. Carmel (18:19).
b. On Mt. Carmel, Elijah admonishes the
people of Israel to choose between God
and Baal. He then makes
a challenge (18:23, 24).
1. The prophets of Baal
will put a bull on the altar and call Baal.
a.
Elijah will put a bull on the altar and call on God.
b.
The God who answers by fire is the true God.
2. The Prophets Call on
Baal (18:25-29).
a.
They prepare the bull and place it upon the altar.
b.
But, they do not light the fire. The test is for Baal to light the
fire himself.
c.
From morning until noon the prophets of Baal danced around the altar and
cried out, "O, Baal, answer us." But there was no reply (18:26).
d. At
noon Elijah began to taunt the false prophets (18:27).
1. Shout louder, maybe Baal cannot hear you.
2. Maybe he is in deep in thought.
3. Perhaps he is busy, or has gone on a distant journey.
4. Perhaps he is asleep. Shout louder and wake him up.
e.
Prophets of Baal shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords
and spears so that their blood was running down to the ground (18:28).
f. By
evening there was still no answer from Baal and the people grew
bored watching.
3. Elijah Calls on
Yahweh (18:30-39).
a.
Elijah builds an altar of twelve stones, one for each of the twelve
tribes of Israel.
b. He
digs a trench around the altar and had men pour water on the
sacrifice until it ran down and filled the trench. Everything, the
sacrifice, the altar, and the ground around it, was wet.
c. At
the time for the evening sacrifice, Elijah called on God. Then the
fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones
and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench (18:36-38).
d.
Israel bowed down and declared that The Lord is God.
e.
Elijah had the men of Israel take the prophets of Baal captive and they
were all put to death in the Kishon Valley (18:40).
f.
Afterwards, the draught ended.
4. In the ministry of Elijah, we see direct challenges to
the power of Baal
(Hill, A Survey of the Old Testament,
211, Fig. 17.5).
a. Baal is the storm-god. But, it is
Yahweh who controls rain and sends drought
(1 Kings 17:1).
b. Baal ensures bountiful harvest and
agricultural fertility. But is is Yahweh
that causes famine and
drought. And it is Yahweh who provides grain and oil
miraculously (2 Kings
4:1-7, 42-44).
c. Baal controls lightning and fire. But,
his prophets are not able to call down
fire from heaven.
Elijah calls down fire from heaven which devours the
sacrifice (1 Kings
18:38). Also, 2 Kings 1:10-12 where Elijah calls down fire
from heaven to consume
an army captain and his fifty men.
d. Baal controls life and death. But, it
is Elijah and Elisha who heal and raise
the dead in the name of
God (1 Kings 17:7-24; 2 Kings 4:8-37; 5:1-20).
C. Jezebel seeks Elijah's life (1 Kings 19:1-18).
1. Jezebel seeks to have Elijah put to death (19:1, 2).
2. Elijah flees and prays to God, "Take my life; I am
no better than my ancestors."
But, God encourages Elijah.
3. God passes by Elijah (19:9-18). God sends Elijah into a
mountain where he would
reveal himself to the prophet.
a. A wind came that was so strong that it
tore the mountain apart and shattered
the rocks (19:11). But
God was not in the wind.
b. An earthquake came, but God was not
there either (19:11).
c. A fire came, but God was not there
either (19:12).
d. After the fire came a gentle whisper.
It was the voice of God.
e. God told Elijah to anoint Jehu to be
king over Israel. Anoint Elisha to be
the prophet who will
succeed you.
D. Judgment upon Ahab (1 Kings 20-22:40).
1. Through the advice of Jezebel, Ahab has false charges
brought against Naboth so
that he will be stoned to death and he
can have Naboth's vineyard. He is charged
with cursing God and is stoned to death
(1 Kings 21).
2. Judgment is pronounced on both Ahab and Jezebel (19:23,
24).
a. In the place where dogs licked up
Naboth's blood, they will also lick up
Ahab's (21:19).
Fulfilled when Ahab is killed in battle and as his chariot is
washed in the river,
dogs lick up his blood (22:38).
b. Dogs will devour Jezebel by the wall
of Jezreel. Fulfilled in 2 Kings 9:30-37.
She was thrown from a
high window where she was trampled by horses. Dogs ate
everything except her
skull, hands, and feet.
E. Alliance with Judah.
1. Israel made an alliance with Judah during the reign
of Jehoshaphat, to
ward of Syrian aggression (1 Kings 22:1ff.).
2. Fifty years of hostility between Israel and Judah were
brought to an end.
3. However, this alliance brought intermarriages between
the royal houses. Thus,
the Southern Kingdom fell into idolatry,
worshiping Baal.