The Book of 1 and 2 Kings

1. The Book of 1 and 2 Kings The Kingdom: Glorious…and divided

2. INTRODUCTION • Historical setting • Timeline • Good and Bad kings • North? • All kings are BAD! • South? • 12 kings are BAD; 8 are GOOD. • Which kings get the most ink? (See charts below) • South: Rehoboam, Joash, Hezekiah, Josiah • North: Jeroboam, Ahab, Jehu

3. INTRODUCTION • Chronological scope • The historical span of the book(s): from the deathof David to the release of king Jehoiachin in Babylon (2 Kings 25:27-30) • The time span of the books(s): --from 971 BC (death of David and ascension of Solomon) --to 586 BC (the final exile of Judah to Babylon) --over 400 years.

4. INTRODUCTION • Genre • 1 and 2 Kings is not just History but Theological History or “Preached History.” • Political and economic success of the kings are irrelevant if their commitment to YHWH was lacking • Omri • Ahab • Jeroboam II

5. INTRODUCTION • Purpose of 1 and 2 Kings To prove to the exilic generation of Israelites that their exile was God’s righteous judgment for their covenant disobedience

6. INTRODUCTION • Overarching Theological Themes of 1 and 2 Kings • The Failure of the Monarchy • David and the Davidic Covenant • Monotheism and the Sovereignty of God • Prophecy and the Prophetic Word

7. Solomon (1 Kings 1-11) • Solomon: His Early Years • Solomon’s Ascension to the Throne • 1 Kings 1-2 • David’s decline • Zadok • Solomon’s syncretism? (1 Kings 3:1-4) 1 Solomon made a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt. He took Pharaoh’s daughter and brought her into the city of David until he had finished building his own house and the house of the LORD and the wall around Jerusalem. 2 The people were sacrificing at the high places, however, because no house had yet been built for the name of the LORD. 3Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David his father, only he sacrificed and made offerings at the high places. 4And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place. Solomon used to offer a thousand burnt offerings on that altar.

8. Solomon (1 Kings 1-11) • Solomon’s Rule Over Israel 1 Kings 4 20Judah and Israel were as many as the sand by the sea. They ate and drank and were happy. 21 Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt. They brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life. 24For he had dominion over all the region west of the Euphrates from Tiphsah to Gaza, over all the kings west of the Euphrates. And he had peace on all sides around him. 25And Judah and Israel lived in safety, from Dan even to Beersheba, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, all the days of Solomon.

9. Solomon (1 Kings 1-11) Deut 17:14-17 "When you come to the land that the LORD your God is giving you, and you possess it and dwell in it and then say, 'I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me,' 15you may indeed set a king over you whom the LORD your God will choose…Only he must not acquire many horses for himself or cause the people to return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since the LORD has said to you, 'You shall never return that way again.’ And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold. • Solomon’s Building Projects • Many different building projects • His Palace (1 Kings 7:1-8) • Fortified cities: Hazor, Megiddo, Gezer, etc. (1 Kings 9:15-18) • Main building project: the Temple • Solomon’s Apostasy • 1 Kings 11 • Throughout his reign, Solomon multiplied: • horses (1 Kings 4:26) • gold (2 Kings 10:14) • wives (1 Kings 11:3)

10. II. Divided Kingdom: The Early Years (1 Kings 12-16) • The Kingdom Divides • Jeroboam King of “Israel” (the north) • RehoboamKing Of “Judah” (the south) • Jeroboam’s “false worship” • Rehoboam in the south

11. III. The Ministries of Elijah and Elisha (1 Kings 17—2 Kings 10)

12. III. The Ministries of Elijah and Elisha (1 Kings 17—2 Kings 10) • Elijah Battles against Ahab and Baal • The miracles of Elijah and Elisha • Many miracles performed • Some miracles seem trivial and quite odd • poisoned stew (2 Kings 4:38-41) • floating axe head (2 Kings 6:1-7) • Characteristics of the miracles • Often have to do with “life and death” • Often benefit the “outsider” or “underdog” • Often highlight the authority of the prophetic office

13. III. The Ministries of Elijah and Elisha (1 Kings 17—2 Kings 10) • Elijah, Elisha, and the New Testament • Elijah is mentioned many times in the NT, but Elisha is only mentioned once • Elijah – John the Baptist • Jesus – Elisha (Luke 4:27) • Elisha’s ministry corresponds closely with Jesus’. • Transformation of water (2:19-22 // water to wine, Cana) • Restoring the Shunammite women’s son to life (2 Kings 4:29-37 // cf. Luke 7:11-17) • Feeding large group of people with small amount of food • Cleanses the leper Naaman • Explicitly in Luke 4

14. IV. The Last Years of Israel (2 Kings 11-17) • The remaining kings in the north • The exile of Israel (northern kingdom)

15. V. The Last Years of Judah (2 Kings 18-25) • Hezekiah and Sennacherib • Hezekiah is the first to received unqualified praise from our narrator (18:1-8). • Tries to buy off Assyria by stripping the temple of its gold • Assyria’s invasion of Judah (701 B.C.)

16. V. The Last Years of Judah (2 Kings 18-25) • Josiah’s Reforms • Josiah • Josiah’s Reforms • Did it last? • NO!!

17. V. The Last Years of Judah (2 Kings 18-25) • The Exile of Judah • 3 stages • 606/5 • Cream of the crop taken • Daniel • 597 • many taken; puppet king installed • Ezekiel taken • 586 • many more killed and taken to exile • Jerusalem and temple destroyed • Jeremiah witnesses the destruction; left in the land

18. Excursus: Lamentations