1 AND 2 KINGS 1 AND 2 CHRONICLES

Elke Speliopoulos Ventures March 4, 2012

CONTENTS

1 AND 2 KINGS ........................................................................................................................ 1 1 AND 2 CHRONICLES .......................................................................................................... 10 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................ 12 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................................................... 14

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1 AND 2 KINGS Last week, our focus was on the books of 1 and 2 Samuel, which took us from the time of the judges to the first king of Israel, Saul. If you remember, Saul was disobedient to the Lord on multiple occasions, two of which I highlighted for you last week: first, he offered sacrifice instead of Samuel, who served as priest and prophet, something he was not allowed to do based on the orders of God Himself regarding sacrifice. Second, he was so eager to know what would happen that he visited the witch of Endor to conjure up Samuels spirit, something God had clearly forbidden. You can look back at Leviticus 19-20, where Israel is warned three times not to mediums or necromancers (Do not turn to mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the LORD your God., ESV), and indeed God demanded that these mediums and necromancers were to be stoned. Yet here we see Saul, consulting a medium, despite direct orders from God. If you remember, the outcome of this encounter is that his death and the death of his sons the following day in battle is predicted, and this is exactly what happened. After Sauls death, David becomes king and unites the kingdom under his rule. We learned about the Davidic Covenant, in which God promised to David a dynasty that would not end. In 2 Samuel 7:16, God promises David: And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me, Your throne shall be established forever. (ESV) We followed David through his successes and failures, including his illegitimate relationship with Bathsheba, and we leave off at the end of 2 Samuel with David having purchased the threshing floor of Araunah, where he offered burnt offerings to the Lord. <SLIDE 1> Today, we are moving into 1 and 2 Kings and the somewhat parallel account of 1 and 2 Chronicles. As we begin, we will still find ourselves in the united monarchy as David dies and passes on the reign to Solomon, his son with Bathsheba. But we will soon be entering the period of the divided monarchy.

The book is a theodicy: literature that seeks to justify the way God has dealt with people. It vindicates Gods actions toward the nation of Israel. It explains why the exile happened. Did God let us down?, Is the Babylonian god more powerful than YHWH?, Is it the fault of the kings or the people? The writer is primarily concerned with the theological aspect of Israels history. This is historical selectivity. What we see as important is not their accomplishments but the assessment of their lives: He did what was rightHe did what was evilin the sight of the Lord. An example of what you see throughout the book of Kings: Jereboam II was Israels greatest political leader who reigned for over 41 years, experienced great prosperity, and expanded the kingdom more than anyone. Yet the writer of Kings devotes only 7 verses to his reign. Why? Because he did evil in the sight of the Lord. <SLIDE 2> The book of Kings covers the period from the reign of Solomon to the period of the exile, and it provides us with three unmatched and incomparable kings. Solomon, remembered for his wisdom, Hezekiah, remembered for his faith, and Josiah, remembered for his obedience. <SLIDE 3 > United Kingdom: 1 Kings 1-11 Solomon was the ideal king. His reign represented the best of times He was humble, seeking Gods wisdom. <SLIDE 4> He built Gods Temple. Over 50% of the biblical account of Solomons reign is given to the building and dedication of the Temple. It was the most significant event in the religious

history of Israel. As the presence of God was visibly manifested in the pillar of cloud over the tabernacle, so the glory of God hovered over the Temple and signified Gods blessing and presence. This divinely confirmed the establishment of the kingdom as anticipated by Moses. He was ruler of a great empire 1 Kings 4:21. He practiced justice 1 Kings 3:16-28. He had international fame 1 Kings 4:29-34; 10:1-13. And all of this was a preview of the Messianic Kingdom. <SLIDES 5 > Solomon amassed a great deal of wealth. 1 Kings 10 tells us of the visit of the Queen of Sheba, who came bearing unbelievable amounts of gift, and who was astounded both at Solomons wisdom and his prosperity. Indeed, that prosperity was great! 1 Kings 10:1415 tells us Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, 15 besides that which came from the explorers and from the business of the merchants, and from all the kings of the west and from the governors of the land. 1 Kings 10:26-27 continues And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen, whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 27 And the king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stone, and he made cedar as plentiful as the sycamore of the Shephelah. Yet what had God prescribed for the kings of Israel all the way back in the words Moses wrote down in Deuteronomy? Deuteronomy 17:14-20 has God telling the Israelites what a righteous king would look like: 14 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, 15 you may indeed set a king over you whom the Lord your God will choose. One from among your brothers you shall set as king over you. You may not put a foreigner over you, who is not your brother. 16 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. 17 And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold. 18 And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by the Levitical priests. 19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them, 20 that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left, so that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel. (ESV) Do you see the total disconnect between Gods prescription and Solomons actions? He must not acquire many horses for himself or cause the people to return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, yet 1 Kings 10:28-29 tells us, And Solomon's import of horses was from Egypt and Kue, and the king's traders received them from Kue at a price. 29 A chariot could be imported from Egypt for 600 shekels of silver and a horse for 150, and so through the king's traders they were exported to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria. (ESV) Again, he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold, yet we read in 1 Kings 11:3 about Solomons incredibly feats at marriage and holding concubines: He had 700 wives, who were princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart. The downward trajectory is clearly visible, and the man sitting on the throne of his father David is pulling Israel down with his disobedience. <SLIDE 6>Solomon departs from wholehearted devotion to God. He breaks the first commandment by his inclusive policy of allowing idol worship at Jerusalem. He allows the multiplicity of wives to be his ruination by allowing his heart to be turned away from God It is a blend of physical and spiritual polygamy as he worshiped Yahweh and Ashtoreth, Molech,

and Chemosh while erecting a high place on the mountain east of Jerusalem where Molech, the god of the Ammonites, and Chemosh the god of the Moabites takes place. <SLIDE 7> Solomons divided heart leads to a divided kingdom. God finally has had enough and pronounces judgment over him in 1 Kings 11:9-13: 9 And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice 10 and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods. But he did not keep what the Lord commanded. 11 Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, Since this has been your practice and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and will give it to your servant. 12 Yet for the sake of David your father I will not do it in your days, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 13 However, I will not tear away all the kingdom, but I will give one tribe to your son, for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem that I have chosen. When Solomon died, the reign passes to Rehoboam. As is seen in the narrative, after Solomon, a king either does what is right or what is evil in the eyes of the Lord. We will look briefly at just a few. <SLIDE 8> The slide will give you a bit of a timeline to follow. Lets look at the kings of Judah, the southern kingdom, first. Judah now consists of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. Rehoboam, first of the kings of southern kingdom of Judah, is the son of Solomon. His decision to carry on the taxation and subscription policies of his father, even though the people had come to him asking for relief causes the kingdom to break up. The northern ten tribes break away and form the kingdom of Israel. The theological reason behind this breakup is that God is punishing Solomon for his apostasy and idolatry. Politically, however, Rehoboams decision is to blame for the break-up.

<SLIDE 9> Jehoshaphat is a good and godly king, but decides to have a military and marriage alliance with King Ahab a really foolish decision and marries his son to Athaliah, Ahabs daughter. She makes a grab for the throne and attempts to wipe out the entire line of David. She manages to do that, except for one last child. Now be very conscious of Gods protection here: if this child had been killed, the Davidic line would have been taken out, eliminating Gods promise to David. Hezekiah is an incomparable king (the Bible tells us that there was no other king like him). In 701 BC, Assyrian empire marches down after destroying the northern kingdom (722 BC). As can be seen on what is called Sennacherib's Prism, they trapped Hezekiah like a bird in his cage in his capital city of Jerusalem, after capturing forty-six cities in Judah. 185,000 Assyrian soldiers lay siege to Jerusalem. A threatening letter, delivered by the commander of Sennacherib, king of Assyrias army, demands Hezekiahs surrender while it scoffs at the God of the Israelites: Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you by promising that Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. 11 Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, devoting them to destruction. And shall you be delivered? 12 Have the gods of the nations delivered them, the nations that my fathers destroyed..? (2 Kings 19:10-12, ESV) Hezekiah takes the letter to the Temple, asking God to come against this pagan king. Isaiah is his prophet at the time, and he assures Hezekiah that God has heard his prayer and the city would not be conquered. Scripture tells us, And that night the angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies. (2 Kings 19:35) Hezekiah is considered incomparable because of his faith.

King Manasseh, Hezekiahs son, is the exact opposite of his father. He rules for 55 years in Judah. He is described as the most wicked king Judah ever had. He worships other gods, and even sacrifices his own son to those gods. Finally, we see in 2 Kings 21 that God makes a decision to destroy the people of Judah because of their apostasy and sin. Yet before this comes about, King Josiah becomes king of Judah when he is eight years old. Godly leaders and counselors advise him, and he grows into a faithful king. Under his direction, in 622 BC, repairs to the Temple are made. They find a scroll containing the book of the law and read it to Josiah. He tears his garment in repentance and issues a decision that the people, to the best of their ability, will be following the Lord. Josiah is considered incomparable because of his obedience. It delays the judgment, but does not reverse it. Josiah is killed in battle at Megiddo when he is 39 years old. Four other kings follow who are not godly, and ultimately God sends His people into exile. In 586 BC, Nebuchadnezzar conquers Jerusalem, destroys the Temple and takes the last Davidic king into exile to Babylon. <SLIDE 10> In the northern kingdom of Israel, Jeroboam I establishes the northern kingdom. He leads the people of Israel into religious apostasy. He builds two sanctuaries: one in the north at Dan and one in the south at Bethel. He placed a golden calf in those sanctuaries, thereby merging pagan worship with worship of Yahweh. He becomes the rather negative role model of all the future kings of Israel. <SLIDE 11> Ahab is referred to as the worst king Israel ever had. He leads them further into apostasy. Ahab and his wicked wife Jezabel establish Baal worship in Israel. God sends Elijah and Elisha to fight this apostasy in what is probably one my husband s favorite stories as Elijah defeats the 700 prophets of Baal.

King Jehu, beginning in 841 BC, becomes the judgment tool of God. He kills Ahabs son, the son of Israel, and assassinates Ahabs son-in-law, the king of Judah. He has Jezabel killed and finally kills all of Ahabs family. He gets rid of Baal worship, but he is ultimately a failure because he carries on the apostasy of Jeroboam. Jeroboam II is the last king in the dynasty of Jehu. He rules for 41 years and expands Israels borders to her greatest limits. This is the greatest time of prosperity Israel enjoys. Yet his reign is told in seven verses. While politically he is very successful, God dismisses him as he leads Israel into further apostasy. The kingdom of Israel falls to the Assyrians in 722 BC. The fall occurs because the people have sinned against the Lord by their idol worship and have furthered the customs of the kings of Israel. 2 Kings 17:13-18 leaves no doubt how God sees the leaders and people of Israel and Judah: 13 Yet the Lord warned Israel and Judah by every prophet and every seer, saying, Turn from your evil ways and keep my commandments and my statutes, in accordance with all the Law that I commanded your fathers, and that I sent to you by my servants the prophets. 14 But they would not listen, but were stubborn, as their fathers had been, who did not believe in the Lord their God. 15 They despised his statutes and his covenant that he made with their fathers and the warnings that he gave them. They went after false idols and became false, and they followed the nations that were around them, concerning whom the Lord had commanded them that they should not do like them. 16 And they abandoned all the commandments of the Lord their God, and made for themselves metal images of two calves; and they made an Asherah and worshiped all the host of heaven and served Baal. 17 And they burned their sons and their daughters as offerings[a] and used divination and omens and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. 18 Therefore the Lord was

very angry with Israel and removed them out of his sight. None was left but the tribe of Judah only. <SLIDE 12> The scoreboard for the kings of Israel in the north: 19 kings - 4 dynasties - None good - 9 of 19 were assassinated, killed, or committed suicide. The scoreboard for the kings of Judah in the south: 19 kings - 1 dynasty - 8 were good - Hezekiah and Josiah are commended unconditionally, while Asa, Jehoshaphat, Jehoash, Amaziah, Uzziah, and Jotham received qualified commendation. Despite some of the good kings, the theme of idolatry is constant and thick in the book of Kings, as is the theme of not listening to the prophets God sends.<GO DARK> Peter Leithart in his commentary on 1-2 Kings writes, Jews have long classified the book of Kings among the Former Prophets, and this understanding.is suitable to the books contents. The book of Kings is prophetic in the obvious sense that it centers attention on the words and works of Yahwehs prophets. By my reckoning, ten prophets or prophetesses are named: Nathan, Shemaiah, Ahijah, Jehu, Elijah, Micaiah, Elisha, Jonah, Isaiah, and Huldah.Treatment of prophets and the kings response to the prophetic word determine the rise and fall of dynasties and kingdomsThe book of Kings is prophetic in a more particular sense as wellthe prophets to ancient Israel did not preach a legalistic message of moral reformation but an evangelical message of faith in the God who raises the dead. From the first day of the human race in Eden, the curse threatened against sin is dying you shall die, and the same curse hangs over Israel after Yahweh cut covenant with it at Sinai. The message of the prophets is not, Israel has sinned; therefore, Israel needs to get its act together or it will die. The message is, Israel has sinned therefore, Israel must die, and its only hope is to entrust itself to a God who will give it new life on the far side of death. Or even, Israel has sinned; Israel is already dead. Cling to the God who raises the dead. This is precisely the prophetic message of 1-2 Kings, which systematically dismantles Israels confidence in everything but the omnipotent mercy and patience of God.1 Yet, we need to remember the covenant in 2 Sam 7:13-14 here, He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be to him a father, and he
1. Peter Leithart, 1 & 2 Kings (Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2006), 17-18.

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shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men. (ESV) Yahweh had kept them, but He had said that He would punish them for their disobedience, hence the exile. Yet there has to be another Ruler who will fulfill the promises made to David. God has promised another Davidic King. Kings is not a story of failure, disobedience and judgment; it is also a promise that one day there is going to be a new David. A Son of David will be everything that God had promised the House of David to be. That ruler is Jesus Christ. 1 AND 2 CHRONICLES <SLIDE 13>As we now move into 1-2 Chronicles it seems like a re-run of the book of Kings. It is interesting to note that while we find 1-2 Chronicles right after 1-2 Kings in our English bibles, in the Hebrew canon, 1-2 Chronicles actually forms the conclusion of the canon. It gives us a summary of the entire spectrum of Old Testament history. While Kings was written during the time of the exile, about 560-550 BC, it was written to a hard-hearted people living in exile and trying to understand why they are in exile. The book makes clear that it is not Gods failure, but rather it is the result of Israels disobedience both of her people and of their leaders. Chronicles, on the other hand, was written in the post-exilic period around 450-400 BC. It was written to a group of broken-hearted people in order to encourage and help them and to remind them that God will bless them in many ways if only they return to Him fully. It seems like a re-run of Kings, especially as it appears right after Kings in the English Bible. In the Hebrew Bible, 1-2 Chronicles form the last book of the Hebrew canon. It gives us a summary of the entire spectrum of Old Testament history.

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Kings was written during the time of the exile 560-550 BC written to a hard-hearted people living in exile and trying to understand why they are in exile. Its not Gods failure, it is the result of Israels disobedience both the people and their leaders. Chronicles was written was in post-exilic period 450-400 BC written to a group of broken-hearted people in order to encourage and help them and to remind them that if they fully return to God Who will bless them in many ways if only they return to Him fully. The return is nothing like what the prophets had promised. They are poor, under persecution from those around them and the hand of Persia is still on them. Yet in 2 Chronicles 7:14 the people are told, if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. (ESV) In 1 Chronicles 28:9, David exhorts Solomon, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever. (ESV) The focus is clearly on showing kings who were fully committed to the Lord and what happened when they did not. They want to be people who follow hard after God. 2 Chr. 15:2-4 again tells the Israelites: If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you. 3 For a long time Israel was without the true God, and without a teaching priest and without law, 4 but when in their distress they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him, he was found by them. (ESV) In other words, God is telling them, My ears and my eyes will always be open to the prayers that are offered. The Temple they have rebuilt seems small and insignificant, but that is not Gods primary concern He isnt concerned about architecture but with the hearts of the people.

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The book of Chronicles has a special perspective: it focuses in a more extensive way on David and Solomon: about 40% of the book of Chronicles will look at them. It doesnt focus on the failures of David and Solomon, but rather on the promises made to David and to Davids line. The kings of Israel are only considered when they are relevant to the story. As one example, we can look at the depiction of Manasseh: Chronicles doesnt cover up the story of how evil he was, but it focuses on Manassehs repentance for his evil and prayer to God. Because of his repentance, God restores his kingdom and brings him back to the land. God has not forgotten the promises to His people. CONCLUSION The books of Kings and Chronicles serve different purposes: one written to those in exile to explain to them why God had to punish them; the other one written to those who have returned from the exile to remind them that God is still faithful to His people if they return fully to Him. For us here in the 21st century, we have much to learn. Idols can still take us away from true worship. Idols dont look like this anymore today. God still wants fully devoted followers. The moral of Kings: What is important in our lives is not what we accomplish, but Gods assessment of our lives. 1 Cor 3:11-15 reminds us:11 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw 13 each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. (ESV) We know we are not saved by our works. Ephesians 2:8-9, which I know you know, tells us For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may

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boast. (ESV) And Romans 6:23 reminds us, For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. This is good news, People. We do not have to be doing this out of our own strength. We dont have to be good when we know we cant be good on our own. God has reached down from Heaven to give us this free gift of eternal life through the death, burial and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ, if only we turn to Him in faith. And maybe for some of you, you had turned to Him many years ago, but it is time to return to Him and be fully committed to Him. Then lastly, the moral of Chronicles: God is still faithful when we return fully to Him. In looking at the kings, we see a pattern from time to time where in the first part of their lives they sought God and later turned away: examples are David, Solomon, Asa, Jehoshaphat, Amaziah, and Uzziah. <SLIDE 14>The point is: Finish well! In 2 Chronicles 16:9 we read, For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. (ESV) God is looking for a heart fully committed to Him. Joel 2:12-13 says, Yet even now, declares the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; 13 and rend your hearts and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. Wont you return (or even turn for the first time) to Him today? Lets pray.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY Leithart, Peter. 1 & 2 Kings. Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2006.