Israel reaps what it sows.
Moral and spiritual choices have long-term consequences. We may not always foresee the outcomes of our decisions, but we can be certain that if we sow seeds of righteousness, we will reap righteous fruit. If we sow rebellion and sin, we will find our harvest bitter.
The books of 1 and 2 Kings illustrate this principle. They open with God’s people mourning the death of King David; though David’s life and reign were far from perfect and even sowed rebellion at times, the people are heartbroken to lose a righteous monarch whose godly government yielded lasting benefits for the nation. Under David’s son Solomon, Israel briefly becomes an empire, righteousness prevails, and the people prosper.
But after having reached its zenith, Israel suddenly abandoned the Lord. Kings revived idolatry. Priests and the people ignored the Law, even misplacing portions of God’s Word for generations. After the nation permanently split into two domains, the northern kingdom of Israel never again followed God. The southern kingdom of Judah entered a slow decline interrupted by seasons of revitalization but heading toward its eventual ruin all the same. Foreigners eventually overran both kingdoms and took the people into exile—the very consequences God had warned His people about centuries earlier (Deut. 28:63–65).
The books of 1 and 2 Kings were originally a single composition joined to 1 and 2 Samuel. While Samuel details the rise and reign of David, Kings recounts events after David departs from the scene. The books are organized around the reigns of David’s successors.
No subsequent king ever equaled David, although it appeared at first that David’s son Solomon would surpass him. Solomon built on his father’s heritage, distinguishing himself by asking the Lord for wisdom rather than wealth or honor (1 Kin. 3:5–14). God rewarded Solomon’s devotion by allowing him to construct a magnificent temple and to establish the nation as a prominent trading power with a well-organized government and strongly defended borders.
However, despite his matchless wisdom, Solomon also displayed great foolishness, breaking every guideline prescribed for Israel’s kings (see “Criteria for a King” at Deut. 17:14–20). His most serious violation was his marrying foreign women to secure political, military, and economic benefits (see “Political Marriages” at 2 Sam. 3:13, 14). These unions turned his heart from the Lord (see “Why Marriage Matters” at 1 Kin. 11:1–3).
In response to Solomon’s unfaithfulness, God vowed to tear part of the kingdom away from the king’s son (11:11–13), and the nation was soon torn in two. The southern kingdom of Judah (the tribes of Judah and Benjamin) continued to be ruled by kings in David’s line. The northern kingdom of Israel (composed of the remaining ten tribes) was led by its own succession of kings, several of whom usurped the throne.
None of Israel’s kings followed God. The first king, Jeroboam, built worship centers at Bethel and Dan to keep the people from returning to Jerusalem (see the map at “Using Religion for Political Gain” at 1 Kin. 12:25–31); in time the nation became devoted to idolatry. In 722 B.C. the Assyrians captured Israel’s capital, Samaria, and deported many of its citizens to Mesopotamia (2 Kin. 17:1–18), effectively terminating the northern kingdom. Judah survived only a few generations longer (25:1–21).
A crucial lesson of 1 and 2 Kings is that faithfulness to God involves more than formal religious observance. It extends to every dimension of life, including the political, economic, and social arenas. Faith involves not only our private lives but also our public lives, and God is concerned not only with the lives of individuals but also of communities and nations.
No one knows who composed 1 and 2 Kings. Some scholars have argued that Jeremiah is the author of 1 and 2 Kings, apart from the final appended historical notice (2 Kin. 25:27–30). Others posit that several contributors must have recorded the information that spans from the death of David in about 971 B.C. to the fall of Jerusalem in 587 B.C. Early written sources may have been compiled into a single volume after the beginning of the Exile.
The territory of Israel is the center of action for the books 1 and 2 Kings. But the entire Middle East ultimately plays a part as people enter the scene from Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sheba to the south and west, as well as Phoenicia, Syria, and Mesopotamia to the north and east (see the maps at “The Cedar Trade” at 1 Kin. 7:2; “Ophir” at 1 Kin. 9:28; and “The Three Campaigns of the Assyrians” at 2 Kin. 15:29).
Key People in 1 Kings
• Adonijah, fourth son of David, who failed to become king despite military and priestly support (1 Kin. 1:5).
• Bathsheba, a woman who married King David after he arranged for her husband to be killed in battle (1 Kin. 1:11).
• Benaiah, a warrior who may have served as David’s personal bodyguard before Solomon promoted him to Israel’s chief army officer (1 Kin. 2:29).
• Hiram, Solomon’s Phoenician trading partner and source of cedar for constructing the temple (1 Kin. 5:1).
• The queen of Sheba, ruler of a region near southwestern Arabia; she caravanned more than a thousand miles to see Solomon’s splendors, hear his wisdom, and learn about his God (1 Kin. 10:1).
• Hadad, an Edomite prince hostile to Solomon because of his father’s death at the hands of Joab, David’s general (1 Kin. 11:14–22).
• Jeroboam, a king who squandered his opportunity to rule Israel (1 Kin. 11:26).
• Hiel, an official under Ahab who sacrificed his eldest and youngest sons to rebuild Jericho, fulfilling a curse pronounced centuries earlier (1 Kin. 16:34).
• Elijah, a prophet who demonstrated God’s power in miraculous ways and who was taken up into heaven by a whirlwind (1 Kin. 17:1).
• The widow of Zarephath, a Phoenician woman honored by Jesus for extending hospitality to a stranger even when she and her son were starving (1 Kin. 17:9).
• Naboth, a landowner whose property Ahab seized through a murderous plot and a false charge of blasphemy (1 Kin. 21:1).
Key Events in 1 Kings
• Solomon asks God for wisdom (1 Kin. 3:4–15).
• Solomon’s insight settles a dispute over an infant (1 Kin. 3:16–28).
• Solomon constructs the temple (1 Kin. 5–7).
• The queen of Sheba visits Jerusalem (1 Kin. 10:1–13).
• Israel splits into northern and southern kingdoms (1 Kin. 12).
• Elijah declares a drought on Israel (1 Kin. 17:1–7).
• Elijah calls down fire from heaven on Mount Carmel (1 Kin. 18).
• Elijah runs from wicked Queen Jezebel (1 Kin. 19).