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1 and 2 Kings, The Road to Judgment

Although a bit rocky at times, the books of Samuel are largely encouraging to read. At long last Israel has a good king, one who follows God and has led the nation to peace. David forever stands throughout the rest of the Old Testament as the model of what king should be. Despite sinning multiple times, David always turned his heart back to God.

Sadly the books of Kings do not carry this mood forward. Though it starts positively enough with Solomon's reign and the construction of the temple, things quickly take a turn for the worst. Bad king after bad king takes the throne, the kingdom splits in two, and it God is left no option but to bring judgment on his own people.

Background

Like a lot of the historical books in the Old Testament, we do not know who wrote the books of Kings. Tradition points to Jeremiah, but the book itself gives no such indicator. Also, like Samuel before it, Kings was originally one book and still is in the Jewish version of the Old Testament. It was split apart to make it easier to read the scrolls. 

Another very important aspect of the book of Kings is the period of time it takes place during. Unlike Joshua or Samuel, Kings takes place over the span of several hundred years. When reading it is easy for us to picture it all happening as fast as we can read it. The truth is from the time Solomon is made king to the Babylonian sacking of Jerusalem, more time has passed than the USA has been a nation. We need to remember this. 

Another important piece of Kings doesn't appear in the book of Kings at all. A large number of the Prophetic books were written during the this extended period. The Prophets provide helpful commentary on the situations during specific periods of history. They also show us what God has to say about what is going on.

Themes

One major theme in Kings is the tension between the kings and God's prophets. When a king was leading the nation astray God would often send a prophet to rebuke him and attempt to lead the people back to God. We see this tension between Ahab and Elijah in 1 Kings 17-21 among other places. The kings were often hard-hearted and refused to listen to the prophets. The people, except for a small remnant, usually followed the king's example.

Another major theme in Kings that is probably the most remembered is the difference between the good kings and the bad kings. While a majority of the kings followed their own hearts a few of the kings followed God. When these kings ruled, always in the south where David's line reigned, God would bless the nation. There were times he even staved off judgment due to the righteousness of these kings.

A third major theme in Kings has to do with locations of worship. One of the big events at the beginning of the book is that of Solomon building the temple. This was the temple that David wanted to built, but was forbidden because he was a man of war. Now Solomon builds a place for all people to come and worship God. Often times kings would set up alternative places of worship, such as Jeroboam in 1 Kings 12. This is also a major theme in the prophets.

Theological Point

God is not quick to deposit his wrath upon his people. The book of Kings is an excellent example of God's people falling away and God repeatedly trying to win them back. Judgment comes only as a last resort in order to save the remnant who still believe. 

We see this in the tension between the kings and prophets. No matter how far away from God these kings wandered, God would send prophets in to reach them. When good kings took the throne and led the people back to God, God was always eager to bless instead of judge. 

Take heed. Though God would much rather shower blessings than wrath, he is no pushover. There comes a time when judgment is the only thing that will get our attention. Eventually, if we do not heed his word, there will come a time when judgment will be all that's left. 

Conclusion

The book of Kings can really be a downer sometimes. All the talk of judgment and evil can sometimes be discouraging. I don't think it should be. We should be encouraged by the knowledge that God will not let evil go unpunished. Justice will reign in the end. We should also praise God that he eagerly searches out any chance to shower us with his grace and mercy. Without it all of us would be doomed to judgment. 

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