Key Verse: 1 Kings 17:13-14, 19-20

Theme to track: Character of God, leaders and their actions

In the first eleven chapters of 1 Kings, the readers (reminder: the original readers are Israelite exiles in Babylon) saw the many sinful compromises of King Solomon’s life, a downfall that led to major consequences for Israel as a whole—the splitting up of the kingdom into “Israel” and “Judah”.

After Solomon’s death, his son Rehoboam succeeds him. Rehoboam’s cruel nature causes the people to dislike him, and a man named Jeroboam who had worked for King Solomon rises up against him to take over the throne (note that this had all been prophesied to Jeroboam by a prophet named Ahijah in 11:28-39):

When all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. There was no one who followed the house of David, except the tribe of Judah alone. —1 Kings 12:20

Just as God had told Solomon in 11:11-12, the kingdom is taken from his son. But not all of it—the tribe of Judah decides not to go along with the other tribes, continuing to follow Solomon’s son Rehoboam. Thus, Israel is divided into two parts—“Israel” and “Judah”, Israel becoming the Northern Kingdom and Judah becoming the Southern Kingdom. This split is one that will have its share of both unity and war in the years to come. But we need to note something important here—why does God allow Rehoboam to keep one tribe? Why doesn’t he rip the kingdom entirely from his hands?

God had told Solomon in 11:13, “I will not, however, tear away the entire kingdom [from his son Rehoboam]; I will give one tribe to your son, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.”

Remember God’s covenant to David back in 2 Samuel 8? God promised David that his throne would be established forever. God is seeing way farther into the future than David, Solomon, or Rehoboam could imagine. In making that covenant with David, God had his ultimate plan of redemption in mind—the coming of His son Jesus Christ to die for the sins of man and bring man back into a right relationship with God. It is no mistake that it’s the tribe of Judah that continues to follow after Rehoboam (who is from the line himself)—Jesus is eventually born from that line. God was not just promising David a physical kingdom that would last forever, but a spiritual kingdom of which Christ reigns over forever.

In the remainder of 1st Kings and all of 2nd Kings, the author is going to show the history of each nation that led up to both of their downfalls and exiles. It is a story of violence, war, revival, compromise, unity, ignorance, idolatry, deceit, mercy, and justice.

Rather than attempt to “summarize” the rest of the story, I’m going to jump ahead to the ending and then let you do some searching of your own! By the end of 2nd Kings, both Israel and Judah are in exile. The people of Israel (the Northern Kingdom) were captured by and taken to Assyria in 722 BC as exiles (see 2 Kings 17:5,6). One hundred thirty-six years later in 586 BC, Judah (the Southern Kingdom) is defeated by Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar and taken into exile to Babylon.

How could God have let that happen? What went wrong? How could God have let them become such weak and vulnerable nations, jelly in the hands of surrounding kingdoms? Why didn’t God rescue them out of their hands as he had rescued them when King David reigned? The books of 1st and 2nd Kings gives the clear answer to these questions.

Below is a list of respective kings of both Israel and Judah, and where their stories are found in 2 Kings. My challenge for you as you read 1st and 2nd Kings is to go down the list as you read, taking note of the actions of each king. Did he walk in the ways of God, or did he lead the people away from God? Was his leadership marked with righteousness and justice, or sin? The answers are not hard to find, because the author has an obvious goal to clearly show the exiles why they are where they are.

A few other specifics to take note of during each reign:

• Were there any prophets during the reign? What did they prophesy?
• What were the key events, battles, and/or alliances that took place during the reign?

Kings of Israel (Samaria)—Northern Kingdom

Jeroboam (1 Kings 12-14)
Nadab (1 Kings 15:25-31)
Baasha (1 Kings 15:28-34, 16:1-8)
Elah (1 Kings 16:8-14)
Zimri (1 Kings 16:11-20)
Omri (1 Kings 16:21-28)
Ahab (1 Kings 18-22)
Ahaziah (2 Kings 1:1-17)
Joram, also called Jehoram (2 Kings 3:1-9:26)
Jehu (2 Kings 10)
Jehoahaz (2 Kings 13:1-9)
Jehoash (2 Kings 13:10-25, 14:8-16)
Jeroboam II (2 Kings 14:23-29)
Zechariah (2 Kings 15:8-12)
Shallum (2 Kings 15:10-15)
Menahem (2 Kings 15:16-22)
Pekahiah (2 Kings 15:23-26)
Pekah (2 Kings 15:27-31, 16:5)
Hoshea (2 Kings 17:1-6)

Kings of Judah—Southern Kingdom

Rehoboam (1 Kings 12:1-24, 14:21-31)
Abijah (1 Kings 15:1-8)
Asa (1 Kings 15:9-24)
Jehoshaphat (1 Kings 22:1-50)
Jehoram (2 Kings 8:16-24)
Ahaziah (2 Kings 8:25-29, 9:16-29, 10:12-14)
Athaliah (2 Kings 11:1-20)
Joash (2 Kings 11:21-12:21)
Amaziah (2 Kings 14:1-18)
Azariah, also called Uzziah (2 Kings 15:1-31)
Jotham (2 Kings 15:32-37)
Ahaz (2 Kings 16:1-20)
Hezekiah (2 Kings 18:1-20:21)
Manasseh (2 Kings 21:1-26)
Amon (2 Kings 21:1-26)
Josiah (2 Kings 22:1-23:30)
Jehoahaz (2 Kings 23:31-35)
Jehoiakim, also called Eliakim (2 Kings 23:36-24:7)
Jehoiachin (2 Kings 24:8-16)
Zedekiah, also called Mattaniah (2 Kings 24:17-25:7)

During the reign of the last king of Judah, Zedekiah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon comes up against Jerusalem (the capital of Judah) and lays siege to the city until the people of Judah begin starving to death due to famine. King Zedekiah and his soldiers try to escape one night, but the Babylonians (note: Babylonians and Chaldeans are the same people) end up catching Zedekiah, slaughtering his sons, gouging his eyes out, and taking him to Babylon as a prisoner.

Soon after, the captain of Nebuchadnezzar’s body guard goes back to Jerusalem and in the climax of the entire story, burns down the temple, the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem! The people in the city are captured and taken away into Babylonian exile, except for a few poor people who are left behind to maintain the city’s vineyards and land.

Why?

Let’s see what the author has to say in 2 Kings 17:13-15, which is a great summary passage for the two books as a whole:

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 ancestors and that I sent to you by my servants the prophets." They would not listen but were stubborn, as their ancestors had been, who did not believe in the Lord their God. They despised his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their ancestors, and the warnings that he gave them. They went after false idols and became false; they followed the nations that were around them. (Read all of chapter 17 for the complete summary in its full
effect!)

The explanation is clear, and becomes even clearer when we look at the individual reigns of the kings—their sin, compromise, and outright abandonment to the covenant. In my opinion, the whole of 1st and 2nd Kings could be summed up in just one verse found in 2 Kings 17:41a, “So these nations [Israel and Judah] worshiped the LORD, but also served their carved images.” Notice that little word in the middle: but. We’ve been talking a lot about compromise in the past few books, and compromise is exactly what led God’s people to their ruin. They served the Lord in some ways, certain kings got rid of some of their idols, BUT neither Israel nor Judah ever wholeheartedly followed the Lord (the exception being King Josiah in 2 Kings 23—but by that time it was too late, and the Lord had already made up His mind as to the consequences Judah would face for its sin).

Yesterday morning in my prayer time, I was asking God to show me why I had been lacking in the joy He had been giving me just the week before. I felt like I had gone from a week of victory to a week of defeat. I asked Him to test my heart and mind and show me anything in my life that was not right. He showed me a few compromises I had been making in my life, (for those of you who have read my article on Judges, they were green M&Ms!) ones that may seem small and insignificant, but ones that were holding me back from living in the purity and righteousness God has called me to live in by the power of His Holy Spirit.

After you read through 1st and 2nd Kings, take some time to ask God if there are any “buts” in your life, and ask Him for the strength to get rid of them. Compromise and disobedience can never be a part of the victorious Christian life, but by the enabling grace of God, the Holy Spirit can give us power to get rid of every part of it that has sneaked into our lives.

Next month I’ll be going over 1st and 2nd Chronicles, which cover much of the same history as 1st and 2nd Kings, but coming from a different perspective. The dismal tone and focus on man’s failure and sin in 1st and 2nd Kings is replaced by a hopeful tone that focuses on God’s faithfulness. Happy reading!

Read 1 and 2 Kings, Part 1—A King’s Sin, a Kingdom’s Downfall

Copyright © by Tessa Hershberger Share

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