Table of Contents
1 Kings
1 Kings runs from the last days of David to the death of Ahab — roughly 120 years. It falls in two halves. The first (chapters 1–11) is Solomon: the wisest and richest king Israel ever had, who built the temple, and whose many foreign wives “turned away his heart” until God tore ten tribes from his son. The second (chapters 12–22) is the divided kingdom: a fast, grim column of mostly bad kings, north and south, until the LORD raises up Elijah to stand alone against Ahab, Jezebel, and the prophets of Baal.
Poussin painted the moment that made Solomon’s name: a sword raised over a baby to expose which woman truly loved it. The book asks the same test of every king in it — will you rule in the fear of God, or for yourself? “His heart was not perfect with the LORD his God” (1 Kings 11:4) is the epitaph the book is written to earn back. These studies go through it in order.
List Of Articles
Let My Lord King David Live For Ever
an old king who cannot get warm, a son who crowns himself with chariots and a feast, and a mule ride to Gihon that settles the succession before the meat is served
1 Kings 1Be Thou Strong, And Shew Thyself A Man
David’s last charge — keep the law, and settle old accounts — and a new king clearing the board: Adonijah, Joab at the altar, Shimei past the brook
1 Kings 2Give Thy Servant An Understanding Heart
a dream at Gibeon and a blank cheque from God; Solomon asks for wisdom, not wealth — then two women, one living baby, and a sword
1 Kings 3Solomon’s Wisdom Excelled
every man under his vine and fig tree, three thousand proverbs, cedar from Lebanon, and a treaty with Hiram to build the house at last
1 Kings 4-5I Have Built An House For The Name Of The LORD
seven years in the building, no sound of a hammer on the site, gold over everything within — and thirteen years on the king’s own palace
1 Kings 6-7The Glory Of The LORD Filled The House
the ark carried in, a cloud the priests cannot stand up in, and Solomon on his knees: will God indeed dwell on the earth?
1 Kings 8The LORD Appeared To Solomon The Second Time
the answer to the dedication prayer — if thou wilt walk before me, the throne is established; but if ye turn away, this house shall be a proverb and a byword
1 Kings 9The Half Was Not Told Me
the Queen of Sheba comes with hard questions and leaves with none; six hundred sixty-six talents of gold a year, and silver counted as nothing in Jerusalem
1 Kings 10His Heart Was Not Perfect With The LORD
seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines, high places for Chemosh and Molech on the hill east of Jerusalem, and a kingdom promised to a servant
1 Kings 11My Father Chastised You With Whips
the young men’s counsel over the old men’s, ten tribes walking away at Shechem, and two golden calves set up so the people need not go up to Jerusalem
1 Kings 12The Man Of God Out Of Judah
a word cried against the altar at Bethel, a withered hand restored, a command not to eat bread there — and an old prophet whose lie cost a life
1 Kings 13Some Good Thing Toward The LORD
Jeroboam’s wife in disguise at the blind prophet’s door, a sentence on the whole house, and Shishak of Egypt carrying off the gold Solomon made
1 Kings 14They Provoked The LORD God Of Israel To Anger
a fast, grim march of kings — Nadab, Baasha, Elah, Zimri’s seven days, Omri — ending with Ahab, who did more to provoke the LORD than all before him
1 Kings 15-16The Barrel Of Meal Shall Not Waste
a drought announced and a prophet hidden by a brook, fed by ravens; then a widow’s last handful of meal, and a dead boy given back alive
1 Kings 17How Long Halt Ye Between Two Opinions
four hundred fifty prophets of Baal from morning to evening, an altar drenched with water, fire from heaven, and a cloud like a man’s hand out of the sea
1 Kings 18A Still Small Voice
a threat from Jezebel, a day into the wilderness, a juniper tree, an angel with bread, and God not in the wind or the earthquake or the fire
1 Kings 19Hast Thou Killed, And Also Taken Possession
a war won and a king spared against orders, then a vineyard a king coveted, a woman who arranged a judicial murder, and dogs at Jezreel
1 Kings 20-21I Saw The LORD Sitting On His Throne
four hundred prophets with one answer, one prophet Ahab hated for telling the truth, a disguise on the battlefield, and an arrow shot at a venture
1 Kings 22