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Introduction to the Books of 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles

By Bro David Petersen

Lessons from 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles

The Book of 1 Kings is a tragic story of the fall of the nation of Israel from its uttermost height of glory under David and Solomon to a backslidden state of corruption and depravity led by a rogue's gallery of wicked successors. The parallel account is in the Book of 2 Chroncles so we will be examining some passages from that text as well.

1 Kings chapter 1 starts in the last days of King David when he is old and ill. The time is overdue for his successor to take the throne.

1:1 Now king David was old and stricken in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he gat no heat.

Then the scripture talks about how the king's servants brought in Abishag the Shunamite to attend to David.

Verse 5 begins the account of Adonijah's rebellion:
1:5 Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king: and he prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.
6 And his father had not displeased him at any time in saying, Why hast thou done so? and he also was a very goodly man; and his mother bare him after Absalom.
7 And he conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the priest: and they following Adonijah helped him.
8 But Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet, and Shimei, and Rei, and the mighty men which belonged to David, were not with Adonijah.
9 And Adonijah slew sheep and oxen and fat cattle by the stone of Zoheleth, which is by En-rogel, and called all his brethren the king's sons, and all the men of Judah the king's servants:
10 But Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, and the mighty men, and Solomon his brother, he called not.

Synopsis Of The Chapter 1

At this time King David is old and ill. These are the last days of his earthly life. The last days of David and the early days of Solomon's reign represent the most glorious period in the history of the nation of Israel.

Adonijah Enlists Joab and Abiathar

David's eldest son Adonijah assumes that he is to be the heir to David's throne and launches a coup to establish himself as king while David was still alive. He enlists the help of powerful and influential men in the kingdom principally Joab, the commander of David's army and Abiathar the priest. So he declares himself king and throws a big party in his own honor.

Nathan, Benaiah and Zadok Remain Loyal

But Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the commander of David's personal guard and Zadok the priest remain loyal to David.

David's Oath To Bathsheba

Years before David had promised his wife Bath-sheba that her son Solomon would be his successor. So Bath-sheba and Nathan go into David and do an intervention.

1:32 And king David said, Call me Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. And they came before the king.
33 The king also said unto them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon mine own mule, and bring him down to Gihon:
34 And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there king over Israel: and blow ye with the trumpet, and say, God save king Solomon.
35 Then ye shall come up after him, that he may come and sit upon my throne; for he shall be king in my stead: and I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and over Judah.
36 And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king, and said, Amen: the LORD God of my lord the king say so too.
37 As the LORD hath been with my lord the king, even so be he with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord king David.

Solomon Anointed King

David then commands that they should anoint Solomon to be king. So they sit Solomon on David's mule and take him down to Gihon where Zadok anoints him king. They they blow the trumpet and have a jubilant parade back to Jerusalem where Solomon takes his seat on David's throne.

Solomon Establishes His Throne

By eliminating those who rebelled against him. Everyone got a second chance but each of them blew it individually. Joab had many chances to repent over the years.

Synopsis Of The Chapter 2

After David's son Solomon is anointed king in chapter 1 David counsels his son to "shew thyself a man" and to "walk in the ways of the LORD". It turns out that this was good advice because when Solomon was an old man his heart was turned away from the Lord.

The Duality of Solomon

  1. A perfect picture of the Christian with 2 natures: carnal and spiritual.

Solomon had wisdom and devotion in these early years as shown by him building the temple. Yet later in his life he set the stage for apostasy of the people. This shows that believers are sinful and need forgiveness.

Types Of Christ In 1 Kings

David represents the troubled king conquering his enemies. Solomon represents the glorious king and rule represents Christ's millenial reign of 1000 years.

2:1 Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying,
2:2 I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and shew thyself a man;
3 And keep the charge of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself:
4 That the LORD may continue his word which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee (said he) a man on the throne of Israel.

David focused Solomon's attention on the king's responsibility to be subject to the law of God.

Solomon's Early Reign

1 Kings Chapter 3
3:1 And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the LORD, and the wall of Jerusalem round about.
3:2 Only the people sacrificed in high places, because there was no house built unto the name of the LORD, until those days.
3:3 And Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places.

These early passages on Solomon's reign contain an ominous preview of his future.

Advanced warning signs:

  1. Married a foreign woman. He married the daughter of Pharoh in a political alliance.
  2. Sacrificed in the high places tolerating idolotrous practices.
  3. Multiplied horses showing a tendency to rely on worldly power instead of relying on strength from God.

The 1st hint in verse 1. Another early warning sign here of his undoing is his marraige to a pagan wife, an act of disobedience. The Israelites had been commanded not to take foreign wives.

There is no central sanctuary so they create their own sacred sites on the high places.

High places became synonomous with pagan altars. People are making sacrifices in these high places and Solomon is involved. Solomon loved the Lord "except" that he sacrificed in the high places. This will be his downfall.

4 And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar.
5 In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.
6 And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.
7 And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.
8 And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude.
9 Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?

The name of Solomon is associated with wisdom. Solomon wrote many proverbs, songs and psalms. Even though Solomon was wise he did some very foolish things later in his life. The story of Solomon reads like a character in a play with a fatal flaw. At the beginning he shows wisdom and devotion to God.

David brought in the golden age. Solomon exceeded David in administration through ambitious building projects and public works and strengthened the military.

This passage shows the humility of Solomon. He is a young man around 20 overwhelmed with responsibility. He perceives the difficulty of filling the shoes of David.

Solomon doesn't ask for money or power or fame. Instead he wants an understanding heart so that he can be a good king. So that he can be a judge and a godly man like his father.

10 And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.
11 And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment;
12 Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.
13 And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days.
14 And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days.
15 And Solomon awoke; and, behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and offered up burnt offerings, and offered peace offerings, and made a feast to all his servants.

After his encounter with God, Solomon is now he's standing before the ark to perform sacrifices where he belongs.

Solomon's request was humble. So God gave him what he asked for as well as what he didn't ask for: power, wealth and honor.

In chapters 4-10 Solomon constructs the temple and dedicates it. He outsources much of the work to Hiram, king of Tyre and contracts purchase of building materials, primarily cedar wood from him. Solomon is rigorous to his devotion to God when he dedicates the temple. He also builds his palace and embarks upon many ambitious construction projects often fortifying outlying cities of the kingdom. People come from all over the world to hear his wisdom including the Queen of Sheba who made a notable visit.

The Downfall Of Solomon

However in chapter 11 we begin to see the downfall of King Solomon.


11:1 But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites;
11:2 Of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love.
3 And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart.
4 For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.
5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.
6 And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father.

Solomon's pagan wives turned away his heart after other gods. His heart was not fully committed to the LORD as was his father David. We see how low Solomon sunk in verses 5 and 6. Then Solomon built a high place to a pagan God. He did this to please his foreign wives. This was his undoing.


11:7 Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon.
8 And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods.
9 And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the LORD God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice,
10 And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the LORD commanded.
11 Wherefore the LORD said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant.
11:12 Notwithstanding in thy days I will not do it for David thy father's sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son.

Despite his great wisdom Solomon set the stage for Israel's spiritual apostasy and division which would last for centuries. It produced a snowball effect: the nation's problems grew from generation to generation.

The Divided Kingdom

Solomon's son Rehoboam's becomes his successor. His harsh policies led to the divided kingdom. The northern and southern kingdoms are: Israel and Judah. However God kept his covenant promise with David and the patriarchal promise of Jacob; that is that a descendent of David would remain on the throne.

11:26 And Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephrathite of Zereda, Solomon's servant, whose mother's name was Zeruah, a widow woman, even he lifted up his hand against the king.

So Solomon has a revolt on his hands in the North led by Jeroboam.


11:27 And this was the cause that he lifted up his hand against the king: Solomon built Millo, and repaired the breaches of the city of David his father.
28 And the man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valour: and Solomon seeing the young man that he was industrious, he made him ruler over all the charge of the house of Joseph.
29 And it came to pass at that time when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the way; and he had clad himself with a new garment; and they two were alone in the field:
30 And Ahijah caught the new garment that was on him, and rent it in twelve pieces:
31 And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee:1
11:32 (But he shall have one tribe for my servant David's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:)

The prophets often used object lessons to graphically portray God's judgments. Rips garment into 12 pieces for the 12 tribes of Israel. Jeroboam was to receive 10 tribes as his judgment against Solomon for his sins. He is going to rip the kingdom in two.

The southern tribe of Judah is to remain under the control of Solomon's dynasty.

Jacob had told his sons "the scepter shall not depart from Judah until Shiloh come."

God leaves one tribe with Solomon because of his promise to David to have someone on his throne forever.

This is the first mention of the divided kingdom:

Northern: Israel 10 tribes.

Southern: Judah, the one tribe spared for the decendents of David and Solomon.


42 And the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years.
43 And Solomon slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David his father: and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead.

So Jeroboam became king over Israel in the north. and Rehoboam king over Judah in the south.

Rehoboam's Reign

Chapter 12

The death of Solomon and the repsponse of his son Rehoboam.

12:1 And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him king.
2 And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was yet in Egypt, heard of it, (for he was fled from the presence of king Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt;)
3 That they sent and called him. And Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came, and spake unto Rehoboam, saying,
4 Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee.
5 And he said unto them, Depart yet for three days, then come again to me. And the people departed.
6 And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men, that stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, and said, How do ye advise that I may answer this people?

Jeroboam comes with his whole army and has the power to turn all the northern tribes against Solomon's son. But he gives Rehoboam the opportunity to preserve the union.

"Your father's hand was heavy upon us" refers to the forced labor. And because of this the people were ready for a civil war. Jeroboam says that if they promise to end the oppression they will be loyal. Rehoboam responds " let me think it over" and then he consults two different groups. First he consults the elders.

12:7 And they spake unto him, saying, If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants for ever.

The elders say for him to be a servant of the people. This was great wisdom. If you want them to serve you then you serve them. The role of the king is not to oppress, but to serve the people as the servant of God. The king is subservient to God and his law. But the history is of king after king who relegates to himself the authority that belongs to God.

12:8 But he forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him, and which stood before him:
9 And he said unto them, What counsel give ye that we may answer this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke which thy father did put upon us lighter?
10 And the young men that were grown up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou speak unto this people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us; thus shalt thou say unto them, My little finger shall be thicker than my father's loins.
11 And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father hath chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.

Then Rehoboam consulted the young men. The young bucks said to lay down the law, to put down the hammer. They are full of themselves. They are high on Rehoboam's power.They say don't listen to those weak old men.

Rehoboam heeded the counsel of the young bucks and answered the people harshly.

Jeroboam's Rebellion

12: 16 So when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David. So Israel departed unto their tents.

17 But as for the children of Israel which dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them.

Rehoboam listened to the young men and when he answered the people they rebelled and split off and a civil war begins. The division lasted for many centuries.

A rogue's gallery of evil kings follows.

Jeroboam creates 2 sacred sites and consecrates a golden calf "this is the god who brought you up out of the land of Egypt" and directs the people into idolatry. And so goes the future history of the northern kingdom.

The history that unfolds is one of wicked kings and idolatry.

The northern kingdom lasts 200 years with 20 kings and 9 different families (dynasties). One king only lasted 7 days but the average was 10 years.

There are lot's of disruption, intrigue, conspiracies and rivalry and no stability in the north.

One of the more significant families of the northern kingdom was the House of Omri: establishes a rival capital and center of idolotrous worship in the city of Samaria (16:24). His most notorious descedent was Ahab who became the wicked king in the northern kingdom. Ahab marries Jezebel who is militantly pagan and who's desire is to convert the northern kingdom to the worship of her god Baal.

If a woman today is known for extraordinary evil we say that she is a Jezebel. Jezebel slew the prophets of the Lord and imported no less than 850 pagan prophets of Baal in Samaria. And this was the scene that the prophet Elijah came upon in 1 Kings chapter 17.

The Prophets

1 Kings 18:20-21
20 So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel.

21 And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.

At that point some people might have came up to Elijah and said "Now Elijah chill out because of made it a practice never to discuss religion and politics because such issues tend to divide". Elijah don't you know that there are many ways to God? You don't expect us to become religious fanatics do you? Are you involved with organized religion? You are not insisting that your way is the only correct way are you?

The blending of true faith and pagan religion. The truth of God was becoming secularized and paganized. The truth of God was being blurred and the distinctions of the covenant rule of God were now confused in the people's eyes.

This is exactly what happened to Solomon. Although he loved the Lord, he thought that he could dabble in the world and get away with it.

A New Class Of Prophets

Elijah personifies the prophets. He is the spokesman for God and pronounces his judgments. With Elijah the prophets are elevated to a new degree of significance. He introduction is trailblazing for the following prophets.

The prophets are both foretellers (predictive prophecy) and forthtellers (telling it like it is). They were the conscience of God's people. They were God's divine agents of prosecution. When God's people broke his covenants it was the prophets who delivered the subpeona against them.

The southern kingdom maintains a certain stability. It was not a period of great godliness but there were certain periods of reform under various kings such as Asa.

The southern kingdom lasted 350 years with 20 kings. This is the same number of kings but over a period almost twice as long. But the main difference is that there is only one family: the House of David.

In 722 BC the northern kingdom fell to the Assyrian empire and the people were taken captive.

In 586-87 BC Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians.

But God will make good on his promise to David through his greater son who will rule on the throne of his father David for ever and ever.

The Book of 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles
Introduction | 1 Kings 1 | 1 Kings 2 | 1 Kings 3 | 1 Kings 4 | 1 Kings 5 | 1 Kings 6-7 | 1 Kings 8 | 1 Kings 9 | 1 Kings 10 | 1 Kings 11 | 1 Kings 12 | 2 Chronicles 13 | 1 Kings 13 | 1 Kings 14 | 1 Kings 15 | 2 Chronicles 15 | 1 Kings 16 | 1 Kings 17 | 1 Kings 18 | 1 Kings 19 | 1 Kings 20 | 1 Kings 21 | 1 Kings 22

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