1 Kings 15-17: Who's in Charge

After the deaths of Jeroboam in Israel, and Rehoboam in Judah an even more tempestuous time for God's people begins.  When they follow God, they prosper and when they do not they falter.

In Judah, Abijah succeeds his father, Rehoboam, but sins just as his father had done.  He only lasts three years,  Nevertheless, for David's sake the LORD his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem by raising up a son to succeed him and by making Jerusalem strong.  For David had done what was right in the eyes of the LORD and had not failed to keep any of the LORD's commands all the days of his life—except in the case of Uriah the Hittite. - 1 Kings 15:4-5 NIV

He is succeeded by his son Asa who was godly.  He got rid of the idols, the shrine prostitutes, the Asherah poles and was fully committed to the Lord.  His reign lasted for forty-one years. 

Meanwhile in Israel, Nadab succeeds his father Jeroboam.  He was evil just like his father, so Baasha kills Nadab and Jeroboam's entire family as God had promised, through the prophet Ahijah.  Baasha reigned twenty-four years, although he was no better than Nadab.  The prophet Jehu told Baasha that his descendants would not lead Israel because of his sins.  As God promised, when Baasha died, his son Elah lived only two years before he and all of his family were killed by Zimri, one of his officials.  Zimri was no different from his predecessors and his reign lasted seven days before he was killed by Omri, the commander of the army.  Omri sinned even more than the other kings before him and reigned seven years.  When he died his son Ahab became king and things in Israel went from bad to worse. 

During Ahab's reign the prophecy, of what would happen if Jericho was ever rebuilt, came to pass.  In Ahab's time, Hiel of Bethel rebuilt Jericho. He laid its foundations at the cost of his firstborn son Abiram, and he set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, in accordance with the word of the LORD spoken by Joshua son of Nun.- 1 Kings 16:34

What God promises, he does.  He rewards good for good and evil for evil.  It may not be in the time frame we expect, but God's word is true.
God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? - Numbers 23:19 KJV

1 Kings 12-14: A Kingdom Divided

Solomon dies, and with him dies all the promise of a great kingdom of Israel.  Because of Solomon's sins, God promised to tear the kingdom from Solomon's descendants but leave the tribe of Judah to his heirs, and that is exactly what happened.  Rehoboam, Solomon's son succeeds him to the throne, but he did not possess Solomon's wisdom.  When the Solomon's advisers advised him to go easy on the Israelites because Solomon had extracted a heavy price from them, Rehoboam rejected their advice and instead relied on the advice of his peers to make the people bear an even heavier load.  Israel's response to the new king was:
"What share do we have in David, what part in Jesse's son?
To your tents, O Israel! Look after your own house, O David!"
So the Israelites went home. - 1 Kings 12:16 NIV

In the meantime, Jeroboam, returns from Egypt where he had escaped to avoid Solomon's wrath and is quickly made king over Israel. When Rehoboam starts to go against Israel to regain the kingdom, he is told by God:  'This is what the LORD says:  "Do not go up to fight against your brothers, the Israelites. Go home, every one of you, for this is my doing.' " So they obeyed the word of the LORD and went home again, as the LORD had ordered. - 1 Kings 12:24 NIV

With all of this going on, you would think that both kings would fall prostrate before God and ask for his forgiveness and help.  But instead, Jeroboam had two golden calves created, built shrines on high places, installed priests who were not Levites, and held festivals to offer sacrifices to the idols. And in Judah, Rehoboam set up high places, sacred stones, and Asherah poles on every high hill.  You can see where it is going.  Both kings have turned to their own way.  The story of each side, from this day forward, will mimic the other.  Their abandonment of God means the abandonment of their kingdoms by God as well.

1 Kings 10-11: All is Vanity

All the wisdom in the world does you no good if your heart is not right with God, if you seek after other gods.  And that is just what Solomon did.  Solomon had it all, chariots and horses, all the gold he could want, a gold throne to sit on, the adulation of the known world, wisdom, many wives and few adversaries, until he fell under the spell of those wives.  If he had chosen God-fearing wives from Israel, it would have been one thing, but he chose foreign wives; who worshipped Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, Molech, the detestable god of the Ammonites and Chemosh, the detestable god of Moab.  Not only did he let his wives worship these gods, he built high places where they could worship their gods.

No wonder at the end of his life, he would cry "vanity of vanities; all is vanity."- Eccl. 1:2 KJV
He saw that his money and possessions were worthless:
Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income.
This too is meaningless. As goods increase, so do those who consume them.
And what benefit are they to the owner except to feast his eyes on them?  - Eccl. 5:10-11NIV
He saw that his wisdom was limited:
All this I tested by wisdom and I said, "I am determined to be wise"—
but this was beyond me. Whatever wisdom may be,
it is far off and most profound— who can discover it? -  Eccl. 7:23-24 NIV
He saw that his wives were a snare:
I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare,
whose heart is a trap and whose hands are chains. - Eccl. 7:26 NIV
And ended his life on this note:
Now all has been heard;here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing,
whether it is good or evil. - Eccl. 12:13-14

For Solomon, this knowledge came too late.  Because of Solomon's sins, God had already chosen someone from outside of Solomon's family to be Israel's next king.

1 Kings 8-9: Hear Us from Heaven

The temple is finished.  The priests brought the ark to the temple and placed it between the wings of the cherubim in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place.  When the priests went out from the Most Holy Place, the cloud of the glory of the Lord filled the temple.  While the assembly was still standing there, Solomon blessed them and then praised God for letting him be the one to build the temple.  He then prayed a prayer of dedication:  "LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart." - 1 Kings 8:23 KJV

'Keep your eyes open toward this temple day and night', Solomon prayed, 'this place where you said that your name would dwell.'  "Hear the supplication of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive. " - 1 Kings 8:30 NIV

When a man wrongs his neighbor, hear from heaven and be the judge.  When your people are defeated by their enemies, hear and bring them back.  When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because the people have sinned, hear from heaven and forgive the sins of your people.  When a prayer if made by one of your people, aware of the sinfulness of their own heart, hear from heaven and forgive.  When a foreigner comes to you with outstretched arms, hear and answer their plea so all will know and fear you.  When your people war against their enemies, hear from heaven and uphold their cause.  And most importantly, when your people sin against you, and there is no one who does not sin, when they fall on their knees and cry out to you with penitent hearts, hear from heaven and forgive.

When the prayer of dedication and the sacrifices were complete, God appeared to Solomon and told him "I have heard the prayer and plea you have made before me; I have consecrated this temple, which you have built, by putting my Name there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.  - 1 Kings 9:3 NIV

1 Kings 4-7 Peace and Prosperity

Finally, Israel experiences peace and prosperity. The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore; they ate, they drank and they were happy.  - 1 Kings 4:20 NIV

With the wisdom that he had received from God, Solomon appointed officials to rule over the various aspects of the kingdom.  He also assigned governors over twelve districts to supply his provisions which consisted of :  thirty cors of fine flour and sixty cors of meal,  ten head of stall-fed cattle, twenty of pasture-fed cattle and a hundred sheep and goats, as well as deer, gazelles, roebucks and choice fowl.  For he ruled over all the kingdoms west of the River, from Tiphsah to Gaza, and had peace on all sides.  During Solomon's lifetime Judah and Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, lived in safety, each man under his own vine and fig tree. - 1 Kings 4:22-25 NIV

With Israel at peace, Solomon could do the one thing David was not able to do, build a temple for the Lord God.  David, Solomon's father was a man of war and not allowed to build the temple. Solomon's reign was one of peace.  This peace, coupled with ample harvests enabled Solomon buy the finest cedar and pine from Lebanon, and to hire carriers, stone cutters and craftsmen to build the temple and its furnishings.  Solomon's Temple was a magnificent structure.  Nothing has been built like it since.

Solomon's fame and wisdom spread to all the surrounding nations.  He spoke three thousand proverbs, and his songs numbered a thousand and five.  - 1 Kings 4:32 NIV

Among them is the following in Psalm 127
A song of ascents. Of Solomon.
Unless the LORD builds the house,
its builders labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
the watchmen stand guard in vain.

Solomon was building God's temple.  God was building his nation and 'they lived in safety, each man under his own vine and fig tree.'

1 Kings 1-3: Administering Justice

It's very difficult to dispense justice in a land where it is every man for himself.  That had been the case before the kings, and continued to be the case once the kings were enthroned in power.  The sons of David, first Absalom and then Adonijah, took it upon themselves to appoint themselves king:  Absalom to usurp David and Adonijah to usurp Solomon, the one David had promised would be his successor. 

David by this time is so old, and has such poor circulation, he cannot keep himself warm.  He has become distanced from what is going on in the kingdom and doesn't realize that Adonijah has set himself up as king until Solomon's mother, Bathsheba, and Nathan, the prophet, point out what is going on.  One of David' last acts is to see that Solomon is crowned king, and then he extracts a promise from Solomon that he will deal with Joab and Shimei for their ruthlessness, something David was loath to do.

Solomon eventually carries out David's request, striking down Joab, Shimei, and Adonijah as well, for the wrongs they had done.  It's interesting that both Adonijah and Joab ran to the temple and took hold of the horns of the altar for protection from Solomon, but they still lost their lives.  Solomon goes to Gibeon and offers a thousand sacrifices on the altar to God.  As a result, God appears to Solomon in a dream and tells him to ask for anything he wants.  Solomon asks for a discerning heart as he knows that strength and cunning alone are not enough to rule the people.  God grants his wish, and as a result of his wise decision concerning the two women claiming the same baby, the people of Israel "held the king in awe, because they saw that he had wisdom from God to administer justice." - 1 Kings 3:28 NIV

God didn't honor the request of the conspirators for protection, but he honored Solomon's request for wisdom.  God was looking, as always, for someone to do justly and walk humbly.

2 Samuel 22-24: The Source of Greatness.

David was a mighty warrior, and he was surrounded by mighty fighting men as well.  But David knew that his strength was not from the mighty men.  His strength came from the rock, his fortress, and his deliverer.  Without God, David would have just been another fighter.  He might have resembled Goliath, who felt he was entitled to hurl insults at the enemy because of his size.  He might have been like Saul, who led the Israelites in victory, but spent most of his days comparing his exploits to those of David.  He might have been like Absalom, creating a powerful coalition by means of subterfuge.  But instead David's song acknowledges the source of his strength and success.

 "As for God, his way is perfect;
the word of the LORD is flawless.

He is a shield
for all who take refuge in him.

For who is God besides the LORD ?
And who is the Rock except our God?

It is God who arms me with strength
and makes my way perfect.

He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;
he enables me to stand on the heights.

He trains my hands for battle;
my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

You give me your shield of victory;
you stoop down to make me great."
2 Samuel 22:31-36

David never ceased to recognize and praise the source of his strength; the source of his very being.  That is what made him great.  He never ceased to recognize the source of his perfection.  That is what made him righteous.