Introduction to 1–2 Kings

Overview

The books of 1 and 2 Kings trace the story of God’s work of salvation and judgment in and through his people over a four-hundred-year period (from around 1000 to 600 BC) that is marked by almost unbroken decline. Beginning in the golden age of King David in Jerusalem, these books end with the ruler of God’s people in exile in Babylon. The opening section (1 Kings 1–11) deals with the disappointing conclusion to the reign of David and that of his hugely gifted but flawed son Solomon. These chapters set the trajectory for the rest of 1–2 Kings, which falls easily into three sections. In 1 Kings 12–16, the origins and early history of the divided kingdoms of Israel and Judah are laid out. The central section of the work, 1 Kings 17–2 Kings 12, is concerned largely with the prophetic ministry of Elijah and Elisha. Finally, the demise and destruction of the kingdom of Israel and the inevitable decline of the kingdom of Judah in its wake are set out in 2 Kings 13–25.

Title

Originally a single work, in Hebrew called simply “the book of Kings,” the text was divided in two at an early stage, presumably for ease of use. When the translators of the Septuagint came to this part of the Bible, they combined the books of Samuel and Kings under the rubric “1–4 Kingdoms.”

Author, Date, and Occasion

The author or authors of 1–2 Kings are not named, and the quest to identify them is one of the major preoccupations of those who study the OT academically. It is clear that Joshua–2 Kings provides a seamless narrative taking the reader from the occupation of the land of Canaan to Judah’s exile in Babylon. What is not so clear is how this history, which in turn is built on the Pentateuch (and in particular Moses’ final word to his people in Deuteronomy), came about. We simply do not know who wrote the individual books, how they came to be combined, or when they were “published.” However, we can be certain of this: in its final form, 1–2 Kings was produced sometime after Babylon conquered Judah and exiled much of its population (see 2 Kings 25, which details events around the midpoint of the exile), although it is clear that the book is based on historical records from throughout that period, as evidenced by the phrase “to this day” in places such as 1 Kings 8:8, which suggests a written record of a contemporary witness. Prophets are also featured throughout this book, so it should be no surprise if their written testimony were drawn on for this book (cf. 1 Chron. 29:29; 2 Chron. 9:29; etc.)

In terms of purpose, it is quite clear 1–2 Kings was written to enable the exiled people of Judah to grasp the underlying spiritual causes of the exile, to understand the ways in which God works in our world, and to respond to God in renewed repentance and faith.

Genre and Literary Features

The book of Kings is dominated by the continuous narrative that takes the reader from the disappointing end of the reign of King David through to the Babylonian exile. However, the relatively simple narrative structure is augmented by several striking features: (1) the use of distinct regnal formulas for Israel and Judah; (2) the incorporation of speeches, prophetic oracles, and prayers at several key points in the narrative; (3) the creative arrangement of the material dealing with Israel and Judah; and (4) the dark “humor” of the book.

Regnal Formulas

One of the standout features of 1–2 Kings is the use of stereotypical summaries to evaluate the reigns of the kings of both Judah and Israel. These “regnal formulas” provide Kings with much of its rhythm, rhetorical effect, and overall impact, especially in those sections in which the progression of kings north and south of the border dominates the presentation.

It is important to notice that the basic template for assessing the reigns of the two sets of kings is different at key points.

The Kings of Judah

For the kings of Judah, the basic pattern is as follows:

1. (1) Date of accession to the throne, synchronized to the reign of a counterpart in Israel (until 722 BC) (note: this may include a period of co-regency, as explained in the next section)
2. (2) Age of the new king (except, for some reason, for the summaries of the reigns of Abijam and Asa in 1 Kings 15)
3. (3) Length and place of reign
4. (4) Name of mother (except, for some reason, for Jehoram in 2 Kings 8:17 and Ahaz in 2 Kings 16:2)
5. (5) Theological appraisal (usually in comparison to David)

The fact that the theological appraisal is a comparison to David underlines the facts that for Kings the legitimate king of God’s people must be a descendant of David and that the hope of God’s people is bound up with the fulfillment of 2 Samuel 7, which promises that one of David’s descendants would establish the ultimate, enduring kingdom.

The Kings of Israel

The evaluation of the individual kings of Israel follows a much simpler, briefer pattern, which accommodates the fact that the assessment is universally negative. The pattern is as follows:

1. (1) Date of accession to the throne, synchronized to the reign of a counterpart in Judah (note: this may include a period of co-regency)
2. (2) Length and place of reign
3. (3) Theological appraisal (usually in comparison to Jeroboam)

The fact that in every case the place in which the king ruled is, by default, not Jerusalem is a giveaway to the fact that this is not the ideal; likewise, the comparison with the apostate Jeroboam, who sets the tone for the new nation in every way, paints a very clear picture of the idolatrous nature of Israel. Sadly, the nation displays this idolatrous nature consistently from its foundation to its demise at the hands of the Assyrians in 722 BC.

Excursus: The Chronology of Kings

At this point, it is important to say a word about the chronology of Kings, which has caused much scholarly debate over the past two hundred years. Several comments should be made at the outset.

1. (1) While the book of Kings does note the length and place of reigns, it is generally disinterested in the wider political impact or international reputation of the various kings described. The regnal summaries revolve around obedience to Yahweh (or lack thereof); the length of each reign is purely incidental as far as the writer is concerned. This is the reason why in the Comment section of this commentary, little attention is paid to matters of chronology (neither internally nor externally in relation to, e.g., Assyrian regnal material).
2. (2) Kings quotes the data of each reign in a way that clearly implies that the writer is working off preestablished annalistic material (as is confirmed by references to the “Chronicles of the Kings of Judah”; 1 Kings 14:29; 15:7; etc.) This commentary is aimed not at establishing chronology (or questioning the accepted chronology) but rather at making a theological assessment of the various reigns.
3. (3) The problems in the chronology arise for two reasons. First, simply adding the reigns together produces a total far exceeding the time period available for the monarchic period. The second issue is that, while some of the dates in parallel material (notably from Assyrian sources) match up, others quite clearly do not. Of course, there is no de facto reason to trust other contemporary sources more than the biblical data, but when all the external material points in one direction while the biblical data seems to be the sole outlier, this does raise some important questions.

This is a complex area, and discussion still rages over some of the data. However, the work of Edwin Thiele, while not without its own issues, has provided a very helpful solution to the problems.¹

Thiele has pointed out that the apparent divergences in chronology both between Kings and Chronicles and with external witnesses largely disappear if one takes into account three factors: (1) co-regencies, in which a father invites his son (usually) to reign with him for a period at the end of his tenure; (2) two possible methods of counting the length of a reign, with the year of accession being either “year 0” or “year 1”; and (3) the calendar year beginning at different times in Israel and Judah.

Although his arguments have not carried the day in every case (or with every scholar), there is a growing consensus that Thiele’s work has eased this vexed question and that we can take the chronology of the book of Kings at face value. The following tables, based largely on Thiele’s reconstruction, provide a simple overview of the royal chronology, providing both details of possible co-regencies and also the corresponding kings of the other kingdom.

TABLE 2.1: The Kings of Judah

TABLE 2.2: The Kings of Israel

This scheme very adequately accounts for almost all of the alleged discrepancies between biblical accounts themselves and with extrabiblical data. It is vital, of course, to remember that the main goal of the writer of Kings is not to provide the definitive timeline of the succession of kings in the monarchical period (although he does reliably provide us with that data). His concern is overwhelmingly theological, which accounts for the relative lack of explanation concerning how these dates and times dovetail.

Speeches, Oracles, and Prayers

In addition to punctuating the narrative with regnal summaries, the author has also included a significant number of speeches, oracles, and prayers.² The speeches tend to come at crucial points in the narrative (especially in 1 Kings) and often bear significant weight (see, e.g., David in 1 Kings 2:1–10; Solomon in 8:12–21, 56–61; Rehoboam in 12:14; see also Josiah in 2 Kings 23:21–27). In addition to extended speeches, a favored narrative strategy of the writer of Kings is to advance the story by carefully rehearsing the interplay between characters. So, for example, we read an extended account of the back and forth between Solomon and the queen of Sheba in 1 Kings 10 and between Elijah and the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18, as well as a blow-by-blow, verbatim rendition of the schemes of Sennacherib and his official, as they address the people of Judah directly in 2 Kings 18–19. We do not simply receive a summary of events but are drawn into the story as we hear the words of the protagonists themselves.

Similarly, the word of Yahweh is routinely conveyed through the oracles of prophets. Beginning with the unnamed “man of God” in 1 Kings 13:1–32, God declares his word through his spokesmen (see also 1 Kings 20:35–43). God speaks his word through Elijah (e.g., 1 Kings 18:1–19), Micaiah (1 Kings 22:13–28), Elisha (e.g., 2 Kings 3:9–20), Jonah (2 Kings 14:25), Isaiah (2 Kings 19:20–34) and Huldah the prophetess (2 Kings 22:14–20). And when the Lord speaks through his prophets, his words certainly come to pass.

As for prayer, Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of the temple is included in full and is probably the most brilliant exposition of the theology of Deuteronomy in the OT (see 1 Kings 8). In many ways, this is the high point of the book. However, alongside this towering prayer are repeated references to the servants of God crying out to the Lord who answers prayer. The Elijah and Elisha narratives are carried along by the prayers of the prophets, usually simply asking God to vindicate his name in the face of sickness, death, the threat of enemies, or idolatry (see 1 Kings 17:20–24; 18:36–37; 19:4; 2 Kings 4:32–37; 6:15–19). Similarly, as the sweeping narrative reaches its conclusion, prayer reemerges as a significant theme. During the reign of Hezekiah in 2 Kings 19–20, the king is portrayed as praying for himself (mostly!) and his people.³ This takes us right to the heart of the issues the book seeks to address, as the sins and vices of even the best of God’s people result in the loss of land and the experience of exile.

The book of Kings, despite its initially formulaic appearance, sets out the lessons of the history of God’s people in an arresting, dynamic, and immediately confrontational way. This is due in large part to the powerful use of this verbal material.

The Selection and Arrangement of Material

One of the most striking features of Kings is the uneven pace of the narrative, with some kings (and periods) given far more space than others. Even at a surface level, the fact that Solomon receives eleven chapters, whereas the next dozen kings, north and south, are fairly rapidly dismissed in the next five chapters, should be enough to illustrate this fact.

Several factors clearly govern the writer’s choice and presentation of such material:

1. (1) It is important for the whole work to set up Solomon as what should be the preeminent example of a Davidic king. But the messy succession narrative (1 Kings 1), the ambiguity of Solomon’s wisdom (1 Kings 2), and his propensity to marry foreign women and tolerate their (and Israel’s) idolatry (1 Kings 11) set the tone for what will happen in the rest of the book. The fact that even “wise” Solomon cannot live up to the example of his father, David, never mind the standards of Deuteronomy 17, makes clear from the outset that the basic failure of the kings of Israel and Judah will be at the heart of this narrative.
2. (2) The relative brevity of the accounts of the vast majority of the kings of the north (with the exception of Ahab, one of the very worst) creates a strong sense of rapid decline leading to the Assyrian destruction of 722 BC. This is a crucial part of the message of the book. Israel’s sustained apostasy and rapid demise stand as a clear beacon to the inevitability of judgment for those who will not submit to God. The fact that Judah, watching on, refuses to learn from the experience of Israel is a powerful indictment of the southern kingdom.
3. (3) Devoting the long central section of the book to the prophetic ministries of Elijah and Elisha is a vital (and, to be honest, often missed) statement of the purpose of the book of Kings. For both the participants in the events themselves and the exilic generation, the birth of the prophetic movement with Elijah and Elisha, with its radical focus on the word of God, is a fresh, hopeful development. The land may have been lost, the temple destroyed, and the Davidic monarchy almost obliterated, but Yahweh is still speaking, directing all history through his word. This theology of the word of God is articulated by Solomon in 1 Kings 8 and embodied by Elijah and Elisha. The fact that both Israel and Judah ignore God’s words thus explains the course of both nations’ history. It is also the call to “return to the Lord” by listening to his word, asking him both to forgive and to preserve his promise to the Davidic Messiah, which holds out hope to subsequent generations.
4. (4) Judah and Israel grow more and more similar as Kings continues. This is shown, for example, in the adoption of the same names in both royal families (2 Kings 8:16) or the latter Judahite kings’ behaving in decidedly Israelite ways (the most extreme example of this is Manasseh in 2 Kings 21:1–18). These similarities are deliberately pointed out to ensure that the people of Judah learn their lesson. The brief account of the final days of Israel with its accompanying long editorial in 2 Kings 17 is designed to present the downfall of Israel as an object lesson for Judah and to persuade the people of Judah to reflect on the evil they themselves have committed, resolving never to go that way again. Instead, God’s people should return to him in repentance and faith.
5. (5) The flickering hope of a messiah is almost extinguished as even the Davidic kings plunge deeper and deeper into disobedience and denial. And yet the unexpected ending of the book, almost halfway through the exile, with a Davidic king alive and well and sitting in comfort at the table of the king of Babylon (2 Kings 25:27–30), ensures that there is hope for the people of God, even in Babylon. No king has arisen who can match up to either the requirements of Deuteronomy 17 or the promises of 2 Samuel 7, but Kings very deliberately keeps this expectation alive.

Dark “Humor”

One of the distinctives of the book of Kings when compared to both Samuel and Chronicles is the rich sense of humor the writer displays throughout, using such devices as irony and understatement to express various points.

The fact that the book begins with King David in bed, seeking a human hot-water bottle (1 Kings 1:1–4) is hardly the most dignified opening, and the rest of Kings follows suit. The fact that the narrative detailing how Solomon asks for and receives wisdom is prefaced by the fact that he has already married Pharaoh’s daughter is surely designed to provoke a raised eyebrow, as is the fact that the temple itself is dwarfed by Solomon’s residential projects.

The blunt and earthy language of Rehoboam in 1 Kings 12, the covenant lion who does not eat donkey meat in 1 Kings 13, the comical procession of inept Israelite kings in 1 Kings 16, and, perhaps supremely, the weird and wonderful ministries of Elijah and Elisha (from 1 Kings 17 onward) all make for uncomfortable reading and often turn our expectations on their heads in a way that leaves us unsure whether to laugh or to cry. Elijah and Elisha in particular have a tendency to be blunt, if not downright rude. Elijah’s exchanges with the widow of Zarephath, Obadiah, the prophets of Baal, Ahab, and Elisha himself, to name but a few, are all darkly amusing. Elisha’s encounters with the mob of abusive youths, the Shunammite woman, Naaman the leper, and eventually King Joash are similarly shocking. This pattern continues right to the end of the book. Unlike both Samuel and Chronicles, the writer of Kings takes delight in regaling us with tales of dramatic and appropriate judgment and the richness (and gore) of life and death.

However one describes this approach,⁴ it is important to face the fact that more than the rest of the historical accounts of the former prophets, Kings appears to relish contradictions and unexpected twists in the unfolding experience of God’s people.

Theology of 1–2 Kings

The theology of 1–2 Kings has long been recognized as being shaped by and also expressing the theology of Deuteronomy. The rediscovery of the Book of the Law in 2 Kings 22 and the ensuing reform by Josiah is the clearest single example of this, but it would be a mistake to think it is the only one. From the earliest chapters, both the theological evaluation offered by the text and the attitudes of Yahweh’s spokesmen in the text is thoroughly in keeping with the book of Deuteronomy.

The theological perspectives of Kings will be considered under five broad headings.

The Theology of the Word

It is in Kings that the theology of the word of God, articulated for the first time in Deuteronomy 4 (e.g., 4:5–8, 32–40), is developed and fleshed out in real time over the course of Israel’s history. God is present both in the heavens and on earth at the same time. He makes obvious his presence on earth among his people by speaking—a fact that is literally enshrined in the heart of Israel as God chooses a place for the location of the tabernacle and eventually the temple in Jerusalem. Solomon’s staggering prayer in 1 Kings 8 is remarkable not least because of how it reflects this Mosaic theology so beautifully, which can be seen in the way in which Solomon pays little attention to the temple per se but is more interested in the presence of the transcendent, talking God among his people and the importance of doing what he says in the land he has given.

This basic dual perspective—that this speaking God is both transcendent (and is therefore running the world from his throne according to his word) and immanent, or present with his people (and so his people must live obediently in the place he has given according to his word)—is displayed throughout Kings. The writer insists repeatedly that God’s sovereign power is active in this world, ordering the affairs of individuals and the course of history according to his word as his promises are fulfilled, and that the key to blessing is to order our lives according to his word. These twin strands run through every movement of Kings:

1. 1 Kings 2:27 The word of judgment on the house of Eli is fulfilled.
2. 1 Kings 8:20 The promise that the temple would be built is fulfilled.
3. 1 Kings 12:15 The kingdom is split to fulfill God’s word.
4. 1 Kings 12:24 Civil war is averted in obedience to the word of Yahweh.
5. 1 Kings 13:26 The man of God is eaten by a lion in fulfillment of the word of Yahweh.
6. 1 Kings 14:18 Jeroboam’s death happens according to the word of Yahweh.
7. 1 Kings 15:29 Baasha executes judgment on the house of Jeroboam according to the word of Yahweh.
8. 1 Kings 16:12 Zimri destroys the house of Baasha according to the word of Yahweh.
9. 1 Kings 16:34 The rebuilding of Jericho leads to the death of two sons according to the word of Yahweh.
10. 1 Kings 17:16 A jar of flour and a jug of oil are refilled according to the word of Yahweh.
11. 1 Kings 22:38 Ahab’s gruesome death is played out according to the word of Yahweh.
12. 2 Kings 1:17 Ahaziah dies according to the word of Yahweh.
13. 2 Kings 2:21–22 Bitter water is purified according to the word of Yahweh.
14. 2 Kings 4:44 Elisha feeds one hundred men according to the word of Yahweh.
15. 2 Kings 5:14 Naaman is healed according to the word of the man of God when he follows Elisha’s instructions.
16. 2 Kings 7:16 The siege of Samaria is according to the word of Yahweh.
17. 2 Kings 8:2 A Shunammite woman carefully obeys according to the word of the man of God.
18. 2 Kings 10:17 Jehu wipes out Ahab’s line according to the word of Yahweh.
19. 2 Kings 14:25 Jeroboam II restores the borders of Israel according to the word of Yahweh.
20. 2 Kings 23:16 Josiah defiles the altar at Bethel according to the word of Yahweh.
21. 2 Kings 24:2 Attacks by raiders hasten the destruction of Judah according to the word of Yahweh.

It is, of course, not simply these passages that make this point explicitly, but they do have the effect of shaping the entire narrative with a sense that history is unfolding at the explicit direction of the God who speaks.

The Theology of Covenant

It is hardly a surprise that a text so heavily influenced by Deuteronomy should be profoundly covenantal. However, the flexibility with which Kings uses covenant language is quite striking.

The writer moves seamlessly from speaking of the enduring covenantal arrangement at Sinai (e.g., 1 Kings 8:9; 19:10, 14; 2 Kings 17:35, 38) to the covenant expounded and applied at Moab in Deuteronomy (e.g., 1 Kings 8:22–53; 2 Kings 18:12). In addition, the writer is quite comfortable with writing of these covenantal arrangements as further expressions of the “covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” (2 Kings 13:23).

It seems that Kings operates with a flexible view of the covenants God has made. The basic covenantal commitment first enunciated in Genesis 17:1–14, in which God undertakes to establish his covenant with the descendants of Abram and makes the staggering commitment that “I will be their God” (Gen. 17:8), has been fleshed out in various iterations, with successive covenants happily coexisting under a large, all-embracing, theological category of “covenant.” This also explains why the text is quite happy to speak of “recommitment” covenants (cf. Jehoiada’s covenant in 2 Kings 11:17 and Josiah’s in 2 Kings 23:2–3, in which God, king, and people are all involved) as in essence simply renewed or concrete expressions of the overarching relationship between God and his people.

In the same way that Moses’ preaching in Deuteronomy sets out the grace of God in powerful and undeniable terms, yet names obedience (or the lack of it) as that which determines whether the people experience the blessings or the curses of the covenant, Kings views the history of God’s people through the lens of blessing and curse, which takes us to the book’s understanding of sin and judgment.

The Theology of Sin and Judgment

The book of Kings is written primarily to explain how and why the people of God have found themselves displaced from the Land of Promise, without a proper king, experiencing in Babylon covenant curse rather than blessing. The answer is played out in bold colors in this book but can actually be summed up in one word: sin.

The text at times employs a variety of Hebrew words and images to capture the failure of both Israel and Judah to live in a way that honors and respects God (e.g., 1 Kings 8:46–50 speaks of acting perversely and committing transgressions). But throughout 1 and 2 Kings one term overwhelms all others in characterizing the behavior of God’s people: the word hattaʼt.

This root occurs about 580 times in the OT and is the basic word for sin. Obviously, its precise nuance is dependent on the context, but the core meaning of the term involves falling short in an obligation, which fits precisely with the contention of Kings. The writer uses the term almost 80 times to convey the reality of Israel’s departure from their Lord.

Beginning with Israel’s failure to honor their obligations to one another under God (see 1 Kings 8:31), the focus moves on quickly to their failure to meet their covenant obligations to God himself (see, e.g., 1 Kings 8:33, 35). This is the universal problem of God’s people (1 Kings 8:46, 47, 50). From this point on, the recounting of the sin of God’s people is focused on their refusal to obey him by listening to his word. The sin of which they are repeatedly guilty is rebellion or apostasy. This explains why the sin of Jeroboam, son of Nebat (see 1 Kings 12:25–33), is described as the archetypal sin, which the majority of those following in his steps repeat (see 1 Kings 14:16; 15:26, 30, 34; 16:26; 2 Kings 10:29, 31; 13:2, 11; 14:24; 15:9, 18, 24, 28; cf. 2 Kings 21:16).

This deliberate choice of God’s people exposes them to the curses of the covenant in the short term (usually drought or famine; 1 Kings 17:1), plus the hostility of lions and bears (1 Kings 13:23–25; 2 Kings 2:23–25), as well as the reality of exile in the long term, as God’s temporal judgment is poured out on his people.

The Theology of Repentance

The significance of 1 Kings 8 for the theology of Kings can hardly be overstated, not least because it is here that the writer provides the answer, through the words of Solomon, to the question, “But what should we do now?” to the generation languishing in Babylon. After outlining that the appropriate response to various covenant curses is repentance (8:33–40), Solomon addresses the major issue of exile:

If they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you are angry with them and give them to an enemy, so that they are carried away captive to the land of the enemy, far off or near, yet if they turn their heart in the land to which they have been carried captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captors, saying, “We have sinned and have acted perversely and wickedly,” if they repent with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies, who carried them captive, and pray to you toward their land, which you gave to their fathers, the city that you have chosen, and the house that I have built for your name, then hear in heaven your dwelling place their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause and forgive your people who have sinned against you, and all their transgressions that they have committed against you, and grant them compassion in the sight of those who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them (for they are your people, and your heritage, which you brought out of Egypt, from the midst of the iron furnace). (1 Kings 8:46–51)

This long sentence captures the heart of the theology of Kings.

Even in exile, the promise of God to hear his people when they cry to him in repentance and to rescue them holds firm. If sin is the essence of Judah’s problem, then returning to Yahweh (repentance) is the solution. And how does a nation repent? Once again, the answer of Kings is consistent, being both spelled out here and then painted on the broad canvas of the rest of the book. To repent is to return to Yahweh and to start listening to him again, relying on him to bring about the transformation described in Deuteronomy 30:1–10.

The blunt reality that God himself will need to intervene and make this kind of repentance possible by grace also undergirds Kings. Generation after generation of idolatrous rebellion north and south of the border cannot be easily undone. God’s people seem incapable of the only response that makes sense, which is returning to Yahweh. The mystery of the gospel is that God himself is willing to act to make this return possible by “circumcising” their hearts (see Deut. 30:6). Whether in the OT or the NT, salvation always comes as a gift of God’s grace. This leads us to the final feature of the theology of Kings.

The Theology of the Messiah/Kingship

The final, crucial element of the theology of Kings is that of the Messiah, of kingship. The decision to devote the first eleven chapters of 1 Kings to the story of a single king, Solomon, David’s heir, instantly alerts the reader to the agenda of the writer. In these chapters, the twin influences of 2 Samuel 7, the dynastic promise made to David by God himself, and the template for godly kingship provided by Moses in Deuteronomy 17:14–20 cast a long shadow. The dominant question is whether Israel can produce a Davidic king who will match up to the requirements of Moses. The answer comes back clearly, in the case of Solomon, as a resounding no. Even this wisest of kings, contrary to the prohibitions of Deuteronomy 17:16–17, drives a chariot and horses (or many horses and chariots, presumably carrying his foreign wives) through the prescriptions of the Torah.

With Solomon, the expectations of the rest of Kings are set. If Solomon cannot come close to the ideal, it is no surprise that even the best of those who follow (like Hezekiah and Josiah) come up similarly short. However, the persistent focus of the narrative on the kings of Israel, and especially on the Davidic line of Judah shows that the writer has not given up hope. We are still waiting for the king from the line of David who will bring those earlier promises to reality. This is why the text is quick to affirm that Yahweh’s commitment to raise up a king (or messiah) like this has not wavered. Using language from 2 Samuel 21:17 (cf. Ps. 132:17), where David’s men identify him as “the lamp of Israel” and thus the key to the future of the nation, Kings asserts three times that God is absolutely committed to following through on his promise:

1. 1 Kings 11:36 Yet to his son I will give one tribe, that David my servant may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I have chosen to put my name.
2. 1 Kings 15:4 Nevertheless, for David’s sake the Lord his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, setting up his son after him, and establishing Jerusalem.
3. 2 Kings 8:19 Yet the Lord was not willing to destroy Judah, for the sake of David his servant, since he promised to give a lamp to him and to his sons forever.

The Chronicler extends this even further, making explicit the link to 2 Samuel 7: “Yet the Lord was not willing to destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that he had made with David, and since he had promised to give a lamp to him and to his sons forever” (2 Chron. 21:7).

The book of Kings thus makes clear that ultimately there is only one King, who is yet to come and who is the one who can bring hope to those in Babylon, as well as to the entire human race.

Relationship to the Rest of the Bible and to Christ

Given the key theological themes dominating the book of Kings, it is not hard to see how these narratives fit into the flow of biblical theology, and in particular to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The theology of the word developed in the book of Kings, where the God who reigns in heaven makes his presence real and obvious on earth by speaking, finds its obvious fulfillment in the Word made flesh (John 1:1–14), the final and definitive Word of God, the Lord Jesus Christ himself (cf. Heb. 1:1–4).

The theology of the covenant articulated in Kings, which draws on many covenantal strands in the OT up to this point in order to highlight the need for God to intervene to enable his people to experience blessing rather than curse, finds its ultimate locus in the death of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross, as he took on himself the curse as the true Israel so that people from every nation, tribe, and language might be joined to him through faith. The “new covenant in [his] blood” (Luke 22:20) is anticipated and given shape by these narratives of the history of Israel and Judah.

The substitutionary atonement of Christ is also the necessary solution to the problem of human sin, that is, our personal and deliberate rejection of God, as we refuse to listen to his Word and do what he requires of us. The fact that the justice of God is satisfied not simply by a short-term exile but by God the Son facing the wrath of the Father on our behalf, dealing with our permanent separation from God by his sin-bearing separation, is the reality to which this book looks.

The fact that Jesus the Messiah bursts onto the stage of history with the words “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:14–15) is not accidental. The emphasis on repentance is the same note sounded from the time of Kings onward, and Jesus’ powerfully fresh articulation of the nature of the kingdom of God, now that the ultimate messianic King has arrived, owes much to the portrait of the deeply deficient kingdoms of Israel and Judah.

The coming of “great David’s greater son” in the NT is the clear fulfillment of the promise, declared in 2 Samuel 7 and sharpened in the book of Kings, that the hope of Israel (and all of humanity) can be found only in a descendant of King David. Jesus Christ is the lamp of David who turns out to be the light of the whole world (John 8:12) who can never be put out.

These biblical-theological themes are deeply embedded in the narrative of Kings, which, on a careful reading of the text, drives us relentlessly forward to the coming of the Davidic Messiah to deal with the fundamental problem of the human heart.⁵ The question then remains of how we can preach these narratives faithfully, in a way that does justice to the text itself while reading Kings in the light of the strong flow of the Bible toward the Lord Jesus Christ himself.

A biblical-theological approach always carries with it the danger of becoming predictable (and, dare I say it, boring), as we make the same biblical-theological move from Kings to Jesus in the same way week after week.⁶ While the nature of biblical theology always involves a chronological shift from the theological context of the text to the coming of Christ in the NT, the preacher must give some thought to how that move is made, not least for the sake of those who listen week after week!

In preaching Kings, the move from the text to Christ will, in most cases, be made via the key themes of the word of Yahweh, covenant, sin and judgment, repentance, and, above all, the true King who is yet to come. However, there are at least ten ways of moving along these biblical-theological trajectories, which will go some way to ensuring that every episode of the story does not feel exactly the same:

1. (1) Follow the plan (tracing the unfolding master plan of God from beginning to end and how it finds its fulfillment in Jesus).
2. (2) Point out the fulfillment (jumping directly from an explicit promise to its fulfillment in Christ).
3. (3) Focus on the action (showing how a specific action in the OT is repeated and amplified in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus).
4. (4) Highlight the attribute (picking up on a key characteristic of God himself that is displayed in the text and shown even more vibrantly in the NT).
5. (5) Expose the problem (human sinfulness, exposed in all its foolishness and brokenness, finds its ultimate solution in the coming of Jesus).
6. (6) Warn of the consequences (the calls to choose “life” rather than “death” are picked up and sharpened by the Lord Jesus and his apostles).
7. (7) Explain the category (using the details of the narrative to explain the ideas and thought structures vital for understanding the person and work of Jesus).
8. (8) Satisfy the longing (exposing the existential angst experienced by those in the OT who glimpse what was promised but cannot yet see how the promises of God are to be realized in the coming of the Lord Jesus).
9. (9) Praise the character (as the desirability of a king, a wise man, and a prophet like Jesus is glimpsed but not yet fully visible).
10. (10) Repeat the teaching (as the continuity of the gospel shape of both Testaments is expressed in the same material being presented before Christ and in the gospel).

These “modes of transport” by which we can travel along biblical-theological themes may be neither exhaustive nor entirely distinct, but they are extremely useful in ensuring that we teach the text in a way that does it justice and also reflects the richness of God’s revelation.

Preaching from 1–2 Kings

Challenges to Avoid

There are several obvious challenges for anyone who sets out to preach through the book of Kings (which, by the way, I would passionately recommend!).

Getting to the End before Everyone Has Forgotten the Beginning

Given the richness of the narrative material, one suspects that the sheer length of the book of Kings is one of the greatest obstacles to preaching it. This, of course, is not a problem unique to the book of Kings. Any of the narrative books in the OT presents the preacher with the challenge of balancing the simple demand of getting to know the material, the difficulties of presenting large blocks of narrative material, and the need to move through the text at a pace that both maintains the interest of the hearers and also makes sufficient progress through the narrative to get to the end before the Lord returns! Kings is no exception.

Many of us as preachers have cut our teeth on preaching paragraph-sized chunks of either the Gospels or the Epistles. Kings demands a different approach (particularly in almost all local churches, where it is simply infeasible for preaching series to run for years at a time!). In preaching Kings, one has to change gear and embrace a model that works with narrative blocks rather than paragraphs. This also necessitates being willing to paint with a broad brush, highlighting the key details of any given unit rather than necessarily commenting on every feature of the text. To do the latter too often results in both killing the narrative and reducing listeners to a stunned stupor!

I would suggest that the default approach to the book of Kings should be to preach at least a chapter at a time. I have tried to model this approach in the commentary that follows. On occasion, however, it is much more fruitful to take an even longer section, not least because considering a larger swath of text reveals the contrasts and comparisons so often intended by the writer to be picked up more easily (see, e.g., those sections of both 1 and 2 Kings in which a long sequence of kings of Israel is presented as a very deliberate way of underlining both the unique evil and basic continuity of each reign).

One of the advantages of such an approach is that, by its very nature, it recreates the intended rhetorical effect of the text. When the writer has recorded the repeated stupidity or disobedience of the kings of Israel and Judah, part of his purpose is to impress such serial stupidity on us in a way that should make us groan. Moving quickly enough through the text to allow these concerns to be not just observed but actually felt is important.

Maintaining People’s Interest along the Way

Preaching any longer book also carries the challenge of maintaining interest from the beginning to the end of the series. There are, however, simple preaching strategies that can be employed that, alongside, the intrinsic variety of the material, will help significantly.

The fact that the book of Kings falls into four broad sections (1 Kings 1–11: Solomon; 1 Kings 12–16: the Divided Kingdom; 1 Kings 17–2 Kings 12: Elijah and Elisha; 2 Kings 13–25: the demise of Israel and Judah) already provides a basic shape to any attempt to teach this book. The fact that 1 and 2 Kings have been divided (presumably for practical reasons having to do with the length and weight of scrolls) in the middle of a coherent section is unfortunate and means that, ideally, a series on 1 Kings with a break followed by a series on 2 Kings is probably not the most straightforward way to handle the book (even if that is how I have usually done it!).

Of even more use, perhaps, is the simple recognition of the significant value in varying the way in which successive sections of the same basic genre (in this case, historical narrative) are handled.

For any sermon on a bible passage to be engaging, there must be some sense of momentum; rhetorical effectiveness is genuinely linked to a sense that there is an argument (or at least an energy) in the presentation that flows naturally from one section to the next and is clearly directed at the hearts of the hearers. However, this is not simply a matter of art or technique. In the best preaching, the “vibe” (tone, mood, and feel) of the text is always matched by the “vibe” of the address. In other words, when the passage is essentially couched in the indicative, then so will the sermon be. Similarly, where the talk is based around a series of imperatives, so will be the sermon. The mood and approach of the text (whether it is expositional, explanatory, etc.) should shape the message at its most fundamental level. This, I would argue, is the most reliable way of ensuring variety in presentation.

To build on that, it is worth carefully monitoring how we are shaping messages to ensure that the form and mood of the talk are not the same week after week. It is important to follow the simple practice of allowing the text to shape the structure and mood of the sermon, so that the main argument of any given unit will be set up in a mixture of indicative, imperative, and interrogative as the series progresses. Successive messages may aim to encourage, explain or educate, challenge, expose, move to awe, etc. These strategies, I would argue, are always important when it comes to preaching, but in the context of OT narratives like Kings, they are vital if we are to sustain a sense of momentum through the book and make it as easy as possible for the people of God to stay engaged with the text.

Avoiding Endlessly Repeating Oneself

One of the reasons people tend to find the book of Kings difficult to read and, by extension, to hear preached is the simple fact that the progression of the kings of Israel and Judah is confusing! It really does not help, for example, that two Jeroboams reign in Israel hundreds of years apart. Nor does it help that at one point there are kings named Jehoash on both the throne of Israel and that of Judah.

In addition, the writer’s habit of interweaving the stories of north and south, as kings of Israel give way seamlessly to kings of Judah, which transition into kings of Israel again, often proves disorienting for new readers of the text. It is the job of the preacher first to assimilate the material and then to present it in a way that enables others to plot a mental path through these carefully constructed narratives.

A particular challenge arises when, in preaching through the book, we encounter the repeated regnal formulas, discussed earlier. On the one hand, these are an important rhetorical device used throughout the book, as small changes often mark important theological points. On the other hand, there is something in the human mind that tends to dismiss the familiar or repeated as essentially unimportant. This is why it is so important for the preacher to equip hearers to pick up the rhythms of the ancient text and to be able to appropriate the message contained in these rhythms for themselves. There is real value in enabling listeners to feel the recurring notes of the text. Similarly, it is both a challenge and a delight to help people to get to the stage where they recognize the importance of the repetition and begin to feel the challenge or rebuke of the fact that generation after generation repeats the same mistakes.

It is a fine line to walk, but the challenge of preaching the book is to allow people to be worn down by the deliberate repeating patterns so that they feel the weight of the texts, while also allowing the unique nuances of Kings to do its work, getting past our defenses and under our skin.

Avoiding Moralism and Legalism (While Encouraging God’s People to Live for Christ)

There is a long and very unfortunate tradition of reducing the message of the OT to “Lord, make me less or more like [insert name of character].” The pressing need to find something “relevant” to say has often reduced the preacher to grabbing for an easy, if hermeneutically unjustified and ultimately ineffective, moralistic application! This is a particular danger in teaching Kings.

The fact that much of the narrative is taken up with critiques of kings who range from pretty bad to very bad means that other than “we need a better king like Jesus,” we are often left scrambling for any traction in the lives of the people of God. Throughout the commentary I have tried to suggest multiple ways in which we can avoid legalism and ensure that we preach the gospel from every part of Kings, ensuring that even where there are legitimate (if secondary) moral applications of the narrative, they are always grounded in gospel motivation and grace-filled practice.

Developing a Preaching Outline of Kings

I confess that the part of commentaries I pay least attention to is the breakdown of the book. This is largely because, as a preacher, the number of “preaching units” I divide any book into is seldom determined in the abstract; it is almost always constrained by real-time, local considerations (like school holidays, Christmas, or availability of preachers), which means that rather than giving my detailed breakdown, I will outline a method for dividing the text.

I strongly recommend a top-down approach, which involves beginning by dividing any book into its major sections. In the case of Kings, this means dividing the book into four sections:

1. (1) 1 Kings 1–11
2. (2) 1 Kings 12–16
3. (3) 1 Kings 17–2 Kings 12
4. (4) 2 Kings 13–25

What is clear then, is that dividing Kings into a series on 1 Kings and one on 2 Kings, while possible, does not actually respect the flow of content in the book, as it divides the Elijah and Elisha narratives in two. It would be more faithful to the book to pause at the end of 1 Kings 16 or 2 Kings 12.

Having identified the main seams of the book, the next stage is simply to continue to divide along natural breaks until the requisite number of units for the series are identified. So, for example, should one decide to preach through all of 1–2 Kings in thirty sermons, I would suggest ten on 1 Kings 1–16, ten on 1 Kings 17–2 Kings 12, and ten on 2 Kings 13–25. To press a little further using the first section as an example, in order to respect the relative weighting given by the author, if might be appropriate to preach, say, six or seven messages on Solomon, followed by three or four on 1 Kings 12–16, and so on. At every stage, careful attention should be paid to the narrative breaks evident in the text while acknowledging that, often, breaking up a longer flow of narrative may be more of an art than a science!

In all of this, the single most important recognition is the fact that God himself stands behind the text as the ultimate author, accommodating himself to the personality and giftedness of the human author in order to produce an utterly unique and flawless Word to us. As we preach, we must always remember the greatest mystery: the God of the universe uses flawed people by his grace in the power of his Spirit to proclaim his truth for our inestimable good and the glory of Jesus Christ our King.

Outline of 1–2 Kings

1. I. The Rise and Fall of “Solomon the Wise” (1 Kings 1:1–11:43)
   1. A. David’s Decrepitude and the Coup of Adonijah (1:1–53)
   2. B. Solomon’s Accession and the Introduction to His Wisdom (2:1–46)
   3. C. Solomon’s Request for and Practice of Wisdom (3:1–28)
   4. D. Solomon in All His Glory: The Details of His Reign (4:1–34)
   5. E. The Temple Project (5:1–7:51)
   6. F. The Dedication of the Temple (8:1–66)
   7. G. God, Solomon, and the Achievements of His Reign (9:1–28)
   8. H. The Queen of Sheba’s Visit and Solomon’s Wealth (10:1–29)
   9. I. Solomon’s Apostasy and the Nation under Attack (11:1–43)
2. II. From Bad to Worse: Kings of Israel and Judah (12:1–16:34)
   1. A. Rehoboam Splits the Kingdom and the Rise of Jeroboam (12:1–33)
   2. B. Jeroboam, the Prophet, and the Man of God (13:1–34)
   3. C. The Prophecy against Jeroboam and the Reign of Rehoboam (14:1–31)
   4. D. The Reigns of Abijam and Asa in Judah and Nadab, Baasha, Elah, Zimri, Omri, and Ahab in Israel (15:1–16:34)
3. III. God’s Word and God’s Prophets (Elijah and Elisha) (1 Kings 17:1–2 Kings 12:21)
   1. A. Elijah, the Drought, and the Widow of Zarephath (1 Kings 17:1–24)
   2. B. Elijah, Obadiah, and the Prophets of Baal (18:1–46)
   3. C. Elijah Flees Jezebel, Meets God at Horeb, and Enlists Elisha (19:1–21)
   4. D. Ahab’s Wars with Ben-hadad of Syria (20:1–43)
   5. E. Ahab, Jezebel, and Naboth, and Ahab’s Repentance (21:1–29)
   6. F. Micaiah and Ahab’s False Prophets, the Death of Ahab, and the Reigns of Jehoshaphat of Judah and Ahaziah of Israel (22:1–53)
   7. G. Elijah and Ahaziah (2 Kings 1:1–18)
   8. H. Elijah Taken by God and the Beginning of Elisha’s Ministry (2:1–25)
   9. I. Jehoram and the Moabite Rebellion (3:1–27)
   10. J. Elisha, a Prophet’s Widow, the Shunammite Woman, and the Deadly Stew (4:1–44)
   11. K. Naaman the Syrian’s Encounter with Elisha and Gehazi, Elisha’s Servant (5:1–27)
   12. L. The Floating Axe Head, the Defeat of the Syrians, the Siege of Samaria, the Restoration of the Shunammite’s Land, and Judgment on Ben-hadad (6:1–8:15)
   13. M. Jehoram and Ahaziah of Judah, the Bloody Reign of Jehu of Israel, and the Rise of Athaliah, the Queen Mother, in Judah (8:16–11:3)
   14. N. Joash’s Rule in Judah (11:4–12:21)
4. IV. Decline and Fall—The End of Israel and the Exile of Judah (13:1–25:30)
   1. A. The Reigns of Jehoahaz and Jehoash in Israel, the Death of Elisha, and the Reigns of Amaziah in Judah and Jeroboam II in Israel (13:1–14:29)
   2. B. The Reign of Azariah in Judah; the Reigns of Zechariah, Shallum, Menahem, Pekahiah, and Pekah in Israel; the Reign of Jotham in Judah (15:1–38)
   3. C. The Reign of Ahaz in Judah (16:1–20)
   4. D. King Hoshea and the End of the Northern Kingdom (17:1–41)
   5. E. Hezekiah’s Reign in Judah, the Attacks of Sennacherib the Assyrian, Hezekiah’s Illness, and the Envoys from Babylon (18:1–20:21)
   6. F. The Reigns of Manasseh, Amon, Josiah (including the Temple Renovations and the Recovery of the Book of the Law), Jehoahaz, and Jehoiakim (21:1–23:37)
   7. G. The Rise of Nebuchadnezzar, the Reigns of Jehoiachin (and the Capture of Jerusalem) and Zedekiah (and the Fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians), the Appointment of Gedaliah, and the Freedom of Jehoiachin in Babylon (24:1–25:30)