What is the book of 1 Kings all about? 

‘Now Lord, the God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father the promises you made to him when you said, “You shall never fail to have a successor to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your descendants are careful in all they do to walk before me faithfully as you have done.”’ (1 Kings 8:25)

Like 1 and 2 Samuel, the books of 1 and 2 Kings hang together as a cohesive unit telling one big story. This time it’s the story of how the kingdom of Israel went from its ‘golden age’ under king Solomon to division, depravity and ultimately the devastation of exile. Let’s take a look now at 1 Kings…

What do we need to know to read 1 Kings?

The book of 2 Samuel closed with an aged and dying king David looking back over a very mixed reign, despite God’s continuing faithfulness. And that’s precisely how the book of 1 Kings opens! In the opening chapters we see how David plotted underhand conspiracy and political assassination with his son Solomon, to make sure Solomon would inherit the throne. All this despite the fact that God actually told David that He had chosen Solomon as the next king (see 1 Chronicles 22:6-10)! This very mixed start sets the tone for the rest of the book:
 

King Solomon (chapters 1-11)

Chapters 1-11 detail the life and reign of king Solomon. There are great high points, including his request to God for wisdom (chapter 3), his building and consecrating of the temple in Jerusalem (chapters 6-8, including a visual sign of God’s glory entering the temple in 8:10-11) and the visit of the Queen of Sheba (chapter 10) that foreshadowed the wise men visiting king Jesus with gifts later in Matthew chapter 2. But there were also plenty of lows: especially the way in which he becomes increasingly ungodly in his politics, his lifestyle and his religion towards the end of his life (see chapter 11). In these ways he violates all of the commands given to the future kings back in Deuteronomy 17. By his death, the seeds of discord and rebellion have already been sown.

Rehoboam and Jeroboam (chapters 12-16)

Chapters 12-16 largely cover the life and reign of two separate kings, Rehoboam and Jeroboam. When Rehoboam succeeds his father Solomon, he unwisely subjects his people to harsh taxation, and they rebel. At this point the kingdom splits in two: the 10 northern tribes banding together as the kingdom of Israel under Jeroboam, and the tribes of Judah and Benjamin staying together as the kingdom of Judah under Rehoboam. From here the story spirals down fast! From here on in there will be a succession of kings in each of the two kingdoms, leading the people progressively into more and more idolatry. At the end of each king’s reign there is a record of whether or not they followed the way of David and of God. Very few kings from Judah are recorded as living God’s way; and none of the kings from Israel!

This leads onto the next phase of Israel’s history, in which God sends prophets to hold the successive kings accountable. 

Elijah vs. Ahab (chapters 17-22)

Chapters 17-22 particularly cover the life and ministry of Elijah, and his “nemesis”, king Ahab and his wife Jezebel, who together ruled over the northern kingdom of Israel. Ahab and Jezebel lead the people into worship of the Canaanite god Baal. Elijah’s life mission is to stamp out this idol worship and return God to His rightful place in the hearts of the people.
 

What do we learn from 1 Kings?

The main purpose of the books of 1 and 2 Kings seems to be to explain how the God who called a people for Himself (first with Abraham and his family, and later on rescuing them from Egypt) and brought them into the Promised Land came to allow them to be exiled from the land. As such it is a key defence of God’s goodness and righteousness – God’s honour – against the backdrop of a succession of kings who oscillate between foolishness and deep-hearted evil. By the end of 2 Kings we are left with no choice but to agree that God’s people deserve to be exiled – it’s not that God has gone to sleep on the job; it’s that the people have consistently turned away from Him. Under this larger purpose we can then see at least 3 things we can learn from 1 Kings:

1. How we treat God really matters. It’s not a matter of indifference whether we worship God rightly, or whether we mix worshipping God with doing what everyone else around us is doing. It’s a matter ultimately of life and death!
2. We must listen to God’s warnings. Closely tied to the first point is the need to listen to the warnings God’s prophets bring. For the people in 1 Kings this meant listening clearly to Elijah, Elisha and Micaiah; for us it means paying attention to the prophetic warnings (and promises) woven throughout the Bible.
3. God’s people need a better king! Solomon was meant to be the ideal king, but he failed. Rehoboam failed faster, and other kings whose reign is recorded in 1 Kings failed still more. As we read the tragic stories in the book of 1 Kings we are left crying out for God’s perfect forever King. Moreover, this side of the New Testament we are left rejoicing that God sent His perfect forever King, who is now on the throne of the universe – praise God for King Jesus!