Old Testament Survey – Kings, Judah and Israel

Damian Richmond

The way the OT portion of the Bible is written and presented to us is in the collections:

Pentateuch

History

Poetry

Prophets – major/minor

Whilst this structure is clear and concise, often when we read we tend to read through each section at a time and don’t correlate the connection and interrelation between each. At some point in our studies it is good to do a chronological study or read a chronological bible to help us get a better understanding of the overall message God is communicating and the context upon which it relates to in the fullness of the whole of Scripture.

As good example of this Saul – was the first King of Israel, lived in the time of the Philistine empire, the book of Samuel (the prophet) covers this era, at the same time many Psalms were written. When you read and understand all of these chronologically the fullness of the messages God is trying to communicate would be better understood.

The subjects of Kings and Prophets are hard to separate contextually however this session will focus on the Kings and leadership of Israel. So to set the scene we need to acknowledge that Kings, Prophets, World History, Psalms, the time of Judah and the tribes of Israel all run concurrently so there is quite a bit to take in and by doing this we can then get a better understanding of how we can apply it to our current situations, circumstances, communities and even politics.

This chronological time line really helps us get a good grasp of the overall context of all the concurrent elements (get a copy of this chart and print it on A3 for yourself at home it’s a great resource https://www.irreligion.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/bible_timeline.gif (author is unknown!)

Kings – context –part of the historical books of the Bible and essentially covers the era of Saul (crosses over from Samuel), David, Solomon and the Israel/Judah tribes.

1 and 2 Kings can be divided into 8 sections/eras

1 Kings 1:1–2:46 = The Davidic Succession from Saul 1 Kings 3:1–11:43 = Solomon in all his glory 1 Kings 12:1–13:34 = The political and religious schism 1 Kings 14:1–16:34 = The two kingdoms (Israel-Judah) until Elijah 1 Kings 17:1 – 2 Kings 1:18 = The Elijah cycle 2 Kings 2:1–13:25 = The Elisha cycle 2 Kings 14:1–17:41 = The two kingdoms to the fall of Samaria 2 Kings 18:1–25:30 = The last years of the kingdom of Judah

Kings 1 and 2 were written to the Israelites under covenant with God (Exodus 34:27-28) where God gave the people the Ten Commandments for the people of Israel to obey in order that He be their God. They were being led out of captivity/slavery from Egypt to become God’s people and part of what God had imagined in creation in the Promised Land. During the Exodus there were constant problems with the Jewish people believing in idols and other "gods." Albeit they eventually made it to the Promised Land and settled there after Moses' death. "Judges" had led the people until about 1000 B.C. when Kings were installed, yet these were still thought of as people doing God's bidding (not as other nations' kings which had all power being theirs alone). Interestingly Samuel is also a historical - prophetic book for it accounts are concurrent for the same era although with a prophetic theme.

“Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, and said to him, "Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.” (I Samuel 8:4-5) “But the thing was displeasing in the sight of Samuel when they said, 'Give us a king to judge us.' And Samuel prayed to the LORD. The LORD said to Samuel, 'Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, for they have rejected Me from being king over them.'” (I Samuel 8:6-7) Samuel spoke on behalf of the LORD and gave Israel warnings regarding requesting a king. They refused to listen to Samuel. The LORD told Samuel to appoint them a king. (I Samuel 8:10-22)

Saul:

Even though God must have been so upset about being rejected, under this new era and covenant God divinely appoints kings to lead His people starting with Saul. (1Sam 9 -10:1 parts)

9 There was a man… a Benjaminite, a man of wealth. 2 And he had a son whose name was Saul, a handsome young man. There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people. 3 Now the donkeys of Kish (Saul's father) were lost. So Kish said to Saul his son, “Take one of the young men with you, and arise, go and look for the donkeys.” 4 And…(he looked all over)… the hill country of Ephraim… the land of Shalishah…the land of Shaalim,… the land of Benjamin, but did not find them. 5 When they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, “Come, let us go back, lest my father cease to care about the donkeys and become anxious about us.” 6 But he said to him, “Behold, there is a man of God in this city, and he is a man who is held in honour; all that he says comes true. So now let us go there. Perhaps he can tell us the way we should go.”…8 The servant answered Saul again, “Here, I have with me a quarter of a shekel of silver, and I will give it to the man of God to tell us our way.” 9 (Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he said, “Come, let us go to the seer,” for today's “prophet” was formerly called a seer.) 10 And Saul said to his servant, “Well said; come, let us go.” So they went to the city where the man of God was… 14bAs they were entering the city, they saw Samuel coming out toward them on his way up to the high place.15 Now the day before Saul came, the LORD had revealed to Samuel: 16 “Tomorrow about this time I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be prince over my people Israel. He shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines. For I have seen my people, because their cry has come to me.” 17- 27  (…(para)… Saul feels underequipped and not of a high enough position for the task). 10:1 Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head and kissed him and said, “Has not the LORD anointed you to be prince over his people Israel? And you shall reign over the people of the LORD and you will save them from the hand of their surrounding enemies. And this shall be the sign to you that the LORD has anointed you to be prince over his heritage.

Divine appointment, miraculous and undeniable. God spoke to the prophet and the prophet gave the message accordingly. Key in the passages above 1Sam9:6 (all that he says comes true). The only qualification to be a prophet in the OT was to be 100% accurate, 100% of the time! There was no misunderstanding, Saul was appointed by God to be the first King of his people. However, unfortunately, the life of King Saul stands out in its tragedy. Saul’s life consists of a series of situations and decisions that because of his character cause his own death, the deaths of his loved ones, and the destruction of all his hopes. Saul’s story tells of his choices, his recognition of his dire situation, and his final struggle against the inevitable…

In summary Saul started to act on his own authority and wanted to wage war against the Philistines. Customary for all leaders Saul sought God’s word to see if it was to be successful if he waged war and sent word to the prophet Samuel he said he would arrive in seven days to perform the requisite rites and then give God’s word. When a week passed without arriving and no word from Samuel and with the Israelites growing restless, Saul takes matters in his own hands and prepares for battle by offering sacrifices. Samuel arrives just as Saul is finishing sacrificing and reprimands Saul for not obeying his instructions. Saul sacrificed according to custom but his disobedience infuriated God.

Later on God speaks through Samuel and instructs Saul to make war on the Amalekites and to "utterly destroy" them in fulfilment of a mandate set out Deuteronomy 25:19 “When the Lord your God has given you rest from all your enemies on every hand, in the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; do not forget.” Having forewarned the Kenites who were living among the Amalekites to leave, Saul goes to war and defeats the Amalekites. Saul kills all the men, women, children and poor quality livestock, but leaves alive the king and best livestock. When Samuel learns that Saul has not obeyed his instructions in full, he informs Saul that God has rejected him as king due to his disobedience. As Samuel turns to go, Saul seizes hold of his garments and tears off a piece; Samuel prophecies that the kingdom will likewise be torn from Saul. Samuel then kills the Amalekite king himself. Samuel and Saul each return home and never meet again after these events (1 Samuel 15:33-35).

Saul lost his way, whilst just as God was saddened by Adam and again by Saul, he loves ‘creation’ so much he sent David the perfect King. Contrast Saul with the whole of Israel, even though he sacrificed his heart was disobedient… along comes David -contrast with Christ.

David

“Now the LORD said to Samuel, ‘How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have selected a king for myself among his sons.’” (I Samuel 16:1) “But the LORD said to Samuel, ‘Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him;  for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.’”  (I Samuel 16:7) (Note Saul’s appearance was tall and strong (1Sam 9:1)

David was trained as a musician and a shepherd “…a skilful musician, a mighty man of valour, a warrior, one prudent in speech, a handsome man,” and the LORD was with him. (1 Sam 16:18) While David was tending the flock, he was learning to play the harp but all the while being prepared for his role as king and is bought into the picture… “Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord terrorized him.” (1Sam 16:14) Saul’s servants knew about David and they sent for him on Saul’s command to find someone who could play well to sooth the King’s torment. “Then David came to Saul and attended him; and Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armour bearer.” (1Sam 16:21) We also nned to note that, as a shepherd, to protect the sheep David was very courageous and this was all part of his training ground. “...Your servant was tending his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, I went after him and attacked him, and rescued it from his mouth; and when he rose up against me, I seized him by his beard and struck him and killed him." (1Saml 17:34-35) As part of his role as a shepherd as he tended the sheep he learned how to use his slingshot to ward off animals. So there is this young harp playing boy who finds himself in the centre of Royalty when along comes the divine appointment.

The whole of Saul’s army is about to be attacked by the Philistines (they were known for their brutality and their greatest warrior Goliath was supposed to have been 10ft tall. David spoke up offended at mocking of God by Goliath and many people heard his outrage and

that how dare anyone try come against God and whoever would do such a thing David would slay! Eventually King Saul heard that he would slay Goliath just as he had the lion and the bear that tried to steal his sheep…

“When David hears Goliath’s vile words against Israel and God, he volunteers to fight him. Rather than insist that an older, more experienced officer to defend God and Israel against Goliath, King Saul endorses David’s wishes… David (with his slingshot in hand) fronts up to the challenge selects five river stones for ammunition and sets out to face his giant enemy. Goliath stares down at the small, young man, and chides, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” (v. 17:43). David’s verbal response is as mocking as it is audacious…You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.  (vv. 17:45–46)

As Goliath charges toward David, the young man slings a stone, which hits Goliath square in the forehead, knocking him out. David then stands over the giant, grabs the giant's sword, and kills him. Seeing the youngest of Israel so easily dispatch their strongest warrior sent terror through the entire Philistine army and they fled. It also pleased King Saul who basically adopted him into his family. 1 Samuel 18:2–3 states, “From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return home to his family.”

Transition from Saul to David

In consideration of David’s frequent success and amazing skills in his service, King Saul promoted David, who continued to amaze his men and all Israel. Unfortunately, Saul had developed an ego problem, so he begins to resent David with a fierce jealousy resulting from the young warrior’s successes in battle. When secret attempts to take David’s life proved no more successful than Saul’s efforts to turn the hearts of his daughter Michal (David’s wife) and his son Jonathan away from their winsome husband and friend, Saul declared openly his intention to slay David. Only David’s flight to Philistia, which was beyond Saul’s reach, saved him from the king’s unprovoked and manic attacks. These accounts, though written from a perspective favourable to David, portray dramatically and convincingly the mental deterioration of Saul. Nothing is more revealing of the extent of the king’s derangement than the story of his senseless slaughter of the 85 priests at Nob, noted in 1 Samuel 22.

Adding to the problems of Saul’s final days, the Philistines mounted new attacks on the Israelite heartland. At no time strong enough to deliver a final blow to the persistent enemy, Saul gathered his forces at Mount Gilboa in an effort to cut off their drive into the Valley of Jezreel. A vivid story in I Samuel 28 relates how, on the eve of the fateful battle, Saul sought, through a necromancer at Endor, some word of encouragement from the dead Samuel. The oracle of Samuel’s ghost, however, could only foretell the doom awaiting on the following day—the defeat of the Israelite forces and the death of Saul and his sons. The Israelites, once again confronted by the desperate conditions prevailing at Saul’s accession to the throne, had to look to a new deliverer. The man best fitted for the job was David.

David conquers Jerusalem, taking the Ark of the Covenant into the city, and establishing the kingdom founded by Saul. It was there when he danced unashamedly in his underwear (2Sam 6:14). However, as king, David commits adultery with Bathsheba, leading him to arrange the death of her husband Uriah the Hittite. Because of this sin, God denies David the opportunity to build the temple, and his son Absalom tries to overthrow him. David flees Jerusalem during Absalom's rebellion, but after Absalom's death he returns to the city to rule Israel. Before his peaceful death, he chooses his son Solomon as successor. He is honoured in the prophetic literature as an ideal king and an ancestor of a future Messiah, and many psalms are ascribed to him. Despite his faults there are over 1100 references to David and Jesus himself is described as the Son of David (10 NT references) and the key of David (Rev 3:7). Which is hard to correlate yet reminds us that we are all imperfect and God still loves us!

Solomon

Solomon was known for being close to God, wise, wealthy and then later for having many wives and in turn turns away from God. In 1 Kings he sacrificed to God, and God later appeared to him in a dream asking what Solomon wanted from God. Solomon asked for wisdom. Pleased, God personally answered Solomon's prayer, promising him great wisdom because he did not ask for self-serving rewards like long life or the death of his enemies.

Perhaps the best known story of his wisdom is the Judgment of Solomon; two women each lay claim to being the mother of the same child. Solomon easily resolved the dispute by commanding the child to be cut in half and shared between the two. One woman promptly renounced her claim, proving that she would rather give the child up than see it killed. Solomon declared the woman who showed compassion to be the true mother, entitled to the whole child.

Solomon was traditionally considered the author of several biblical books, "including not only the collections of Proverbs, but also of Ecclesiastes and the Song of Solomon

According to 1 Kings 11:4 Solomon's "wives turned his heart after other gods", their own national deities, to whom Solomon built temples, thus incurring divine anger and retribution in the form of the division of the kingdom after Solomon's death (1 Kings 11:9–13). 1 Kings 11 describes Solomon's descent into idolatry, particularly his turning after Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom, the abomination of the Ammonites. In Deuteronomy 17:16–17, a king is commanded not to multiply horses or wives, neither greatly multiply to himself gold or silver. Solomon sins in all three of these areas. Solomon collects 666 talents of gold each year (1 Kings 10:14), a huge amount of money for a small nation like Israel. Solomon gathers a large number of horses and chariots and even brings in horses from Egypt. Just as Deuteronomy 17 warns, collecting horses and chariots takes Israel back to Egypt. Finally, Solomon marries foreign women, and these women turn Solomon to other gods.

According to 1 Kings 11:30–34 and 1 Kings 11:9–13, it was because of these sins that the Lord punishes Solomon by removing most of the Tribes of Israel from rule by Solomon's house.

Solomon is the last ruler of a united Kingdom of Israel. He dies of natural causes at around 60 years of age. Upon Solomon's death, his son, Rehoboam, succeeds him. However, ten of the Tribes of Israel refuse to accept him as king, splitting the united Monarchy in the northern Kingdom of Israel under Jeroboam, while Rehoboam continues to reign over the much smaller southern Kingdom of Judah. Henceforth the two kingdoms are never again united.

Tribes of Israel/Judah

King David and King Solomon led a united, strong country -- which became divided after Solomon's death: Southern Kingdom -- called Judah, though consisting of both the "tribes" of Judah and Benjamin; this group included the city of Jerusalem. The Southern Kingdom fell to the Babylonians in 586 B.C. Northern Kingdom-- called Israel, consisting of the other 10 "tribes"; this group included Samaria. The Northern Kingdom fell to the Assyrians around 722 B.C. Although the Hebrews rebuilt the Temple in Jerusalem in 520 B.C., they never regained strength and were eventually conquered by Rome. The struggles of the Hebrew people and their dispersion from their country were thought to be from their belief in idols and heathen "gods" (mostly resulting from their marrying non-Jews who brought in outside religions). The prophets (including Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel) were spokesmen for God to the people and to their leaders: they often disagreed with the men in power and had no fear of expressing their messages from God -- generally directing against the idolatry and "false gods."

Over 400 years separated the final events and final prophecy recorded in the Old Testament (ca. 424 B.C.) from the beginning actions narrated in the New Testament (ca. 6 B.C.) Because there was there was no prophetic word from God during this time, this period is sometimes called “the four hundred silent years.” Though the voice of God was silent, the hand of God was actively directing the course of events during these centuries.

“So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations.” (Matthew 1:17, emphasis added)

“Thus says the LORD of hosts, 'Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.' In accordance with all these words and all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David.” (2 Samuel 7:16-17, emphasis added)

Conclusion

The books of 1 and 2 Kings were written to show what happens when God is forgotten. Because David had a heart for the Lord, his son Solomon, was able to lead Israel into a glorious season. His reign was marked by wealth, prosperity, and wisdom. But as he allowed his heart to be influenced by ungodly people, he started disobeying the word of the Lord. As a king, he should have read and meditated in God’s Word. He got off track and greatly compromised the kingdom. This led to the downfall of the entire nation!

Nonetheless, God still shows mercy and offers hope, as evidenced by the healing of Naaman (2 Kings 5:1-19), His observation that “the affliction of Israel was very bitter…(and) there was no one to help” (2 Kings 14:26), and Jehoiachin, the last king of Judah, and who went into captivity to Babylon, was allowed to get out of prison, dine with the king regularly, and received a (monetary) allowance for the rest of his life (2 Kings 25:27-30).

Lessons for us… the moment we think we’ve got this, we can take it from here, I’ve all I need to be a good leader we will follow this same journey of even God’s greatest and that is downhill. No matter how confident or in tune we think we are with God, never stop coming to God, reading his word and seeking guidance from the Holy Spirit.