Adonijah would have been the logical choice for the next king of Israel. He was oldest after Absalom and it would seem most likely he would be anointed king. But David had promised Bathsheba that her son would be king. The faithful priests and mighty men stood with Bathsheba as she brought the news of Adonijah’s appointment to David. He was not to go back on his promise and the people blessed Solomon, hoping his kingdom would be even greater than David’s. This cycle of division between different parts of Israel is a lasting theme through the Old Testament. Why would this be how the author starts the story of these kings? Why would Solomon becoming king be significant? How does this relate to other stories of unconventional blessings so far in the Word?

 To understand the kings in this book, it is helpful to observe what exactly the text says about them and ask why these specific descriptions and stories would be used. In chapter 3, we read details of how Solomon ruled and followed God.

 After we read the blessings God promised to bestow on Solomon, we read examples of these in his life. First with the story of the prostitutes and the baby, we see that all citizens could gain an audience with the king and that Solomon knew how to solve problems that seemed difficult. Then we read of all that Solomon was king over and his daily provisions. How all of Israel had peace and safety because of his reign. Finally, we read how people from all over the world came to listen to Solomon, he had gained the honor of all kingdoms. In response to all of this, he took advantage of the favor he found in other’s eyes and prepared to make the house of the Lord.

 As the design of Solomon’s temple are laid out in these chapters, you can observe the types of imagery that went into the building. Cherubim, palm trees, and flowers are described in chapter 6. These all relate back to the Creation story in Genesis. Why would the temple draw imagery from the garden? What would this mean to the Israelites living when the temple was being built? What would it mean to the Israelites reading about the temple details years later?

Because of Solomon’s disobedience to the Law, God set people against him. But, because of David’s faithfulness to the Lord and God’s promise to allow his throne to reign forever, Solomon did not lose his kingdom. God told Solomon that his son would lose most of the kingdom but still remain king over some. The Lord prophesied through a man names Ahijah that Jeroboam, and Ephraimite, would be king over all but Judah. The tribe of Judah, chosen by God and promised to David, would remain under the rule of Solomon’s sons. This split would then become the North and South kingdoms of Israel. Rehoboam became a demanding king and Jeroboam caused Israel to fall farther from the Lord. Each king in Israel’s history, whether from the North or the South had a major role in keeping Israel looking toward the Lord or turning away from Him. The rest of this book we will observe what each king chose to do, what God did in response, and ask why the history of Israel went the way it did.

 As important as the kings are in this book, it is also significant to keep track of the prophets. Prophets were people that heard from the Lord and spoke to Israel in order to bring them back to God’s heart. Chapter 13 starts off with a prophet who denounced Jereboam’s altar and declared another man would rise up who would remove the altars and idols Jeroboam had set up. Unfortunately, even the prophets fell away from the Lord’s commands at times. The old prophet was swayed by another prophet who lied and said he had heard from God that he was meant to eat and drink at his house. Why would the author include this powerful prophesy against Jeroboam and then show how the prophet immediately died? Why would this happen right after the split of the Northern and Southern kingdoms?

 Throughout most of 1 Kings, Israel and Judah had been at war with one another. Here we read that Ahab and Jehoshaphat worked together to go to war against Syria. King Jehoshaphat also ensured that they sought the Lord’s counsel before going into war. Oddly, all but one prophet confirmed that it would be a great and victorious battle. Only the prophet Micaiah said that Israel would be left as sheep without a shepherd. Why would this simile be used? Why would God send Ahab to war with this word in the mouths of so many prophets? Why did he still use Micaiah to warn how it would truly end? Ahab did end up dying in the battle by accident and his blood was licked up by dogs just as God had said. What could this have meant to Israelites that would one day read the history of their kingdom? Why would these kings’ stories need to be recorded this way?

 The number three appears many times throughout the books of Kings. Within the first two chapters of the second book Elijah dealt with three groups of fifty men that God sent fire to consume them as they sought to bring him to the king, and Elisha refused to leave Elijah’s side three times before Elijah was taken to heaven. There were many times in 1 Kings as well where the number three showed up and you can track it through the rest of 2 Kings as well. As you read more ask why this number would be significant and why it would be continuously used in these stories.

 The story of Naaman and Gehazi shows that those outside of Israel who had faith in what God spoke through his prophets would be welcomed and taken care of, and those in Israel that went agains the Lord’s word would be punished for their disobedience. What values does this chapter portray? Why would it be significant for Israelites to read about a Syrian army commander being healed by the Lord? Remember this as we get into the prophets and continue asking why God would move in this way.

Within chapters 6-8 there is an inclusion. Starting with the man’s axe being recovered as they were building by the Jordan, and ending with woman’s house being recovered after seven years away from Israel. Between we read that God protected Israel when the Syrians came against them, Syria then captured Samaria but God promised that they would be provided for once again, and lepers come upon the Syrian’s camp where God had caused them to flee so that Israel once again prospered. All of these point to God protecting Israel. Why would the provision of an axe head and a home go at the ends of these stories? What do recovery and protection have to do with one another?

 This section is mostly about Israel’s relations with Syria. As we continue reading they will play a bigger part in the story. Why would it be here that the author introduces them into what they are writing? Why would Elisha’s story as a prophet go hand in hand with what was happening between the nations?