The Chapters – Quick Access
Basics
BOOK : 1 Kings
Description : historical book recounting the reign of Solomon, the break-up of the nation into northern and southern kingdoms, the kings of both those kingdoms in their early days, and the ministry of the prophet Elijah. (Probably written initially as 1 book with 2 Kings)
Author: unknown
Date written: some suggest about 560 or 550BC
Chapters: 22
Brief Synopsis
- Gets its name, very obviously, from the fact that the two books cover the whole period of the kings of Israel and Judah , the northern and southern kingdoms that divided after Solomon.
- Solomon started out with great hopes, a man given wisdom by God which enabled him to rule wisely (if not somewhat harshly) and produced a very rich kingdom. He himself was probably the richest man in the world at that time.
- Sadly, Solomon disobeyed and disregarded God’s wisdom and married many women from other nations and allowed their worship to enter the palace and eventually he drifted away from the Lord and ended up jaded and cynical (see Ecclesiastes).
- Because of this the Lord said he would divide the kingdom and only leave his family with two tribes.
- When he died, his son Rehoboam foolishly disregarded the wisdom of the elders and provoked a rebellion against him resulting in the ten northern tribes setting up independently under Jeroboam.
- The book follows the two sets of kings with the northern ones being bad without exception, allowing (if not guiding) the northern kingdom to worship idols.
- At chapter 17 we are introduced to the prophet Elijah and follow his activities for a while in the time of the reign of Ahab of Israel.
- Two other kings follow before the end of the book.
Why Read 1 Kings
This is book of the Bible that shows the sharpest extremes of the possibilities of mankind, and it does it through the life of Solomon in the first half of this book. The questions it raises arise when there is competition as to who becomes the next king after David. Adonijah makes a play for the kingship but Nathan the prophet is not happy about this and approaches Bathsheba. He knows that the Lord especially loved Solomon [2 Sam 12:24,25], perhaps as a remarkable sign of genuine heart repentance that releases grace and mercy from heaven. The prophet obviously senses that of all the sons, this one is the one on God’s heart to be king.
It is worth considering why this should be especially when the Lord must have known how Solomon would eventually turn out. Perhaps the answer is that although there was a bad end for Solomon, he is an example of one who initially had an open heart to the Lord, willing to be His wise representative who would show the potential of the nation in the hands of God. The fact that the Lord chose him despite knowing his end outcome, merely goes to confirm our earlier suggestion that one of the reasons for the Lord to choose Israel was to reveal the sinfulness of mankind and our desperate need of a savior. Solomon thus reveals both glorious potential and the folly of sin.
Divisions
We have divided the book as follows:
Part 1 (ch.1-4) shows how Solomon comes to be king and how the Lord grants him wisdom to make him the wisest man on earth.
Part 2 (ch.5-8) shows Solomon building the temple that lasted until 587 and the start of the Exile. We will see that both his palace and the temple were amazing and rich with gold which lasted through his reign. With what one assumes is the discipline of the Lord, Shishak, king of Egypt, comes and take away all this gold in only the fifth year of Rehoboam’s reign (1 Kings 14:25,26)
Part 3 (ch.9-11) shows first of all the Lord promising blessings on obedience but judgment on disobedience (ch.9), the clarity of which makes Solomon’s subsequent folly (ch.11) even more foolish. Chapter 10 is the high point of the reign of Solomon, and some might say the high point of the history of Israel when the Queen of Sheba comes and sees the immensity of both Solomon’s wisdom and his riches and the nation’s prosperity. God’s word against Solomon’s folly in chapter 11, sets the scene for the following chapters.
Part 4 (ch.12-16) shows us how the judgment of God caused the kingdom to be divided after Solomon’s death, and despite the clarity of God’s word to Jeroboam, his pure folly in the northern kingdom setting up idols which were never removed through the northern kingdom’s history, and a counterfeit religion. The revelation of the sin of mankind is obvious. The subsequent kings of the north only go to confirm that. [This is mostly about the northern kingdom while Chronicles covers only the southern kingdom].
Part 5 (ch.17-19) covers the amazing goings on of Elijah in Ahab’s reign.
Part 6 (ch.20-22) covers the concluding activities of Ahab’s reign until his death.
Contents
- Part 1: Ch.1-4: Establishing Solomon as King
- 1: Competition for the Kingship
- 2: David commissions Solomon, then dies
- 3: Solomon receives Wisdom from God
- 4: Solomon’s Administration & Wisdom
- Part 2: Ch.5-8: Building Works
- 5: Preparations for Building the Temple
- 6: Solomon Builds the Temple
- 7: Solomon Builds His Palace
- 8: Setting up, Prayers and Dedicating the Temple
- Part 3: Ch.9-11: Possibilities, Greatness & Failure
- 9: God’s Promises & Warnings & Solomon’s activities
- 10: Solomon’s Fame
- 11: Solomon’s Fall
- Part 4: Ch.12-16 The Early Divided kingdom
- 12: The Kingdom is Divided
- 13: The Man of God from Judah
- 14: Jeroboam’s end & Rehoboam’s limited reign
- 15: Abijah King of Judah
- 16: Baasha, Elah, Zimri, Omri, Ahab (of Israel)
- Part 5: Ch.17-19: The Ministry & Life of Elijah
- 17: Elijah (Part 1)
- 18: Elijah (Part 2)
- 19: Elijah (Part 3) & Elisha
- Part 6: Ch.20-22: Final Activities of Ahab
- 20: Encounters with Ben-Hadad of Aram
- 21: Ahab & Naboth’s Vineyard
- 22: Micaiah Prophesies against Ahab & Ahab’s death
Alternative Outline Approach focusing on the kings
Ch.1-12 King Solomon’s Reign
- Ch.1 & 2 Succession
- Ch.3 Wisdom
- Ch.4-9 Government, Success, and building & establishing the Temple
- Ch.10 Queen of Sheba visits
- Ch.11 Solomon’s folly and throne threatened
- Ch.12 Rehoboam succeeds to the throne
- Ch.12-16 Israel and Judah from Jeroboam I/Rehoboam to Ahab/Asa
| Of Israel | Of Judah | |
| 12:25 – 14:20 | Jeroboam I | |
| 14:21-31 | Rehoboam | |
| 15:1-8 | Abijah | |
| 15:9-24 | Asa | |
| 15:25-32 | Nadab | |
| 15:33 – 16:7 | Baasha | |
| 16:8-14 | Elah | |
| 16:15-20 | Zimri | |
| 16:21-28 | Omri | |
| 16:29-34 | Ahab |
Ch.17-22The Ministries of Elijah and Other Prophets from Ahab/Asa to Ahaziah /Jehoshaphat
17:1 – 22:40 Elijah (and Other Prophets) in the Reign of Ahab
- Ch. 17 Elijah and the drought
- Ch. 18 Elijah on Mount Carmel
- Ch. 19 Elijah’s flight to Horeb
- Ch. 20 A prophet condemns Ahab for sparing Ben-Hadad
- Ch. 21 Elijah condemns Ahab for seizing Naboth’s vineyard
- 22:1-40 Micaiah prophesies Ahab’s death; its fulfilment
- 22:41-50 Jehoshaphat of Judah
- 22:51-53 Ahaziah of Israel
And 2 Kings
For the sake of continuity in understanding we continue into 2 Kings :
Ch.1-8 The Ministries of Elijah and Elisha during the Reigns of Ahaziah and Joram
Ch.1 Elijah in the Reign of AhaziahCh.2 Elijah’s Translation; Elisha’s Inauguration
Ch.2-8 Elisha in the Reign of Joram
- 2:19-25 Elisha’s initial miraculous signs
- Ch.3 Elisha during the campaign against Moab
- Ch.4 Elisha’s ministry to needy ones in Israel
- Ch.5 Elisha heals Naaman
- Ch.6 Elisha delivers one of the prophets & Joram from Aramean raiders
- Ch.6&7 Aramean siege of Samaria lifted, as Elisha prophesied
- 8:1-6 The Shunammite’s land restored
- 8:7-15 Elisha prophesies Hazael’s oppression of Israel
Ch.8-17 Israel and Judah from Joram/Jehoram to the Exile of Israel
- Ch.8 Jehoram & Ahaziah of Judah
- Ch.9 & 10 Jehu’s Revolt and Reign in Israel
- Ch.11 & 12 Athaliah and Joash of Judah ; Repair of the Temple
- Ch.13 Jehoahaz of Israel , Jehoash of Israel ; Elisha’s Last Prophecy
| Of Israel | Of Judah | |
| 14:1-22 | Amaziah | |
| 14:23-29 | Jeroboam II | |
| 15:1-7 | Azariah | |
| 15:8-12 | Zechariah | |
| 15:13-16 | Shallum | |
| 15:17-22 | Menahem | |
| 15:23-26 | Pekahiah | |
| 15:27-31 | Pekah | |
| 15:32-38 | Jotham | |
| Ch.16 | Ahaz | |
| 17:1-6 | Hoshea | |
| 17:7-41 Exile of Israel; Resettlement of the Land |
Ch.18-25 Judah from Hezekiah to the Babylonian Exile
- Ch.18-20 Hezekiah
- Ch.21 Manasseh & Amon
- Ch.22,23 Josiah
- Ch.23 Jehoahaz Exiled to Egypt
- 23:36 – 24:7 Jehoiakim: First Babylonian Deportation
- 24:8-17 Jehoiachin: Second Babylonian Deportation
- 24:18 – 25:21 Zedekiah: Third Babylonian Deportation
- 25:22-26 Removal of the Remnant to Egypt
- 25:27-30 Elevation of Jehoiachin in Babylon
Concluding Comments
- If the kings of Israel and Judah represent humanity in general, this book is like putting a magnifying glass over humanity and having their sinful frailty revealed.
- At the beginning of the book Solomon has everything going for him: he has the example of a godly father, he has the support of others close to him, and he receives a gift of wisdom from the Lord. It all ought to go well!
- Tragically, despite that wisdom he disregarded God’s warnings about foreign wives and ends his life in a godless place with the judgment of God declared that will not let his family carry on ruling over all Israel. Yet for the sake of David, his father, his son will be allowed to continue to reign over two of the twelve tribes.
- When the division takes place, the Lord speaks through His prophet to Jeroboam, who leads the northern ten tribes, and you would have thought that that encounter would have set him up to be a godly king – but no! He reasons with human wisdom that because Jerusalem the focus of the Lord is in the south, he will need to establish religion that is strictly in the north, and establishes idols at the northern and southern boundaries that lead the nation into ongoing idolatry.
- The northern kings are a disaster and the southern ones not much better.
- With the advent of the ministry of Elijah (and later Elisha) you would have thought that the guidance and direction of the Lord was so strong that it would be heeded – but largely not!
- Israel are on the path for destruction and it is only the advent of some good kings in the south that mean that Judah are a couple of centuries behind in their own downfall (both of which will appear in the second book).
- From reading these accounts it can never be said that God did not try with these people. They are given opportunity after opportunity to get on the right track, but the presence of Sin in the human race is too strong. Not a happy conclusion!