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- [00:00]
A
Foreign. Hey, this is a year in the Bible with daily grace. And today marks a really big milestone in our journey through the Bible. This year, if you're following along in our A Year in the Bible Studies, then you closed up volume one and you opened volume two, and we're beginning the Book of First Kings to. Today, we're going to talk through chapters one through three, but we're also just going to give you a little bit of an overview of the Book of First Kings and even Two Kings too, because these books are closely tied together. So, Paul, we're excited to have you joining us for the Book of First and Second Kings. Before we jump into today's chapters, can you give us just a little bit of an overview of these two books?
- [00:49]
B
Yeah. So first and Second Kings were originally one book in the Hebrew Bible, and so they're kind of thought to have been written by one person. Not really sure who that author is. But we're one cohesive book that also follows the narrative of first and Second Samuel. So we pick off or pick up right where we left off with first and Second Samuel with David. And so, you know, whereas first and Second Samuel focused more on Saul and David, first and Second Kings is going to focus on Solomon and then a bunch of other kings, so many other kings aptly named. Right. As well as some prophets. We're going to see some more prophetic activity here. And so we begin with the ascension of David's son, Solomon, to the throne. And then after Solomon's reign, though, we see the nation split into two. So we have the 12 tribes of Israel kind of divide themselves after a ploy for the throne. But, you know, even before we start reading, I think it's helpful to mention not just where we're starting, but where we're going to end. And unfortunately, the place that we're going to end is not the happiest. It's ultimately going to be that the northern kingdom, which is called Israel, is going to be basically destroyed entirely. And then the southern kingdom, called Judah, is going to be carried into exile in Babylon. And it's helpful to know that and to think about that as we're reading, because these books are essentially looking back and asking the question, why did we end up in exile? Why did the northern kingdom end up destroyed? And the lens through which the author is writing is what some scholars call like Deuteronomistic, which sounds like a really big word, but it sounds like the word, the book Deuteronomy, because basically the author is judging the kings based on Whether they follow the law written in Deuteronomy well or not. So the answer we see to that is, well, we went to exile not because God failed us, but because we failed God. And yet throughout the book, there's still these little notes of hope that, hey, one day we're going to be restored. In Deuteronomy 30, we saw that foreshadowed talking about how, hey, one day when you go astray, when you rebel against God, you can return and God will restore you. So we kind of have those, like, competing themes of, hey, we're headed for exile, but there's going to be restoration one day.
- [03:19]
A
Yeah, that's a really great overview. And just kind of knowing where we're going in these couple of books, we're just going to really encourage people to hold on to those moments of hope when we see them. I think in our own lives, we often experience seasons that are continually trying with small moments of hope. And so while sometimes books like this aren't the most encouraging to read, and this covers, obviously more than one lifetime, many lifetimes, we can see that this is a human experience that we have trying times and even trying times due to our disobedience with moments of hope. And so let's get into today's chapters 1, Kings 1, 3. Specifically in these chapters, what's going on?
- [03:59]
B
Yeah. So we have David, right, coming to the end of his life, the end of his reign. And so we have Solomon succeeding him, but not before another one of David's sons, Adonijah, tries to take the throne. So when David passes, Adonijah tries a second time for the throne, but Solomon rejects that attempt. And then we get this encounter between God and Solomon in which Solomon wisely asks the Lord for wisdom. The Lord basically says, I'll give you anything. And Solomon says, give me wisdom. Give me the ability to lead the people. And so the reading concludes with an example of Solomon using that wisdom to judge a difficult situation between two mothers.
- [04:42]
A
So this seems like a big moment because for a while now we've been following the story of David, but there's been a transition here. And now Solomon is kind of becoming our main character that we're going to follow for a while, right?
- [04:54]
B
Yeah, no, that's exactly right. So we're saying goodbye to David, which is a pretty big deal. He's one of, if not maybe the most important character in the Old Testament. There's a lot of promises that hinge on his throne and the fact that he was a wholehearted king for God. Right. And unfortunately, Though the image we get of David here is not the brightest. He's shown as very weak at the very beginning of this book. He's old. He can't keep himself warm. And so they enlist this woman, Abishag, to take care of him in his final years. And so this is not the same young man who defeated Goliath and went and conquered all of these battles and all this stuff. And his final advice that he gives to Solomon is a bit hit and miss. He's definitely right to command Solomon to follow in God's ways. But then he also gives Solomon all these kind of specific instructions on managing different thorny situations that he manage well in his own life and telling Solomon to kill this person and don't kill this person and all this stuff. And so I think there's a profound pivot that happened in his life after the Bathsheba episode that we read about in Samuel. And he was never quite the same. He's still definitely, again, a wholehearted man, a man pursuing God's own heart. But towards the end of his life, he just starts to fade, I guess, in his devotion to that.
- [06:25]
A
Mm. Yeah. So, okay, these first three chapters, what do we take away from these? Is there anything that can apply to our lives today?
- [06:34]
B
Yeah, I mean, when you think about David, I think it's really a encouragement to finish strong in whatever season we find ourselves in, whether that's the end of our whole lives, like it is for David here, or if it's the end of a particular season to finish a job or a season of ministry or season for your family. And honestly, it makes me think about Paul because Paul writes in Second Timothy, he says, I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. And so that's an emphasis that the Bible really puts on our faith, is to finish strong. Not just starting strong, not being strong in the middle of it. But, hey, when things are over, when you're at the end of a season to maintain fidelity to your faith, and, you know, when we feel weary and when we feel like we want to give up, especially near the end, we remember that our strength doesn't come from within ourself. It comes from our faith in Christ and that he's the one that empowers us to run the race and cross the finish line.
- [07:40]
A
Yeah, I think that that's such an encouragement. And I think my takeaway from these first three chapters is just to hold onto those moments of hope. We all go through seasons that are disheartening and discouraging seasons where we're struggling with our own sin. Just like we're going to see these. Well, first, the united nation, the divided nations do in these two books. But holding onto those moments of hope in God's faithfulness and who he is is going to really help us in our own seasons of life and to get through this book. So I think that's my takeaway here. But I'm exc to walk through first and Second Kings. There's a lot to learn, a lot to apply from these books. And if you are following along with us and you are not using the studies where you can read the scripture, have some content that's going to explain that scripture to you, and then even have a question so that you can contemplate that in a prayer prompt so that you can pray through it, we encourage you to check out those studies. It's a great time to start with us as we're just entering Volume two. The link to the studies, to the reading plan, to our YouTube channel where you can watch these episodes is is in the show notes for this podcast and every other episode. So we'll be back tomorrow to talk through more from the Book of First Games.