The Kings of Israel and Judah (November 18, 2018)

Review:  Last week we spent time looking at the life of King David. King David was not a perfect king, but he loved God and God promised to make an everlasting kingdom for David through his offspring.

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We know that this promise of an everlasting kingdom is ultimately fulfilled through Christ but God’s covenant with David also includes promises about King David’s son Solomon.

Read 2 Samuel 7: 4-17

What promises did God make to David?

•        He would make a great name for David

•        He would give Israel rest from their enemies

•        He would make a house for David

•        He would establish the kingdom of David’s offspring after David’s death

•        David’s offspring would build a house for God

•        David’s offspring’s kingdom would last forever

•        When David’s offspring sins, God will discipline him as a father

•        God’s steadfast love would not be taken away from David’s offspring

We first see Solomon in the Bible when he is born. Read 2 Samuel 12:24-25.

So, Solomon has two names. The first is of course Solomon, which means peace. What promise given to David matches with this name? God would give Israel rest from their enemies.

Solomon was also given another name by God through the prophet Nathan which was Jedidiah. The name Jedidiah means “beloved of the LORD.” What promise does this name match to? God’s steadfast love would not be taken away from David’s offspring.

Once we reach 1 Kings, we find that David is old and close to death. One of his sons, Adonijah, tries to become king but this is not the son of David that God has chosen to be king.

Read 1 Chronicles 28:2-8.

God had chosen Solomon to be the King of Israel and to build his temple. David had gathered many supplies for the building of the temple (1 Chronicles 29:1-5) but he was not allowed to build it himself because he had shed too much blood.

Knowing this do you think Adonijah will be successful in becoming king?

Adonijah does not become king. Once Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother, and Nathan the prophet tell David what Adonijah is doing, King David gives instructions for Solomon to be anointed as king, which he is.

God had given instructions for what a king of Israel was supposed to be like back in Deuteronomy.

Read Deuteronomy 17:14-20.

A king of Israel was not supposed to:

•        be a foreigner

•        acquire many horses

•        send anyone to Egypt

•        acquire many wives

•        acquire excessive silver and gold

A king of Israel was supposed to:

•        make himself a copy of the book of the law

•        read the book of the law all the days of his life

•        keep the words of the law and the statutes

As we read about Solomon, lets see how if he was the type of king described in Deuteronomy.

Read 1 Kings 3:3-14.

What did we learn about Solomon?

•        he loved God (vs. 3)

•        he pleased God by asking for wisdom (vs. 9-10)

•        God gave him wisdom and riches (vs. 12-13)

So, far so good. 

Read 1 Kings 4:26-34.

We see that Solomon is very wise, but did you notice what he acquired in vs. 26? Many horses

As king of Israel, was he supposed to do this? No

Read 1 Kings 6:1 and 14.

What did Solomon do? He built God’s house like he was supposed to do.

This was a great triumph which pleased God. When the temple was finished “the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD” (1 Kings 8:11).

Read 1 Kings 10:14-29 and 11:1-6.

How is Solomon not following the qualifications for Israel’s kings found in Deuteronomy 17?

•        he acquired excessive amounts of silver and gold

•        he acquired many horses and those horses came from Egypt (he must have sent his people there to get them)

•        he acquired many foreign wives which turned his heart from God

•        he turned from God and followed foreign Gods

There are devastating consequences to Solomon’s actions.

Read 1 Kings 11:9-13.

What were the consequences of Solomon turning from God?

•        the kingdom would be taken, in part, from Solomon’s son

•        the kingdom would be divided

Despite Solomon’s failure/sin, God is still faithful to the promises he made to Abraham and David. Instead of completely taking the kingdom away from David’s family, he allows David’s family to continue their kingdom, with Solomon’s son Rehoboam becoming king after him. God, however, raises up another king, Jeroboam, to be king over the ten tribes of Israel, leaving only Judah for Rehoboam and his children (1 Kings 11:26-38). God tells this new king, just as he had told the kings in David’s line, that if the if he would listen to all the commands of the Lord and walk in his ways that he would be with that king and build his kingdom.

Unfortunately, if you read through the rest of 1 Kings and 2 Kings, you will see that none of the 19 kings of Israel were good kings and instead they “did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.”

What do you think will happen to Israel?

Read 2 Kings 17:6-18.

Because of their turning from God, God let’s Israel be taken into captivity by Assyrians.

Judah also had 19 kings. Of these 19 kings only 8 “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.” One of these good kings was King Josiah who became king when he was just eight years old. During Josiah’s eighteenth year as king, Josiah began to repair the temple. During the repairs, Hilkiah the high priest finds the book of the law which apparently had been lost/misplaced for a long time. When the law is read to Josiah, he realizes how much Judah had been sinning. Josiah is so grieved that he tears his clothes and asks Hilkiah to talk to God for the people of Judah.

Read 2 Kings 22:14-20.

Because Josiah repented, God did not bring disaster to Josiah but promises that the people will face the consequences of their disobedience after Josiah’s death. Josiah and all of Judah promise to keep God’s commandments (2 Kings 23:3), however, the three kings after Josiah all “did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.” Judah then falls into Babylonian captivity and the temple is destroyed.

God being faithful, however, will not let Israel remain in this captive state forever. We will see this next week when we look at the books of Ezra and Nehemiah.

As we wrap up, what lessons can we learn from these kings of Israel and Judah?

•        There are consequences for not obey God’s word

•        God blesses those that follow him and repent

•        You cannot obey God if you do not know what is in God’s word.

Remember in Deuteronomy, what God wanted the kings of Israel to do? Write down the law and read it every day.

When the kings and the people they were ruling did not do this they fell into disobedience.

John 14:15 says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

If we don’t know what God’s word says how can we keep his commandments and show that we love God?

Think about this verse.

"Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path" (Psalm 119:105).

Do you believe this? Are there any changes you think you need to make so you do not become like so many of the kings we just learned about?

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Going Deeper:

Take time to think about how much time you spend reading God’s word. How could you make more time to read the Bible? Is there something you could spend less time on, so you can spend more time studying the Bible? 

Praise God in Song: