What are commonly known today as First and Second Kings used to be designated as Third and Fourth Kings in the Bible. The two books of Samuel were the first two Books of Kings. Looking at them as four books about the rise and fall of kingship in Israel helps us to understand that they form a unit.
In the beginning of 1 Kings we read about the last days of King David and about his death. David`s son, Solomon, succeeded him. Solomon`s reign ushered in an age of splendor and magnificence never to be equaled in Israel. However, Solomon`s policies aggravated the hostilities between the North and South which led to a complete breaking up into two kingdoms when Solomon died in 931. The northern kingdom of Israel also entered into religious schism.
Besides the hostility between North and South, Egypt attacked the kingdom of Judah in the south while the Arameans began an offensive against the northern kingdom of Israel. The situation became critical when Assyria moved in the direction of Israel and Judah in the ninth century and especially in the eight century. The Assyrian armies were overcome by a much stronger Babylonian Empire which continued the onslaught on Israel and Judah to the defeat and destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. Those who had not fled were led into captivity.
The blow to tonal pride and independence was exceeded greatly by the blow to the religious belief of the Chosen People. The destruction of Jerusalem, the burning of the Temple, and the end of the Davidic dynasty rocked Israel’s faith in the loving kindness of her God who had made a Covenant with her. To all appearances God had failed in His promises. Could there be any other conclusion?
The purpose of the author of Kings was to show that there was another conclusion, another explanation. By retracing four hundred years of history, the author shows that the people and their kings had been unfaithful to their part of the Covenant. God had remained faithful. When repeated violation of the Covenant over many centuries proved conclusively that Israel was unfaithful, only then did God withdraw His special protection with disastrous results.
However, all iis not lost. A small body of the faithful has remained loyal to God. The guarantees of the Covenant for the future will be frustrated realized because of this remnant. It has been a bitter lesson. God’s designs cannot be frustrated. Hope for the future is indicated in the unusually kind treatment shown to the exiled King Jehoiachim who has been blinded by the Babylonians at the time of his capture. On such a hopeful note, the Book of Kings comes to a conclusion.
There are twenty-two chapters in 1 Kings and twenty-five chapters in 2 Kings. The material is drawn from a number of sources, three of which are mentioned explicitly: a History of Solomon, the Annals of the Kings of Israel, the Annals of the Kings of Judah. While treating historical events, the author is interested primarily in giving a theological explanation of how the hand of God and the design of God were written large across Israel’s history.
Events are presented according to a uniform plan in which each reign is treated separately, completely, and is introduced and concluded by a formula which scarcely varies and which always includes a verdict on the king’s religious conduct. The kings of the northern Kingdom of Israel are always guilty because of the erection of the shrine at Bethel. The law of Deuteronomy demands one only one sanctuary, the Temple in Jerusalem.
The kings of Judah in the south fare only a little better in the verdict passed on their fidelity to the covenant. Only eight of these kings are praised for their fidelity but on six occasions this praise is qualified by the reservation, “the high places were not destroyed.” These six failed to destroy forbidden places of worship. Only Hezekiah and Josiah received unqualified praise for their kingship. The lesson is driven home that the nation will be blessed if it is faithful to God’s covenant but punished if it is not faithful.
The purpose of the author, to show that the word of God is infallible and always attains its end, is implicit in a number of prophetic predictions and their infallible fulfillment stories. There are only seven chapters in 1 Kings and five chapters in chapters in 2 Kings that do not have at least one of these stories For example in 1 Kings 1&:1, Elijah predicts a drought. His prediction comes true as narrated in verse 17 of the same chapter along with the first verse of Chapter 18.
These prophetic-fulfillment stories help to bolster the author’s purpose of restoring belief in the promise that the David dynasty will be eternal. There seemed to be no human hope of such a promise being fulfilled. The author makes forty different references to David with seven direct and seven indirect references to Nathan’s promise related in Chapter 7 of the Second Book of Samuel. Also, the author goes out right for all has been fulfilled in Christ the King!