BGCT: DSM: Old Testament Text: Lecture 20: 1 & 2 Kings (1 of 3)

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HISTORICAL BOOKS

LECTURE 20

I KINGS (1:111:43)

Students will be able to identify the strengths and weaknesses of Solomon's reign.

CONTENT OF LECTURE

Occasion:

The material presented in I, II Kings provides a sequel to the history of kingship found in I, II Samuel. The framing events for I, II Kings were the death of David coupled with the rise of Solomon and the fall of the Southern Kingdom (Judah) to Babylon in 586 B.C.

Purpose:

The material in I, II Kings was compiled to provide an assessment of the reigns of various kings based on their faithfulness to God's covenants. The standard of excellence to which worthy rulers were compared was David while Jeroboam I, the first king of the North (Israel), became the standard of evil, having established pagan shrines in the North so that the people he governed would not have to worship in Jerusalem and maintain loyalty to the Southern Kingdom.

Theme:

The national welfare was integrally related to the obedience and disobedience of the kings and their people to the covenants God had made with his people, i.e., national apostasy brought divine judgment and punishment.

The books of I, II Kings stress the crucial importance of the covenant and highlight the roles of kings and prophets as those primarily responsible for maintaining the covenant.

OUTLINE OF l, 2 KINGS

I. Death of King David (1:12:10)

A. David's oldest son Adonijah tried to become king (1:5 ff.). (TN#1 )

B. Nathan, the prophet, and Zadok, the priest, supported the succession of Solomon (1:11-53).

II. Solomon's succession to the throne (2:1246)

III. Solomon's Reign (3:111:43)

A. Early years (314:34)

1. Wisdom chosen and demonstrated (3:728) (TN#2) DQ#3)

2. Fame as a sage and speaker of proverbs (4:2932)

B. The Building of the Temple (5:18:66)

1. Solomon was assisted by Hiram, King of Tyre (5:118).

2. Construction reflected great reverence (6:7). (TN#4)

3. The temple was dedicated (8:166).

C. Later years (9:111: 43). (TN#5)

1. The covenant was renewed with Solomon in a vision (9:19).

2. Solomon planted seeds of rebellion by using forced labor in building projects (9:1522).

3. Solomon became the standard for wealth and wisdom (10:2325).

4. Solomon "loved" many wives (11:18).

a. This violated God's command (11:2)

b. Interracial marriage led to idolatry (11:48) (TN#6 & #7)

ASSIGNMENT

Read Ecclesiastes as Solomon's personal testimony of the futility of seeking ultimate satisfaction through earthly pleasures. What are the most important lessons to be learned from Ecclesiastes?

Discussion Questions:

#3. In light of Solomon's request for wisdom and God's bequest of it, how do you account for the grievous errors in judgment he made almost from the beginning of his reign?

#1. How did Solomon's success contribute to his downfall

#2. When someone gains power, as Solomon did, why is it necessary to maintain accountability to an independent authority?

#3. In his book Money, Sex and Power, Richard Foster said, "No topics cause more controversy. No human realities have greater power to bless and curse." How did power, sex and money create problems for Solomon? Is there any way Solomon might have avoided the dangers associated with affluence?

Teacher's Notes:

I, II Kings are one literary work divided by the translators of the Septuagint (first major translation of Hebrew Scriptures into Greek). The division was somewhat arbitrary but appropriate. Authorship is unclear, but we know he was familiar with Deuteronomy and used a variety of sources in compiling his history of the monarchy.

Kings was likely compiled between 562 and 538 B.C. during the Babylonian exile.

Kings relates the history of Israel's monarchy from the closing day of the rule of David until the time of Babylonian exile.

The instructor might begin this lecture by asking the following questions: "Do you think it would be easy to follow David as King? What would be the advantages and disadvantages for his son Solomon? What qualities do you associate with Solomon?"

#1 Apparently there was not a rigid law of primogeniture although David's military general, Joab and the priest, Abiathar, assumed Adonijah would become the next king.

#2 Chapter 3 is devoted to Solomon's wisdom: his prayer for such and a specific example involving two women and their babies.

#4 A cubit was approximately 18 inches, the distance from one's finger tips to the elbow. With a rectangular floor plan of about 90 by 30 feet, the temple consisted of vestibule or entrance hall, the holy place or nave measuring 60 by 30 feet, and the holy of holies, a cube of 30 feet (6:26).

#5 Solomon's reign was characterized by materiel prosperity financed by heavy taxation and made possible by forced labor; in other words, a small segment of society benefited at the expense of the rest

#6 Ashtoreth was the Hebrew word for Astarte the goddess of fertility, which, along with the male counterpart, Baal, became the principal deities of the Canaanites. The high places were hilltop shrines which were contaminated by pagan sacrifices. Molech or Milcome was the Ammonite deity known as Chemosh. Later King Ahaz of Judah became involved in the abhorrent practice of child sacrifice (2 Kings 16:3).

#7 What were the strengths and weaknesses of Solomon's reign?

Strengths

a. He, along with David, participated in the "Golden Age of Hebrew History."

b. He was associated with wisdom, a writer of Proverbs.

c. He was responsible for building the first temple.

Weaknesses

a. Success led to indulgence and selfsufficiency.

b. His marriages to foreign wives promoted idolatry.

c. Insensitivity to labor forces created a slave society which fostered rebellion (Note I Kings 12:111).

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