1 Kings
You don’t have to read much into the Scripture before you start seeing the
word concubine. In God’s eye’s, marriage is between 1 man and 1 woman.
That’s called Monogamy. In Genesis, we know that God created only one
wife for Adam. But in Genesis 4:19, Polygamy became adopted by man and
Polygamy in earlier scripture is not forbidden. Now just because it is not
forbidden in earlier Scripture doesn’t mean that Polygamy is okay in God’s
eyes.
For some reason God left it up to man to discover that polygamy was wrong
and monogamy was right. Throughout scripture, polygamy brings trouble
and sin into the relationship. Think of Abraham and Sarah, Gideon married
women that were outside his tribe and they brought with them all their
idolatry. David had women problems with Bathsheba and also, he had
problems with his children having sex with each other. And as we’ll see later
on, Solomon also had some women problems, all because of polygamy.
Polygamy brings jealousy and favoritism and sin into a relationship.
Now along with all these men having all these wives, the men were still not
satisfied, so they started what scholars call “concubinage.” We see it in the
Bible as concubine. Concubines were started in Mesopotamia and what they
decided was that the husband was free to have legal sexual relations with
slaves. So a concubine was women slaves who worked for the wives, who
also had sex with the husband.
Proverbs 31 says that if a man would find just one wife and her, being a
godly wife, then he will find security, abundance and satisfaction. Jesus says
in Matthew 19 that a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined
with his wife and the two shall become one flesh. God’s ideal marriage is
between one man and one woman, period.
In 1 Kings 1:1, we see that David is old and tired. And he’s spending the last
of his days of his life, trying to stay warm under a mound of blankets. While
David was sick in the bed, his son Adonijah tried to set himself up as king.
People to include Joab were shouting in the streets, “Long live King
Adonijah!” And as soon as they started yelling it, a new cry pulsed through
the streets of Jerusalem, “Long live King Solomon.”
1 Kings continues the story of Israel’s troubled monarchy. 1 and 2 Kings
just like 1 and 2 Samuel and 1 and 2 Chronicles were originally one
book, called Kings in the Hebrew tradition. The author can’t be
determined with certainty. Jewish tradition credits Jeremiah, while others
have suggested that Ezra and Ezekiel wrote the book.
The first half of the book, which is chapters 1-11 displays Solomon in all his
splendor. It talks about all his fame, all his wisdom and all his wealth.
Under his reign, Israel entered a grand, but ultimately tragic era.
With Solomon anointed and declared king. David was very well aware of
Solomon’s responsibilities and the temptations that laid ahead for his young
son. So David in 2:2-4 charged his son, Solomon, to walk with God. Read
2:2-4. Having spoken all that, David in verse 10, goes to sleep with his
fathers and was buried in the city of David.
After David’s death, Solomon punished or killed all those who rebelled
against his father. With justice done and old enemies gone, in the last part of
2:46, “The kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.”
Chapter 3 opens up with Solomon’s marriage to Pharaoh’s daughter. This
marriage was a political union creating trade advantages for both Israel and
Egypt. And in verse 5, we see the part where Solomon asks for wisdom. Go
ahead and read 3:5-14.
Well God’s promise came true. After Solomon brilliantly mediated a dispute
between two women over the custody of a child, word got out about his great
wisdom throughout the whole world. In chapter 4:20-28, Solomon’s
kingdom expanded and the people of Israel prospered.
He next turned his energy into building the house for God that his father had
dreamed of in chapters 5-6. After 7 years of construction, the temple was
complete to include the ark of the covenant.
With this building project complete, God in chapter 9:1-9 pulls Solomon
aside and gave him a friendly reminder. He says in summary, Solomon be
careful, you’re not immune to failure. Walk in My ways and I will extend
your kingdom forever. Turn away from Me, and this whole nation, including
My temple, will come to ruin.
So for the time being, Solomon walked with God. In chapter 10:23-24, it
says, “So King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and
wisdom. Now all the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his
wisdom, which God had put in his heart.”
God’s blessing was so evident that even the Queen of Sheba traveled
1200 miles to see Solomon’s wealth and wisdom.
But in 1 Kings chapter 11, Solomon slips from fame to failure, from
success to sensuality, from temple-builder to idolater. Just like his daddy,
David, Solomon began to entertain temptation in his mind. He started to
lust for women and soon that lust was acted out in him having 700 wives,
many of them from foreign countries, princesses and 300 sex slaves or
what the Bible calls them, concubines. And those wives in the last part
of verse 3 in chapter 11, “turned away his heart.”
Solomon discovered, as did his father, that sin has consequences. Chapter
11:11 says, “Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, because you have done
this, and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have
commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give
it to your servant. Nevertheless I will not do it in your days, for the sake
of your father David; I will tear it out of the hand of your son.”
About that time, God dropped a bomb shell on Solomon’s kingdom. He did
it by raising up enemies from the surrounding lands of Edom and Aram to
harass Solomon. From within the kingdom, He summoned Jeroboam, son of
Nebat, to rule over ten tribes of Israel, leaving only Judah and Benjamin for
Solomon’s heir.
The last half of 1 Kings recounts the division of the kingdom into north
(meaning Israel) and south (meaning Judah). The kings that were over
Israel and Judah had some ups and a whole lot of downs. Immorality and
idolatry were rampant as both nations closed their hearts and sought after
different gods. Of the 39 kings between the two nations, Scripture
characterizes only 8 of them as godly rulers.
After Solomon’s death, his son Rehoboam took the throne. Determined to
oppress the people instead of serve them, he eventually split the kingdom.
Ten of the tribes followed Jerobaom and Rehoboam remained in Jerusalem to
rule over Judah and Benjamin. Now Jerobaom, hoping to keep his ten tribes
from returning to Jerusalem to worship in the temple, Jerobaom set up golden
calves for them to worship.
During Rehoboam’s reign, Judah sacrificed on the high places, they built
idols and they engaged in temple prostitution. Well after Rehoboam died, his
son Abijam who in 15:3, “walked in all the sins of his father.” Abijam had a
son named Asa who in verse 11, “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord,
as did his father (great-great grandfather) David.” Asa got rid of the male
cult prostitutes and the idols of his father and he even removed the queen
mother from her power because of her idolatry.
In verse 24, we read that Asa’s son Jehoshaphat took the throne after the
death of his father. And for some reason, that’s all we get to know about
Judah. From this point on, it only talks about Israel until chapter 22 and then
it goes back to Jehoshaphat.
Okay, lets look at the kings of Israel in chapter 15. Verses 25 and 26, Nadab,
Jeroboam=s son reigned 2 years and did evil in the sight of Lord and was
murdered by Baasha.
In verses 33-34, Baasha wiped out every descendant of wicked Jeroboam and
he did evil in the sight of the Lord for 24 years.
Chapter 16:8-10, Elah, Baasha’s wicked son, ruled for 2 years and while he
was drunk, one of his military commanders killed him.
Verse 11-20, Zimri, Elah’s assassin, wiped out all of Baasha’s lineage and he
stayed alive for 7 days until Omri, the commander of Israel’s army took over
his city. In cowardice, Zimri set fire to the king’s house and burned himself
in it.
Omri took over and reigned for 12 years and earned the title of being more
wicked than all who were before him in verse 25. Omri established Samaria
as the capital of Israel and installed an even more wicked king on the throne
after him, his son Ahab.
Ahab is the climax of evil in 1 Kings. Look at verse 33 of chapter 16, “Ahab
did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of
Israel who were before him.”
In all this darkness, God is going to shed some light on the subject through a
man named Elijah. In chapter 17, Elijah stood eye to eye with Ahab and
declared that God would cause a drought and famine in Israel because of
Ahab’s wickedness. God then hid Elijah at the brook Cherith, where the
ravens miraculously brought him food. When the brook dried up, Elijah
headed north to Zarenphath to live with an impoverished widow and her son.
It was here that through Elijah’s promise, the woman’s flour and oil kept on
multiplying. And when her young son died, Elijah prayed to God three
times, and God brought the boy back to life.
In chapter 18, Elijah sought out Ahab and challenged the prophets of Baal to
a showdown. On Mount Carmel, 450 Baal worshipers were defeated by the
true God of Israel. Afterwards, Elijah told Ahab that the drought was over
and he better run for cover from the coming storm. Jezebel, however,
enraged over the defeat of her prophets, threatened Elijah that she was going
to kill him.
In chapter 19, Elijah runs for cover and ends up in the wilderness of
Beersheba. This is where God showed Elijah that His presence is not always
in a blasting wind or an earthquake or a fire but it is sometimes in a small
voice. Gently, the Lord was reminding Elijah that he wasn’t alone.
In chapter 20, it details a war between Ben-hadad and Ahab. In chapter 21,
Ahab spotted a vineyard that he wanted but the vineyard belonged to a man
named Naboth. When Naboth wouldn’t sell, Ahab cried like a little baby to
his wife Jezebel. Well Jezebel arranged to have Naboth falsely accused and
stoned to death so that her husband could take possession of the vineyard.
Elijah confronts the wicked king and tells him in 21:19, “Thus says the
Lord, in the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, dogs shall lick
your blood, even yours.”
In chapter 22, Ahab went to war to reclaim the city of Romothgilead. He
talked Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah into fighting with him. But Ahab
disguised himself for battle, leaving Jehoshaphat as the only one to look like
a king and a target. Everyone was fooled, except God. In verses 34-38, a
certain man drew his bow at random, hit Ahab and the king bled to death in
his chariot. When his servants washed the blood away, the dogs came and
licked it up, just as Elijah had prophesied.
After Ahab’s death, his son Ahaziah took the throne, and he in verse 52, did
evil in the sight of the Lord. 1 Kings ends the opposite of the way it started.
Everything good turned to bad.