I Kings 2
How Can God’s People Be
Secure?
What Is Kingdom Security
Founded Upon?
IN EGYPT
IN CANNAAN
IN CANNAAN
IN ASSYRIA
AND THE
UNDER
UNDER
AND
WILDERNESS
JUDGES
KINGS
BABYLON
CAMP
COMMONWEALTH
CROWN
CAPTIVITY
660 YEARS
360 YEARS
460 YEARS
660 YEARS
PENTATEUCH
JOSHUA
JUDGES
RUTH
1&2
SAMUEL
KINGS
CHRONICLES
EZRA
NEHEMIAH
ESTHER
Old Testament
History Overview
722 BC
Assyria
In the
Land
No
King
Creation
Call of
Abraham
586 BC
Babylon
Israel
10 Tribes
In The
Land with
King
539 BC
Persia
Cyrus
Decrees
The
Return
Judah
2 Tribes
Ezra
Nehemiah
about the
3 Returns
1 & 2 Kings
I.
The Golden Age, 1 Kings 1-11
II. The Torn Kingdom, 1 Kings 12 –
2 Kings 17
III. The Last Days, 2 Kings 18 - 25
Before The Exile
Theme: Kingship and Covenant
1, 2 Kings contains no explicit statement of
purpose or theme. Reflection on its content,
however, reveals that the author has selected
and arranged his material in a manner that
provides a sequel to the history found in 1, 2
Samuel—a history of kingship regulated by
covenant. In general, 1, 2 Kings describes
the history of the kings of Israel and Judah
in the light of God’s covenants. The guiding
thesis of the book is that the welfare of Israel
and her kings depended on their obedience
to their obligations as defined in the Mosaic
covenant.
The Author repeatedly refers the reader to
other sources for more detailed information
about the reigns of the various kings (see, e.g.,
11:41; 14:19, 29; 15:7, 31; 16:5; 14, 20, 27),
and he gives a covenantal rather than a social
or political or economic assessment of their
reigns.
---NIV Study Bible
Kings that historians would have given tons
of ink to, are purposely insulted with just a
few verses.
example: Omri in 1Kings 16:23 - 28
Other kings that historians would have
passed over are turned into heroes because
of their commitment to the covenant
renewal.
example: Josiah 2 Kings 22:1 – 23:29
Any Kings apostasy – disobedience to
Revelation (written i.e. Torah or spoken i.e.
the prophets) leads to Bad Times, i.e. God’s
judgment and or exile.
It is noteworthy that all the kings of the
northern kingdom are said to have done evil
in the eyes of the Lord and walked in the
ways of Jeroboam, who caused Israel to sin
(see, e.g., 16:26,31; 22:52; 2 Kings 3:3; 10:29).
Another prominent feature of the narrative
of 1,2 Kings is the emphasis on the
relationship between prophecy and
fulfillment in the historical development of
the monarchy. On at least 11 occasions a
prophecy is recorded that is later said to
have been fulfilled (see, e.g., 2 Sam 7:13 and
1 Kings 8:20; 1 Kings 11:29-39 and 1 Kings
12:15; 1 Kings 13 and 2 Kings 23:16-18).
The results of this emphasis is that the
history of the kingdom is not presented as a
chain of chance occurrences or the mere
interplay of human actions but as the
unfolding of Israel’s historical destiny under
the guidance of an omniscient and
omnipotent God—Israel’s covenant Lord,
who rules all history in accordance with his
sovereign purposes (see 8:56; 2 Kings 10:10).
---NIV Study Bible
1 Kings Ch 1
Who is in charge of the kingdom of
Israel?
David has been king for 40 years – he is
now old & cold (they search the kingdom
for a beautiful virgin to nurse the old
king and keep him warm).
•Her name is important - Abishag
1 Kings Ch 2
How can Israel be secure?
What is kingdom security
founded upon?
1 Kings Ch 2
Clues from the writer:
A. Ch 1 David swears an oath in
response to Bathsheba
Ch 2 Solomon swears an oath in
response to Bathsheba (v. 2:23)
B.
Nathan approaches the king through
Bathsheba Ch 1:11 ff.
Adonijah approaches the king through
Bathsheba 2:1-13.
C.
Root kun, to be/make firm, be
established, is used 4 times v. 12, 24,
45,46.
~ This tells us what the chapter is about
~ This repeated word usage is for the
successor of the kingdom of ch 1.
~ In ch 2 the focus is on the security of
the kingdom
D.
Last half of ch 2 narrative reports a
series of deaths – technically – executions
~ Starting in 2:24 we see the word (verb
mut) to die (or noun mawet)
note 2:24, 25, 26, 30, 34, 37, 42, 46.
~ You start to catch on that these deaths
may have a relationship to the
kingdom being established.
Ch 2 Breaks Down as Follows:
1.
1 – 12
2.
13 - 46
Kun – Be established at the end of v. 12 &
v. 46
Ch 2:1 - 4
Great Men of God & Their
Last Words
If Solomon and or any other Davidic kings
give whole hearted obedience to Yahweh’s
word, Yahweh will see that his promise to
David remains in effect (see 2:4).
The Point is clear: Obedience to the Law is
the condition for the promise of God’s good
life.
~
This is classic Bible logic
~
The average politician does not
think that way today!
They spell security this way!
~ Good trade agreements
~ Key alliances
~ State of the art military
But Bible Logic Spells
Security Like This!
Obedience to the Torah of
Moses
Guess What Christian Friend!
The N.T. teaches us the same thing:
21"Not
everyone who says to me, 'Lord,
Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but
only he who does the will of my Father who is
in heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day,
'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your
name, and in your name drive out demons
and perform many miracles?' 23Then I will
tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away
from me, you evildoers!' 24"Therefore
everyone who hears these words of mine and
puts them into practice is like a wise man
who built his house on the rock. 25The rain
came down, the streams rose, and the winds
blew and beat against that house; yet it did
not fall, because it had its foundation on the
rock.
Matt 7:21-25
The Point of Ch 2:1-4
Whether you are a king over Israel or a
disciple of Jesus (following a real yet
temporarily invisible Jesus), true stability
comes through obedience.
Proverbs 3:5-6
5 Trust
in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.
Psalm 1
1
Blessed is the man who does not walk in the
counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of
sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. 2 But his
delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his
law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a
tree planted by streams of water, which yields
its fruit in season and whose leaf does not
wither. Whatever he does prospers. 4 Not so
the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind
blows away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not
stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the
assembly of the righteous. 6 For the LORD
watches over the way of the righteous, but the
way of the wicked will perish.
#2
Eliminating The Kingdoms Enemies 2:13-46
Vs. 13-46 In this section Solomon carries out
David’s final words of 2:5-9
~
Here we read about execution after
execution
~
A sentence of village arrest or
banishment
~
Their order of elimination are:
# 1 Adonijah 2:13-25
# 2 Abiathar 2:26-27
# 3 Joab 2:28-35
# 4 Shimei 2:36-46
Matt 6:9-13
9"This,
then, is how you should pray:
" 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your
name, 10your kingdom come, your will be
done on earth as it is in heaven. 11Give us
today our daily bread. 12Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13And
lead us not into temptation, but deliver us
from the evil one.’
Matt 10:34 - 39
34"Do
not suppose that I have come to bring
peace to the earth. I did not come to bring
peace, but a sword. 35For I have come to turn
" 'a man against his father, a daughter
against her mother, a daughter-in-law against
her mother-in-law-- 36a man's enemies will be
the members of his own household.’
37"Anyone who loves his father or mother
more than me is not worthy of me; anyone
who loves his son or daughter more than me
is not worthy of me; 38and anyone who does
not take his cross and follow me is not worthy
of me. 39Whoever finds his life will lose it, and
whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Matt 11:11-15
11I
tell you the truth: Among those born of
women there has not risen anyone greater
than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in
the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
12From the days of John the Baptist until
now, the kingdom of heaven has been
forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay
hold of it. 13For all the Prophets and the Law
prophesied until John. 14And if you are
willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was
to come. 15He who has ears, let him hear.
Matt 13:40b – 43a
40b so
it will be at the end of the age. 41The Son
of Man will send out his angels, and they will
weed out of his kingdom everything that
causes sin and all who do evil. 42They will
throw them into the fiery furnace, where
there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
43a Then the righteous will shine like the sun
in the kingdom of their Father.
2 Thess 1:9, 10
9They
will be punished with everlasting
destruction and shut out from the presence of
the Lord and from the majesty of his power
10on the day he comes to be glorified in his
holy people and to be marveled at among all
those who have believed. This includes you,
because you believed our testimony to you.