Bible in a Year: 1 Kings
Monday - Please read 1 Kings 1-4
Before we begin our journey, I want to describe to you the different kinds of “prophets” we will find and the role they will play. There are three kinds of prophets. There are lone voices from the wilderness who speak for God. Elijah is the best example of this. There are kingly prophets that give counsel to the kings. Nathan was a kingly prophet. There are Temple prophets, those who lead the people in worship. As we start 1 Kings we see three people of importance; Zadok, Nathan, and Benaiah. They were the highest peoåple of their offices. The first a priest (Temple prophet) , then next a kingly prophet and the last a soldier. This showed that Solomon had the endorsement from the people, God and the army.
Tuesday - Please read 1 Kings 5-11
The culmination of the Exodus out of Egypt, taming of the Promised Land and institution of a royal dynasty finally reaches completion in these chapters. God has a permanent resident in Israel with the building of the temple. After the Temple is finished, though, King Solomon has to cement his reign so he builds a palace for himself. The palace is much bigger than the Temple and takes longer to complete. An example of his worldly success. Solomon seems more concerned about his worldly success than his people’s spiritual well being. Because of this, we see the seeds of destruction being planted in the hearts and minds of the people. This is the best that 1 Kings has to offer. From here on, we see more sin and less godliness.
Wednesday - Please read 1 Kings 12-16
So, now it gets complicated. Solomon once told two women to divide a baby in half to determine the mother. His “wisdom” provided a solution. Another view is that it wasn’t wisdom at all, but a sense of cruelty. After all, the women had to believe that Solomon would have done it, which means he must have done horrible things before. And he had. In order to build his palace, he used slave labor. This slave drivers were hated by the people and the amount of taxation was oppressing. Now we see that instead of a united kingdom after his death, the Hebrew nation is divided into two because of his sin. Over the next few chapters we see the results of this division. Israel is the new northern kingdom and Judah is the southern kingdom. Each with their own king.
Thursday - Please read 1 Kings 17-19
So we could easily spend a year going through all the different kings. Many of the kings had prophets that served God and these few chapters set the stage for much of the Old Testament. These prophets would lead the people back to holiness each time a new king would slide the country back into sinfulness. When people turn from God, especially those in power, God always provides. In the midst of a sinful ruler, God raises up a prophet who comes bursting on the scene. We’re not told much about Elijah, but we know that he served God with a purpose to bring the nation of Israel back to God. To prove himself a prophet, Elijah went through many trials, but each time, God provided what was needed.
Friday - Please read 1 Kings 20-22
We end our slow downfall with a story of a king and his queen who used religion to further their worldly success in life. Ahab and Jezebel corrupted the law of Moses to make the monarchy on the same level as God. It was a crime to blaspheme God and they made it a crime to speak against the king. In doing so, they reached a new level of sin. We’ve seen Eli’s sons treat God as a good luck charm. We’ve watched as Solomon’s greed split the nation. And we’ve read about king after king who moved the nation of Israel away from God and into idolatry. Even though God sent prophets to remind the people and bring them back, it’s hard to fight City Hall. This sinfulness will lead to the fall of the nation of Israel.
