Quoting from “For the Love of God, Volume 1, October 13”
FIRST AND 2 KINGS narrate the declining fortunes of both the northern and south-
ern kingdoms. Occasionally there is a reforming king in one realm or the other.
But on the whole the direction is downward. Some orientation (1Kings 16):
(1) Although 1 and 2 Kings treat both the northern and the southern king-
doms, the emphasis is on the former. By contrast, 1 and 2 Chronicles, which cover
roughly the same material, tilt strongly in favor of the kingdom of Judah.
(2) In the south, the Davidic dynasty continues. During its history, there are,
humanly speaking, some very close calls. Nevertheless God preserves the line; his
entire redemptive purposes are bound up with continuity of that Davidic line. The
stance throughout is well expressed in 1 Kings 15:4. Abijah king of Judah, who
reigned only three years, was doubtless an evil king. “Nevertheless, for David’s
sake the LORDhis God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem by raising up a son to suc-
ceed him and by making Jerusalem strong.” In the north, however, no dynasty
survives very long. The dynasty of Jeroboam lasted two generations and was then
butchered (15:25-30), replaced by Baasha (15:33-34). His dynasty likewise pro-
duced two kings, and then the males in his family were wiped out by Zimri (16:8-
13), whose reign lasted all of seven days (16:15-19). And so it goes. If the Davidic
line continues in the south, it is all of grace.
(3) These successions in the north are brutal and bloody. For instance, after
Zimri the citizens of Israel face a brief civil war,divided as they arebetween Omri
and Tibni. The followers of the former win. The text wryly comments, “So Tibni
died and Omri became king” (16:22). In short, there is perennial lust for power,
few systems for orderly hand over of government, no hearty submission to the
living God.
(4) From God’s perspective, however, the severity of the sin is measured first
and foremost not in terms of the bloody violence, but in terms of the idolatry (for
example, 16:30-33). Omri was a strong ruler who strengthened the nation enor-
mously, but little of that is recorded: from God’s perspective he “did evil in the
eyes of the LORD and sinned more than all those before him” (16:25). Building
programs and a rising GDP do not make up for idolatry.
(5) Details in these accounts often tie the narrative to events much earlier and
later. Thus the rebuilding of Jericho (16:34) calls to mind the curse on the city
when it was destroyed centuries earlier (Josh. 6:26). The founding of the city of
Samaria (16:24) anticipates countless narratives of what takes place in that city—
including Jesus and the woman at the well (John 4; see March 14 meditation).