D.A. Carson: On the whole the direction is downward

Posted on by Pam Larson

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 LORD his 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).