Four centuries of Israelite history are covered by the next two books. They take us from the end of David’s reign, through Solomon’s reign and the rift between Israel and Judah to the fall of Samaria and the destruction of Jerusalem.
1. David is now old and at night feels the cold. So they find a beautiful virgin,
Abisag, to sleep with him and keep him warm. ‘But the king did not have intimate
relations with her.’ 1 Kings 1:1-4.
2. David’s son Adonijah has ambitions to be king and obtains much support including
the army commander, Joab. Nathan, who is loyal to David, tells Solomon’s mother,
Bathsheba to let David know of Adonijah’s ambitions. During the conversation Nathan
joins them and confirms the truth of her words. 1 Kings 1:5-27. B.C.
3. David immediately sends for the priests and tells them to anoint Solomon and declare
him to be ruler over Israel and Judah. Adonijah is fearful for his life. He comes to
Solomon bows down to him. Solomon sends him home saying that provided Adonijah does not
have evil in him then he will not be harmed. 1 King 1:28-53.
4. David is close to death. He gives his advice to Solomon. His words commence by
telling Solmon to obey that which the Lord requires. But then his words turn to vengeance
against those who have offended him but with whom he has made an oath of peace. Those
oaths will die with David and 972 he tells Solomon to deal with them accordingly. David
dies and is buried in the Ciy of David. 1 Kings 2:1-12
5. Adonijah gets his mother to ask for the hand of Abishag in marriage. The request to
marry one of his father’s harem leads to his death. Such a marriage would give him a
claim to the throne. 1 Kings 2:13-25.
6. A potential troublemaker, Shimei, is put on parole but when he breaks it, even for an
innocent reason, he is put to death. 1 Kings 26-46.
7. Solomon makes an alliance with the king of Egypt and marries his daughter. When praying
God speaks to him in a dream and says; "Ask for whatever you want me to give
you". Solomon asks for wisdom and God grants this request. 1 Kings 3:1-15.
8. This wisdom is apparent in Solomon’s ruling regarding the two prostitutes and the
two babies; one alive, one dead. (This situation shows how accessible Solmon made himself
to the people.) 1 Kings 3:16-28.
9. There follows a chapter which names Solmon’s chief officials and the daily
provisions for this entourage. 1 Kings 4:1-34.
10. Solomon makes plans for the building of a Temple. He makes a pact with the king of
Tyre and asks him to provide Cedars of Lebanon towards the construction. This request was
agreed. In return Solomon will provide food to the king of Tyre. 1 Kings 5:1-18. 950
11. The building of the Temple and Palace take place three hundred years after the
Israelites had come out of Egypt and in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign. (The
mention of four hundred and eighty years is probably calculated by 40 x 12 generations.)
These chapters give details of the size and method of construction and also furnishings
for the Temple. 1 Kings 6:1-38 & 7:1-51.
12. Solomon has the Ark brought to the Temple with much sacrificing and prayers of
dedication. 8:1-66.
13. The Lord speaks to Solomon and warns him of the penalties if Pagan Gods are worshiped.
1 Kings 9:1-9. B.C.
14. Solomon has trade problems. He makes over twenty cities to king Hiram of Tyre as
security. This chapter also gives details of the forced labour used to construct the
Temple, the palace, supporting terraces, the wall of Jerusalem and other constructions
including Megiddo. 1 Kings 9:10-25.
15. Solomon is the first of Israel’s kings to build a navy. 1 Kings 9:26-28.
16. The Queen of Sheba, having heard of the fame of Solomon decides to see for herself and
to question him. He answered all her questions with great wisdom. 1 Kings 10:1-13.
17. This section of the chapter details Solomon’s great wealth. 1 Kings 10:14-29.
18. Solomon’s political marriage-alliances help the country’s security but lead
him to worship pagan gods. (The worship of some of these gods involved child-sacrifice and
sexual deviations.) Solomon built places in Jerusalem for these pagan gods. 11:1-13.
19. Solomon’s reign is not entirely trouble free. Hadad of Edom, Rezon of 931 Damascus and his own son Jeroboam all cause problems. Solomon dies and is buried in the City of David. 1 Kings 11:14-43.
The division is a direct result of Solomon’s idolatry and was prophesied by Samuel (See 1 Samuel 12:14-15). As Israel strays further and further away from God’s law and the worship of God, things go from bad to worse. The nation becomes prey to stronger neighbours and is eventually devoured by them. Dates and/or length of reign are shown.
1. Solomon’s son, King Rehoboam (931-913), is given the opportunity of repairing
the damage done by his father by the heavy yoke he put on them. Rehoboam doesn’t
listen to the elders and it further damages the unity of the tribes931-910 and they split,
Rehoboam being king of Judah and Jeroboam I(931-910) king of Israel. In order to disuade
his people from visiting the Temple in Jerusalem, Jereboam made two golden calves and
built shrines for them. 1 Kings 12:1-33.
2. A man of God from Judah comes to Jereboam and speaks against the idolatry which he
sees. Jeroboam reaches out to attack him but his hand becomes paralysed. He asks the man
of God to pray that his hand may be restored and it is done. The man of God refuses to go
and eat with Jereboam. But later he is persuaded to go with an old prophet who lies to him
that an angel of God has agreed to them eating together. For not obeying God’s word
the old man of Judah is attacked and killed by a lion. 1 Kings 13:1-32.
3. Jeroboam continues his evil ways. He appoints high priests from anyone who wants to
become a priest. 1 Kings 13:33-34.
4. Jeroboam’s son, Abijah, became ill. Jeroboam tells his wife to disguise herself
and go to the prophet Ahijah to get his advice. Ahijah was blind but the Lord had told him
that Jeroboam’s wife was coming and the purpose of her visit. Ahijah tells
Jeroboam’s wife that her husband has done evil and that, as soon as she gets home,
her son will die. Jeroboam ruled for twenty910-908 two years then he died and was
succeeded by his son Nadab (910-908). 1 Kings 14:1-2O.
5. Judah was ruled by Rehoboam for seventeen years. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord.
They even had male shrine-prostitutes in the land. In the fifth year of king
Rehoboam’s reign, Shishak, the king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem and carried off the
treasures of the Temple. Rehoboam died and was succeeded by his son Abijah. (Some
manuscripts have this name as Abijam.) 1 Kings 14:21-31. 913-911
6. King Abijah (913-911) of Judah was no better than his father and did evil as his heart
was not fully devoted to the Lord. There was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. Abijah dies
and his son Asa succeeds him. 1 Kings 15:1-8.910-869
7. In the twentieth year of Jeroboam’s reign Asa (910-869) reigned as king of Judah
and reigned there for forty one years. He was a good man as king David had been. He
expelled the male shrine-prostitutes and got rid of all the idols. 1 Kings 15:9-15.909-885
8. In the third year of the reign of Asa king of Judah Baasha (909-885) became king of
Israel. He reigned for twenty four years. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord. 1 Kings
15:16-34 & 16:1-7.886-885
9. In the twenty sixth year of the reign of Asa king of Judah, Elah (886-885) son of
Baasha became king of Israel. He reigned for two years. Elah caused Israel to commit sins.
1 Kings 16:8-13. 885
10. Elah was killed by Zimri (885 7days) who succeeded him as king. Zimri then killed 7
days the whole of Elah’s family. Seven days later he was overthrown by Omri the
commander of the army. Zimri withdrew to the citadel, set it on fire, and died in the
blaze. 1 Kings 16:9-20.
11. Then the people were split. Some followed Tibni others followed Omri. 885-874
Omri’s followers proved stronger. Tibni died and Omri (885-874) reigned for twelve
years. Politically he was a very strong king. So much so that during his reign the
Assyrians referred to Israel as ‘the land of Omri’. But Omri did evil in the
eyes of the Lord and sinned more than all those before him. Omri died and his son Ahab
succeeded him. 1 Kings 16:21-28. 874-853
12. In the thirty eighth year of Asa’s reign of Judah, Ahab (874-853) became king of
Israel and he reigned for twenty two years. Ahab did more evil in the eyes of the Lord
than all those before him. He married Jezebel and began to serve Baal and to worship him.
In Ahab’s time Hiel rebuilt Jericho at the cost of his eldest and youngest sons. (See
Joshua 6:26) 1 Kings 16:29-34. B.C.
13. Elijah provides a mirror image of the feeding of the five thousand through the jar of
flour and jug of oil which never ran dry. He also brings back to life the widow’s son
who had stopped breathing. 1 Kings 17:1-24.
14. Elijah puts Baal to the test and their fire does not light. After the wood has been
doused three times Elijah’s fire lights at his prayer to the Lord. Elijah prays for
rain and heavy rain falls. 1 Kings 18:1-46.
15. Jezebel threatens Elijah and he escapes into the desert. The Lord speaks to him and
gives him a companion and successor, Elisha. 1 Kings 19:1-21.
16. The next chapter tells of wars between Israel and Syria. 1 Kings 20:1-43.
17. Naboth refuses to sell his vineyard to Ahab. While Ahab sulks Jezebel has Naboth
stoned to death. 1 Kings 21:1-29.
18. Israel and Judah are, temporarily, allies against Syria. Jehoshaphat’s request
brings the prophet Micaiah with his fateful prophecy. Despite Micaiah’s prophecy the
kings go to battle and Ahab was wounded and later died as Micaiah had prophecied. 1 Kings
22:1-40.872-848
19. Jehoshaphat (872-848) son of Asa becomes king of Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king
of Israel. He reigned in Jerusalem for twenty five years. He did what was right in the
eyes of the Lord. But the people continued to offer sacrifice to pagan gods. Then
Jehoshapat died and was succeeded by his son Jehoram. 1 Kings 22:41-50.853-852
20. Ahaziah (853-852) became king of Israel in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of
Judah. He reigned for two years. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord. He served and
worshipped Baal and provoked the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger, just as his father had
done. 1 Kings 22:51-53.
A Chronological Table of the kings of Judah and of Israel is given at the end of The Second Book of Kings.