The Book of King(dom)s

In a book called 1 & 2 Kings you would think the main subject matter of the books would be…kings. But upon reading the book this view is too simplistic. What I mean is we may think that kings means kings of Israel. Yet when fourth century Bible translator Saint Jerome was working through the Old Testament he calls 1 & 2 Samuel 1 and 2 Kingdoms and 1 & 2 Kings, 3 & 4 Kingdoms. Already we perceive here that we are not merely focusing on the personality of kings, but the kingdoms they rule.  Coupling this, as events unfold in King(dom)s a curious thing happens after Solomon that you now have Northern and Southern kingdoms. This now splits kingship into two countries. They may happen to be brothers but borders are erected to ensure they stay in their own territory. Israelite and Judahite kings now from 1 King(dom)s chapter 12 are the way we understand the book called in our Bible as Kings.

If this is all not enough, we also have other kings who are not of the stock of Israel. There is the Syrian Kings Ben-hadad (1 Kings 20:1; 2 Kings 6:24), and Hazael (2 Kings 8:15), the King of Edom (2 Kings 3:9) Sennacherib the King of Assyria (2 Kings 18:13), Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings 25:1) and Evil-merodach (2 Kings 25:27). We could also add that there are queen mothers involved in Judah’s enterprise. Moreover, Athaliah becomes queen herself for six years (2 Kings 11). So much for only Israelite kings alone.

The role of prophets plays a significant role for the narrative from 1 Kings 17-2 Kings 13 with Elijah and Elisha called by God to uproot the Omride dynasty. The prophets are a conscience to the king and serve with the Word of the Lord. Which brings us to the most central of observations to be made about kings; there is only one ultimate King and that is God Himself. All the kings are judged before the eyes of the Lord whether they do what is right or what is evil in the eyes of the LORD. They must attend to the Torah daily to be formed by the Word of God (Deuteronomy 17:18-20). This seems straightforward enough until King Josiah has the Book of the Law brought into his hearing after seeking to repair the temple of the Lord. The question begs, “What in the world were the kings before Josiah doing to be faithful to God?” Then we realize this is why the kings of Israel are all wicked! They did not have the Torah! The kings to the south did not have the Word of the LORD though before their minds and hearts to know what God requires of them. This is nothing short of alarming! Yet we now have a better appreciation for what the prophets were doing in Israel at that time. When God sees His Torah hidden, He hides His Word in the mouth of His prophets.

The book known as Kings then has much more going on than meets the ear or eye. A good reminder to not judge a book by its cover since the outside doesn't mean we know what’s happening in the inside. May God grant us a thirst for the Word of God hidden in His deeds of judgment and salvation.   

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