Kings

Key Phrase: “for his heart had turned away from the LORD”

Intro

Saul, David and then Solomon rule over Israel during the peak of Israel’s power. Saul and Solomon turn away from God because their loyalties are divided. David’s heart remains true to God throughout his entire life, but David is not perfect. He has a horrible family life and fails God repeatedly, however, David’s heart always returns to God. It is David’s name attached to the line of Christ and the “throne of David” which will last forever.

The value system of God is clear from these kings. God values a heart that is completely His more than anything else. Even the wisest and wealthiest man, Solomon, cannot please God without a devoted heart. An interesting thing to note is that David wants to build a Temple for God, but God says no. Solomon will build the Temple. Of the three kings, only David, despite his flaws, pleases God throughout his life.

Kings

 1 Samuel 12:1 Then Samuel addressed all Israel: “I have done as you asked and given you a king. . .

[. . . After Saul had reigned for some time . . .]

 1 Samuel 15:10 Then the Lord said to Samuel, 11 “I am sorry that I ever made Saul king, for he has not been loyal to me and has refused to obey my command.” Samuel was so deeply moved when he heard this that he cried out to the Lord all night. . .

 1 Samuel 16:1 Now the Lord said to Samuel, “You have mourned long enough for Saul. I have rejected him as king of Israel, so fill your flask with olive oil and go to Bethlehem. Find a man named Jesse who lives there, for I have selected one of his sons to be my king.” . . .

10 In the same way all seven of Jesse’s sons were presented to Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen any of these.” 11 Then Samuel asked, “Are these all the sons you have?”

   “There is still the youngest,” Jesse replied. “But he’s out in the fields watching the sheep and goats.”

   “Send for him at once,” Samuel said. “We will not sit down to eat until he arrives.”

 12 So Jesse sent for him. He was dark and handsome, with beautiful eyes.

   And the Lord said, “This is the one; anoint him.”

 13 So as David stood there among his brothers, Samuel took the flask of olive oil he had brought and anointed David with the oil. And the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David from that day on. Then Samuel returned to Ramah. . .

 2 Samuel 5:4 David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years in all. . .

 2 Samuel 7:1 When King David was settled in his palace and the Lord had given him rest from all the surrounding enemies, 2 the king summoned Nathan the prophet. “Look,” David said, “I am living in a beautiful cedar palace,[1] but the Ark of God is out there in a tent!”

 3 Nathan replied to the king, “Go ahead and do whatever you have in mind, for the Lord is with you.”

 4 But that same night the Lord said to Nathan,

 5 “Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord has declared: Are you the one to build a house for me to live in? . . .

11 . . .  “‘Furthermore, the Lord declares that he will make a house for you—a dynasty of kings! 12For when you die and are buried with your ancestors, I will raise up one of your descendants, your own offspring, and I will make his kingdom strong. 13 He is the one who will build a house—a temple—for my name. And I will secure his royal throne forever. . .

1 Kings 2:12 Solomon became king and sat on the throne of David his father, and his kingdom was firmly established. . .

 1 Kings 6:1 It was in midspring, in the month of Ziv,[2] during the fourth year of Solomon’s reign, that he began to construct the Temple of the Lord. This was 480 years after the people of Israel were rescued from their slavery in the land of Egypt.

 1 Kings 11:1 Now King Solomon loved many foreign women. Besides Pharaoh’s daughter, he married women from Moab, Ammon, Edom, Sidon, and from among the Hittites. 2 The Lord had clearly instructed the people of Israel, ‘You must not marry them, because they will turn your hearts to their gods.’ Yet Solomon insisted on loving them anyway. . .

 4 In Solomon’s old age, they turned his heart to worship other gods instead of being completely faithful to the Lord his God, as his father, David, had been. . .

 9 The Lord was very angry with Solomon, for his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. . .

11 So now the Lord said to him, “Since you have not kept my covenant and have disobeyed my decrees, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your servants. 12 But for the sake of your father, David, I will not do this while you are still alive. I will take the kingdom away from your son. 13 And even so, I will not take away the entire kingdom; I will let him be king of one tribe, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, my chosen city.” . . .

43 When he died, he was buried in the City of David, named for his father. Then his son Rehoboam became the next king.

Connect

Next, civil war divides the kingdom after Solomon dies.

Footnotes

[1] 2 Samuel 7:2 Hebrew a house of cedar.

[2] 1 Kings 6:1 Hebrew It was in the month of Ziv, which is the second month. This month of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar usually occurs within the months of April and May.