Jason Cottrell

Dr. Talley
O.T. Hist/Lit
April 24, 2013
1 Kings
Question #1 Main Theme
1 Kings covers the spiritual height of Israel under Solomon to the sudden decline of obedience to God
under the rulership of many kings. Kings begins with David being old and exhorting Solomon to live
righteously for God. Solomon was very wise and communicated with God on two occasions; he built a
lavish resting place for the Ark of the Covenant and lived very godly until his many wives turn his heart
away from God. Although Solomon eventually falls away from God which in turn divides the kingdom,
he oversaw the height of the Israel nation in terms of peace, obedience to God, prosperity, and an
abundance of Gods blessings. After the split of Judah and Israel, Judah had good and bad kings whereas
Israel only had kings which provoked God to anger because of their sin in leading them away from Him.
Question #2 Major Themes
1-11 The united and strong kingdom under Solomons reign.
12-22 The divided kingdom, and the struggle between the many sinful kings over Israel and
Judah.
Question #3 Major Topics
Pleading.
1:50 Adonijah pleads for Solomon to spare his life.
8 Solomon pleads for the people to obey and pray towards God and to keep his commandments.
13:6 When Jeroboams hand is withered for trying to kill the prophet of God, he entreats God to
heal his arm.
18:12 when told by Elijah to tell Ahab about his return, Obadiah is scared and pleads with
Elijah.
18:36 Elijah prays for God to listen to him when he confronts the prophets of Baal.
What I Learned:
It is interesting how in the ANE, everyone constantly lived in fear. Even the king and the peasants lived
in fear, they placed a huge emphasis on descendants and because of this, if you made someone angry at
you and could not protect yourself, it is very likey that they will kill you along with your whole house. In
the Bible when it says there was peace in the land, it was a good time that we Americans have a hard time
grasping.
Exhortation or Charge on how to live.
2:3 David exhorts Solomon to live for God just as he had done.

3:14 God commands Solomon to live according to his commandments.

7:12-13 God entreats Solomon to keep in his commandments when he is building the temple.
9:4-5 God again tells Solomon the blessings that will follow if he lives righteously and tells him
what will happen if he disobeys and serves other gods.
11:38 God charges Jeroboam to live for him and tells him that he will divide Solomons
kingdom and will give him some, but he needs to remain true to God if he wants his lineage to be
forever.
14:8-10 God commanded Jeroboam on how to live, but he did not listen so God will destroy his
household.
19:14 Elijah pleads with God for his life because he believes he is the only man of God left.
What I Learned:
I think our culture has changed so much in terms of exhortation compared to the ANE. In the ANE, it was
very common for a father to speak to his children about what gods to serve, what to do with the land, and
what to do with his enemies. I think our culture has so bought into the dont hurt anyones feelings that
most parents refrain from imparting wisdom and instruction to their children.
Men are put to death because of sin.
2:6 David charges Solomon to not let Joab die in peace because of the blood he has shed.
2:8-9 David wants Solomon to kill Shimei because of the way he cursed him earlier in his life.
2:24-25 Solomon kills Adonijah for Adonijah wanting to marry Abishag the Shunammite.
2:34 Solomon has Joab killed because of the two righteous men which he had killed.
2:46 Solomon kills Shimei for breaking a treaty they had previously set in place and crossing
the Brook Kidron.
13:26 The man of God is killed for sinning and eating and drinking with the man he was
commanded not to drink with.
14:17 God kills Jeroboams son because of his sin.
15:30 God kills Jeroboams household because of his sin which he had committed.
16:11 Baasha is killed because of his sin towards the Lord.
18:40 Elijah has the prophets of Baal executed because of their false belief.
21:42 God will put to death because of sin the king.
21:21 Elijah forewarns Ahabs death because he murdered Naboth for his land.
What I Learned:

I learned that it was every common to kill your enemy if they did anything to you even if it wasnt murder
or anything serious. It makes sense why when a king came to power he killed all of those not faithful to
him.
The fulfillment of the blessing towards Davids descendants.
2:33 Solomon says his throne will be blessed
2:45 Again, Solomon says his kingdom will be blessed.
5:12 God gives Solomon peace just as God had promised David, his son of peace would build
the temple.
15:4 God preserves Abijam because of Davids sake.
What I Learned:
I learned that God is very faithful and will bring to pass everything he promises. In the ANE having God
say he was going to do something must have felt amazing. When David knew that his lineage would be
preserved Im sure a lot of stress and worry left him.
Things come to pass just as they were spoken.
2:27 Solomon removes Abiathar from being priest to fulfill the word of the Lord.
5:18 Solomon builds the temple just as God had promised David.
8:15/20/24 Solomon praises God for bringing to pass the promise of building a temple for God.
11:11 Because Solomon served other gods, the Lord promises to take away his kingdom and
divide it.
13:32 The prophet says that what the man of God preached will come to pass.
15 The divided kingdom because of Solomons sin in turning from God.
15:29 All of Jeroboams descendants are killed as fulfillment of Gods word.
16:12 Zimri kills the house of Baasha just as God had promised.
17:16 Elijah tells the widow that her food will not run out and it lasts all the way until the
drought ended.
What I Learned:
ITs awesome to see God work with Israel and Judah despite what they did. God truly does fulfill things
and he does it with a happy heart. God always wants the best for us and this is prevalent throughout 1
Kings. God constantly gave the chance for kings to turn to him and be blessed but many did not yet God
always left the invitation open. In 21:27, Ahab repents and God accepts his repentance despite him
turning Israel away from him before and after this event.
Provoking the Lord to anger:
14:9 God is angry at Jeroboam for ignoring Him.

14:22 Judah provokes the Lord to anger more than any other time.
15:30 God is again angry at Jeroboam for making Israel sin.
16:2 Baasha, king of Israel provoked the Lord to anger because he led them astray.
16:33 Ahab is a king who provokes the Lord to anger more than any other previous king.
21:22 God condemns Ahab for leading Israel away from him, God is provoked to anger by his
sins.
21:25 Ahab is the worst king who every reigned over Israel.
22:53 Ahaziah provokes the Lord to anger because he served Baal just as Jeroboam had done.
What I Learned:
I learned that it is not good to provoke God to anger. Israel is a perfect example of a nation who
constantly made complaints and turned from God. Its interesting how God either says, he did good or bad
in his sight. There is no maybe; this is a good reminder that there is no middle ground for a Christian who
professes to have Christ.
Questions #4 Questions
3 How was Solomon so wise yet he forgot the Lord? If you are wise, wouldnt you be smarter
then everyone else and succumb to sin less?
8:27 It is interesting how Solomon builds God a house for the Ark of the Covenant yet says that
even the temple cannot contain Him, why then did he build the house, was it merily a place for
the Ark to rest?
13:24 Why did God kill the man of God? He was tricked into sinning and he knew no better?
16:7 Baasha makes God angry because of the sin he commits with his hands.
18:24 Why did the widow not believe that Elijah was a man of God until he revived her son?
God had miraculously provided for food and yet she still didnt believe until her son was raised
from the dead.
18:27 when Elijah mocked the prophets of Baal, was it sin or from God?
21:31 Why would a king place a rope around his head, how did this symbolize giving up?
21:36 Why would God kill a man who refused to strike a man of God even though he was asked
too? It seems kind of unjust.
Question #5 Applications
13:6 Pleading; a sense of ownership.

As mentioned above, in the ANE, it was very common to be owned or own people, or
both. With this, I cannot help but think about how this affected their spiritual lives. As
Americans who think we deserve everything I think we often are disalussioned to who is
relaly in charge. If we truly knew our circumstances like Jeroboam, I believe we would
plead to God for mercy and help more often.

2:3 Exhorting our children.

I learned from the ANE culture (especially David) that it is very good to command our
children not just kind of act like we give them an option. Our culture has accepted a lie
that says that we need to accommodate everyones needs. This is not always the case,
many times we are called to teach and instruct each other in Gods commandments.

13:33 Do not raise ourselves up and make ourselves an abomination to God.

A couple of times Jeroboam turned from God and repented but when he created idols,
God sealed his extermination because he sought to make himself like God. It makes me
think about all of the idols in my life that are pure sin, not just an over use of a good thing
and think that life is more than exalting ourselves and trying to get all of the glory. I pray
that I never raise up idols in place of God.

16:7 Do not provoke the Lord to anger.

So often, God only blesses the next generation even if they follow him or not. David followed
God and God still blessed Solomon despite his turning from him.

Step #4 Chapters
1 When David is old, Adonijah discretely declares himself king but David hears of it and has
Solomon proclaimed king instead.
2 When David dies, Solomon cleans house and kills those who sinned against David and the
Lord.
3 Solomon requests wisdom from God and there is a story of how wise he was.
4 The administration of Solomon as well as the doing of Solomon and the fame of his wisdom.
5 Solomon organizes the people to build the temple and acquires logs from Hiram, king of Tyre.
6 The details of the building of the temple and Gods exhortation to Solomon to walk in his
statues.
7 Details covering the individual furnishings of the temple and how they were made.
8 Solomon dedicates the temple and blesses the people and entreats them to always have God as
their focus.
9 God appears to Solomon again and charges him to live righteously, a list of Solomons
accomplishments.
10 The queen of Sheba tests Solomons wisdom and finds him to be the wisest. Solomon
exceeds in riches and wealth.

11 Solomons wives turn his heart away from the Lord and God raises up men to afflict his
kingdom. Jeroboam is promised 10 tribes because of Solomons sin, flees to Egypt until
Solomons death.
12 Rehoboam, Solomons son is made king, listens to bad advice and makes his rule a burden to
the people and all Israel rebels save for Judah and make Jeroboam king instead. The kingdom is
divided. Jeroboam leads the northern tribes away from God.
13 The man of God proclaims what will happen to Jeroboam if he keeps following idols, and
dies because he sins against God.
14 The sin of Jeroboam and the result of it. Rehoboam reigns in Judah and the sin of him, and
there is continual conflict between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all of their lives.
15 The constant fighting of Rehoboams and Jeroboams descendants and the kings of the Israel
and Judah.
16 Israel has very bad kings who progressively provoke the Lord to anger more and more: Elah,
Zimri, Omri, and Ahab.
17 Elijah serves the Lord and ministers to the widow through God by food and raising her son
from the dead.
18 Elijah meets with Ahab and gathers up the prophets of Baal and makes known who God is
and has them executed. Rain comes upon the land which God promised.
19 Elijah escapes from Jezebel, is ministered by an Angel, and has a revelation of new
leadership from God and carries it out.
20 Ahab defeats the Syrians and
21 Naboth is murdered so that his land can be given to Ahab, Elijah tells Ahab that dogs will
lick his blood for this reason but he repents and God says it will happen to his son instead.
22 Micaiah warns Ahab that he will lose to the Syrians but he fights instead, dies and is buried.
Jehoshaphat reigns and does good in the sight of God but his son, Ahaziah does evil in the sight
of God.

Step#5 Larger Themes

1-11 The united and strong kingdom under Solomons reign.
12-22 The divided kingdom, and the struggle between the many kings over Israel and Judah.
Step #6 Overall Theme
1 Kings covers the spiritual height of Israel under Solomon to the sudden decline of obedience to
God under the rulership of many kings.