1 and 2 Kings Flashcards
Argument for 1 Kings
earliest genuine historiography in world literature
1 Kings point of view
Israel’s past is presented here from a prophetic and theological point of view not a political one.
events included in 1 Kings
Only events that have universal redemptive qualities are included. Therefore we can read each historical event as having something to do with our spiritual walk with God
Editor’s goal of 1 Kings
The editors went through the list of Israel’s kings carefully and systematically, with the goal of critiquing each one’s faithfulness to God’s covenant.
The books trace the consequences of sin and the benefits of obedience.
1 Kings-Type of theology
theology of retribution based on the Sinai covenant, especially as expressed in Deuteronomy
Salvation History
divine revelation of historical events recorded in Scripture to promote faith.
Israel’s rise to power
Only during Solomon’s reign did Israel become a major player in the arena of international power politics.
But Israel’s brief period of strength and prestige was ruined by Solomon’s religious apostasy.
Territory under Solomon’s reign
Under Solomon’s reign was the only time when the territory promised to Abraham was actually under Israeli control.
1 Kings theological principle
even with God’s promise through a covenant to his people, God’s people must walk in faith and obedience to him in order to receive all the blessings of those promises and covenants.
Solomon’s reign is a symbol of
thought of as a symbol of the messianic age.
Solomon’s contribution
wisdom was Solomon’s contribution to Israelite religion
Number of Dynasties
The northern Kingdom of Israel had 9 dynasties
The southern Kingdom of Judah had only one dynasty; The Dynasty of King David.
Prophets purpose
Prophets were God’s instruments of warning to the king and the nation.
Ahab’s view of prophecy
For Ahab, prophecy was a form of magic in which the prophet manipulated God. The professional prophets merely repeated the king’s desire in the form of prophecy in an attempt to ensure the desired outcome.
Jehoshaphat’s view of prophecy
the prophet was a mouthpiece for God. The word of the prophet made the will of God known to humans, regardless of the king’s desires
What did Samuel establish?
Samuel established the future role of the prophet as the messenger from God who held the king in check.
Israel’s kings with their prophetic counterparts
Saul and Samuel
David and Nathan
Ahab and Elijah
Hezekiah and Isaiah
Function of Prophecy in Israel vs Near East
Other peoples had prophets, but they were clairvoyants whose purpose was to appease or manipulate the deities.
Israel’s prophets were messengers of God who confronted the king and the entire society with his holy word. Nowhere else in the world could a reigning monarch be held accountable to such a prophetic voice.
Amount of material of Elisha
The events relating to Elisha receive a disproportionate amount of attention (about 2/5 of the whole book), especially since Elisha is not a king in a book devoted to the history of Israelite kings. The amount of Elisha materials is due to the author’s purpose. He wanted to write not a just a survey of the events as they happened, but an explanation for the destruction of both kingdoms.
2 Kings, praise for kings
the author praises only Hezekiah and Josiah, because of their high regard for the word of God. All the other kings were neglectful at best, and evil at worst.
point of Elijah-Elisha narratives
the kingdom succeeded when it followed the leadership of the prophets. Failure and destruction resulted when the kings rejected the word of God offered through the prophets.
Reason Israel failed
The nation did not fall simply because it had a smaller army. Israel broke the Lord’s statutes and commandments. They “followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless”. Ultimately it was God who was responsible for Israel’s fall.
Mixtures of people’s produced
what would be called the Samaritans, who would become future enemies of Judah. The Samaritans and their religion continued into New Testament times
Two most important themes of 1 and 2 Kings
1) The Deuteronomistic History
2) The Role of Prophecy
