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3 Things I Wish I knew About 1-2 Kings
I love 1-2 Kings.
find the book absolutely fascinating. It contains stories of war, love, betrayal, and miracles.
The book is filled with iconic characters (e.g., David, Solomon, Elijah, Elisha, etc.) and moments from Israel’s past.
It covers over 400 years of history and follows the path from the height of Israel’s united kingdom to the division of that kingdom and the destruction of both Israel and Judah.
I could go on and on about how much I love this book, but today I wanted to share three things I wish I knew about 1-2 Kings earlier in my time studying the book.
Lesson 1: The Book of Kings is not (only) a historical book.
Christians typically divide the Old Testament into four major sections.
- The Pentateuch
- The Historical Books
- The Poetic Books
- The Prophetic Books
According to these divisions, 1-2 Kings is a historical book.
I’m willing to bet that title raises a specific set of questions for you.
Did these events really happen? How do we know? Does archaeology support the Bible?
These are all interesting questions and worthy of consideration.
What if I told you that 1-2 Kings is not (only) a historical book?
Jews divide the Bible (aka our Old Testament) into three major sections.
- The Torah
- The Prophets
- The Writings
1-2 Kings is one of the prophetic books according to this organizing structure.
Now, that raises a dramatically different set of questions.
How can a “history book” be prophetic? What exactly makes these books prophetic anyway?
By shifting our perception of what 1-2 Kings is, we shift the types of questions we bring to it.
I wish I had known this sooner.
Lesson 2: The Book of Kings is the end of one section of the Bible.
Similar to the first point, I wish I had known that 1-2 Kings is the end of a section of the Old Testament.
When we finish 2 Kings in the Christian Bible, we dive straight into 1 Chronicles.
You’ll be forgiven for thinking that you just read these stories… you did.
In the Jewish Bible, 1-2 Kings and 1-2 Chronicles are in very different locations.
- 1-2 Chronicles comes at the very end of the canon.
- 1-2 Kings comes after 1-2 Samuel just like you are accustomed to, but it’s followed by the book of Isaiah.
1-2 Kings stands at the end of a long narrative sequence that begins in Genesis.
You can think of it like this:
Genesis through Kings tells the story of Israel from creation to the Babylonian exile.
1-2 Chronicles retells that whole story, but ends with the return from the Babylonian exile.
One history (Genesis-Kings) is written from the perspective of the exile.
The other history (Chronicles) is written from the perspective after the exile.
I wish I had known this sooner.
Lesson 3: The Book of Kings is written from the perspective of the exile.
Like I just mentioned, 1-2 Kings is written from the perspective of the exile.
It’s hard to overestimate how important the Babylonian exile is for understanding the Old Testament.
So many of the books were written or edited during and after the exilic period.
1-2 Kings ends with the last of David’s heirs imprisoned in Babylon. He’s alive, but only because the Babylonian king is merciful and let’s him eat at the king’s table.
This detail lets us know that the author or editor(s) of Kings worked from some time during the exilic period.
Can you imagine the type of questions a Jewish person would be asking during the exile?
- What just happened?
- Why did God let Babylon conquer us?
- What will happen to God’s covenant with his people?
- Wasn’t one of David’s descendants supposed to be on the throne forever?
If you go back and reread 1-2 Kings with these questions in mind, you will have a completely different experience reading the book.
I wish I had known this sooner.
I’ve spent years studying the Bible, especially the Old Testament.
I’m constantly having “aha” moments like the three I just described.
Figuring out how the Bible fits together makes it more enjoyable to read and study God’s word.
That’s why I created a discipleship program called Quiz Through the Bible.
It has a strategic Bible reading plan that will guide you through some of the Bible’s most important chapters.
After you read the passages, you take quizzes to master your knowledge of the content.
This process will help you make better sense of more of the Bible.
You can get more information about Quiz Through the Bible here.
Summary
Before you go, let me summarize the 3 things I wish I had known about 1-2 Kings sooner.
- Kings is not (only) a historical book.
- Kings is the end of a section of the Bible.
- Kings is written from the perspective of the exile.
I hope these three insights help you understand the book of Kings better.
I’d love to know which of these (if any) you didn’t realize.
Send me a reply and let me know!
Thanks for reading,
Tyler S. Fulcher
mybibleschool helps you study the Bible better so you can enjoy God's word
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