First Book of Kings : The First Book of Kings was probably written between the years 560 and 540 before Jesus Christ . His writing is attributed to the prophet Jeremiah .
The book gives continuity to the themes that are developed in the first and second books of Samuel, by continuing to tell the story of the monarchy still united under the command of David who, in his advanced old age, close to death, names Solomon as his successor , under whose rule the kingdom reaches its maximum splendor.
In the Biblical editions of “the 70s” and in “the Vulgate” it is known as the Third Book.
It belongs to the historical books of the Bible .
Summary
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- 1 Contents
- 2 Brief Summary
- 3 Prophetic References
- 4 Message
- 5 See in Ecured
- 6 Sources
Content
First Book of Kings It tells how during the reign of Solomon the borders reach an extent never equaled and emphasizes how the wisdom and riches of Solomon became famous in the world of that time. He gathers as Solomon , the first great Israelite builder, erects palaces and recreation sites and his masterpiece: the Temple of Jerusalem .
The writer acknowledges Solomon’s great works but also mentions his weakness for women and his condescension towards idolatry because of them, reflects the culmination of his reign, and how the decline leading to the great national tragedy of the divided kingdom befalls him .
It briefly recounts the Egyptian expedition against Israel (1Kings 14: 25-28), and relates the theft of the Temple of Jerusalem by Pharaoh who seizes the shields made for King Solomon and does not refer to the important battle of Qarqar ( 853 B.C.).
The story maintains a parallel between the events of one kingdom and another: that of the north that retains the traditional name of Israel and that of the south that that of Judah, its main tribe.
In the light of the narrative, it is the northern kingdom that departs the most from the path of God. In the south pious kings alternate with wicked monarchs.
Short summary
The First Book of Kings begins with Solomon and ends with Elijah. Solomon , like his father, had a weakness for women and although he began praying for wisdom and building a temple to God his accumulation of many wives led him to worship his idols and distance him from God .
After his death, Israel was ruled by a series of godless and idolatrous kings, among whom Ahab and Jezebel stood out, who brought Baal worship to the people of God on a large scale .
Defying the idolatrous priests of Baal on Mount Carmel , the prophet Elijah tries to return the primacy to Jehovah and succeeds through it, which irritates Queen Jezebel who orders her death. Elijah hides in the desert and asks God to let him die, but God saves his life by sending him food and speaks to him in a “soft murmur,” which encourages the prophet and prepares him for the work that awaits him.
Prophetic References
The temple in Jerusalem, built by Solomon , where the Holy Spirit would dwell in the Holy of Holies, prefigures the believers in Christ in whom the Holy Spirit resides as the very temple of the living God. “… you are the temple of the living God, as God said: I will dwell and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” (2 Corinthians 6:16).
God allowed Elijah to do miraculous things in order to prove that he really was a man of God. He raised the son of Sarepta’s widow from death causing her to exclaim – “Now I know that you are a man of God , and that the word of Jehovah is true in your mouth.”
The work of the prophet Elijah is a foretaste of what would be the work of the Messiah and the Apostles collected in the New Testament , who through the power of God raised Lazarus, the son of the widow of Nain, from the dead, to Jairus’s daughter, Dorcas, and Eútico.
Message
The book reflects a constantly changing situation in which prophets appear to rebuke the people and the rulers when they fall into apostasy and call them to worship and obey the true and only God leaving as a lesson for believers that personal and national prosperity depend of loyalty to God and that idolatry and disobedience always bring disaster.
The experience of Elijah, who defeats 850 prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel , with God’s help, is a valuable lesson about Jehovah’s incredible power . The presence of God together with Elijah as the soft murmur that animated him in the desert is the confirmation of his fidelity and the validation of his promise to never abandon those who trust in him.
