Introduction to the books of Kings

So far in our reflections on the books of the Old Testament, we have already covered the Pentateuch (the first five books written by Moses), Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, Isaiah, and all the poetical books. Today we start our journey into the books of 1 & 2 Kings.

The title of these books “Kings” was derived from the first line of 1 Kings 1:1. Both 1 & 2 Kings were originally one book. It was divided into two by the translators of the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament. The reason for the division is a logical one. The texts of the two books combined would be too long to copy into one. So to facilitate the convenience of copying them into a scroll, the translators of the Septuagint divided the one book into two. So we see in all versions of the English Bible, we have the book divided into 1 & 2 Kings.  The Prophet Jeremiah was speculated to be the author of these books. But no one can say for sure. Since an emphasis in these books had been the ministry of the prophets, it is believed that an unidentified prophet had written these books.

As this is a devotional journey, we will focus on what  God wants to say to us through the text. Suffice to say, the content of 1 & 2 Kings covers events that took place from the closing days of David, through the reign of Solomon and the period when Israel was divided into two kingdoms. In the book of 1 Kings, the author briefly talked about David’s closing days before launching into discussing the reign of Solomon. From chapter 12 of 1 Kings to the end of 2 Kings, the content covers the period when Israel was divided into two kingdoms. The north was called Israel and the south, Judah. From 2 Kings 12 onwards, we will learn of the rise and fall of the different kings both from the north and the south, and the ministry of the prophets, especially the non-writing ones, such as Nathan, Elijah, and Elisha. Second Kings would also cover the period of the surviving kingdom, Judah, and their exile in Babylon.

Knowing the drift of these books will help us to understand the messages of the prophetical writings. Because the ministry of the different prophets was raised to provide godly insight to the different kings to guide them. The genre of the books is in narrative form. Reading them would be like reading the newspaper report of that period. Our devotion in these books will be an enriching journey as we learn from the lives of the different kings on how we must shape our own walk with God. We will learn what to avoid and what we should emulate to live a God-pleasing life. In addition, we hope to discover what we need to do or avoid, to cultivate an effective life and ministry.