The Kings

We continue this week, on the heels of the judges into the period of Israel we’re calling the time of the Kings.

If we thought last week was tough to navigate, regarding the amount of material to cover in one sermon, this period spans 1st and 2nd Samuel, 1st and 2nd Kings, 1st and 2nd Chronicles, and by the way, many of the books of the prophets overlap here too... so yea, lol.

Ultimately what we’ll be looking at today, beginning with the last Judge, Samuel, through the splitting of the nation and ultimately their taking into captivity. Samuel’s story begins with what we talked about last week regarding Eli, and it really is crazy. The kid is being raised by Eli, the priest, and when God calls to Samuel we find out Eli hadn’t even begun to teach Samuel who God is! As that situation draws to an end, we see the indifference Eli has regarding any responsibility. He has a position of authority in the priesthood, but utterly fails to instruct the next generation.

Heading into the transition to the time of the Kings, however, we look at 1 Samuel 8. This scene begins similarly to the one we saw with Gideon. The people are crying out for a King, but the response changes on account of what God instructs Samuel to do.

Recall, Samuel is the Judge, and a good one. He’s a priest and a respected prophet. Starting in verse 6

1 Samuel 8:6-9

6 But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD.

7 And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.

8 According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee.

9 Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them.

So God relents, and allows the people what they want, but not without a warning. He’s going to let them tie their own noose. What follows, the warning about what it means to

serve a king, is something which points back to what we mentioned last week, the bondage that comes with human government, which is a bondage God doesn’t want for His people.

1 Samuel 8:10-13And Smauel told all the words of the LORD unto the people that asked of him a king.

And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots.

And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make him instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots.

And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers.

We’re seeing here that a king means the people are not their own. They don’t choose their own path in life, necessarily, but are owned by this government, essentially becoming his property.

1 Samuel 8:14-17

And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants.

And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants.

And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your donkeys, and put them to his work.

He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants.

Another aspect of having a king, is taxes. You don’t get to keep the fruits of your labor, or your inheritance, and you no longer own property. You might be stewarding a property, for which you pay, but ultimately the government can take it.

Side note, the idea of “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” is the abominable version of what was drafted. Originally it was “Life, Liberty, and PROPERTY...” but they decided to change it so that people wouldn’t have property rights and instead put in a provision to seek the desires of one’s flesh like it was a good thing. This fits with what happened when Israel wanted a king.

1 Samuel 8:18-22

And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day.

Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us;

That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.

And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he rehearsed them in the ears of the LORD.

And the LORD said to Samuel, Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king. And Samuel said unto the men of Israel, Go ye every man unto his city.

So God warns them, you really want this? I gave you land, the promise of peace, freedom, and prosperity, if only you’d serve Me. But you scorn My blessings and demand oppression by a king... which means taxes, forced labor, forced military, land seizure... bondage rather than freedom. You will regret this and cry out but it’ll be too late.

And the people said... Yeah, but then we can be lazy and don’t have to be responsible for anything... so bring on the chains.

What plays out here is true across the board with God. He wants the best things for you. He wants closeness, a relationship with you, and to be your provision, your peace, and your strength.

At the same time, He’ll honor your choice to reject Him, to bring about your own bondage, and to ultimately choose death. It breaks His heart, but love isn’t possible through compulsion, and God’s love is perfect.

Ultimately though, when we look back at this overarching timeline of history, we know that God will have the perfect unity with His creation, and knowing what would unfold in the achieving that paradise, God knew this would happen and is part of the plan.

God can use our folly to further His purposes, and His Grace shows up repeatedly even when we don’t deserve it. Regarding the Kings, we’ll see this play out specifically in that God will raise up a king through whom Jesus will come, which builds upon the model of Jesus as both King and Priest.

(DISPLAY KINGS TIMELINE)

So this is our timeline for the period today. First thing to note, we put some dates on here regarding the periods of each king’s reign, but these are neigh impossible to find consensus on. While the variation is typically only 1 to 3 years either way, and the duration of their reigns isn’t disputed, exactly when each comes and goes is. The point isn’t to try and defend a particular date, rather to illustrate the number of kings, the division of the nation, the general character of each king’s reign, and downfall of the kingdoms.

Those you see in green are regarded as “good” kings serving the LORD and directing the people back to Him. The red, not so much, in fact many are viciously vile. The gray, moderate with some ups and downs. (Note many would just make the greys red.)

The first king, anointed by Samuel at the behest of God, is Saul. Now Saul doesn’t turn out to be all that great, but God has a plan and uses Saul in various ways. One thing I find interesting, when looking at the first 3 kings, Saul David and Solomon, is the contrast in their character and it almost seems like God is creating a model to demonstrate what is preferable in a leader.

Starting with Saul, what endeared him to the people? He was the tallest and most handsome guy there... very shallow.

1 Samuel 10:18-19;23-24

And said unto the children of Israel, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all kingdoms, and of them that oppressed you:

And ye have this day rejected your God, who himself saved you out of all your adversities and your tribulations; and ye have said unto him, Nay, but set a king over us. Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes, and by your thousands.

And they ran and fetched him thence: and when he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward.

And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom the LORD hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people? And all the people shouted, and said, God save the king.

So these people are so desperate to shirk responsibility and be slaves, they know nothing about this guy other than, “Oh, he’s pretty,” and that’s enough for them. In historical context, it seems God is making an example of what we get when our criteria for leadership is shallow and careless.

This is then contrasted with King David. From what we know about his appearance, he’s certainly no troll, but neither is he the shining beacon of manly perfection like Saul was. David was good looking, wise, kind, gentle and loving yet fierce in combat and a great warrior. Most importantly though, he was a man after God’s own heart. The perfect “Warrior Poet” if you will. (Shout out John Lovell and the Warrior Poet Society.)

Throughout David’s life, he will make grave mistakes, but what sets him apart and makes him the example we should follow is his repentant heart. When David fails, he mourns the offense against God and repents, seeking forgiveness and reconciliation to God and putting his relationship with God above all else.

It’s David who writes, during the times of sacrifices and the law, Psalm 51. This is written on the heels of David’s sin with Bathsheba and having been confronted by Nathan. It’s a beautiful Psalm of repentance wherein he writes:

Psalm 51:4,10-12

Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in they sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.

Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.

David’s focus is on the closeness and relationship with God, not ritual. Moreover in the same psalm he writes:

Psalm 51:16-17For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

David understood, whether fully or in part, that the sacrificial system served as a model for what was to come, but ultimately it wasn’t sufficient for salvation, rather salvation comes by God’s Grace and Mercy, when we submit to Him and seek Him, namely Jesus.

It’s on this basis, that David sought relationship and to honor God, that God establishes a covenant with David both conditional and unconditional in it’s parts, regarding David’s lineage and ultimately speaking to Messiah Jesus coming through him.

2 Samuel 7:12-16

And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.

He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom forever.

I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men:

But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee.

And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established forever.

So, we see God promises David a direct descendant who will reign, and accomplish certain things, but ultimately as men sit on the throne they are subject to punishment for iniquity, yet Grace will always return.

That Grace, speaks ultimately to an eternal nature to the “throne of David.” From a strict historical standpoint, it would seem as though this was broken, but we know that God was looking forward ultimately to Jesus as the one from David’s line who is the fulfillment of the eternal nature of this covenant.

Luke 1:31-33

And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.

He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:

And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

Whether clear at the time, it becomes clear that Jesus is and will be the fulfillment of the Davidic Covenant.

The problem then comes, when our enemy catches wind of this. We’ve talked before about the “cosmic chessmatch,” and this big move by God causes Satan to narrow down the scope of attack onto David’s line specifically to prevent this prophecy from happening.

We’ll begin to see how this attack unfolds in the life of David’s son, Solomon. Solomon takes the throne next, and despite a good beginning, and his many contributions to scripture, being the wisest man who ever lived, ends up falling into folly.

Solomon’s error boils down to something we mentioned last week, which is the mismanagement of priorities. Solomon had wisdom, and a great example in his father, but ended up putting the relationships with his many wives above his relationship with God.

With them coming first, he was opened up to sinning against God by worshiping these other gods of his wives, and that infection spread into his lineage.

1 Kings 11:1-2

But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites;

Of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love.

Verse 6 tells us:

1 Kings 11:6

And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father.

One big lesson we get from Solomon’s life, apart from specifically ensuring we choose to bind ourselves to fellow Christians, is regarding how we handle God’s blessings. Solomon was blessed with wealth, fame, and wisdom more than any man, yet he chose to give his heart to the gifts, not the Giver. Success isn’t measured by the possession of blessing, but how you choose to use that with which you’ve been blessed.

Does your increase serve to further your own interests, or God’s?

Wrapping up this trio of the first kings, Saul was a prideful leader, and insecure. He was chosen on shallow terms without merit. David was a flawed man, but a man after God’s own heart, and the kind of leader who seeks God’s will and God’s ways in the face of adversity and public pressure. Solomon was wise, and greatly blessed by God. By all accounts had the making of a good leader, but failed in that his priorities were out of place, and having placed the affection of his wives above God, he was turned from the way.

When selecting a leader, nothing stands above choosing someone who’s heart is after God’s. It’s not enough to be qualified on paper, or to have had success in many ways, or to

be a dashing man and great orator; a leader should be selected based on their humble devotion to the LORD above all else.

Makes me wonder, if we’re a Christian nation like so many would love to assume, do we see these kinds of men rising up to lead? Moreover, do we see the people calling out for a David, a Saul, a Solomon, or something representing the other half of this chart...? I’ll let you chew on that one.

From Solomon, his heir is Rehoboam. This guy was not good. The foolish advice he took from his friends regarding the taxation of the people caused a civil war, and a split into two nations, Israel in the north, and Judah in the south. Jeroboam became the king in the north, a son of one of Solomon’s servants, and the northern kingdom was set up from the beginning as a place to worship pagan gods.

Judah, in the south, albeit not perfect, was under the rulership of the line of David while it lasted. The physical land itself was divided as such that the land of Israel was the inheritance of 10 tribes, while the land of Judah was the inheritance of 2. This is what sparks the myth of the “10 lost tribes,” but rest assured this is only a silly myth. What we read through various passages in Kings and Chronicles is that the people of the south who wanted to worship pagan gods moved north, and the people of the north who wanted to worship YHWH in Jerusalem moved south. You ended up with people not in their land of inheritance, rather living in the kingdom which matched their worship preference. There were representatives of all 12 tribes both north and south.

All that said, as you can see on this chart, while ALL the kings of the north were evil, it was only a few in the south that actually promoted worship of YHWH. Some would permit both kinds of worship, but only 3 actively cut down the idols and enforced proper worship, while yet others did the opposite and promoted paganism.

The fact that some faithful remained, is ultimately why Judah outlasted Israel, but the general decline and tendency away from God is why both eventually fall. Israel falls to the Assyrians in 722 BC, and Judah to the Babylonians in 586 BC.

The two judgements are different, however. The northern kingdom never returns, their judgement was more swift and permanent. They were, from their foundation, opposed to God. Judah on the other hand, the land of David’s lineage and the promise of Messiah (in which Jerusalem stood) was foretold of their captivity with the promise to return.

As you get into many of the fascinating stories of what transpired during these times, you inevitably run into the many prophets that God sent to each kingdom. Randall will be covering the prophets section next week, but God was using them to reach out to these

kings and ensure there was always a witness to His people in both kingdoms, whether or not they’d harken to the voice of the prophet.

When I’m thinking on these, I’ll often first have come to mind Elijah and Elisha, specifically their bouts with King Ahab and his lovely wife Jezebel. This was one wicked duo, but as God is He’ll use even these in furtherance of His plans.

Dr. Hovind always made me laugh when he’d be calling Christians to action. He’d ask “what on earth are you doing for heaven’s sake?” And somewhere in that inevitably the line would drop, “the worst of us can at least serve as bad examples.”

Jezebel was certainly one of those bad examples, to say the least, that we see used as an idiom to denote all vileness and perversion, specifically regarding fornication with other gods. Jesus points to her in his review and report card to the church in Revelation. And seeing as Jesus saw it a fitting example for us, figured it’d work as a point to wrap up on today.

Revelation 2:20

Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.

Something I think is important to point out, is that the issue isn’t that Jezebel exists, but that the church is tolerant of her, allowing her to coexist in the church which leads people away from God.

We often think of tolerance as a virtue, but I assure you it is not with regards to God. Those kings we see in green, were NOT tolerant of paganism in Judah. The Reds were all pro- paganism and anti-God, but the greys are like the church described here. While they might themselves prefer YHWH, they still allowed for paganism to coexist. Throughout this time though, God is clear.

Cut down the groves, burn the idols, repent, and be devoted only to the Most High. What does Jesus say about those who fornicate with Jezebel in the church? Revelation 2:23

And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am He which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.

You might think, “oh my works are good...” and you’d be missing the point. Any who receives according to their works, no matter how good you think your works are, is receiving eternal punishment and damnation. You can never be saved according to your works.

Instead, we who serve Jesus will be given according to His Grace, not our works! It is only by sanctifying yourself in service to only Jesus, the Most High, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Root of David, that you can attain unto salvation.

Jesus searches your heart, and knows your intent. Work out your salvation with fear and trembling... means to humble yourselves and know that He is God, and to submit to him wholly and completely as your LORD.

I’ll end with this, another Psalm of David.

Psalm 139

O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known

me

.

Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.

Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted all my ways.

For not a word in my tongue, , lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.

Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.

knowledge too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot unto it.

Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?

If I ascend up into heaven, thou there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou

.

I take the wings of the morning, dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;

Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the

darkness and the light both alike .with there is but Such is attain art art there If and are to thee and are that and my members which as yet there was

For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.

I will praise thee; for I am fearfully wonderfully made: marvellous thy

works; and my soul knoweth right well.

My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, curiously

wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all

were written, in continuance were fashioned, when

none of them.

How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!

I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am

still with thee.Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: depart from me therefore, ye bloody men.

For they speak against thee wickedly, thine enemies take in vain.

Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee?I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies.Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: If and thy name And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.