King After King After King

As I read through the book of 1 Kings I can really get a clear picture of what the Lord meant when he had Samuel warn the people about wanting a king. We see king after king sin more than ever against the Lord taking Israel farther away from God. Their hearts were not for the Lord God. Of course we will always remember David. The mighty man of God who had a heart like God’s own heart. I found 1 Kings 15:5 very interesting. This reads as if David only sinned one time in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. David’s heart was as pure as a human heart can be. David was like the standard which all the other kings were measured.

Beginning in chapter 15 we meet Abijam, king of Judah, whose reign was only three years. His heart was not fully devoted to the Lord but, as the Word says, “for David’s sake the Lord his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem by raising up a son to succeed him and by making Jerusalem strong.

Then we meet Asa. How refreshing. “Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as his father David had done.” Asa’s reign is known by his removal of idols and having a heart fully devoted to the Lord. During Asa’s reign over Judah, there were seven kings of Israel to come and go. In the second year of Asa’s reign Nadab son of Jeroboam became king of Israel. Jeroboam is like the opposite of David because all the evil kings are measured up to him. Jeroboam will be remembered as the king “who caused Israel to sin.” Fifteen kings after him were described as being evil “like Jeroboam.” After Nadab came Baasha who killed Jeroboam’s whole family in accordance with the word of God given to Ahijah. After Nadab were the reigns of Baasha, Elah, Zimri, Omri, and Ahab described. Baasha’s whole family was wiped out by Zimri which began with the king Elah son of Baasha, Omri caused Zimri to commit suicide, and Ahab did more evil than any other before him. If the name Jezebel sounds familiar this is where she comes on the scene as Ahab’s wife.

In chapter 17 we are introduced to Elijah. He first gives Ahab a word from the Lord that there would be no rain or dew for the next few years and then he goes to hide -all at the command of the Lord God. I love the part about the ravens bringing him bread in the morning and meat in the evening. He had to drink from a brook but when it dried up the Lord told him to go see a widow who would provide for him. Because our God is creative He doesn’t just have a widow waiting to hand out food for Elijah. He wants to show himself to this widow by having a miracle performed. I wonder if she was praying for food when God told Elijah to go find her. She and her son were almost out of food and would soon starve had the Lord not provided for her. He provided for her and His prophet Elijah through causing the flour and oil not to be used up. During his stay there the widow’s son dies. Elijah takes him to his room and prays to the Lord. The Lord heard his cry and the boy’s life returned to him. The widow said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is the truth.” This just reminds me of the purpose of God’s word. He wants to make himself known to us. He wants to have fellowship with us. He wants us to know Him intimately. So He has given us His word to show us who He is. Thank you Lord.