1 KINGS

A Prayer for Wisdom

After securing his throne, the young King Solomon has a dream in which God offers him anything he asks for. Instead of asking for long life, wealth, or the death of his enemies, Solomon humbly asks for wisdom: "So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong" (1 Kings 3:9). God is so pleased with this selfless request that He grants Solomon not only unparalleled wisdom but also the riches and honor he did not ask for. This wisdom is famously displayed when two women come to him, both claiming to be the mother of a single baby. Solomon's clever solution reveals the true mother and establishes his reputation throughout the land.

The Building of the Temple

The crowning achievement of Solomon's reign is the construction of the Temple in Jerusalem, fulfilling the dream of his father, David. It is an architectural masterpiece, built over seven years with the finest materials from around the world—cedar from Lebanon, gold, bronze, and precious stones. When the Temple is finally completed and the Ark of the Covenant is brought into the Most Holy Place, the glory of the Lord descends as a thick cloud, filling the sanctuary so that the priests cannot even stand to minister. Solomon then offers a magnificent prayer of dedication, consecrating the Temple as a house of prayer for all people and asking God to hear the prayers of His people when they turn toward it.

The Seeds of Apostasy

Despite his wisdom, Solomon's reign ends in tragedy. The book records that he "loved many foreign women" (1 Kings 11:1), and had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines. These political alliances with foreign nations directly violated God's command. As Solomon grew old, his foreign wives turned his heart away from the Lord to worship their false gods, such as Ashtoreth and Molech. Solomon even built high places for these detestable idols right outside Jerusalem. The king who had built the magnificent Temple for the one true God now facilitated the worship of false gods.

Because of Solomon's disobedience, God declares that He will tear the kingdom away from him. However, for the sake of His promise to David, He will not do it in Solomon's lifetime and will leave one tribe (Judah) for his descendants to rule.

Rehoboam's Folly and Jeroboam's Sin

After Solomon's death, his son Rehoboam takes the throne. The northern tribes come to him with a reasonable request: lighten the heavy burden of labor and taxes that Solomon had imposed. Rehoboam foolishly rejects the advice of his older, wiser counselors and listens to his young friends, responding with arrogance: "My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions" (1 Kings 12:14).

This harsh reply is the breaking point. The ten northern tribes rebel and form their own kingdom, known as Israel, and make a man named Jeroboam their king. Only the tribes of Judah and Benjamin remain loyal to the house of David, forming the southern kingdom of Judah. To prevent his people from going to Jerusalem (in the south) to worship, Jeroboam commits a terrible act of spiritual rebellion. He sets up two golden calves, one in Bethel and one in Dan, and tells the people, "Here are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt." This act of state-sponsored idolatry becomes the "sin of Jeroboam," a sin that will plague the northern kingdom for the rest of its existence and ultimately lead to its destruction.

Ahab and Jezebel

The book now chronicles the succession of kings in both the northern and southern kingdoms, most of whom "did evil in the eyes of the LORD." The spiritual decline of the northern kingdom reaches its lowest point during the reign of King Ahab and his wicked Phoenician wife, Jezebel. Ahab "did more to arouse the anger of the LORD, the God of Israel, than did all the kings of Israel before him" (1 Kings 16:33). Together, they establish the worship of the pagan god Baal as the state religion, murdering the prophets of the Lord.

Elijah on Mount Carmel

Into this dark period, God sends the fiery prophet Elijah. He boldly confronts Ahab and declares a drought on the land as a judgment from God. The climax of Elijah's ministry is the dramatic showdown on Mount Carmel. Elijah challenges the 450 prophets of Baal to a contest to see whose god is real. Both will prepare a sacrifice, but light no fire. "The god who answers by fire—he is God," Elijah declares.

The prophets of Baal cry out to their god from morning till noon, gashing themselves with swords, but there is no answer. Then, Elijah prepares his altar, drenching it with water three times. He offers a simple, powerful prayer to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. Immediately, fire from the Lord falls from heaven, consuming not only the sacrifice but the wood, the stones, the soil, and even the water in the trench. The people fall prostrate and cry out, "The LORD—he is God! The LORD—he is God!" (1 Kings 18:39). It is a stunning victory for the one true God. The book ends with the continuing conflict between the prophets of God and the wicked kings, a story that will be continued in 2 Kings.