King Saul was a failing king. His jealousy of David was raging out of control. David’s victory against Goliath the Philistine had earned him respect and position in the Israelite military. Then his military victories had earned him renown. The women of Israel sang, “Saul has slain his thousands, ...

After Saul’s death the kingship of David grew, but not all of Israel followed him. Saul’s military commander, Abner, declared Saul’s son Ishbosheth king of Israel, and many followed Ishbosheth and Abner. After many years of fighting, Ishbosheth and Abner had slowly lost ground. Tensions must have...

In today’s reading we learn about David’s desire to build a Temple. It’s interesting to me that in modern day Israel, almost everything has been restored except for the Temple. How would you answer this question: Does God require us or want us to build a Temple for worshipping Him? As Christ foll...

Acting on a misunderstanding can have very bad consequences. This is as true today as it always has been. At the level of ancient politics, though, the consequences were often deadly. This was the case in our reading today when King David found himself in a difficult place. He had sent a group of...

Though David had many faults and weaknesses, he was indeed a man after God’s own heart. He always came back to the LORD and worked to be close to God. This played out even when it was painful for him to do so. There seems to have been nothing so painful for him than the rebellion of his attractiv...

In today’s world we live in a culture that celebrates individualism. The on-going struggle seems to be the individual voice vs. the collective voice. Nevertheless, the truth is that there is a collective cost for sin. Even when we choose to follow Jesus Christ and we acknowledge Him as the LORD o...

The reign of King David was the beginning of Israel’s golden age. Saul was king before him, but he didn’t reach for God’s will like David did. Saul was anointed by Samuel—the last judge of Israel—but Saul was chosen by God because the people had been consistently walking away from God, and now th...

King David gives final instructions to his son Solomon who would take the throne. David focused on those who did well in his kingdom and those who did not. The first ten verses of 1 Kings 2 instruct Solomon how to succeed as king and give him permission to act against those who did not help David...

Through Nathan the prophet, David was told by God that he would not be the one to build a house for Him, but that a son of David would build the Temple. The blood on David’s hands made a Davidic Temple inappropriate. The LORD did not need a Temple, in fact, He told David that He would build a hou...

Solomon’s death ushered in a time of great struggle for Israel. Solomon’s son Rehoboam inherited a kingdom with many problems. Israel’s frustrated population welcomed back an enemy that had been hiding in Egypt, Jeroboam, and with Rehoboam’s inexperienced decisions, the kingdom split. Ten of Isra...

King Ahab was, and is, hard to beat. He was the seventh king of northern Israel and he reigned for twenty-two years from about 874-853 BC. He was married to the infamous queen Jezebel, a Phoenician princess. Politically, this union was a good move. It ensured a profitable alliance, but spirituall...

The truth is not something that always pleases our emotions. In fact, the truth often offends us. A good example is the truth that we are all sinful. We are all affected by sin, no matter how good or holy we think we are. Without Christ, we’re enslaved to it (JOHN 8:34-36, ROMANS 3:23). As Christ...

Even in one of its darkest times, God made sure that the nation of Israel would hear His voice. After the great prophet Elijah was taken up into heaven, God had designated Elisha to continue in that prophetic role. We’re told that though the majority of northern Israel was unrighteous and involve...

The prophet Elisha led a fascinating life in Israel. As we read, I can’t help but think that God was trying to shock Israel into returning to Him. They were a nation who really turned to their own desires, they had become so wayward in their worshipping of other gods. Israel had failed God. That’...

After King Jotham of Judah, his son Ahaz became king. According to the Bible, this happened in the seventeenth year of Israel’s twenty-first king, Pekah. Ahaz ruled Judah for sixteen years, beginning when he was twenty years old. Unfortunately, Ahaz broke away from the faithfulness of his fathers...

It’s amazing to me that in 2 Kings 19 we are able to see God building a testimony for the nation of Judah. Their time of desperate need was known by Him. He knew the faithfulness of King Hezekiah, and God could have saved him from ever having to face the terrible enemy of Assyria. Instead, God ta...

The last great king of Judah was Josiah. He was a unique man who dedicated himself to God at a very young age. He became the nineteenth king of Judah when he was just eight years old. His kingship followed the evil reigns of his grandfather Manasseh and father Amon who had done awful things in pu...

As the last kings of Jerusalem are highlighted in 2 Kings 24, it becomes even clearer that the Bible is not propaganda for the people of Israel. We will see evil being practiced and spread by those that are supposed to be God’s people. We will see God prompting the enemies of Israel into action. ...

Though genealogies and lists aren’t very exciting on the surface, it is critical that God has recorded the history of the kings and their sons. These lists establish Jesus Christ as the fulfilment of the Davidic covenant. Jesus came to earth to confront, overcome, and conquer sin and its effects ...

King Saul desperately wanted to kill David. Some people wonder why. But if you read the Bible carefully, the answer is obvious. David was the hero of Israel and was successful in all that he put his hands to, and Saul was disobedient to God and filled with a spirit of envy and strife. Both men we...