A SURVEY OF THE BIBLE
(“The Books of First and Second Kings”)
Psalm 137:1-6; II Kings 18:9-12;
Jeremiah 7:20-34 (NASU)
11“Then the king of Assyria carried Israel away into exile to Assyria, and put them in Halah and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes, 12because they did not obey the voice of the Lord their God, but transgressed His covenant, even all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded; they would neither listen nor do it.” (II Kings 18:11-12)
23“… this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you will be My people; … walk in all the way which I command you, that it may be well with you.’ 24Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and in the stubbornness of their evil heart, and went backward and not forward … 32‘Therefore, behold, days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when … 33The dead bodies of this people will be food for the birds of the sky and for the beasts of the earth; and no one will frighten them away. 34Then I will make to cease from the cities of Judah and from the streets of Jerusalem the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride; for the land will become a ruin.’” (Jeremiah 7:23-24, 32-34)
A VERY BRIEF REVIEW
(1) Tonight we are returning to our Survey of the Bible Series, after a two week hiatus. And this evening I want to wrap-up our study of the Books of First and Second Kings by looking at some matters we didn’t get to address in several earlier messages.1
(2) Together the Books of First and Second Kings cover a period of about four hundred years2 – taking us from the end of the reign of King David (c.f. I Kings 1:1), to the “thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah” in Babylon (c.f. II Kings 25:27).
(3) As their names suggest, these two books contain a record of the rule of the kings of Israel and Judah – with each king being evaluated in terms of his spiritual leadership, particularly his faithfulness in following God’s covenant laws and commands, rather than any of his military victories or political accomplishments (c.f. II Kings 18:1-6; 21:1-9).
(4) THE major historical event in the Book of First Kings is the division of God’s covenant people into two separate nations – Israel in the north, which was comprised of ten tribes – and Judah in the south, which was comprised of two (c.f. I Kings 12). Moreover, Judah retained the line of David – while Israel’s kings were a mongrel lot, with no one line retaining power for very long.
(5) THE two major historical events in the Book of Second Kings are – Israel going into Assyrian captivity around 722 B.C. (c.f. II Kings 17) – and Judah going into Babylonian captivity about one hundred and twenty-five years later (c.f. II Kings 24-25). Both events happen on account of the accumulated sins of the kings and peoples of each nation. And, both captivities raise questions regarding God’s covenant promise to give Abraham’s descendants the Land of Canaan as their inheritance (c.f. Genesis 12:7) – as well as His covenant promise to David to establish his throne forever (c.f. II Samuel 7:16).
(B) GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY ON DISPLAY
(1) As you know, the attribute of God’s sovereignty is one of my favorite subjects – indeed, it’s a theological topic I have to restrain myself from preaching about, or else I would be doing so all the time. Tonight, however, want to talk about it – albeit briefly, and in a restrained manner.
God’s Sovereignty involves both His will and His power.3 His sovereign WILL determines what’s going to happen – and then His sovereign POWER brings it about. Both are captured in the verse found in Second Kings chapter nineteen (verse twenty-five) where God says (in part): “From ancient times I PLANNED it. Now I HAVE BROUGHT IT TO PASS” (c.f. II Kings 19:25).
(2) Sovereignty, more than any other attribute, is what makes God “God”! Without it, His covenant promises would have little meaning – for there would be no guarantee He could carry them out. Without it, all His plans would constantly be in danger of failing – because there would always be the possibility that someone or some thing might come along to thwart them. Without it, His other attributes would be anemic at best – for what good is His infinite wisdom or knowledge (for example), if He doesn’t have the power to apply them? Or, what good are His threats of judgment, or His commitment to justice, if He doesn’t have the authority needed to carry them out? Or what good is His mercy or grace, if there’s any possibility that His attempts to be merciful and gracious can be upset?
(3) God’s sovereignty is stamped all over the events described for us in the Book of First Kings. Here are just a few examples.
Solomon acknowledged God’s sovereignty over his life when he said: “THE LORD … HAS established me and set me on the throne of David my father” (c.f. I Kings 2:24; see also I Kings 3:7; 5:7; 10:9). The author of First Kings also acknowledged God’s sovereignty over Solomon’s life, saying at one point that: “GOD GAVE Solomon wisdom and very great discernment and breadth of mind like the sand that is on the seashore” (c.f. I Kings 4:29) – and again, that it was “THE LORD (who) raised up an adversary to Solomon, Hadad the Edomite” (c.f. I Kings 11:14; see also I Kings 11:23).
When King Rehoboam forsook the advice given him by the elders, and acted in ways that brought about the division of the kingdom into two nations, chapter twelve says, “it was a turn of events FROM THE LORD, that He might establish (the) word … (He) spoke through Ahijah (the prophet)” (c.f. I Kings 12:15; see also I Kings 12:24).
And later, when Jeroboam became monarch over the Northern Kingdom of Israel, God told him: “I exalted you … and made you leader over My people Israel, (I) tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you” (c.f. I Kings 14:7-8).
And then, after prophesying that King Ahab of Israel would meet with disaster in a battle with the Arameans – and even after Ahab had taken the precaution of disguising himself so none of the enemy soldiers would know who he was – we read that, “a CERTAIN man drew his bow at RANDOM and struck the king of Israel in a joint of the armor” (c.f. I Kings 22:34), after which he soon died – with the implication being that God had sovereignly guided that arrow in order to bring this about!
(4) God’s sovereignty can also be seen throughout the pages of the Book of Second Kings. Once again, here are just a few examples taken from many.
In chapter seven, it was “THE LORD (who) CAUSED the army of the Arameans to hear … the sound of a great army” (c.f. II Kings 7:6), and flee for their lives (even though there was no army), thereby sparing Israel’s capital city of Samaria from destruction.
In chapter eight, it was “THE LORD (who called) for a famine” that lasted seven years (c.f. II Kings 8:1) – in chapter thirteen, it was THE LORD who “continually (gave Israel) into the hand(s) (of the kings of Aram)” on account of their sins (c.f. II Kings 13:3) – and in chapter fifteen, it was “THE LORD (who) struck (King Azariah of Judah with leprosy until) the day of his death” (c.f. II Kings 15:5).
In chapter seventeen we’re told it was “THE LORD” who sent Israel into Assyrian captivity (c.f. II Kings 17:23) – and that it was also “THE LORD” who used “lions” to kill some of the people from other nations who had been sent to live in the land (c.f. II Kings 17:25). And then, in chapter twenty-four, it was THE LORD who sent Judah off into Babylonian captivity on account of their sins (c.f. II Kings 24:20).
As I said, God’s sovereignty is on display everywhere in these two books (just as it has been in every Old Testament book we’ve looked at up to this point) – and even though I don’t always mention it, I don’t want you to miss it.
(C) GOD’S COVENANT WITH HIS PEOPLE
(1) I want to shift gears, now, and talk a little bit about God’s Covenant with His People. As we think about how the Book of Second Kings ends – with both Israel and Judah having ceased to exist as distinct nations, and most of their respective peoples having been carried off into captivity – with both the city of Jerusalem and God’s Temple lying in ruins – the question that naturally comes to mind is, “What has happened to the covenant promises God made to His people?”
It’s not hard to imagine the people of Israel and Judah asking themselves this question, as they were being carried off into foreign exile – or, as the years passed and their captivity showed no signs of coming to an end. Psalm One Hundred Thirty-Seven reflects what many of the more spiritually sensitive among God’s covenant people must have felt:
1“By the rivers of Babylon,
There we sat down and wept,
When we remembered Zion.
2Upon the willows in the midst of it
We hung our harps.
3For there our captors demanded of us songs,
And our tormentors mirth, saying,
‘Sing us one of the songs of Zion.’
4(But) How can we sing the Lord’s song
In a foreign land?
5If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
May my right hand forget her skill.
6May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth
If I do not remember you,
If I do not exalt Jerusalem
Above my chief joy.” (c.f. Psalm 137:1-6)
(2) We noted in a previous message4 that the first ten books of the Old Testament (from Genesis through Second Samuel) have described the giving of, and gradual fulfillment of, God’s covenant promise to Abraham’s descendants, to bless them (in part) by giving them the land of Canaan, and making them a great nation (c.f. Genesis 12:1-3). To this, God later added the promise that David’s throne would endure forever (c.f. II Samuel 7:12-16).
But now, Abraham’s descendants are no longer a great nation – or even a great people. In fact, they are no longer in possession of the Land of Canaan. Nor is there a descendant of David sitting on his throne – or even a throne to sit on! Which begs the following questions: “Why has all this happened?” – “Has God’s covenant failed? – Have His promises failed?” – “Has GOD Himself failed?”
(3) You may recall that the initial declaration of God’s covenant with Abraham and his descendants5 (back in Genesis chapter twelve) (c.f. Genesis 12:1-3) included (a) the promise of a special land – which turned out to be the land of Canaan (c.f. Genesis 12:4-7). Later God said (in the Book of Exodus), “I will fix your boundary from the Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines (i.e. the Mediterranean Sea), and from the wilderness to the River (namely, the Euphrates River)” (c.f. Exodus 23:31). That promise was fulfilled briefly during the reign of Solomon – for we’re told in First Kings chapter four that, “Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the River to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt” (c.f. I Kings 4:21). By the end of the Book of Second Kings, however, the land has been lost.
(b) God’s initial covenant with Abraham also promised that his descendants would become “a great nation” (c.f. Genesis 12:2) – that they would be like “the stars in the sky, and the sand on the seashore” in number (c.f. Genesis 22:17). First Kings chapter four tells us that by the time of Solomon, “Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance” (c.f. I Kings 4:20). By the end of the Book of Second Kings, however, their numbers have been greatly reduced through the ravages of war and deportation (see the warning in Deuteronomy 28:62-63), so that only a remnant is left (c.f. Ezra 9:15).
(c) In the Book of Second Samuel, as part of His covenant with Abraham (specifically, that in him all the nations of the earth would be blessed) (c.f. Genesis 12:3; 22:18), God made a special promise to David, saying (in part): “Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me FOREVER; your throne shall be established FOREVER” (c.f. II Samuel 7:16) – and also that, 12“I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish …13… the throne of his kingdom FOREVER” (c.f. II Samuel 7:12-13).
Several times, throughout the Books of First and Second Kings, when one of David’s descendants was a particularly sinful and idolatrous ruler, we’re told that, “the Lord was not willing to destroy Judah, for the sake of David His servant” – that is, because of the covenant promise God had made to him (c.f. II Kings 8:19; see also I Kings 15:4). Nevertheless, by the time we get to the end of Second Kings, there is no one sitting on the throne of David in Jerusalem, because Judah has been destroyed.
(4) When we inquire as to why all these things have happened, the answer is relatively simple – nor does it have anything to do with a failure on God’s part. Rather, God’s covenant people have brought all these things upon themselves, because of their persistent and unrepentant sins – especially (but not limited to) the sin of idolatry.
(a) There is a sense in which God’s covenant with Abraham and his descendants is unconditional – first, because neither he nor any of his offspring did anything to deserve being chosen by God (c.f. Deuteronomy 7:6-8) – and second, because the covenant God made with them is an everlasting covenant that He is not going to let fail (c.f. I Chronicles 16:17; Deuteronomy 4:31).
(b) At the same time, however, there’s also a sense in which this covenant is conditional – in that individuals and individual generations can forfeit the blessings of the covenant, and even their right to be a part of it, by their relentless and impenitent sins. Hence, the Book of Deuteronomy (in which Moses expounds on the laws and commands God gave His covenant people at Mount Sinai) (c.f. Deuteronomy 1:5) puts a great deal of emphasis on the importance of obedience – even to the point of listing all the blessings God will pour out on His people if they obey, as well as all the curses that will come upon them if they don’t (c.f. Deuteronomy 27-28). It should come as no surprise, then, when we read in Second Kings chapter eighteen that: 11“the king of Assyria carried Israel away into exile … 12BECAUSE they did not obey the voice of the Lord their God, but transgressed His covenant, even all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded; they would neither listen nor do it” (c.f. II Kings 18:11-12).
Likewise, the prophet Jeremiah (who lived during the last days leading up to Judah’s exile) wrote: 23“this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you will be My people … walk in all the way which I command you, that it may be well with you.’ 24Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and in the stubbornness of their evil heart … 32‘THEREFORE, behold, days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when … 33the dead bodies of this people will be food for the birds of the sky and for the beasts of the earth; and no one will frighten them away. 34… for the land will become a ruin” (c.f. Jeremiah 7:23-24, 32-34).
(c) The sin that’s most prominent in the Books of First and Second Kings is idolatry – i.e. the worship of gods other than the true God (or sometimes, in addition to worshiping of the true God) (c.f. I Kings 11:4; 14:9; II Kings 17:7; 22:17, etc.). In First Kings chapter nine, God told Solomon (starting in verse six): 6“if you or your sons indeed turn away from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have set before you, AND GO AND SERVE OTHER GODS AND WORSHIP THEM, 7then I will cut off Israel from the land which I have given them, and (this) house which I have consecrated for My name, I will cast out of My sight. So Israel will become a proverb and a byword among all peoples. 8And this house will become a heap of ruins; everyone who passes by will be astonished and hiss and say, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house?’ 9And they will say, ‘Because they FORSOOK THE LORD THEIR GOD, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and ADOPTED OTHER GODS AND WORSHIPED THEM AND SERVED THEM, therefore the Lord has brought all this adversity on them’” (c.f. I Kings 9:6-9). As it turned out, that’s exactly what happened! Because of their unfaithfulness to God’s covenant, the people of Israel and Judah forfeited the blessings of that covenant, and inherited the curses instead.
(5) And yet, because of the unconditional nature of God’s covenant with His chosen people, there is a glimmer of hope. Throughout the Books of First and Second Kings, God has punished individuals and individual generations, without abandoning His covenant as a whole (c.f. II Kings 8:19; 13:23). Hence, even though Judah finally goes off into captivity, the last thing we’re told is that the line of David is alive and well in Babylon (c.f. II Kings 25:27-30) – and from that line will eventually come the King of kings (c.f. Revelation 19:16), even the promised descendant (singular) of both Abraham (c.f. Galatians 3:16) and David (c.f. II Samuel 7:12), namely Jesus of Nazareth (c.f. Matthew 1:1-16)!
PICTURES OF CHRIST IN THE BOOKS OF THE KINGS
(1) And that leads us to the last thing I want to look at briefly this evening – namely, what (if any) pictures or types of Christ do we find in the Books of First and Second Kings (c.f. Luke 24:27)?
First of all, we have to say that Solomon is a type of Christ in certain ways.6 For one thing, Jesus referred to Himself at one point as being “greater than Solomon”. Specifically what He said was this (in part): “The Queen of the South … came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here” (c.f. Matthew 12:42).
Along these lines, the Book of First Corinthians says Jesus is “the wisdom of God” (c.f. I Corinthians 1:24) – which means (among other things) that God’s infinite wisdom resides in Him, and was on display in everything He said or did during His time here on earth – which included preaching “the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith (in Himself)” (c.f. II Timothy 3:15).
Solomon is also a type of Christ because he is the immediate fulfillment of the covenant promise God made to David – of which Jesus is the ultimate and greater fulfillment – i.e. to the effect that a particular descendant of David’s would build a house for the Lord, and have an everlasting kingdom (c.f. II Samuel 7:12-13).
Turning to the New Testament, we find that Christians are “the temple of the living God” (c.f. II Corinthians 6:16) – and also Christ’s “house” (c.f. Hebrews 3:6). It also says Christ’s “kingdom will have no end” (c.f. Luke 1:33) – because His kingdom is truly an “eternal kingdom” (c.f. II Peter 1:11).
(2) But perhaps the most persistent type of Christ found throughout the Books of First and Second Kings are the various kings of Israel and Judah themselves. PCA pastor Philip Ryken explains, that the kings of Israel and Judah were called to provide good spiritual leadership for God’s covenant people. Together with the priests and prophets, they formed a trio of leaders who were supposed to give the people of God everything they needed – which in the case of Israel’s kings, included protection from their enemies. Not just their physical enemies, but also (and especially) their spiritual enemies – who were often one-and-the-same, since their physical enemies frequently tempted God’s people (with more success than failure) to worship their false gods.7
As we’ve seen, Godly kings (like Hezekiah and Josiah) were a great blessing to their people – while ungodly kings (like Ahab and Manasseh) were an equally great curse.7 Indeed, it was the kings (even more than the priests and prophets) who set the spiritual tone for their nation – by either leading God’s people in the direction of holiness, and righteousness, and true worship of the true God – or in the direction of sin, and immorality, and idolatry.
It’s in the lives of the few good kings who reigned over Judah that we see a glimpse of the Kingship of Christ – whom the New Testament presents as the true King of God’s covenant people, in part, because He is the rightful heir to David’s throne.7 Hence, in Luke chapter one, Gabriel tells Mary that 32“the Lord God will give (her son) the throne of His father David; 33(that) He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and (that) His kingdom will have no end” (c.f. Luke 1:32-33).
Therefore, any time we read the Book of First or Second Kings, it shouldn’t be long before our hearts start to yearn for that King who is greater than them all – who is better than the best – who always does what is pleasing in the sight of God, never turning to the right or the left (c.f. II Kings 22:2; John 6:38) – whose kingdom will truly last forever and ever – and whose name is Jesus!
1http://www.wpcpca.org/Archive/05-09-10-pm.html
http://www.wpcpca.org/Archive/05-16-10-pm.html
http://www.wpcpca.org/Archive/05-23-10-pm.html
2The English Standard Study Bible: Introduction to 1-2 Kings;
p. 585.
3Berkhof: Summary of Christian Doctrine; p. 37.
4http://www.wpcpca.org/Archive/05-23-10-pm.html
5http://www.wpcpca.org/Archive/12-13-09-pm.html
6MacArthur: The MacArthur Bible Handbook; p. 99.
7Ryken: Ryken’s Bible Handbook; p. 153.