First Kings is the first half of a single book that was divided into two parts because together they were too long to fit on one scroll. The book begins by tracing Solomon’s rise to kingship after the death of David and the challenges that ensue as the nation splits into two kingdoms: Judah and Israel. We examine ten themes from the book that have enduring applicability. Scriptures referenced include 1 Kings 8: 23, 41-43, 60; 1 Chronicles 17:1; Isaiah 56:7; 1Kings 5-1 Kings 9; 1 Corinthians 6:16; 1 Kings 11:2; 1 Corinthians 15:33; Proverbs 4:7; 1 Kings 4:29; Proverbs 9:10; 1 Kings 14:1-18; and 1 Kings 17:1.
The story of the first family in Genesis offers profound lessons about humanity’s relationship with God and each other. From Adam and Eve’s fall...
As a result of Judah’s continued and unrepentant idolatry, God allows the Babylonians to besiege, plunder, burn, and destroy the city of Jerusalem. Solomon’s...
Claudia Marcella, a Roman freedwoman, takes the stand to describe something she witnessed decades earlier in Jerusalem: the stoning of Stephen. She remembers Stephen...
