Note: As a Sunday school leader I take my role of educating our youth about Jesus very seriously. As such, I feel it necessary to dig deeper into the stories I have known throughout my life to really have a strong background and grasp on the stories, concepts, and possible life applications that can be drawn. Therefore, the following is my own quest for that knowledge prepared for you in “Bible study” form. I encourage you to learn and grow as much as you feel called to in order that you might not only feel prepared to teach and share with our children, but that you may also be filled and renewed in your study of God’s Word. This is not meant to be an exhaustive of the text, but notes to help provide context and background for leaders.
Objectives:
• Provide leaders with a historical context for understanding.
• Provide leaders with a Biblical context for reaching and teaching.
• Provide a theological basis for the concepts to be taught to the children.
• Serve as a renewal and time of reflection to strengthen leaders to serve.
Scripture: 1 Kings 2-11.
Focus texts are:
Week One: 1 Kings 3:3-14, 4:29-34
Week Two: 3:16-28
Week Three: 6:1-14; 8:22-66
Week Four: 11:1-13; 41-43
Memory Verse for this rotation: “So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.” Luke 11:9
Historical/Theological/Biblical Contexts
Authorship, Date, & Background on the book 1 Kings
In the Hebrew canon 1 and 2 Kings were accounted as one book. The title “The Kings” is appropriate since the two books comprised a history of the Israelite people from the death of David and accession of Solomon to the defeat of Judah before the armies of Nebuchadnezzar in 586 B.C. In the Septuagint, which divided the books of Samuel and Kings into the Books of Kingdoms, 1 and 2 Kings were the Third and Fourth Books of Kingdoms.
The period of these two books ranged from the accession of Solomon in 971 B.C. to Jehoaichin in 562 B.C.—more than four centuries. A composite authorship of the book is obvious, for nothing in the text attributes the composition of a single person. It was a compilation of writings which undoubtedly were composed by different prophets across the years who were intent on preserving the religious history of the Jewish people. Prior written documents were used when 1 and 2 Kings was finally put together. The book itself mentions the use of the Book of the Acts of Solomon (1 Kings 11.41), the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Judah (e.g., 1 Kings 14.29). In addition, large sections of Isaiah 36-39 are found in 2 Kings 18-20. These segments were probably copied from Isaiah and not vice versa.
Talmudic tradition associated Jeremiah the prophet with the book of Kings except for the final chapter. Since the book was written from a prophetic standpoint, either he or a number of prophets like him wrote the accounts from which the compiler produced the final product and the last chapter. A Sixth century B.C. date for the final composition is likely, although much of the material used by the writer existed earlier.
Characteristics and Content:
1 and 2 Kings are characterized by consistent methodology of handling the reigns of the various monarchs. In general, the accounts report the length of each reign for Judah and Israel. In the case of Judah, the reader is told the name of the monarch’s mother and the age of the king at the time of his accession. For the kings who were assassinated, the formula is not used. Each king is appraised in his relationship to God and the covenant (something a court historian would likely not do). The kings of Israel beginning with Jeroboam were all idolaters who broke the first commandment and were unfaithful to God’s covenant with his people. Persistent apostasy marked the northern kingdom once the division took place after Solomon’s reign. The story of the judgment of God against Israel and its dissolution in 722 B.C. with the fall of Samaria into the hands of Sennacherib is recounted in all of its tragic dimensions.
Prior to the division of the kingdom, 1 Kings depicts the golden age of Solomon. He erected his own palace and built the temple. His ventures in commerce and his international relations marked the highest tide in the fortunes of the Israelites. Despite his gift of wisdom, Solomon in his later years was unfaithful to God, largely through the influence of his many foreign wives and concubines who led him into idolatry. Solomon gave recognition to Astarte the goddess of the Sidonians, Molech, the god of the Ammonites, and Chemosh the god of the Moabites, for whom he built shrines east of Jerusalem and within sight of the temple. This remained a source of spiritual temptation for more than three and a half centuries before it was done away with during the reign of Josiah (2 Kings 23:13).
1 and 2 Kings constantly reinforce the notion that Jerusalem was the only true place of worship. Whoever constructed other shrines or engaged in idolatrous worship was looked upon with a critical eye. Kings endorsed every reform movement in which idolatry was stamped out and when the covenant between God and his people was renewed or took on new force. The kingdom of Judah differed from that of Israel (Samaria) in that it experienced periodic revival under good kings such as Asa, Jehoshaphat, Ussiah, Hezekiah, and Josiah. Hezekiah and Josiah were the only kings of Judah the book of 2 Kings approves wholeheartedly. Jehoram, Ahaz, and Manasseh receive the harshest denunciations for the iniquitous conduct.
1 and 2 Kings also tell the story of the two greatest prophets of Israelite history after the death of David: Elijah and his successor, Elisha. 1 Kings recount the miracles and ministry of Elijah; 2 Kings picks up the story of Elisha. Four clusters of miracles mark the progress of God’s scheme of redemption. The first series came during Moses’ day; the second cluster of miracles occurred under the ministries of Elijah and Elisha; the third cluster came in the life of Jesus; and the fourth cluster appeared in the ministry of the apostles in the early church. Other miraculous events are scattered through the Bible, of course, but they do not come in marked numbers.
The red thread running through 1 and 2 Kings consistently is the spiritual decline of God’s people and their loss of affection for God’s covenants and his commandments. During this period, as during the forty years in the wilderness, the people of God turned away from him and finally ended up in captivity.
Structure/Outline
I. The end of David’s reign (1.1-2.46)
II. The Solomonic reign (3.1-11.43)
III. The divided kingdom (12.1-22.53)
Text Study
Suggested reading: 1 Kings 2:1 through 11:43 from his charge through his death
From Halley’s Bible Handbook
Chapters 1, 2. Solomon Becomes King
Born of Bathsheba, to whom David had no right, and, though not in line for the succession, yet he was chosen by David, and approved of God, to be David’s successor (1:30, I Chronicles 22:9,10).
Adonijah, David’s 4th son, it seems, was heir expectant to the throne (2:15, 22; II Samuel 3:3, 4); for Amnon, Absalom, and probably Chiliab, were dead. So, while David was on his deathbed, and before Solomon was formally anointed king, Adonijah plotted to seize the kingdom. But the plot was thwarted by Nathan the prophet. Solomon was generous in his treatment of Adonijah. But Adonijah persisted in his effort to steal the throne, and it was not long till he suffered death.
Chapter 3. Solomon’s Choice of Wisdom
This was at Gibeon (3:4), where the Tabernacle and the Brazen Altar were at the time (I Chronicles 21:29) about 10 miles northwest of Jerusalem; although the Ark was at Jerusalem. God told Solomon to ask what he would. Solomon asked for wisdom to govern his people. That pleased God, and God richly rewarded him (10-12). “No fairer promise of true greatness, or more beautiful picture of youthful piety is known in history.”
Chapter 4. Solomon’s Power, Wealth, and Wisdom
He had inherited the throne of the most powerful kingdom then existent. It was an era of peace and prosperity. Solomon had vast business enterprises, and was famous for his literary attainments. He wrote 3000 proverbs, 1005 songs, and scientific works on botany and zoology (32, 33). He wrote three of the Bible books: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon.
Chapters 5, 6, 7, 8. Solomon builds the Temple
Chapters 9,10. Splendor of Solomon’s Kingdom
These two chapters are an expansion of Chapter 4. Solomon devoted himself to commerce and gigantic public works. He made a deal with the king of Tyre, to use his navy on the Mediterranean. He had a navy at Ezion-geber, and controlled the trade route South through Edom to the coasts of Arabia, India, and Africa. He built his empire by peaceful commerce.
This era of David and Solomon was the Golden Age of Hebrew history. David was a warrior. Solomon was a builder. David made the Kingdom. Solomon built the Temple. In the outside world, this was the age of Homer, the beginning of Greek history. Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon, at the time, were weak. Israel was the most powerful kingdom in all the world; Jerusalem the most magnificent city, and the Temple the most splendid building on earth. They came from the ends of the earth to hear Solomon’s wisdom and see his glory. The famous Queen of Sheba exclaimed, “The half was not told me.”
Chapter 11. Solomon’s Wives and Apostasy
Solomon’s glorious reign was clouded by a grand Mistake: his marriage to idolatrous women. He had 700 wives and 300 concubines, which, in itself, was an enormous crime, both against himself and his women. This wise man of the ages, in this respect at least, we think, was just a common fool. Many of these women were idolaters, daughters of heathen princes, wedded for the sake of political alliance. For them, he, who had built God’s Temple, built alongside of it heathen altars. Thus, idolatry, which David had been so zealous to suppress, was re-established in the palace. This brought to a close the glorious era ushered in by David, and started the nation in its road to ruin: the Sunset of Israels’ Golden Age. The besotted apostasy of Solomon’s old age is one of the most pitiful spectacles in the Bible. Perhaps the account of it was intended of god to be an example of what luxury and ceaseless rounds of pleasure will do to even the best of men.
See copied pages from Who’s Who in the Bible Pages 405-410 to read more about Solomon and explanations.
Phrases/Ideas for Thought and Reflection (using NRSV)/Questions to Consider:
• Solomon was the son of Bethsheba…how do you imagine his felt about becoming King simply because his mother had a sin-filled relationship with King David? Have you ever felt that God has called you to do something “above” your station in life?
• Solomon asked for wisdom when God told him to ask for anything he wanted. If we read further we can understand Solomon’s reasons for asking…do you think that this was at all connected to the chance that Solomon did not feel up to God’s calling?
Closing Prayer
Lord, you’ve told us that while on this earth we will know only in part and understand only in part, but in the end we will see all and be like you in our understanding. God we pray that you will fill us as completely as needed to share this information with our youth. We ask that you would fill us with what you want taught and how we can best relate to our youth. We also ask that you would help us to live out what we are teaching in our daily lives. Finally, Father, we thank you for our youth. We pray that they and their parents would find their way to Sunday school each week so that they can grow in the fulfillment of your plan for them. We pray that they would take the lessons learned and always apply them to the lives they are living for you.
We ask this all in your name, amen.
WORKSHOP SUMMARIES
How We are Sharing the Good News with Hope Kids
Opening Songs/Prayers/Activities: Students will have the opportunity sing songs
Enforcing the ideas of the scripture, take part in enrichment activities regarding the story, and pray and praise as a group. Offerings will be taken, Birthdays recognized, and memory verse introduced and rehearsed. They will also receive their Sunday school dollars at this time in the morning.
This rotation we will be covering several stories from Solomon’s reign and so the children will stay in the same room, with, hopefully, the same teacher throughout the four weeks. The four stories they will cover are:
Week One: Solomon asks for Wisdom
Week Two: Solomon makes a wise decision
Week Three: Solomon builds a temple
Week Four: Solomon turns from God
In writing the four lessons all efforts will be made to provide ideas/options for insuring learning from PreK to 6th graders. It is hoped that the teacher of each age group will have the ability and fore-sight to consider their audience when preparing their lessons to make them age/personality specific.
REFERENCES/RESOURCES:
Halley, Dr. Henry H. Halley’s Bible Handbook. Twenty-Fourth Edition, Copyright 1965 by Halley’s Bible Handbook, Inc. Zondervan Publishing House 1415 Lake Dr. S.E. Grand Rapids, Michigan 49606.
NRSV Harper Study Bible. Copyright 1991 by Zondervan Corporation
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