The picture shows the divided Kingdom of Israel

1 Kings

1 Kings 18:21(NKJV)

And Elijah came to all the people, and said, "How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him." But the people answered him not a word.

Author

The author of 1st and 2nd Kings is unknown but the writing if these two books are attributed to Jeremiah

Date

560-538 B.C.

Theme

Lessons from the divided kingdom

Purpose

The books of 1 and 2 Kings originally existed as one volume in the original Hebrew text.
These books cover the history of the Israelites from the death of King David to the captivity of Judah.
King David is presented as the good example and King Jeroboam as a bad example of godly leadership.
1 Kings covers the reign of Solomon through the reign of Jehoshaphat and Ahaziah.

Solomon's name means peace

Content

The Reign of Solomon: 1 Kings 1:1-11:43

1 Kings 1:37(NKJV) As the LORD has been with my lord the king, even so may He be with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord King David.
The Prayer of Solomon

1 Kings 3:5-9(NKJV) At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, "Ask! What shall I give you?" And Solomon said: "You have shown great mercy to Your servant David my father, because he walked before You in truth, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with You; You have continued this great kindness for him, and You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. Now, O LORD My God, You have made Your servant king instead of my father David, but I am a little child: I do not know how to go out or come in. And Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen, a great people, too numerous to be numbered or counted. Therefore, give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?"

Solomon's Wisdom:

1 Kings 4:29-30(NKJV) And God gave Solomon wisdom and exceedingly great understanding, and largeness of heart like the sand on the seashore. Thus, Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the men of the East and all the wisdom of Egypt.

Solomon Builds the Temple

1 Kings 6:1(NKJV) And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD.

Solomon Turns His Heart from the Lord

1 Kings 11:1-4(NKJV) But King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites from the nations of whom the LORD had said to the children of Israel, "You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely, they will turn away your hearts after their gods." Solomon clung to these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart. For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the LORD his God, as was the heart of his father David.
Deuteronomy 17:14-17(NKJV) When you come to the land which the LORD your God is giving you, and possess it and dwell in it, and say, "I will set a king over me like all the nations that are around me,' you shall surely set a king over you whom the LORD your God chooses; one from among your brethren you shall set as king over you; you may not set a foreigner over you, who is not your brother. But he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, for the LORD has said to you, you shall not return that way again. Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away; nor shall he greatly multiply silver and gold for himself.

Rehoboam and Jeroboam: 1 Kings 12:1-14:30

The Divided Kingdom

Rehoboam

Judah the Southern Kingdom

Judah, Benjamin, Levites

Jeroboam

Israel the Northern Kingdom

The other 10 Tribes

Kings of Israel and Judah: 1 Kings 15:1-16:34

The picture shows a chart of the Kings of Israel and Judah

Elijah and Ahab: 1 Kings 17:1-19:21

Elijha's Mount Carmel Victory: 1 Kings 18:20-46

1 Kings 18:21 And Elijah came to all the people, and said, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people answered him not a word.

Elijah and Elisha

1 Kings 19:19 So he departed from there, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he was with the twelfth. Then Elijah passed by him and threw his mantle on him.

Ahab and Jezebel 1Kings 20:1-22:53

1 Kings 21:7 Then Jezebel his wife said to him, “You now exercise authority over Israel! Arise, eat food, and let your heart be cheerful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”

Christ in the 1st Kings

The Need for King Jesus

The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.