Books of the Bible

The Book of 1 Kings

Old Testament · History · Genre: History · Author: Not named in the text; author unknown · Chapters: 22

First Kings follows Israel from the glory of Solomon's reign into division and decline. It tells of a temple built and a kingdom split, and of the prophet Elijah standing almost alone against the tide of idolatry, calling a wandering people back to the God who answers by fire.

Start reading: 1 Kings chapter 1

A key verse

But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?1 Kings 8:27 (KJV)

The setting and background of 1 Kings

First and Second Kings were also originally one book, and they carry Israel's history from the death of David to the exile in Babylon. First Kings does not name its author, who is unknown, though Jewish tradition associated the books with the prophet Jeremiah. It covers the reign of Solomon and the first century and more of the divided kingdom, weaving together the records of many kings with the ministry of the prophets.

The book falls into two parts. The first traces the glory of Solomon, his God-given wisdom, his building of the temple, and his tragic decline into idolatry, which fractures the kingdom. The second follows the divided monarchy of Israel and Judah through a succession of mostly faithless kings, and gives special attention to the prophet Elijah, who confronts King Ahab and the worship of Baal in some of the book's most dramatic scenes.

First Kings was written to explain how the united kingdom of David and Solomon came apart and to measure each ruler by the standard of faithfulness to God. The temple it celebrates and the prophets it honors both shape the rest of the Old Testament. In the sweep of Scripture, Solomon's temple and his failing wisdom, and Elijah the forerunner, all point beyond themselves to Christ, the true temple, the wisdom of God, and the Lord whom John the Baptist prepared.

The story and structure of 1 Kings

First Kings opens with the aged David and the struggle over his succession, which ends with his son Solomon secured on the throne. Given a dream in which he may ask for anything, Solomon asks not for wealth or long life but for an understanding heart to govern God's people, and God grants him wisdom beyond any before or after, along with the riches he did not request.

Solomon's early reign is a golden age. He builds the magnificent temple in Jerusalem, a house for the name of the Lord, and at its dedication God's glory fills it and Solomon prays that God would hear his people when they turn toward this place. Solomon's wisdom and splendor draw visitors from far away, and Israel enjoys peace and prosperity.

Yet even Solomon falls. In his old age his many foreign wives turn his heart after other gods, and he builds high places for their idols. Because of this unfaithfulness, God announces that the kingdom will be torn in two, though for David's sake not in Solomon's own lifetime. The seeds of ruin are sown at the height of glory.

After Solomon's death the kingdom splits. The northern tribes, calling themselves Israel, break away under Jeroboam, who sets up golden calves so the people will not return to Jerusalem to worship, while the southern kingdom of Judah keeps the line of David. A long procession of kings follows, most of them faithless, each measured by whether he did right or evil in the eyes of the Lord.

Into the deep idolatry of the northern kingdom strides the prophet Elijah. He confronts King Ahab and Queen Jezebel and the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel, where God answers by fire and the rains return after long drought. Yet Elijah, worn out and afraid, flees to the mountain of God, where the Lord meets him not in wind, earthquake, or fire, but in a still small voice.

The great themes of 1 Kings

Key passages in 1 Kings

1 Kings in the sweep of Scripture

First Kings shows how quickly glory can fade when hearts turn from God. The temple it celebrates becomes the focus of Israel's hope and later of its grief, and the division of the kingdom frames the ministry of nearly all the prophets who follow. Elijah becomes one of the towering figures of Scripture, appearing again at the transfiguration of Jesus, and the pattern of faithful prophets confronting faithless kings runs from here to the end of the Old Testament, keeping alive the call to worship the Lord alone.

Where Christ is in 1 Kings

Solomon's temple, where God met his people, points to Jesus, who called himself the true temple and in whom God fully dwells among us. Solomon's wisdom, which drew the nations yet failed to keep his own heart, gives way to Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom, and who described himself as one greater than Solomon. Elijah, the forerunner who prepared hearts to return to God, foreshadows John the Baptist, who came in the spirit of Elijah to prepare the way of the Lord.

How to read 1 Kings well

Read First Kings watching how swiftly wisdom and glory can be lost when devotion cools, and let Solomon's decline sober any confidence in gifts apart from a faithful heart. Let Elijah's boldness on Carmel stir your own courage to stand for the truth, and let God's gentle meeting with the discouraged prophet assure you that he tends the weary and the afraid. Above all, let the longing for a faithful king and an undefiled temple point you to Christ.

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