1 Kings 17-2 Kings 17: The most determinant, consequential factor of national leadership

Power is intoxicating. Once you have had a taste of what it feels like to be in control, you would do whatever it takes to hold on to it, even if it means getting rid of anything or anyone who stands in your way, no sacrifice is too great if it guarantees your position of privilege. The narrative of 1 and 2 Kings if read purely from a historical perspective would cause a heart-ache because of the numerous rise and fall of royalties with twist and turns that can almost tie your guts up in a knot! So, right off the bat, the perspective you must have in reading 1 and 2 Kings is to focus on the theological explanations for those events - in other words, look for what God is doing, not just what man is up to. 

Throughout 1 and 2 Kings, "evil" appears 50x, but the word "right" shows up only 22x - that gives you the rough proportion of the moral drama that is happening in the rule of the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. The theological question to ask is this - While we witness the rough history of Israel, is there a glimpse of redemptive history happening as well? The answer is "yes" but we need to read these passages with patient discernment.

Connecting the dots
Much of the drama in 1 Kings 17-2 Kings 17 takes place in the northern kingdom of Israel with momentous clashes between three kings (Ahab, Ahaziah, Joram), one queen (Jezebel) and two prophets (Elijah and Elisha). From a theological perspective, the focus is not on political intrigue but on the issue of worship. In fact, the most determinant, consequential factor of national leadership is not the strength of political unity but the focus of national worship. The worship life of the king is the most direct indicator of the health of the kingdom. It is no wonder, that the very first two commandments are - "You shall have no other gods before Me" and "You shall not make for yourself an idol ... you shall not worship them" (Exod 20:3-5). 

Just like the ten plagues in Egypt (2 Ki 17:7), the miracles by Elijah and Elisha form a polemic against Baal worship. Yahweh will not tolerate His glory to be shared with another - "I am the Lord; that is My name; My glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols." (Isa 42:8). Miracles in the Bible always reinforce the glory of the one and only God of the universe. Here are a few examples:

• Baal was the storm god, more specifically with lightning as his weapon and rain as his blessing. Hence, it is no accident that fire from heaven is a key component of the miracles in Kings (1 Ki 18:38; 2 Ki 1:9-16; 2:11; 6:17)
  
• Baal would have been considered the ultimate provider of food, and not surprisingly, many of the miracles in Kings relate to the provision of food (1 Ki 17:1-6, 8-16; 19:1-6; 2 Ki 4:1-7).
• Baal myth includes Baal rising from the dead in an annual cycle, yet both Elijah and Elisha even raise the dead (1 Ki 17:17-23; 2 Ki 4:18-37; 13:20-21)

Why is wrongful worship such a grievous thing? In 2 Kings 17, the first six verses reports the siege and destruction of Samaria but then spends next seventeen verses (2 Ki 17:7-23) giving the theological reasons for the national disaster. The sin of idolatry is as old as Genesis 3 with the enticing temptation from the serpent - "you will be like God" (Gen 3:5). Instead of ruling for God, the kings were ruling like God and this constitutes a direct rebellion and challenge to the covenant God made with Israel where He alone is the source of all blessing and there is no one else. Yet, the covenant is about both blessings and curses (Deut 28) and the ultimate curse of God for disobedience to the covenant - exile from the land.

Activity idea
Consider the culture of today - how does the sin of idolatry show up? The absence of physical graven images now make it harder for us to recognize idolatry but the effects and curses will still show up. Here are two prayer markers for you to consider this week (for both your personal and also family prayer time) - gratefulness and desperation. It is difficult to truly worship if we are able to generate the blessings we desire from the fruits of our own planning and providence.

• In your social media posting, put up a testimony of gratefulness to the Lord and spell out in no uncertain terms - "This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes." (Ps 118:23).
• In your own prayer life, do you have an area of desperation in your life? Unless God intervenes, the situation is hopeless? Keep feeling this sense of desperateness till it drives you to God Himself and continue looking to Him for deliverance. It is a sad thing if we reach a place of confident independence. A desperation after God keeps my heart idol-free.

Christ in Scripture
The first and most obvious connection between Kings and the New Testament is the institution of the kingship itself, as Jesus is the Son of David (Mt 1:6-17). Continuing the theme of Samuel, the book of Kings stresses the line of David as the rightful kings of the nation of Judah. But what terrible kings! Most of the kings of Israel and Judah serve antimodels, proof that a merely human king will fail. 

But wait ... as Matthew 12:42 and Luke 11:31 report, "something greater than Solomon is here." No merely human king - even a Josiah or Hezekiah - could truly fulfill the covenant, so God came incarnate (truly God and truly man) as the Son of David to do so Himself. "God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world." (Heb 1:1-2). Let's crown Him with many crowns! The failures of man ought to drive us to the sufficient of the King of all Kings!

We welcome your comments, feedback and questions - please post them in the comments below.