First Kings has quite a bit to show us about prayer in each good instances and difficult instances.
Content material
The 2 books of Kings are the third and fourth volumes of a four-volume work. The primary two components had been the books of Samuel, which described Israel’s evolution from informal judges to kings: first Saul, then David.
The books of First and Second Kings will be simply divided into three components: the reign of Solomon (1 Kgs 1-11), the divided kingdom (1 Kgs 12-2 Kgs 17), and the southern kingdom (Judah) alone (2 Kgs 18-25).
First Kings begins close to the tip of David’s life. He’s previous and weak. After some preliminary vying for succession amongst David’s sons, Solomon turns into king with the assistance of the prophet Nathan. The primary half of the e-book covers Solomon’s reign. It depicts him as fairly profitable in politics and worldwide relations, however with many failings within the methods of religion.
After Solomon’s demise, the dominion divides in two: north (Israel) and south (Judah), every with their very own king and their very own Temple.
The remainder of the e-book describes occasions within the reigns of a few of these kings (three within the south and 7 within the north). It additionally spends period of time on the work of the prophet Elijah.
Themes
The themes of First and Second Kings are the identical as First and Second Samuel. The failure of Israel and its leaders to stay devoted is a distinguished theme. The looks of the prophets Elijah and Elisha affords some hope that God continues to be current with Israel, but even that doesn’t preserve the nation collectively, nor cease the ultimate destruction and exile from taking place.
One other main theme is the controversy between the “proper” religion and the “flawed” religion, particularly seen within the rival temples of the north and south. The Jerusalem Temple is the main focus of lots of the tales in First Kings, however one other vital theme is that of the guarantees of God, and particularly his guarantees to David.
Prayers
There are fifteen separate prayer passages inside First Kings, although some are a part of the identical story. The prayers, as common, match the storyline and themes mentioned above. They start with blessings, reward, and vows, with a few petitions for the well-being of Solomon and Israel. As the religion of Israel wanes, and corruption units in, the prayers turn into intercessions, petitions, and laments.
As a result of the prayers match each the hopefulness of the primary a part of the e-book and the despair within the second half, we study quite a bit about prayer throughout each good and unhealthy instances in our personal lives. Prayers in good instances might have a shadow of the unhealthy that may come; prayers throughout unhealthy instances can nonetheless comprise some hope.
The e-book additionally teaches us some good methods to hope, in addition to methods of praying that will not be so useful.
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