Readings for this week
Monday: 1 Kings 11
Tuesday: 1 Kings 12
Wednesday: 1 Kings 13
Thursday: 1 Kings 14
Friday: 1 Kings 15
Saturday: 1 Kings 16
Sunday: 1 Kings 17
Introduction to 1st Kings 11-17
Chapter 11
We then hear that Solomon “loved many foreign women” and married the princesses of Moab, Ammon, Edom, Sidon, and the Hittites. The text says, “He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray.” It also says that Solomon began to worship the Asherah of the Sidonians. “On a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable god of Moab, and for Molek the detestable god of the Ammonites. He did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and offered sacrifices to their gods.”
God was angry with Solomon and told him that because of his attitude towards the Covenant, God would tear the kingdom away from him and give it to one of his subordinates. God also said that for David’s sake He would wait to do this until after Solomon’s death, and Solomon’s son would still reign over one of the 12 tribes in keeping with the Covenant.
When then hear about how Hadad of Edom rebelled against Solomon. …Remember that when Isaac “blessed” Esau, he said Edom would become Israel’s slave, but that eventually Edom would break free.
Rezon of Zobah also rebelled and set up his base in Damascus.
We then read about Jeroboam’s Rebellion. Because of his talents, Solomon had put Jeroboam of Ephraim in charge of the people who were building Jerusalem’s walls. The prophet Ahijah shows up and gives a message to Jeroboam. He gave 10 of 12 pieces of a ripped cloak to Jeroboam and told him that he would one day be leader of 10 tribes of Israel. The House of David would still have at least one tribe. “Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam fled to Egypt, to Shishak the king, and stayed there until Solomon’s death.” Solomon reigned in Jerusalem for 40 years. When Solomon died, his son Rehoboam succeeded him as king.
Chapter 12
After Solomon’s death, all Israel gathered at Shechem for Rehoboam’s coronation. When Jeroboam heard that Solomon was dead, he returned from Egypt to talk to Rehoboam, and he brought a delegation and said, “Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.” Rehoboam first consulted the elders from Solomon’s reign, who said, “Give them a favorable answer and they’ll serve you forever.” Later he consulted his own buddies and went with their advice, and said, “My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.” The people rebelled when they heard this, stoned their taskmaster, and declared Jeroboam their new king. Rehoboam managed to escape in his chariot back to Jerusalem. He called up Judah and Benjamin’s troops to go to war, but the prophet Shemaiah warned him not to, and this time Rehoboam listened to wisdom.
Later, Jeroboam realized that if the people went up to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices at the Temple, they might decide to follow Rehoboam again. So he set up two golden calves at Bethel and Dan, and said, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” This is very similar to Aaron’s calf in the book of Exodus. Jeroboam also built shrines on high places and appointed his own festivals for the people to offer sacrifices to the calves. He made himself and a bunch of random people priests of his new religion. This is very similar to Micah and the Danites in the book of Judges.
Chapter 13
“A man of God” from Judah approached Jeroboam while he was offering sacrifices at Bethel, and he said that “one day a king named Josiah will arise from the house of David and kill all the false priests on this very spot.” Jeroboam reached out to order his men to seize the man of God, but his hand immediately shriveled up and he could not move it. Also, the altar split apart and the ashes fell out. Jeroboam asked the man of God to pray for him. He prayed and Jeroboam’s hand was healed. Jeroboam invited him back to his house in order to give him a gift. The man of God said that God had told him not to eat or drink anything at Bethel, and he left.
As he was on his way out of town, an old prophet caught up with him, saying, “God told me to stop you and invite you over for dinner.” The man of God turned back and ate with the old prophet and his family. While they were eating, the old prophet began to prophesy against the man of God, saying that he had despised the word of the LORD by not obeying. The man of God got on his donkey and went on his way. Outside of town, a lion attacked and killed him, but did not eat him or touch the donkey. The old prophet went to go retrieve the body of the man of God and saw the donkey and lion standing beside the road doing nothing. The man of God was buried in a tomb, and the old prophet told his sons that when the time came for him to die, they should bury him in the tomb of the man of God.
Chapters 14-16
Later, Jeroboam’s son became very sick. He disguised his wife and sent her to Shiloh to find out the future from the prophet Ahijah. Ahijah was getting old and had gone blind, but God warned him about Jeroboam’s wife.
Ahijah’s message:
“The boy will die when you return home.”
“His death is to spare him from the disasters that will fall on his sinful family.”
“Just as God tore the kingdom from Rehoboam, so too with Jeroboam.”
Jeroboam was king of the northern tribes, now called Israel, for 22 years. Then his son Nadab becomes king. He’s just as bad. Two years later, a guy named Baasha kills Nadab, and he becomes king. He’s bad, too. After Baasha, Elah becomes king. He’s only been king for 2 years when the commander of his chariots, Zimri, kills him and becomes king himself. Everyone’s mad that Zimri killed Elah, so they surround him and Zimri burns down his own house while he’s still inside it. Next, the Israelites pick a guy names Omri to be their king. The text says that he did more evil than all the kings that came before him. After Omri, his son Ahab becomes king of Israel. Ahab married a Phoenician princess named Jezebel.
The Baal cults of Ahab and Jezebel
The people of Israel developed their faith in the wilderness. There was no doubt that Yahweh was God of the wilderness. When the Israelites entered Canaan, they found a land of farmers, not shepherds, as they had been in the wilderness. The land was fertile beyond anything the Hebrew nomads had ever seen. The Canaanites attributed this fertility to their god Baal, and that is where the Israelites problems began. Could the God who had led them out of Egypt and through the wilderness also provide fertile farms in the Promised Land? Or would the fertility god of Canaan have to be honored? Maybe, to be safe, they should worship both Yahweh and Baal.
By the time of Ahab and Jezebel, the fertility cults appeared to have the official sanction of Israel's leaders. Ahab, with his wife's encouragement, built a temple to Baal at his capital, Samaria.
The earliest deity recognized by the peoples of the ancient Near East was the creator god El. His mistress, the fertility goddess Asherah, gave birth to many gods, including a powerful god named Baal ("Lord"). There appears to have been only one Baal, who was manifested in lesser Baals at different places and times. Over the years, Baal became the dominant deity, and the worship of El faded.
Baal won his dominance by defeating the other deities, including the god of the sea, the god of storms (also of rain, thunder, and lightning), and the god of death. Baal's victory over death was thought to be repeated each year when he returned from the land of death (underworld), bringing rain to renew the earth's fertility. Hebrew culture viewed the sea as evil and destructive, so Baal’s promise to prevent storms and control the sea, as well as his ability to produce abundant harvests, made him attractive to the Israelites.
Baal is portrayed as a man with the head and horns of a bull, an image similar to that in biblical accounts. His right hand (sometimes both hands) is raised, and he holds a lightning bolt, signifying both destruction and fertility. Baal has also been portrayed seated on a throne, possibly as the king or lord of the gods.
Asherah was honored as the fertility goddess in various forms and with varying names. She is portrayed as a nude female, sometimes pregnant, with exaggerated breasts that she holds out, apparently as symbols of the fertility she promises her followers. The Bible indicates that she was worshiped near trees and poles, called Asherah poles.
Baal's worshipers appeased him by offering sacrifices, usually animals such as sheep or bulls. At times of crisis, Baal's followers sacrificed their children, apparently the firstborn of the community, to gain personal prosperity. The Bible called this practice "detestable." God specifically appointed the tribe of Levi as his special servants, in place of the firstborn of the Israelites, so they had no excuse for offering their children. The Bible's repeated condemnation of child sacrifice shows God's hated of it, especially among his people.
Asherah was worshiped in various ways, including through ritual sex. Although she was believed to be Baal's mother, she was also his mistress. Pagans practiced "sympathetic magic", that is, they believed they could influence the gods' actions by performing the behavior they wished the gods to demonstrate. Believing the sexual union of Baal and Asherah produced fertility, their worshipers engaged in sex to cause the gods to join together, ensuring good harvests. This practice became the basis for religious prostitution. The priest or a male member of the community represented Baal. The priestess or a female members of the community represented Asherah.
Many, if not all, of the Old Testament gods had disappeared, at least in name, by the time of Jesus. Beelzebub, based on the Philistine god Baalzebul, had become a synonym for the prince of demons, Satan. Many of the ancient pagan deities lived on, however, now identified with the gods of the Greeks and Romans, the nations who controlled the people of Israel before and during New Testament times.
Meanwhile in the southern kingdom of Judah…
After the split, Solomon’s son Rehoboam continued to reign for 17 years over Judah from Jerusalem, and the people continued to be evil during his reign. The text says, “By the sins they committed they stirred up his jealous anger more than those who were before them had done. They also set up for themselves high places, sacred stones and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every spreading tree. There were even male shrine prostitutes in the land; the people engaged in all the detestable practices of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.” In Rehoboam’s fifth year, Judah was attacked by Shishak king of Egypt. The Egyptians took the treasures of the royal palace and the Temple. Throughout Rehoboam’s reign, he was at war with Jeroboam in the north.
When Rehoboam died, his son Abijah became king and reigned in Jerusalem for 3 years. He was bad. He was Absalom’s grandson. He also warred against Jeroboam throughout his reign.
After Abijah died, his son Asa reigned in Jerusalem 41 years. He was good. He got rid of the idols. He even deposed the wicked Queen Mother. Baasha of Israel started a war with him during his reign. He had diseased feet in his old age.
Chapter 17
God sent Elijah the Tishbite to King Ahab to say it would not rain in Israel for the next few years. After this, God sent Elijah away to go live by the brook in the Kirith Ravine east of the Jordan River. God sent ravens to Elijah with meat and bread for him to eat.
Later, after the brook dried up, God told Elijah to go to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay at a widow’s house. The widow wanted to help Elijah when he arrived, but they were almost completely out of food. Elijah reassured her that God would not allow her flour and oil to run out until the rains returned.
Later, the widow’s son became sick and died. The widow was upset and blamed Elijah for her son’s death. Elijah took him in his arms, carried him to the upper room of the house, and laid him on the bed. Elijah stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried out to the LORD, “LORD my God, let this boy’s life return to him!” The boy came back to life, and Elijah gave him back to his mother. The widow said, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is the truth.” “Elijah” means “Yahweh is God.”
