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The author or authors of these two books is unknown. As the titles of the books indicate, 1–2 Kings describe the period of the monarchy in ancient Israel (970-586 b.c.), concentrating on the kings who ruled after David.
The books show that Israel suffers again and again because of its great sinfulness (2 Kings 17:7-23; 24:1-4). Yet there is still hope for the nation, because God's chosen family of kings has not come to an end (2 Kings 25:27-30), and God remains ready to forgive those who repent (1 Kings 8:22-61).
The fall of Jerusalem to Babylon in 586 b.c. raised several questions: Was Israel's God not in fact in control of history, as Moses had claimed? If the God of Moses did exist, and was good and all-powerful, how was it that God's chosen city and temple had been destroyed, and his chosen royal family had all but come to its end?
The books of Kings respond to such questions, explaining why Israel was defeated. Israel's God is indeed in control of nature and history. There are no other true gods anywhere. It is this good and all-powerful God who has overseen the destruction of his chosen city and his temple, and Israel's exile to Babylon. Israel's sin has caused these punishments.
After the division of the kingdom, the northern kingdom of Israel lasted slightly more than 200 years (931-722 b.c.), with 19 different kings, all of whom were wicked. The southern kingdom of Judah had the same number of kings, but many of them were good, and Judah lasted almost 150 years longer (931-586 b.c.). Toward the end of Judah's monarchy came two of its best kings: Hezekiah (2 Kings 18:1-20:21) and Josiah (2 Kings 22:1-23:30). Yet the people still rebelled against the Lord, and Judah, like Israel, eventually went into exile as punishment for its sin. But hope remained, for God's chosen royal line had not come to a complete end (2 Kings 25:27-30), and God remained ready to forgive those who repented.
Solomon's reign marked the high point of Israel's power and wealth in biblical times. Solomon's father, David, had given him a kingdom that included Edom, Moab, Ammon, Syria, and Zobah. Solomon would later rule over the kingdom of Hamath as well, and his marriage to Pharaoh's daughter resulted in an alliance with Egypt. Solomon controlled important trade routes between several major world powers, including Egypt, Arabia, Mesopotamia, and Anatolia (Asia Minor).
The book of 2 Kings tells of events in Israel and Judah from the death of Ahab to the exile of Israel and Judah. The story involves Israel, Judah, Syria, Ammon, Moab, Edom, and Philistia, as well as Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, and other kingdoms far beyond Israel's borders.
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The Blue Letter Bible ministry and the BLB Institute hold to the historical, conservative Christian faith, which includes a firm belief in the inerrancy of Scripture. Since the text and audio content provided by BLB represent a range of evangelical traditions, all of the ideas and principles conveyed in the resource materials are not necessarily affirmed, in total, by this ministry.
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