1 Kings 2:3-4 David is talking to Solomon. “I am about to go the way of all the earth, so be strong, show yourself a man and observe what the Lord your God requires: Walk in His ways, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and requirements, as written in the Law of Moses, so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go, and that the Lord may keep his promise to me: ‘If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully before me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’
When David died, his son Solomon became king. Solomon prayed for wisdom and discernment, and he was given that by the Lord. You may recall the story of the two mothers, and one of their children had died. The mother of the child who died had tried to trick the other mother into believing it was her child who was dead, and they took their plea to Solomon. Solomon said the baby should be cut in half, and the woman whose son it was said No, don’t kill him. That is how Solomon knew she was the real mother. Solomon was wiser than any other man from all the nations because he asked God for wisdom! He built a beautiful temple for the Lord in Jerusalem, and brought the box of the covenant to the temple.
Solomon angered the Lord when he had many wives who had many different idols that they worshipped, and sometimes Solomon would join in with the offerings to the idols. The people saw Solomon doing these things, and thought it was OK, so they became interested in the idols too. Solomon died and Rehoboam took over as king. He was nothing like Solomon, and the Israelites separated into two kingdoms. The ten tribes to the north of Jerusalem made their own king and made sacrifices to idols in Bethel and Dan. The prophet named Elijah felt as though he was the only true worshipper of the Lord left. He was told by God to stay with the widow at Zarephath, and she provided for him what she didn’t have to provide. Then her son became ill and died, but Elijah took him and prayed for his life to return and it did. The widow knew that he was a man of God. Elijah then went on to prove that Baal was not the real God, but still had to run for his life because king Ahab’s wife wanted to kill him. Elisha was called to succeed Elijah.
In 2 Kings, Elijah is walking and talking to Elisha, when a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the men, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. Elisha was a faithful servant, and went wherever God needed him to go. He was helpful to all peoples. On the other hand, the kings of the two kingdoms seemed to thrive on personal fame and success, and not on God. Kings Hezekiah and Josiah wanted the people to be loyal to God, but in the end even they succumbed to the evil ways of the people. The Babylonian army attacked them while under the reign of king Zedekiah, and they destroyed the temple. The descendents of David were led into exile by King Nebuchadnezzars army. The people were slaves, but God was still with them. Little by little, things improved for them, and the king Jehoiachin was released.
I think we are caught up now, and I so apologize for falling off the blog! Life took over, or satan thought he could get a stronghold on me, and I’m now saying NO WAY! I will follow Jesus Christ, He is my Lord and Savior! Bless you all.
