Kingdom

After the people got what they desired in King Saul, God appointed another king to lead his people.  As David took the throne, the kingdom of Israel was established.

THE FALL OF KING SAUL

  • After David defeats Goliath, Israel begins to praise David more than King Saul (1 Sam. 18:7).
  • King Saul tries to kill David, but David will not seek revenge and lets God have control (1 Sam. 18:26).
  • Saul does not hear from God, so he consults a medium at Endor whom God uses to call on Samuel and predict his death (1 Samuel 28).
  • Saul gets struck by a Philistine arrow, then falls on his own sword so that he won’t be tortured (1 Samuel 31).

THE GOOD OF DAVID’S KINGDOM

  • David establishes Jerusalem as the capital and fortifies the nation (2 Samuel 5).
  • David brings the ark back (2 Samuel 6) and unifies worship for the nation (The Book of Psalms).
  • David desires to build God a “house” but God says he will build David a “house” (2 Samuel 7).
  • David inspires the “mighty men of Israel” (1 Chron. 20:4-8).
  • When a giant-killer is the leader, you get giant-killer followers.

THE BAD OF DAVID’S KINGDOM

  • David commits adultery and murder in the episode with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11-12).
  • David takes a census for his own glory instead of God’s glory, and God punishes the nation (1 Chronicles 21).
  • David’s son, Absalom, led a coup to try and become king instead of his father (2 Samuel 15-19).
  • David returns to his senses and offers worship that “costs” him something (2 Sam. 24:18-25).
  • At the end of his life, he hands over the kingdom to Solomon and offers great fatherly advice (1 Kings 2:1-4).

SOLOMON’S TAINTED GLORY

POSITIVESNEGATIVES
David’s chosen heir (1 Kings 1)Gained power in a bloody coup (2)
Nathan’s early support (1)Prophetic voice disappears
Prayer for wisdom (3-4)Forced labor, unjust wealth (9:15-22; 10:26-29)
Completion of the temple (5-8)Foreign wives lead to idolatry (11:1-8)
The support from Yahweh (9:1-9)The rejection from Yahweh (11:9-12)

SOLOMON’S WRITINGS

  • Proverbs – rules for wise living
  • Ecclesiastes – the vanity of life
  • Song of Solomon – wisdom in sex and marriage