1 Kings 3:1-15 | Bible Study Solomon Asks for Wisdom Solomon’s Dream After the drama of the first two chapters, the story in 1-2 Kings takes a turn in 1 Kings 3. 1 Kings 3:1-15 is a famous story. Solomon asks God for wisdom when he is given a blank check. As a result, God […]

1 Kings 2:36-46 | Bible Study The Kingdom is Solomon’s Solomon’s Final Enemy This passage concludes the first section of 1-2 Kings. Every story has had one main objective: show how Solomon became king of Israel. After executing Adonijah (1 Kings 2:13-25) and Joab and exiling Abiathar (1 Kings 2:26-35), Solomon turns his attention to […]

1 Kings 2:26-35 | Bible Study Solomon Eliminates His Rivals Solomon’s First Moves After Solomon eliminates Adonijah (1 Kings 2:13-25), he moves to consolidate his power with two more political maneuvers. As readers, though, we must grapple with an important question: were Solomon’s actions necessay From a political perspective, Solomon’s moves make sense. From the […]

1 Kings 1:13-25 | Bible Study Adonijah’s Last Attempt Adonijah’s Strange Request After David’s final instructions to Solomon (1 Kings 2:1-12), the narrator turns our attention back to Adonijah. What follows is a strange story about the events that lead to Adonijah’s death. He approaches Bathsheba and asks to marry the last woman associated with […]

1 Kings 2:1-12 | Bible Study David’s mixed advice: Follow God and kill some people David’s Deathbed Advice With the events of 1 Kings 1 (read blog posts for that chapter here) barely in the rear-view mirror, 1 Kings 2 opens with David’s final instructions before he dies. And, oh my, are they a doozy! […]

1 Kings 1:41-53 | Bible Study Adonijah’s Coup Fails Adonijah is in Trouble 1 Kings 1 is a long chapter filled with drama. It begins with Adonijah seizing upon David’s old age (1 Kings 1:1-4), and attempting to take the throne for himself (1 Kings 1:5-10). Nathan and Bathshebe successfully undermine Adonijah’s attempted coup when […]