Wednesday Bible Study: King Me!

The Book of Kings (which is one book in the Tanakh but has been divided in two in the protestant Bible) is the last book of the Deuteronomic History. Remember that Deuteronomy, although it is considered the last book of the Torah, was actually produced separately from the first four books and is thought to have the same authorship as these subsequent ones. The overall purpose of the Deuteronomic History appears to be to reestablish orthodoxy and the exclusive worship of Yahweh at the beginning of the Second Temple period.  The Book of Kings to some extent reverts to the Groundhog Day pattern of Judges, with the kings, like the judges, retaining Yahweh ' s favor while they are faithful to him but losing it when they stray toward other gods. In Samuel Saul and David, although they displeased Yahweh at times, were never apostate. Kings is also extremely bloody, a relentless torrent of murder and slaughter. What else is new? The first chapter describes David ' s decline with age and the struggle for succession. By grabbing the horns of the altar at the end of the tale, Adonijah is claiming sanctuary. Solomon honors the sanctuary in this case, but later he will not.1 Now King David was old and advanced in years; and although they covered him with clothes, he could not get warm.2 Therefore his servants said to him, “Let a young maiden be sought for my lord the king, and let her wait upon the king, and be his nurse; let her lie in your bosom, that my lord ...
Source: Stayin' Alive - Category: American Health Source Type: blogs