Introduction
If you want to be somewhat amused, ask as teenager or a counselee to open the text and read a portion from the books of first or second kings. Don’t be surprised if the first response is a puzzled look and the second is their opening to the Bible to look for index page to discover a page number for the address you announce. After they have read the passage, ask, “Now what is the principle in that story that is instructive for your situation?” Again, there will be halo data that projects a bit of consternation at your question. That look will say, “I don’t understand. What does that story have to do with my life?”
Believe me, I have seen that look more than once, not just with those two books, but with most of the Old Testament.
Seminary Student Responses
Most of the class I teach, at some point I put in a plug for the Old Testament. Several years ago, I wrote a small volume titled, “Life Lessons form Ancient Prophets, which I sometimes assign as textbook. Recently one of my students commented, after reading the volume, “Now I understand why you love the Old Testament.”
Why the Interest in the Books of the Kings?
Beyond the simple fact that God thought them important enough to preserve for us, there are several reasons.
First, there is a problem that in Israel through the Old Testament that God addresses consistently. It is idolatry. For example, in Isaiah 44, The prophet mocks the idol maker’s stupidity as he details the absurdity of a person who uses half his timber to fashion an object of worship and used the remains for fuel to cook his meal.
Second, idolatry is an issue pointed addressed in the Ten Commandments and yet Paul warns against the practice in the New Testament. He warns against idolatry. He plainly teaches that it is a sin that leads to a person being excluded from the Kingdom of God. He broadens our understanding that involves more than worshipping physical idols. His definition includes going to anything than God to gain what we should only go to God to gain. Examples would bematerial possessions, power, or pleasure. Paul urged believers to “flee from idolatry” and to not be deceived by it, as it represents an exchange of trust from God for lifeless things.
Third, the books of the kings display multiple dimensions of idolatry and the end product of leading our hearts and, by our example, the hearts of our families and fellow citizens from the Lord. This product in turn leads to God’s discipline.
Two Passages That Would Challenge Dads
• Example One: For Dad’s Who Idolizes Personal Activities I Kings 15:1-14
After Dad reads these verses the question proposed is, “What is the weakness that Abijam and Asa perpetuated?” Then answer would be, “But the high places were not taken away.”
• Example Two: For Dad’s to See How Their Modeling Impacts Family and Others I Kings 16:1-14
Tell me, what do we learn here about what we model?
New Testament Truth in the Flesh
Another way that I sometimes present my love for the Old Testament is in this manner. In the Old Testament we can observe New Testament doctrinal truth in flesh.
For example, in second Samuel we have the account of David’s adultery (a form of idolatry) with Bathsheba. First, we learn how important it is that we attend to godly priorities. David was to be with his army defending his nation. Secondly, was not heeding the principle of living on the alert and thinking with a sound mind (God informed mind) as instructed by Peter (I Peter 5:6-9). Third, by considering Psalm 32 and 38 and 51 we have a display of how conviction works, how forgiveness is sought, and the freedom that comes from forgiveness.
I suspect the most folks are like me and at some point, wonder why God recorded such terrible sin on the part of David whom he subsequently dubbed, “a man after God’s own heart” (I Sam 13:14; Acts 13:22). However, the conclusion I arrived at is that God recorded the whole sequence for our multifaceted instruction. Hence, I have found this material extremely helpful with counselees struggling to believe that God could forgive them for their terrible sin.
Invitation
And, so, my friends, I invite, no I encourage you, to fall in love with the Old Testament. It is good for the soul. It makes for rich preaching. It makes for practical teaching. And, it is part of the warehouse of God’s many facetted tools for living (2 Peter 1:3-4).