The LORD continues to work through the prophet Elisha in Israel. A sunken ax head is not too small for the LORD’s attention, as the prophet restores this valuable possession to one of the sons of the prophets. When the king of Syria learns that Elisha is behind the foiled attempts to raid Israel, the Syrian king foolishly thinks he can capture the LORD’s prophet. The LORD allows Elisha’s servant to see the angelic army protecting Elisha from the Syrian army. Nonetheless, the LORD shows mercy upo...
Jun 16, 2025•54 min
The LORD cares not only for Israel; He cares for all the nations. That’s why He places His Word in the mouth of a little Israelite slave girl to her master Naaman that healing is available for his leprosy if he goes to the prophet of the true God. The king of Israel knows his own limitations, but Elisha knows the power of God’s Word. Elisha therefore sends Naaman to wash seven times in the Jordan River with the LORD’s promise that Naaman will be healed. Naaman’s servants cut through their master...
Jun 13, 2025•56 min
Tragedy strikes the family that has shown hospitality to Elisha when the son dies in his mother’s arms. Although his father is indifferent toward the Christian faith, the mother turns toward Elisha as the only one who can offer any help. The LORD brings about a miracle by restoring the child’s life in answer to Elisha’s prayer. As Elisha’s ministry continues, the LORD continues to concern Himself with the bodily needs of His people. Elisha's miracle of providing more than enough food for one hun...
Jun 12, 2025•56 min
The author of Kings records several chapters of Elisha’s ministry and miracles throughout the land of Israel, all pointing forward to the ministry and miracles of the Lord Jesus Christ. In caring for a widow of one of the sons of the prophets, Elisha keeps the LORD’s instructions. He tells her to gather only empty jars so that the LORD can pour out His abundant goodness in overflowing oil. As Elisha travels the land of Israel, he often goes through the town of Shunem, where a wealthy woman provi...
Jun 11, 2025•54 min
Jehoram, king of Israel, receives the backhanded compliment that he was only slightly better than his wicked father and mother. As Jehoram wants to keep receiving tribute from Moab, he allies with Jehoshaphat of Judah. They take the southern route to Moab in order to include Edom in their alliance, but run short of water. During the crisis, Jehoshaphat finally looks for the Word of the LORD from the prophet Elisha. Although Jehoram is unfaithful, Elisha faithfully proclaims God’s Word for the sa...
Jun 10, 2025•56 min
As Elijah journeys to the place where he will be taken into heaven, he invites Elisha to count the cost of following him as prophet in Israel. Elisha faithfully follows Elijah and asks that he would receive a double portion of the spirit upon Elijah. When Elisha sees Elijah taken up into heaven, he rightly recognizes God’s activity and confesses that the prophetic word is the true power in Israel. The LORD answers Elisha’s prayer and makes this plain to Elisha as he is able to part the Jordan Ri...
Jun 09, 2025•55 min
Jehoshaphat was a faithful king in the land of Judah. In contrast to the kings of Israel with whom he allied, Jehoshaphat rightly repented when confronted by the word of the LORD’s prophets. Meanwhile in the land of Israel, Ahaziah the son of Ahab only continued in the sins of Jeroboam, Ahab, and Jezebel. When Ahaziah fell and became sick, he chose to consult the idol of Ekron instead of the only true God. The LORD gave Elijah the word of judgment to speak to Ahaziah, who attempted to send his s...
Jun 06, 2025•55 min
Ahab of Israel allies with Jehoshaphat of Judah in an effort to take Ramoth-gilead back from Syria. When Jehoshaphat asks to consult a prophet first, Ahab reluctantly sends for Micaiah, who never gives Ahab good news. Micaiah initially ridicules Ahab by pretending to agree with the false doctrine of the court prophets. When pressed, however, Micaiah faithfully tells Ahab that his death is coming soon, for the LORD is even working through the false prophets. Micaiah willingly goes to prison for h...
Jun 05, 2025•54 min
When Ahab desires to purchase the vineyard of Naboth to convert it into a vegetable garden, Naboth faithfully refuses to sell the inheritance God has given to his family. Ahab’s pity party is rebuked by his wicked queen, Jezebel, who takes matters into her own hands. Although outwardly she puts together what seems to be a legal scenario, her ungodly scheming and covetousness costs Naboth his life. The LORD sees the sins of Jezebel and Ahab and sends Elijah to prophesy their family’s destruction....
Jun 04, 2025•57 min
When Ben-Hadad of Syria makes more and more demands of Ahab, Ahab takes the advice of his people and refuses to acquiesce anymore. As the battle is about to begin, the LORD sends a prophet to Ahab in order to grant even this unfaithful king a victory over Syria. When the Syrians interpret this loss according to their false religion, the LORD brings honor to His name by giving Israel yet another victory. Ahab, however, receives the grace of God in vain and makes a treaty with Ben-Hadad. In respon...
Jun 03, 2025•55 min
When Jezebel threatens to kill Elijah for what he has done to the prophets of Baal, Elijah runs for his life out of the land of Israel. Although the prophet fled apart from God’s Word, the LORD miraculously provides for Elijah and sends him to Mount Sinai. There, Elijah lays his honest complaint before the LORD, and the LORD responds to Elijah through His Word in a low whisper. Even when the LORD’s miraculous signs may not be present, the LORD teaches Elijah that His Word always is. The LORD str...
Jun 02, 2025•56 min
Elijah sets the terms for a contest with the false prophets. Both sides will prepare a sacrifice, but neither will set fire to it, allowing the true God to show Himself by answering the prayer. Elijah allows the false prophets to go first. Although they spend all morning crying upon Baal according to their pagan rites, nothing happens, a reality mocked by Elijah and the author of Kings. When Elijah takes his turn, he prepares his sacrifices so it will be obvious that the answer has come from the...
May 30, 2025•54 min
By the time the LORD sends Elijah back to Israel, the famine has grown so severe that King Ahab himself has to go and look for grass to graze his animals. This provides the opportunity for faithful Obadiah, the man in charge of the king’s household, to be alone and meet Elijah. Obadiah initially thinks that announcing Elijah’s return to Ahab will prove deadly if the Spirit takes Elijah away suddenly again. In his lament, Obadiah gives faithful voice to his prayer before the LORD. Elijah promises...
May 29, 2025•57 min
In judgment against Israel and in mockery of Israel’s monarchs, the LORD sends Elijah to Sidon, Jezebel’s homeland. There, the LORD miraculously provides for His prophet through a poor widow who comes to faith in the one true God. When death strikes the widow’s son, her regret comes to the surface, but Elijah quickly acts. Through the prophet, the LORD brings the child to life again, showing that the word of the LORD is true. This text is brought to fulfillment in the Lord Jesus Christ, not only...
May 28, 2025•55 min
Omri, the commander of Israel’s army, came out on top when the dust settled after Zimri’s death. Although Omri established Samaria and brought Israel to greater political prominence during his reign, the writer of 1 Kings judges Omri as an unfaithful king whose wickedness before the LORD is the worst so far. Omri didn’t remain on that pedestal for long, as his son Ahab was more wicked still, influenced by his pagan wife Jezebel. Nonetheless, the LORD remained faithful to Israel in those days and...
May 27, 2025•55 min
As 1 Kings records the reigns of four kings of whose rule began during the reign of King Asa of Judah, the situation only grows worse and worse. Nadab, son of Jeroboam, only reigns for two years before Baasha comes and kills the whole house of Jeroboam, in fulfillment of the Word of the LORD. Baasha’s reign over Israel is longer, but his unfaithfulness leads to his family’s destruction by the Word of the LORD. That word is fulfilled when Elah, the son of Baasha, is killed along with the rest of ...
May 26, 2025•56 min
The author of Kings turns back to the southern kingdom, Judah, to tell us about three kings whose reigns began during the reign of Jeroboam of Israel. Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, oversaw the drastic decline from the wealth of his father. Abijam only reigned for three years, though his unfaithfulness did not diminish the faithfulness of God's promise to David. Asa is a bright spot in this history, as he remained devoted to the LORD and reformed some of the abuses of his fathers. Throughout all ...
May 23, 2025•57 min
When Jeroboam's son falls ill, Jeroboam sends his wife to a prophet in disguise to find out what will happen. The prophet's failing eyesight does not prevent him from seeing the truth, and the Word of the LORD he speaks reveals that Jeroboam's family is coming to an end. This sick son will die, and he will be the only one of Jeroboam's family to receive a proper burial, for the rest of Jeroboam's family remains lost in idolatrous unbelief. The Word of the LORD comes to pass as the prophet foreto...
May 22, 2025•53 min
A man of God appears to Jeroboam at his idolatrous altar in Bethel. The man of God prophesies that a son of David named Josiah will one day come and desecrate the idolatrous place of worship, and this man of God is proven to be true by the fulfillment of the sign he gives. Initially, the man of God lives according to the word of God he has been given, as he refuses to eat and drink with Jeroboam. Yet even this man of God later falls into temptation and receives judgment for his disobedience. Tra...
May 21, 2025•56 min
After Solomon's death, his son Rehoboam receives a request from Israel that their hard service for the king be eased. Rather than listening to the wisdom of the older counselors, Rehoboam takes the advice of his young friends to promise even harder work for Israel. The results are disastrous, as Jeroboam seizes the opportunity to take ten tribes of Israel under his reign. By the word of the LORD, a civil war is avoided, but the kingdom of Israel divides in two. In the northern kingdom, Jeroboam ...
May 20, 2025•57 min
Toward the end of his life, Solomon's marriage alliances with idolatrous wives turned his heart away from the wisdom of worshipping the LORD alone. The folly of idolatry led Solomon to build high places for false gods, and this evil brought the LORD's anger upon Solomon. The LORD promised that a majority of the kingdom would be taken away from Solomon's son. The LORD also began to raise up adversaries against Solomon before Solomon died; chief among them was Jeroboam. Even in the midst of Solomo...
May 19, 2025•53 min
Solomon's fame spreads throughout the world, so much so that the queen of Sheba comes to hear and see him for herself. She exclaims that Solomon's wisdom and wealth have far surpassed the report and proclaims blessing upon the LORD for the way He has loved His people by giving them a faithful ruler. Solomon's wealth truly was extravagant, not only in gold and silver, but in a wealth of commodities. Despite such prosperity, this chapter continues to reveal Solomon's slow slide away from the LORD,...
May 16, 2025•56 min
The LORD appears to Solomon a second time in answer to his prayer. The LORD promises that He will indeed dwell in the house that Solomon has built and warns Solomon from turning away to other gods, which will lead to destruction for Israel and the temple. Tragically, the rest of the chapter begins to reveal Solomon's slow slide toward such unfaithfulness as he wrongly attempts to dispose of Israelite land and cares more about wealth than worship. Rev. Dr. Adam Koontz, pastor at Redeemer Lutheran...
May 15, 2025•56 min
Solomon's prayer of dedication at the temple recognizes the reality that the people of Israel will fall into all kinds of sin, and so he prays that the LORD will be gracious to them in their sin, hear their prayer toward His temple, and forgive. After Solomon finishes his prayer, he blesses Israel by calling them to attend to the Word of God, which does not fail. The sacrifices and joy at the temple's dedication overflow at the goodness that God has shown to His people. Rev. Sam Beltz, pastor at...
May 14, 2025•1 hr
Once the construction of the temple is complete, Solomon gathers the people of Israel and brings the ark of the LORD into the temple, and the glory of the LORD fills the house. Solomon blesses the people in the LORD's name, for He has promised that His name will be in the temple. Solomon prays to the LORD, acknowledging that He alone is the true God who shows steadfast love and keeps His promises. Therefore, Solomon asks the LORD to keep His promise by listening to the prayers offered to Him in ...
May 13, 2025•58 min
The details given about Solomon's palace in Jerusalem indicate its splendor, yet the brevity of the text compared to the details of the temple remind us that the LORD's house is the one that matters. The craftsmanship described concerning the pillars, the sea, and the basins is quite intricate, as the LORD equipped Hiram the craftsman for the task. Each of the details describes not only the functionality of the temple but points to the purpose of the LORD coming to His people with His forgivenes...
May 12, 2025•56 min
The construction of the LORD's temple begins 480 years after the exodus from Egypt, marking this as a watershed moment in the LORD's work of saving His people. The grandeur of the temple confesses how valuable the LORD's presence is among His people. Decor in the temple reminiscent of the Garden of Eden shows how the LORD comes to bring His people a new creation. Though such details may seem tiresome to modern readers, all of the text points us forward to the fulfillment in Christ Jesus, in whom...
May 09, 2025•55 min
Hiram the king of Tyre continues his friendly relationship with the kingdom of Israel during the reign of Solomon. Since the LORD has given peace to Israel and made His promise that the son of David would build the temple, Solomon makes an agreement with Hiram to acquire cedar for the LORD's house. Solomon continues to receive the LORD's wisdom with thanksgiving as he makes the preparations for materials and labor needed to accomplish the temple's construction. Rev. Dr. Jacob Corzine, Vice Presi...
May 08, 2025•53 min
Solomon exercises his God-given wisdom as he appoints court officials and other officers to help him manage the kingdom of Israel. Under Solomon’s reign, God blesses Israel, and the kingdom grows in territory and prosperity. Many of the descriptions of life under Solomon’s rule recall promises God made to His people, promises that He is now fulfilling. The fame of Solomon’s wisdom spreads throughout the world, and many people from many nations come to hear him. This foreshadows the nations comin...
May 07, 2025•52 min
Solomon’s marriage alliance with Egypt and his allowance of a multitude of high places for worship reveal cracks in the foundation of Solomon’s kingdom. However, Solomon’s love of the LORD is real, and even more importantly, the LORD’s grace to Solomon is real. While Solomon worships at Gibeon, the LORD promises to give Solomon the answer to his prayer. Solomon prays for wisdom, and the LORD promises not only wisdom, but also riches, honor, and long life. The reality that the LORD answered this ...
May 06, 2025•54 min
