1 Kings 22:41-53

1 Kings 22:41-53

The book of 1 Kings ends with the instillation of two new kings, one in Judah and one in Israel. However, it is important to recognize that what we now know as 1 and 2 Kings were not originally written or read that way. These two books were actually written as one. So the story does not end in 1 Kings 22 and later pick up in 2 Kings 1 when someone decided to continue the story. They should be read together, one flowing right into the next. For the purposes of closing out 1 Kings however, this will be a shorter passage today, and we will start looking at 2 Kings later on.


At the beginning of this last chapter of 1 Kings, we saw that Judah had a new king. After the long reign of king Asa, who followed God and led Judah into some great times of peace, his son, Jehoshaphat took the throne. Jehoshaphat continued in the way of his father and was careful to follow God’s commands. Although he was not perfect, he did not turn away from God, looking to Him for direction. He was able to make peace with Israel, and although Ahab was deceitful in his dealings with the Syrians (thus leading to his death), Jehoshaphat was unaware of what Ahab had been up to. Like his father, he had a long reign in Judah, and they continued to enjoy a time of peace. After his death, his son Jehoram took the throne.

Israel was a different story all together. Their long reign of bad kings continued as Ahab’s son, Ahaziah, took the throne. Like the many kings before him, he chose not to follow God, and He worshipped Baal instead. God had promised Ahab that his family would one day be destroyed. When Ahab turned back to God near the end of his life, God chose to wait, giving them another chance. But God knew what Ahaziah would be like, and He knew that like the many families before them, this family would not have control of the throne forever.

So the book of 1 Kings ends much like it began. After the kingdom split, both nations experienced hard times as they were led by kings who had chosen to abandon God. But in time, Judah returned to God, and He continued to bless them as He had promised since the time of Moses. As for Israel, they chose to turn away from God, and as a result they rarely had a time of peace. There were always wars and battles going on in their land. Furthermore, kings were murdered as new families took charge of the nation. Be careful and do not think that this means that if we follow God we will always experience times of peace without trouble. Even God’s children experience pain. The difference is that God will never leave you during those times. We have seen this time and time again as we have walked from Genesis to 1 Kings. Yes, God blesses those that follow Him, but we also live in a fallen world. Bad things happen in life, and we are not immune from pain and disaster. Still, we must choose to follow God and obey His commands, following the example of the Kings of Judah.

Matt