The Bible Project: Week 16 (1 Kings)

(It's actually Week 17, but I'm a bit behind. I'll catch up soon!)

So.... 1 Kings was a bit confusing, especially Chapters 12-16. Those were basically about all the Kings after Solomon, and how each was more corrupt than the last, until we get to Ahab, who "did more to anger the Lord, the God of Israel, than any of the kings of Israel before him." (1 Kings 16:33)

The moral of the story here that I'm getting with 1 Kings is that God punishes evildoers and those who leave him for other gods, and rewards those who follow Him faithfully.

But the names! They are so confusing. There's Rehoboam, and Jeroboam. And theres Abijah (son of Jeroboam), Ahijah (a prophet who lives in Shiloh), and Abijam (who I believe is Jeroboam's brother...). It was so hard to keep track!

Let's go back to the beginning of 1 Kings for a second, back before David dies and Solomon takes the throne. In the first few chapters of 1 Kings, Joab, our friend from 2 Samuel, is back, and is more confusing than ever. I said in 2 Samuel that he is loyal to his King, no matter what. Well, turns out I was wrong, because he ends up deserting and siding with Adonijah, who is trying to take over. Now, Adonijah is another one of David's sons. So let's track Joab's loyalties:

First, when David and his son Absalom aren't on speaking terms, Joab helps out and gets Absalom back into David's favor. So here, it looks like he's on Absalom's side.

Next, when Absalom revolts against David, Joab is SO MUCH on David's side, that he stabs Absalom when he has him cornered, even though David expressly said not to kill Absalom. So here, he is utterly against ANYONE who is against David.

But now, he shrugs at his past loyalty and joins up with Adonijah. WHY? After being such a loyal servant to David all this time? I don't get it.

I think I'll stop there, even though there's way more to 1 Kings. Like Solomon. And Ahab. And Jezebel. And Elijah, whom I really love for some reason. But I'll talk about Elijah when we get to 2 Kings.

~Sophia