It seems like this might be a good time to ask if kings are a good idea. The Bible tells a very complicated story about our relationship with our own kings (to say nothing of the rulers we encountered in the diaspora). We will spend four weeks in July and August looking at different aspects of the problem of kings. We hope you will want to come to all four sessions. We will welcome you to any session you can attend.
Week 1: From Judges to Kings
The Book of Judges tells the story of the fate of the Twelve Tribes in the years after the exodus from Egypt. It is not always a pretty story, and the people become increasingly unhappy with how things are going. Ultimately, they demand a king, and Samuel (the last of the judges) reluctantly complies. But his choice, Saul, turns out to be a bit of a disappointment.
Week 2: The Greatest King: Maybe Not the Greatest Man?
As King Saul makes a series of bad decisions and descends into madness, a younger, cleverer, more charismatic leader, David, emerges to take his place. David is generally held to be Greatest of All Time in the Israelite king rankings. Even God seems to think so. Nathan said to the king, “Go and do whatever you have in mind, for GOD is with you” (II Samuel 7:3). That said, David’s story presents its own set of challenges like murder, adultery, and rebellion in the family.
Week 3: The Second Greatest King: Didn’t We Warn You?
Solomon is usually Number Two in the king rankings. He has piles of gold and horses and wives. That is interesting. But in Deuteronomy, Moses talks about kings and says that they should not acquire piles of gold and horses and wives. Hmmm. Even more worrisome, it seems all of Samuel’s warnings about kings are coming true. Could it be this whole king idea was a mistake?
Week 4: Little Kings in a Divided and Dangerous World
After the death of Solomon, things really begin to fall apart as the nation splits into the kingdoms of Judah in the south and Israel in the north. The Bible tends to think that the kings of the northern kingdom were either bad or worse. Archeology seems to think that, until the Assyrians came, they ruled a thriving state. Regardless, the kings of Israel and Judah are no match for the powerful empires that sweep over them in the early part of the first millennium BCE. One enduring legacy has been fervent hope for a Messiah, descended from David himself, that has influenced Judaism from the Greek and Roman to the present day.
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