1 Kings and Elijah Cycle

Solomon life span

961-922 B.C.

Solomon’s successes

•Expands central government \n •Builds first Temple in Jerusalem \n •Establishes political and commercial \n treaties with many kingdoms INCLUDING \n THE EGYPTIAN KINGDOM!!! \n •Famous for his wisdom

3 Major Sections of 1 Kings

\n Part 1: History of Solomon \n Part 2: Kings after Solomon \n Part 3:Elijah Cycle

Solomon’s failure

Solomon allows foreign wives to bring their \n gods into the kingdom

* This encourages SYNCRETISM

SYNCRETISM

The worship of more than one god simultaneously, sometimes the mixing of different elements of worship from various religious traditions

Solomon’s punishment

Rebellion of northern tribes, leading to division of kingdom

* Israel in north \n (Samaria = capital)
* Judah in south \n (Jerusalem capital)

Chiastic Structure of Elijah Cycle

In a three-part story cycle, the story in the middle is the most important

In Elijah cycle

God appears to Elijah on Mt. Sinai where the covenant was contracted

Central idea = the covenant, which must be observed \n in both its dimensions, vertical and horizontal

Part 3: The Elijah Cycle

• Part 1: Elijah and the widow & the contest with the prophets of Baal \n • Part 2: God’s appearance to Elijah on Mt. Horeb/Mt. Sinai \n • Part 3: Ahab and the seizure of Naboth’s vineyard

Ahab

king of the northern kingdom of Israel c. 850 B.C.

Jezebel

Ahab’s foreign wife; worships Baal and persecutes the prophets of the God of Israel

Part 2 of Elijah: Kings of Israel and Judah (between 922 B.C. and c. 850 B.C.)

•They are all bad (mostly) \n •They encourage syncretism \n •Worst of all: Ahab, king of the northern kingdom of Israel c. 850 B.C. \n •Ahab’s foreign wife: Jezebel, who worships Baal and persecutes the prophets of the God of Israel

Part 1: Solomon \n 961-922 B.C.

* Solomon’s successes


* Solomon’s failure

1 Kings 11:4

“When Solomon was old his wives had turned his heart to follow other gods, and his heart was not entirely with the Lord, his God, as the heart of David his father had been.”

What part of the covenant does the story of Elijah and the prophets of \n Baal/widow & son address? What does it reveal about the God of Israel?

Part 1 of Elijah Cycle : Elijah & Widow; \n Elijah & Contest with the Prophets of \n Baal

•Addresses the vertical dimension of the covenant \n •Problem: SYNCRETISM, worshipping Baal to help agriculture, worshipping the God of Israel for blessings of the covenant \n •Message to Israel: YOU HAVE TO DECIDE (The Lord or Baal), ONE OR THE OTHER, BUT NOT BOTH

Israel

Northern Kingdom; capital Samaria

Judah

Southern Kingdom; capital Jerusalem

Reasons NOT to worship Baal

Israel’s God controls rain (drought at beginning and torrential rain after), not Baal

God provides the **grain** and **oil** to widow, not Baal \n

God provides the rain, that provides food, that supports life, not Baal