The United Kingdom (Part 2)

by Micky Galloway

Samuel was the last of the Judges through whom God led His people. The book of Judges closes with the words, “In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25). Eventually, the people asked Samuel for a king. “Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations” (I Samuel 8:5). God instructed Samuel to grant their request. God assured Samuel that the people were not rejecting him as their judge; rather they were rejecting God as their king.

Saul, son of Kish was anointed as the first King, the “captain over God’s people” (I Samuel 9:1-2). At first, Saul was a very humble man. God was with Saul during his early years as king, but Saul continued to demonstrate that he was not the kind of man God needed to lead Israel. Samuel rebuked Saul, “But now thy kingdom shall not continue: Jehovah hath sought him a man after his own heart, and Jehovah hath appointed him to be prince over his people, because thou hast not kept that which Jehovah commanded thee” (I Samuel 13:14). Later Samuel asked, “Hath Jehovah as great delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of Jehovah? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as idolatry and teraphim. Because thou hast rejected the word of Jehovah, he hath also rejected thee from being king” (I Samuel 15:22-23).

God sent Samuel to Bethlehem (I Samuel 16:1) to anoint a young man, David, of the tribe of Judah, to be the next king. David is described in the New Testament as a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22). One of the most memorable occasions in David’s young life was his battle with the Philistine champion who was over nine feet tall. David’s strength, courage, and faith in God are seen in I Samuel 17:37, “Jehovah that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine.” After numerous battles, David expanded the kingdom to include 60,000 square miles. The text says that “Jehovah gave victory to David whithersoever he went” (II Samuel 8:6). It was to David that God said, “And thy house and thy kingdom shall be made sure for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established forever” (II Samuel 7:16). Even now, Jesus is ruling on “David’s throne” (Acts 2:30-33; cf. Luke 1:32-33).

David was not perfect by any means. David sinned grievously. While David’s armies besieged the city of Rabbah, David tarried in Jerusalem (II Samuel 11:1). David was on his housetop when he saw a woman, Bathsheba, bathing. David and Bathsheba committed fornication, though she was the wife of one of David’s most loyal men. She was with child as a result, and David sought to cover his sin. He had Uriah, her husband, put in the forefront of the battle to be killed, and then took Bathsheba as his wife. Nathan the prophet, rebuked David and told him of the consequences of his sins (II Samuel 12:1-14). The sword would never depart from David’s house from that day forward. Troubles would arise from within David’s own family. Men would lay with his wives on the housetop for all to see as a disgrace to him. The child that was conceived would surely die. This sin marked a dark time in the life of David and the history of Israel. Indeed, the child died. David’s oldest son Amnon raped his half-sister Tamar. Another son, Absalom, killed Amnon. Absalom, not willing to wait for his inheritance, engaged in shrewd political maneuvers to win the hearts of the people. David was able to secure the kingdom, but not without the death of his son Absalom. We hear the cries of David, “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son” (II Samuel 18:33). Even in the days of his death he learned that Adonijah had proclaimed himself king, though he had specified his son Solomon would rule after him; yet another rebellion to squelch. To get a feel of David’s sorrow, read Psalms 51. David also reigned for forty years.

Solomon was a man of peace. I Kings 4:25 says, “And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig-tree, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, all the days of Solomon.” God appeared to Solomon very early in his reign and told Solomon to ask for whatever he wished. Solomon humbly said, “O Jehovah my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child; I know not how to go out or come in. And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. Give thy servant therefore an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and evil; for who is able to judge this thy great people?” (I Kings 3:7-9). Solomon was given a degree of wisdom above any other (cf. I Kings 3:16-28). He was also given riches and honor. God told Solomon that he would also be granted a long life if he obeyed God faithfully. Solomon did many great things. He took seven years to build the temple to God. Afterward he spent thirteen years building a palace for himself in Jerusalem. A second time, God told Solomon that he would establish his family as the ruling family if Solomon and his sons would serve Him faithfully. If not, God declared He would cut off Israel from the land and reject the temple that Solomon had built for the Lord. I Kings 9:7-9 says, “then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all peoples. And though this house is so high, yet shall every one that passeth by it be astonished, and shall hiss; and they shall say, Why hath Jehovah done thus unto this land, and to this house? and they shall answer, Because they forsook Jehovah their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods, and worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath Jehovah brought all this evil upon them.”

Solomon sought women like he had gold. I Kings 11:1-3 tells us, “Now king Solomon loved many foreign women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites; of the nations concerning which Jehovah said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go among them, neither shall they come among you; for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart.” Many of these marriages were for political reasons. Moses had earlier warned them of how kings should conduct themselves (Deuteronomy 17:14-20). Multiplying wives was in direct conflict with the commandment of God. The kingdom would be taken from Solomon in the days of his son. Solomon ruled for forty years.

This brings to a close the period of the United Kingdom. With these kings ruling for one hundred twenty years we clearly see that they were blessed by God when they kept His commandments, but when they disobeyed they suffered the consequences. There are always consequences to sin. The kingdom during this period however, was united under one ruler. In our next study we will examine how the kingdom was divided by the foolishness of Solomon’s son, beginning two lines of kings.