1 Kings

This may be a record that I finished a whole book of the Bible in just over a month.  I did really enjoy this book, and I've been really trying to be in it more often.  Daily is the goal!

• King David is old and they find a young woman to come care for him; Abishag (he doesn't not have sexual relations with her)
• David's some Adonijah tries to become King instead of Solomon without David knowing
• Bathsheba, David's wife/Solomon's mom, goes to David tot ell him what is going on at the prophet Nathan's direction
• David makes Solomon king; the celebration interrupts Adonijah's party and they are afraid and scatter
• Adonijah goes to the alter and pleads his life to Solomon, who agress as long as he is a man of honor
• David near death gave Solomon guidance to follow as king - reminded him of those who had done wrong and those that were kind
• Solomon takes control after David dies
• Many are killed for their wrongs as Solomon takes control
• Solomon is building a palace and temple, currently worship and sacrifice is given in many places
• Solomon asks God for an obedient heart and wisdom, God grants this request
• Two prostitutes living together have babies 3 days apart; one mother rolls onto her baby and kills him during the night; she switches the babies
• The women take the fight for the baby to the king who rules with wisdom
• He says to cut the baby in half for them, but the real mother steps up and stops it
• Solomon had officer in charge of things and responsible; he also had 12 governors, one for each district
• Each district provided king and his table with food for 1 month of the year
• There was peace in all the land, Israel & Judah
• People came to see Solomon's great wisdom
• Now that there was peace from David defeating all his enemies, Solomon fulfilled his wishes by preparing to build a temple for worship
• Solomon builds the temple in 7 years with stone and cedar and pine and olive wood; the most holy place covered in gold
• Solomon built a palace for himself in 13 years and for his wife, the daughter of an Egyptian King
• Huram came and built things of bronze to finish the temple
• Much of the work was done with carvings and stampings of winged creatures, lions, flowers and palm trees
• Solomon brought everything into the temple that David had set aside for it
• The Ark of the Agreement was brought in and God filled the place
• Solomon shares what has been done with his people
• Solomon prays that everyone will sin, then sorry-ness and prayer, then forgiveness
• Sacrifices offered
• The Lord appears to Solomon and reminds him to obey and his family will rule or destruction will come
• Solomon built many towns and anything he wanted
• Solomon used non-Israelites in their land as slaves
• The Queen of Sheba came to see the wisdom of Solomon and give gifts
• Solomon was very wealthy
• Solomon's 700 wives were foreigners who led him away from God to worship their gods
• Because Solomon didn't follow when his sone takes power it will be mostly taken from him
• Solomon had enemies
• Ahijah, a prophet, told Jeroboam, and officer of Solomon that he would rule 10 tribes of Israel
• Solomon's son would keep a tribe
• Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but he ran away
• Rehoboam succeeded Solomon on the throne
• The people went to Rehoboam and asked for a little easier work than under Solomon
• Wise advisors of Solomon suggested he give a kind answer and win their favor so they serve him
• Rehoboam rejected that advise and insisted they work much harder and he be much meaner
• The tribes left him and selected Jeroboam as their King
• Judah was still Rehoboam's to rule
• Rehoboam gathered men and wanted to fight for Israel's rule, but God stopped him with Shemaiah
• Jeroboam feared people leaving his rule since they still worshipped in Rehoboam's land, so he built two calves to worship instead and put them in 2 different cities; he made his own festival
• Jeroboam selected priest from all tribes, not just the Levi's
• A man of God went to Jeroboam to speak against his actions; they warned him, then those things happened because of his disbelief (alter broke, ashes fell, arm paralyzed)
• At prayer request his arm is healed (Jeroboam's) and he invited the prophet in to eat
• The prophet rejected at God's directions he'd received
• An old prophet went after him and lied to get him to come eat with him, then more death occurred because he didn't follow god's order
• On his way back a lion got him; they went after his body and he was curried there away from his family
• Jeroboam's son was ill, so he sent his wife to a prophet in disguise
• The prophet knew she was coming called her out of her disguise, told her that her son would die and that Israel will face great consequences for Jeroboam's evil
• Nadab (son) took Jeroboam's throne after death
• Rehoboam ruled and his people didn't follow God
• Rehoboam and Jeroboam were at war all the time
• Rehoboam's son, Abijah, took the throne after his death; he was a sinful king
• Everything the kings did was recorded in the book of the history of the kings
• Asa (son) followed Abijah's rule
• Asa followed God and pushed evil out
• War continued with Israel
• Nadab (sinful) ruled Jeroboam's Israel, but was killed by Ahijah's son (Baasha) and Baasha (sinful) became king
• Elah (sinful) followed Baasha's reign
• Baasha killed all of Jeroboam's family
• Elah was killed by one of this officers, Zimri, and he took reign as king
• Zimri killed all of Baasha's family
• Omri the arm captain hear Zimri conspired against and killed Elah, so he captured the city and made himself king
• Zimri was angry and burned his palace with himself inside
• Israel was divided, some wanted Omri, other Tibni
• Tibni died, Omri's followers were stronger
• Omri was very bad, his son Ahab succeeded him on the throne
• Ahab was worse than the kings before him
• He married Jezebel, worshipped Baal
• He rebuilt Jericho during his reign and lost his older and youngest son to the cause
• Elijah the prophet stops the rain in the land
• The Lord commanded birds and a widow to care for Elijah
• The widow was poor (no rain) and couldn't feed him; Elijah told her to use what she had for them and her flour and oil jar wouldn't empty until rain returned - isn't God amazing! :)
• Widow's son became ill; Elijah took him and prayed over him and he was fine
• Elijah goes to King Ahab via Obadiah (God said rain will come)
• Obadiah was a Godly man who hid prophet in caves when Jezebel was killing them - Elijah escaped and wasn't found
• Obadiah was afraid to go to the king but continued
• Elijah told Ahab to gather Israel after he reminded Ahab he had caused trouble, not himself
• Elijah in front of the Israelites challenged them to follow God
• Elijah challenged the 400 prophets to Baal to sacrifice a bull but pray to light the fire and he alone would do the same
• Elijah even covered his alter with 12 jars of water
• God burnt the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and dried the water
• Israel worshipped God
• The worshipped Baal by cutting themselves to bleed
• Elijah captured the prophets of Baal, led them way and killed them
• Elijah tells Ahab to go eat and Eligah goes to Mt. Carmel - he sends his servant to go look toward the sea 7 times
• The 7th time he returns and says a cloud has formed over the water
• Elijah sends Ahab home, but runs ahead with God's power
• Jezebel hears of Elijah's doing and threatens his life, so he runs away with his servant
• Elijah leaves his servant in Judah and continues to the desert for a day before laying by a bush and asking to die; then he sleeps
• An angel wakes Elijah to eat the bread wnas water provided and drink twice before he returns to sleep
• Elijah walked 40 days to Mt. Sinai where he spoke with God
• God passed by Elijah after wind and earthquake and fire
• God told him to go anoint Hazael (Aram king), Jehu (Israel King), and Elisha (prophet)
• The Lord knew he had 7,000 people left in Israel who hadn't worshipped Baal
• Elijah found Elisha plowing with oxen and put his coat on Elisha; Elisha followed him but asked to say goodbye
• Elisha killed his oxen, cooked them and gave to the people to eat; he followed Elijah and became his helper
• Be-Hadad of Aram and Ahab of Israel go to war; God allows Israel to defeat the much larger Aram army in the mountains and they valley to prove he is Lord
• A prophet let an enemy soldier escape, he had to give his life in his place
• Ahab wanted Naboth's winery, but Naboth refused
• Jezebel didn't like Ahab sadness; he wasn't eating
• She took matters into her own hands and had Naboth accused of speaking against God and king and killed him by stoning
• Ahab went to take the vineyard then and Elijah warned him of harm coming for his choices
• Ahab showed remorse and delayed punishment for his family until his son became king at his death
• There was peace between Israel and Aram
• Jehoshaphat (Judah) and Ahab (Israel) went to war to get Ramoth in Gilead abck against the advice of prophet Micaiah
• All other prophets were tricked and said to go to war
• Abah died in battle
• Jehoshaphat is king of Judah and is good
• Ahaziah is king of Israel and is bad

As I read this book it was a challenge to keep the Kings straight, so I googled and found a neat chart I'm keeping in my Bible of the kings of Judah and Israel and their times and their prophets and if they were good and bad.  It's helpful!