Christ in All the Scriptures
by A.M. Hodgkin
III. Christ in the Historical Books
4. The Six Books of the Kings: [1 & 2 Samuel; 1 & 2 Kings; 1 & 2 Chronicles]
  In the Hebrew, these six books are only three, each pair forming but one book.
  [A separate chapter of this study is devoted to each of these six books.]

  Samuel and Kings form a consecutive history. The Key-note of both is Kingdom.

  Chronicles is the story of 2Samuel and 1 & 2 Kings told over again, from a different standpoint. Its Key-note is Theocracy. It deals only with the Kingdom of Judah, and relates to the history as it touches the Temple and the worship of God. It was possibly written by Ezra.

  The special privilege of the Children of Israel was to have God for their King, and to be chosen by Him to be a peculiar people unto Himself, to show forth His praise in the world.

  During the period of the Judges, Israel had rejected God from being their King. This rejection reached a climax in Samuel's day, when ''they asked for a King like all the nations'' [1Sam 8:5,19,20]. When God's children are afraid of being different from the world around them, they lose their power of testimony for Him.

  God gave them Saul-- a King after their own heart.
  When Saul broke God's covenant through disobedience, God gave them David-- ''a King after His own heart'' [1Sam 13:13,14].

  David was a type of the one perfect King. Solomon, likewise, was a type of Him. But after Solomon, God's power departed from the kings and became vested in the prophets. Elijah sent word to Ahab, ''Behold, Elijah is here! And Ahab went to meet Elijah'' [1Kings 18:8,16] As [D.L.] Moody said, ''Who was king now?'' Moses was a prophet. Samuel was a prophet, as well as being the last of the Judges, and also priest. But the great line of prophets began with Elijah, and they represented God to His people through all the years of the decline and fall of the monarchy.

Return to the Table of Contents for Christ in All the Scriptures.
For another brief look at this book of the Bible,
see the related chapter in OT Reflections of Christ, by Paul Van Gorder.
Go to The Book opening page.