The Gospel in 1-2 Kings

God's faithfulness and man's unfaithfulness. 1-2 Kings belongs to a larger group of books in the OT, Joshua through Kings (the Former Prophets). Together, they record the faithfulness of God to keep all his covenant promises with regard to establishing his people in the promised land. There are two important texts that summarize this:

1. Josh 21:44-45: "The Lord gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their ancestors. Not one of their enemies withstood them; the Lord gave all their enemies into their hands. Not one of all the Lord's good promises to Israel failed; every one was fulfilled."
2. 1 Ki 8:56: "Praise be to the Lord, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses."

These two texts provide the two theological lenses through which we are invited to read Kings. The Lord was faithful to give his people rest and to keep all of his covenant promises. In contrast, the history of God's people was one of covenant breaking and ever increasing infidelity.

How can God be so gracious and also keep his promise to curse covenant breakers? How is such gracious behavior of the Lord possible? God is flawlessly faithful to his covenant promises, yet part of those promises include the promise to curse covenant breakers: "Cursed is anyone who does not uphold the words of this law by carrying them out" (Dt 27:26; cf. 27:15-26; 28:15-19). How can God be both merciful to his people but also faithful to curse covenant breakers, since all of God's people have broken the covenant? Kings hints at the answer with the important expression "for the sake of my servant David" (cf. 1 Ki 11:11-13, 32, 34; 2 Ki 8:19; 19:34; Isa 37:35).

Because the Lord made a covenant with David to establish an eternal kingdom through his offspring (cf. 2 Sam. 7:9–16; 1 Kings 3:6; 9:4–5; 11:4, 34; 14:8; 15:3), the nation of Israel was repeatedly treated in gracious mercy, in ways it did not deserve. Ultimately, however, the sins of Israel increased to such a point that the covenant curses of destruction and exile were required by the Lord's faithfulness to his own covenant obligations (cf. 2 Kings 17 and 25), but even these disciplinary measures were sovereignly administered in such a way as not to undo the Davidic promise that would remain Israel's hope.

God does not treat us as our sins deserve because of the faithfulness of another David. As Christians, we are reminded through 1 and 2 Kings of God's faithfulness to us as his covenant people in spite of our own transgressions and covenant infidelity. We must understand that God's grace and mercy to us is rooted in the same hope expressed by Kings, that God does not treat us as our sins deserve because of the faithfulness of another David, Jesus Christ, the root and offspring (or Seed) of David (Matt. 1:1, 17; 9:27; 12:23; 15:22; 20:30–31; 21:9; John 7:42; Rom. 1:3; 2 Tim. 2:8; Rev. 22:16). But Jesus is not just any son (offspring) of David. He is the true and better David. Not only did his obedience merit our righteousness before God, but he also bore the consequences of our covenant breaking. "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Cor 5:21; cf. Rom 8:1). In Christ, we are guaranteed that God's steadfast love will never run out, because the necessary curse for covenant disobedience has been endured by another on our behalf. Now, we rest in God's faithfulness, for he has kept all of his covenant promises, and "all the promises of God find their Yes in him" (2 Cor 1:20).