1 Kings
First and Second Kings were originally one book. Kings represents a weaving of many diverse threads by an unknown author.
1-2. King David, now aged, anoints his son Solomon as king, over the elder son, Adonijah. Fearful of Solomon, Adonijah asks Solomon to spare him. Solomon agrees. As David is about to die he commands Solomon to keep God's commands and then instructs Solomon to kill his general, Joab, and a man he had sworn not to kill by his own hands, Shimei. Solomon kills his brother Adonijah despite his promise not to, then orders Joab and Shimei to be killed. The blood-lust and hypocrisy of these people is staggering. In David's dying breath he instructs his son to obey God's commandments (thou shalt not kill) and then instructs him to break them by murdering Joab and Shimei. There is no historical confirmation of the existence of Solomon. He is believed to be fictional. (Ref: Hector Avalos).
3. Solomon makes an alliance with the Pharaoh of Egypt and marries his daughter. In a dream, Solomon asks God for wisdom and God grants his request. Two women come to Solomon; both had babies at the same time, one baby died, and both claim the living child as their own. Solomon asks for a sword to cut the child in two. The real mother begs for its life even if the other woman has custody. The pretender says 'then neither of us will have the child. Cut it in two!' Solomon returns the child to its mother.
4-8. Solomon's wisdom spreads throughout the land. Solomon conscripts labourers to carve stone blocks and cut cedar and juniper from Lebanon to build a temple. Building begins in Solomon's fourth year as king and is completed thirteen years later. It is grand in design, with ornate panels, furniture, and statues, made of wood, bronze, and gold. The Ark of the Covenant (containing the two stone tablets placed there by Moses) is placed inside the temple. Solomon dedicates the temple to God. He instructs the people to pray to God when they do wrong, they need rain, there are disasters or diseases of any kind, or they go to war so that God can forgive them, act on their wishes and uphold their cause. A hundred and forty-two thousand cattle, sheep and goats are sacrificed.
9-11. God appears to Solomon saying if the Israelites obey he will support them, but if they disobey he will bring disaster upon them. Solomon conscripts all the non-Israelites into slave labour. The Queen of Sheba visits Solomon and is overwhelmed by his wisdom and wealth. Solomon has seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines. His wives lead him astray by worshipping other Gods. God is angry and says he will take Solomon's kingdom away, but not in his lifetime, he will take it away from his son. God 'raises up' two adversaries, Hadad and Rezon, young men whose families were wiped out by David's forces. Solomon tries to kill a once-loyal servant turned threat by the name of Jeroboam. Jeroboam escapes to Egypt. When King Solomon dies he is succeeded by his son, Rehoboam. Solomon seems to be the most moderate of Israel's leaders to this time, with the exception of the number of his wives and concubines. Women are generally regarded in the Bible as immoral tempters of men, and when the text says that Solomon's wives 'led him astray' (from God) this statement could simply be more of the same prejudice.
12-16. Jeroboam endeavours to make a treaty with Rehoboam but is rejected. An uprising ensues, Rehoboam escapes to Jerusalem and Jeroboam is made king. Jeroboam builds shrines with golden idols so his people do not have to go to the temple at Jerusalem. This angers God and He vows to destroy Jeroboam and his descendants. There is war between the two kings. In the fifth year of Rehoboam's reign, Jerusalem is attacked by Shishak of Egypt and the wealth of Solomon is plundered. Rehoboam's and Jeroboams descendants continue the bloodshed over many generations, with God making promises to the obedient and raising up enemies to slaughter the disobedient.
17-18. Elija, a Tishbite, proposes a test to see who is the real God. The followers of Baal pray for Baal to light a sacrificial fire but nothing happens. Elijah first pours water on his altar, prays, and his God turns the sodden wood into a fierce blaze. His God is therefore the one true God. He then slaughters four hundred and fifty of Baal's followers. And if you believe that ...
19-22. We move forward many generations. King Ahab fights the Arameans and hundreds of thousands are killed. Ahab's wife, Jezebel, orders a vineyard owner be killed for refusing to sell his vineyard to Ahab. God tells Ahab, via Elijah, that his descendants will suffer for this crime.
The Old Testament God calls himself a jealous God. Jealousy is a vile and harmful emotion. There is a recurring theme of God punishing the children for the crimes of the father. This is probably because a fictitious God cannot always be seen to punish people before they die, but there will always be some disaster in their descendants' lives that can be accounted for in this way. However, this contradicts Deut 24:16 where 'Parents are not to be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their parents; each shall die for their own sins.' Clarity and consistency are not strong suits of the Bible.