GOD’S ECONOMY

SERIES THIRTEEN
GOD’S ECONOMY IN ALL THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE

God’s Economy as Revealed in the Old Testament

Message Eleven
God’s Economy as Revealed in Kings

Scripture Reading: 1 Kings 2:45, 2 Kings 24:18, 12:3, 14:3-4, 15:3-4, 34-35, Gen. 12:2, 13:15-16, Josh. 1:2, Col. 2:9, Eph. 1:23

I. There were altogether forty-one kings in the history of Israel; the way in which these forty-one kings had their being, how they behaved, lived, and acted in their daily living, activities, and careers, paints a full picture of how the elect of God could partake of the God-promised and God-given good land and enjoy all its rights that they could become God’s kingdom on the earth usurped by His enemy Satan—1 Kings 2:45, 2 Kings 24:18.

II. In the divided kingdoms of Judah and Israel are seen the rise and fall of the kings being dependent on their relationship with God, and God’s forbearance, endurance, and righteous judgment toward them—12:3, 14:3-4, 15:3-4, 34-35:

A. The histories of the kings of Israel: nineteen, from Jeroboam to Hoshea, reigned over Israel in the north; the people of Israel, especially the kings, forsook God, turned to the idols, and set up centers of worship other than Jerusalem; that offended God to the uttermost—1 Kings 22:53, 2 Kings 21:7.

B. The histories of the kings of Judah: There were nineteen kings of Judah from Rehoboam to Zedekiah; eight of the kings were proper, doing what was right in the eyes of Jehovah; they removed the idols made by their fathers; but the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places, except in the times of Hezekiah; they never fully returned to the unique place of God’s choice to serve God—12:3, 14:3-4, 15:3-4, 34-35.

C. When they feared God, their nation prospered, and when they departed from God, their nation declined; whenever God perceived that the kings and the people rebelled against Him and left Him to serve the abominable Gentile idols, He was always kind and enduring; He would send His prophets to warn them in hope of their repentance and return to Himself; it was when the people failed to listen that God’s righteous judgment would come upon them—Deut. 5:29, 2 Kings 1:6.

D. The tragic result of such a pitiful history of the kings among God’s chosen and blessed elect should be a serious warning to us, God’s elect in the New Testament age—24:18, footnote 1.

III. All the kings should have had a thorough realization that they were to be kings who ruled not for their own interest and prosperity but for God’s eternal economy, that God could have a nation on the earth to keep the land of Immanuel for Christ’s reign and a people for a genealogy to bring Christ to the Earth—Isa. 8:8, 2 Kings 24:18 footnote 1:

A. This typifies and signifies how we can partake of the all- inclusive Christ as the portion ordained by God for us and enjoy all the rights in Christ assigned to us by God that we, the people chosen and redeemed by God, can become God’s kingdom in Christ and with Christ on the earth usurped by the evil one, God’s enemy Satan—v. 18, 2 Chron. 28:8.

B. For this purpose they had to be a Nazarite to take God as their Head, their authority, and submit themselves to Him as His servants, and abandon all the pleasures (wines) of the world; but all the kings failed God in this, including David, the best one among them; thus, they did not fulfill God’s purpose for His economy; rather, they lost their reign in God’s kingdom, which is the top portion of the enjoyment of the good land (the all-inclusive Christ)—2 Kings 24:18, Judg. 13:7.

IV. The kings of Judah attained to a position where they could enjoy the good land of Canaan in their kingship; they were kings to enjoy the good land; our pursuing of Christ and our faithfulness to Him determine how much we enjoy Him; to have the highest attainment in pursuing Christ is to reign with Him as kings in His divine life—Phil. 3:13-14, Rom. 5:17b, 21b:

A. In the eternal economy of God, the Father has allotted the Son, the all-inclusive Christ typified by the good land, to us as our eternal portion and has transferred us into Him that we may partake of Him—2 Chron. 33:9, footnote 1.

B. We have been regenerated with a divine, spiritual, heavenly, kingly, and royal life; this life enables us to reign as kings; in practice, to reign in life is to be under the ruling of the divine life—John 3:3-6.

C. To reign in life is to conquer, subdue, and rule over Satan, the world, sin, the flesh, ourselves, all kinds of insubordination, and all the environmental circumstances; The more we receive the abundance of grace, the more we reign in life—1:16, Rom. 5:17, 21.

D. God’s complete salvation is for us to reign in life by the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness—v. 17, 21.

E. We need to learn from the example of the kings of Judah to have a God-man living in all the details of our daily life, a living in which you are crucified in our natural life to live by the divine life within us—Gal. 2:20, Phil. 1:21.

V. The intrinsic revelation of the history according to the record from Joshua to Esther—Gen. 12:2, 13:15-16, Josh. 1:2, Col. 2:9, Eph. 1:23:

A. God promised Abraham that He would give him and his descendants Canaan as the good land; through Moses He brought Israel as a people out of Egypt; after Moses, Joshua was used by God to bring His elect into the good land He had promised to them—Gen. 12:2, Josh. 1:2.

B. The intrinsic revelation of the history according to the record from Joshua to Esther is to unveil to us how the eternal economy of God was carried out by His elect on the earth; the eternal economy of God is altogether concerning Christ and for Christ, mainly in the person of Christ and the kingdom of Christ—Ruth 4:17-22, Gen. 12:2:

1. Regarding the person of Christ, the record of history in the Old Testament keeps a lineage of the genealogy of Christ for His coming through His incarnation to be a man—Ruth 4:17-22.

2. Regarding the kingdom of Christ, the Old Testament history keeps a line on the kingdom of God for Christ to establish His divine kingdom on the earth.—Gen. 12:2.

3. These two items form the governing line of the divine revelation in the books of the history of Israel; now in 1 and 2 Kings this governing line must be realized by us for our study and understanding of these two books—Ruth 24:45.

C. For the carrying out of His economy, God needs a people and a land; for Christ’s person, there is the need of a people to be the lineage of His genealogy to bring Him into humanity; for Christ’s kingdom, there is the need of a land; thus, God uses His people to gain a part of the Satan-usurped earth to serve as a “beachhead” for Him to set up His kingdom—13:15-16.

D. The Bible is not a book of history; the Bible is the record of the divine revelation concerning God’s eternal economy, of which Christ is the center and reality; Christ is the embodiment of the Triune God, and the church is the organic Body of Christ; these two items are the basic structure of the Bible—Col. 2:9, Eph. 1:23.

E. The first two kings, David and Solomon, are important types of Christ in two aspects—Col. 2:17, 1 Sam. 17:15, 28, 1 Kings 4:29-30:

1. The first aspect is that of His suffering on earth, before His resurrection—Ruth 2:16, 1 Sam. 17:15, 28:

a. From the time of His birth, He suffered; His life began in a manger in the lowest estate and ended in His being crucified on the cross; the manger and the cross were the two ends of His suffering life—Luke 2:16.

b. David typifies this suffering Christ; David also suffered from his youth; yet his suffering was for the conquering of the usurping enemies and the gaining of the good land, the ground for God’s building—1 Sam. 17:15, 28.

2. Solomon typifies the Christ glorified in the kingdom of God and its splendor; Solomon was glorified in the kingdom of Israel with the splendor of that kingdom; this is a prefigure of Christ in the millennium—1 Kings 4:29-30.

3. These two types are strong evidences that the history of the kings of Israel is related to God’s eternal economy, which concerns Christ as the embodiment of God and the church as the organic Body of Christ—Col. 2:19, Eph. 1:23.

VI. The two books of Kings present us a full picture of the details by which God’s elect remained in and participated in the good land—1 Kings 15:1-3, 11, 26, 34, 2 Kings 18:11, 20:18:

A. The main striking point of these historical books concerning Israel is to show us in detail, in the way of typology, how to experience Christ as the good land given to us by God as our portion—Col. 1:12, Deut. 8:7 footnote 1:

1. First, the book of Joshua shows us how to gain, to take possession of, and to keep the good land—v. 2.

2. Then the books of Judges, Ruth, and 1 and 2 Samuel give us pictures of certain persons, showing us how they remained in the good land and enjoyed the good land after they took possession of it—1 Kings 1:1 footnote 1.

B. It depicts, as an x ray, in detail, the character, the intention, the preferences, the habits, the morality, and the actions of all the kings as the descendants of David the king—15:1-3, 11, 26, 34.

C. This picture concerning Israel ends with a tragedy of all the kings who were put into the blessed situation of the Davidic kingship and who were not faithful to God and did not take good care of their inheritance: they lost the good land and were carried away as captives to the idol-worshipping world; this should be a solemn alarm and warning to us in our relationship with Christ—2 King 18:11, 20:18.

D. The record of the first two chapters of 1 Kings could be considered a conclusion of the history of David recorded in 1 and 2 Samuel; this is strong evidence that the historical books in the Old Testament were written in the way of unveiling God’s economy, not merely in the way of the history of Israel—Eph. 3:9, 1:10.

E. The entire Bible, although written by more than forty authors in sixty-six books, unveils to us only the unique economy of God, that is, to have Himself expressed and enlarged through Christ in His Divine Trinity; such an accomplishment of God is more involved with the church in the New Testament than with Israel, God’s elect, in the Old Testament and will consummate in the New Jerusalem—v. 10, Eph. 1:22, Rev. 22:1.

 

Ministry Excerpts:

THE KINGS OF JUDAH

There were altogether forty-one kings in the history of Israel. The first three, Saul, David, and Solomon, reigned over the entire people of Israel. Nineteen kings, from Rehoboam to Zedekiah (not counting the illegitimate reign of Athaliah—11:1-16), reigned over Judah in the south, and nineteen, from Jeroboam to Hoshea, reigned over Israel in the north. Among these forty-one kings, nine, including David, were comparatively good in the eyes of God. Thirty, including Saul, were evil in the sight of God. Two, Solomon and Jehu, were partly good and partly evil.

The root of the evil of the evil kings, like that of the evil of the people of Israel, was their forsaking the very God as the fountain of living waters and their turning away to the pagan idols as broken cisterns that hold no water (Jer. 2:13). These two evils drowned them in the death waters of idolatry, of the indulgence of lusts, and of injustice in shedding the blood of the innocent. Their evils offended their God to such an extent that He would not turn His anger from them but cast them off, first into the hands of the Assyrians (17:6) and then into the hands of the Babylonians (24:10-25:21), who destroyed and burned the holy temple and the holy city, carried away into captivity the holy people to a pagan land of idol worship, and desolated the Holy Land for seventy years (Jer. 25:11). Thus, they, as God’s elect, lost the enjoyment of the God-given good land and, instead of remaining the citizens of God’s kingdom in the Holy Land, became captives in a heathen land. (Holy Bible Recovery Version, 2 Kings 24:18, footnote 1)

THE KINGS OF ISRAEL

There were also nineteen kings of Israel from Jeroboam to Hoshea (1 Kings 12—2 Kings 17). Besides Jehu (2 Kings 10:30-31), who did the Lord’s will, but not wholeheartedly, none of the kings were good. In God’s judgment pronounced against them, over twenty times it was mentioned that they “departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which made Israel to sin.” The sins of Jeroboam were the making of the golden calves, the high places, and the temples, the ordaining of ones who were not Levites as priests, and the establishing of his own feasts. These sins provoked God to anger and led to the destruction of the nation and captivity. (Truth Lessons, Level 1, vol. 1, ch. 11)

REMAINING ON THE GROUND OF THE UNITY OF GOD’S CHOSEN PEOPLE

Both the people of Judah and the people of Israel were the people of God. However, the people of Israel forsook God and made themselves the same as the people of mankind. As the elect of God Israel should have been sanctified, separated, unto the holy God. But the people of Israel, especially the kings, forsook God, turned to the idols, and set up centers of worship other than Jerusalem. That offended God to the uttermost. Israel was like a wife who forsakes her husband for another man. God, the Husband of His people, would never tolerate such a thing.

The kings of Judah remained on the ground chosen by God and stayed with God. In this matter God was happy with them. Although the condition of the kings of Judah was not pleasing to God, He was pleased with their standing on the proper ground and with their keeping of the fundamental faith according to God’s word released to them through Moses. Because of their standing, God still had a people on earth who stood with Him and who at least tried to keep His word. (Life-study of Chronicles, msg. 12)

THE KINGS OF JUDAH KEEPING THEIR FUNDAMENTAL FAITH
IN GOD’S WORD

The kings of Judah also kept their belief in the Word of God given by Moses. Therefore, regarding their faith they were fundamental. Thus the kings of Judah were right in two things: remaining on the proper ground and keeping the fundamental faith in God’s Word.

ATTRACTING TO JERUSALEM THE PRIESTS, THE LEVITES, AND THOSE
FROM ALL THE TRIBES WHO SET THEIR HEARTS TO SEEK JEHOVAH

The proper ground and the fundamental faith were attractions for a good number of God’s people, especially the priests and the Levites. During the reign of Rehoboam, the Levites abandoned their pasture lands and their property and went to Jerusalem (2 Chron. 11:13-14). Moreover, “those from all the tribes of Israel who set their hearts to seek Jehovah, the God of Israel, came after them to Jerusalem to sacrifice to Jehovah, the God of their fathers” (v. 16). Not only the priests and Levites but all those who sought Jehovah in other tribes gave up their property and came to the worship center in Jerusalem. Later, during the reign of Asa, “many from Israel threw in their lot with him when they saw that Jehovah his God was with him” (15:9). They were attracted to Jerusalem because the kings of Judah stood on the proper ground and kept the fundamental faith.

However, this is not all that we should have. We have seen that the kings of Judah were on the proper ground of Jerusalem and that they kept the fundamental faith, but now we need to consider how they behaved themselves.

The kings of Judah attained to a position where they could enjoy the good land of Canaan in their kingship. They were kings to enjoy the good land. The extent of their enjoyment depended on what they were, on how they behaved themselves, and on what their goals, interests, and intentions were. We need to learn from their examples how to have a God-man living in all the details of our daily life. (Life-study of Chronicles, msg. 8)

All the kings should have had a thorough realization that they were to be kings who ruled not for their own interest and prosperity but for God’s eternal economy, that God could have a nation on the earth to keep the land of Immanuel (Isa. 8:8) for Christ’s reign and a people for a genealogy to bring Christ to the earth. For this purpose the kings had to be Nazarites, who take God as their Head, their authority, who submit themselves to Him as His servants, and who abandon all the pleasures (wines) of the world (see Num. 6:3, footnote 1). But all the kings failed God in this, including David, the best one among them (2 Sam. 11). Thus, they did not fulfill God’s purpose for His economy. Rather, they lost their reign in God’s kingdom, which is the top portion of the enjoyment of the good land (the all-inclusive Christ—see Deut. 8:7, footnote 1).

The tragic result of such a pitiful history of the kings among God’s chosen and blessed elect should be a serious warning to us, God’s elect in the New Testament age, and should indicate to us how sober we should be to take heed to the particular points of each case. Just to be one who is according to God’s heart, like David, and just to be partly right and good in the eyes of God, like many honest Christians today, do not qualify us to partake of christ in full and to enjoy all the rights in Him that we may adequately become the church as the Body of Christ and as the kingdom of God and of Christ. Conformity to Christ’s death by the power of His resurrection (Phil. 3:10) is required of us, the New Testament overcomers, that we may die to ourselves, our natural man, and live to God in resurrection. A life of living Christ, magnifying Christ, and moving and acting with Christ by the bountiful supply of the all-inclusive, life-giving Spirit, doing everything in and according to the Spirit (Phil. 1:19-21a, Gal. 5:16, 25, Rom. 8:4), is indispensable for us, God’s New Testament seekers, to be winners in the racecourse of the divine life that we may fully enjoy Christ as the God-given good land in the church age and be gloriously rewarded to partake of Christ, in the fullest sense, in the kingdom age. (Holy Bible Recovery Version, 2 Kings 24:18, footnote 1)

EXAMPLES REFERRING TO THE WAY WE CONDUCT OURSELVES
IN THE DETAILS OF OUR DAILY LIVING

In the Old Testament history books we can see many different pictures, but we may not have an accurate interpretation of these pictures. The correct interpretation of the pictures in the history of the kings of Judah recorded in the books of Chronicles is that these kings are examples showing us that it is not sufficient for us who love God and seek Christ only to stand on the right ground and keep the fundamental truth. We also need to take care of who we are, how we behave, and how we conduct ourselves. We must also pay attention to our interest, our intention, our purpose, our goal, our attitude, and our way of speaking. For example, we should pay attention to the tone of our voice. Sometimes our tone of voice may be like that of a roaring lion, not like that of a God-man.

The books of 1 and 2 Chronicles give us many examples of how the kings of Judah conducted themselves in the good land. These examples show how they were, how they behaved themselves, how they did things, how they faced different situations, what their intentions were, what their interests were, and what their goals were as kings in the good land. These examples refer to the way we conduct ourselves in the details of our daily living.

Consider the daily situation in your married life. You are on the proper ground of the church and you keep the fundamental faith, but how do you speak to your spouse? How do you treat your spouse? What is your attitude toward your wife or husband? In your married life do you walk according to the spirit or according to something else? Do you live the life of a God-man with your husband or wife?

In order to live the life of a God-man, we must be crucified. We must be dying to live. If we live a crucified life in our married life, then in our married life we will have the living of a God-man.

Many saints are very good in the church meetings and in the church service, but at home they may live the life not of a God-man but of a “scorpion-man,” exchanging words or quarreling. A certain couple may love the Lord and His recovery. However, at dinner the husband may criticize his wife for her attitude, and she may condemn him for his way of speaking. Then after dinner they attend the meeting of their vital group. But how can these two “scorpions” be vital? Because of such a daily situation, in this country it is very difficult to find a genuine vital group. According to my observation, in the vital groups I have seen only deadness, not vitality. All the vital members should be God-men, crucified in their natural life to live a God-man life by the divine life within them. (Life-study of Chronicles, msg. 8)

REINING IN LIFE

God’s complete salvation is for us to reign in life by the abundance of grace—God Himself as our all-sufficient supply for our organic salvation—and of the gift of righteousness—God’s judicial redemption applied to us in a practical way.

To reign in life is to rule as kings. To reign is to conquer, subdue, and rule over Satan, the world, sin, the flesh, ourselves, and all our environmental circumstances…Instead of waiting for the millennium in order to reign with Christ, we should desire to reign in life as kings today…Those who receive the abundance of grace are able to reign in life, for life issues out of the abundance of grace. We have received righteousness objectively, but we still need to continually receive the abundance of grace so that we can reign in life subjectively. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 298)

In Romans 5:17 Paul speaks of our receiving the abundance of grace. We need to come to the very God who is grace and receive grace again and again until we are filled with grace. Only when we are filled with grace can we experience the reigning of grace… The only thing that works is to come to the divine source and open ourselves from the depths of our being to be filled with God as grace. In order to be filled, we must ask the Lord to remove all insulation and frustration. We need to pray, “Lord, I am willing for every hindrance to be removed. I want to keep myself directly open to You. Lord, fill me completely with Yourself as grace.” Wherever you are, at work, at school, or in your car, stay open to the Lord to be filled with Him as grace. This is what it means to receive the abundance of grace. As you receive grace in this way, you will be filled with grace and eventually grace will overflow from within you. Then you will reign in life by grace over sin, death, and Satan. (Life-study of Romans, msg. 46)

THE INTRINSIC REVELATION OF THE BOOKS OF HISTORY IN
THE OLD TESTAMENT FROM JOSHUA TO ESTHER

This introductory word to the life-study of 1 and 2 Kings presents the intrinsic revelation of the books of history in the Old Testament. Such a revelation is necessary to get into the real significance of these books. Otherwise, we may regard these books merely as story books.

God promised Abraham that He would give him and his descendants Canaan as the good land. Through Moses He brought Israel as a people, the descendants of Abraham, out of Egypt through the wilderness to the border of the good land. After Moses, Joshua was used by God to bring His elect into the good land He had promised to them.

The intrinsic revelation of the history according to the record from Joshua to Esther is to unveil to us how the eternal economy of God was carried out by His elect on the earth. The eternal economy of God is altogether concerning Christ and for Christ, mainly in the person of Christ and the kingdom of Christ. Regarding the person of Christ, the record of history in the Old Testament keeps a lineage of the genealogy of Christ for His coming through His incarnation to be a man. Regarding the kingdom of Christ, the Old Testament history keeps a line on the kingdom of God for Christ to establish His divine kingdom on the earth. These two items form the governing line of the divine revelation in the books of the history of Israel. Now in 1 and 2 Kings this governing line must be realized by us for our study and understanding of these two books.

For the carrying out of His economy, God needs a people and a land. For Christ’s person, there is the need of a people to be the lineage of His genealogy to bring Him into humanity. For Christ’s kingdom, there is the need of a land. Although the earth was created by God, it has been usurped by Satan. Thus, God uses His people to gain a part of the Satan-usurped earth to serve as a “beachhead” for Him to set up His kingdom.

The Bible is not a book of history. The Bible is the record of the divine revelation concerning God’s eternal economy, of which Christ is the center and reality. Christ is the embodiment of the Triune God, and the church is the organic Body of Christ. These two items are the basic structure of the Bible. So, in understanding any book of the Bible, we should hold this point of view, especially in the life-study of the books of Kings. Apparently, these two books are the history of the kings of Israel. Actually, they are books written in the inspiration of the Spirit of God in the way of being related to God’s eternal economy.

The first two kings, David and Solomon, are important types of Christ in two aspects. The first aspect is that of His suffering on earth, before His resurrection. From the time of His birth, He suffered. His life began in a manger in the lowest estate and ended in His being crucified on the cross. The manger and the cross were the two ends of His suffering life. David typifies this suffering Christ. David also suffered from his youth. Yet his suffering was for the conquering of the usurping enemies and the gaining of the good land, the ground for God’s building. Solomon typifies the Christ glorified in the kingdom of God and its splendor. Solomon was glorified in the kingdom of Israel with the splendor of that kingdom. This is a prefigure of Christ in the millennium. These two types are strong evidences that the history of the kings of Israel is related to God’s eternal economy, which concerns Christ as the embodiment of God and the church as the organic Body of Christ.

THE MAIN STRIKING POINT OF THE HISTORICAL BOOKS
CONCERNING ISRAEL

The main striking point of these historical books concerning Israel is to show us in detail, in the way of typology, how to experience Christ as the good land given to us by God as our portion (Col. 1:12). First, the book of Joshua shows us how to gain, to take possession of, and to keep the good land. Then the books of Judges, Ruth, and 1 and 2 Samuel give us pictures of certain persons, showing us how they remained in the good land and enjoyed the good land after they took possession of it. The record of quite a few judges in the book of Judges, of Ruth and Boaz in the book of Ruth, and of Eli, Samuel, Saul, Jonathan, and David in the books of 1 and 2 Samuel presents us vivid pictures of how those persons remained in and enjoyed the good land. Even though those pictures were painted in detail, there is still the need of 1 and 2 Kings to give us pictures of more persons showing us how they remained in and enjoyed the good land.

Christ is the good land given to us by God, and we need to enjoy this good land. We should ask ourselves how much we have enjoyed Christ. It is not sufficient simply to experience Christ; we must also enjoy Christ. Have you enjoyed Christ today? I can testify that today I have enjoyed Christ as my life supply, my strength, my living faith, my joy, and my peace.

THE TWO BOOKS OF KINGS PRESENTING US A FULL PICTURE
OF THE DETAILS BY WHICH GOD’S ELECT REMAINED IN
AND PARTICIATED IN THE GOOD LAND

The two books of Kings present us a full picture of the details by which God’s elect remained in and participated in the good land. It depicts, as an x ray, in detail, the character, the intention, the preferences, the habits, the morality, and the actions of all the kings as the descendants of David the king. By such a picture we can see that what we are, what we desire, what we intend to do, what we want, and how we behave ourselves have very much to do with our remaining in Christ and participating in all His unsearchable riches for our enjoyment. This picture concerning Israel ends with a tragedy of all the kings who were put into the blessed situation of the Davidic kingship and who were not faithful to God and did not take good care of their inheritance: they lost the good land and were carried away as captives to the idol-worshipping world. This should be a solemn alarm and warning to us in our relationship with Christ. If we are wrong in any of the matters mentioned above, we will suffer the loss of Christ as our enjoyment. I hope that we all will see this and be deeply impressed with it.

Christ is our good land, and we need to remain in this land, participate in it, and enjoy it. But the enjoyment of Christ has been very much neglected by the believers. For instance, many believers can testify that they have prayed and that their prayers have been answered by God. However, not many can say that in receiving an answer to their prayers they enjoyed Christ. This indicates we can pray and receive an answer without having any enjoyment of Christ.

THE RECORD OF THE FIRST TWO CHAPTERS OF 1 KINGS
BEING CONSIDERED A CONCLUSION OF
THE HISTORY OF DAVID RECORDED IN 1 AND 2 SAMUEL

The record of the first two chapters of 1 Kings could be considered a conclusion of the history of David recorded in 1 and 2 Samuel. This is strong evidence that the historical books in the Old Testament were written in the way of unveiling God’s economy, not merely in the way of the history of Israel. This is critical to us who are the students of the holy Scriptures. The entire Bible, although written by more than forty authors in sixty-six books, unveils to us only the unique economy of God, which He made for the accomplishment of His heart’s desire, that is, to have Himself expressed and enlarged through Christ in His Divine Trinity. Such an accomplishment of God is more involved with the church in the New Testament than with Israel, God’s elect, in the Old Testament and will consummate in the New Jerusalem. (Life-study of Kings, msg. 1)