The people of Israel would have known from their parents and priests that, according to the Law, suffering and exile would be the consequences of living apart from God’s way (Deut. 28).
The prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Amos, reminded the people of this again and again. Though these warnings of disaster seemed like bad news, they are actually words of mercy!
King Manasseh of Judah led God’s people astray, and they sunk into idolatry and injustice. Manasseh’s actions were heinous—he installed idols of the gods of Canaan in the holy temple of Jerusalem. Manasseh’s actions were monstrous—he burned his children according to the practices of the Canaanite god, Molech.
A series of terrible kings ruled Northern Kingdom of Israel without a break. One evil, rebellious king after another leading God’s people deeper and deeper into rebellion and idolatry. And when we compare Jehu (the 10th King) to the other kings (18 in all) of Israel, we see that he was the best of a bad group. For with all the kings of Israel it was recorded that they all “did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord.”
In chapter 18, Elijah had just proven himself to be prophet of the Lord, Yahweh. Yahweh reveals Himself in consuming fire in response to Elijah’s prayer. Elijah then kills all 850 prophets of Baal. He then prays for rain and the drought ends. He supernaturally outruns King Ahab’s chariot to get to the royal city of Jezreel.
In earlier chapters, we read of how Jeroboam fled to Egypt and stayed there until Solomon’s death (1 Kings 11:40). After Solomon’s death, Jeroboam returned from Egypt to appeal to the new King Rehoboam to lighten the yoke that King Solomon has put on them on behalf of the people (1 Kings 12:1-4).
Upon meeting Jeroboam and his group, King Rehoboam approach the elders to discuss Jeroboam’s request on reducing the hard labour the people were going through.
Imagine being the newly minted King. King Solomon, was offered as it were, “a wish of a lifetime”. Solomon could have asked for anything, instead he asked for a discerning heart. What would you ask for? And what would that be?
To ancient people, the “heart” often referred to one’s inner thoughts and conscience. But today we know that it is the brain that does the cognitive functions that gives rise to emotions. Nevertheless, expressions of emotions are often referred to as matters of the heart, because of the emotions we feel coming from within.
Augustine, one of the early church fathers once quoted:
“One must look deeply into the human heart to see in what direction it is turned, and on what point its gaze is fixed.”
Goliath stood before the Philistines, taunting the Israelites to challenge him. King Saul offered a bargain of riches and his daughter’s hand in marriage to anyone who would defeat the giant. David, just a shepherd boy at that time, took up the challenge.
