1. Royal Kingdom The Book of II Samuel – The Reign of King David The second book of Samuel relates the rule of David, first as he gradually assumes control in Judah when Saul’s claimants fell away (chs. 1-4) and then as king at the age of thirty over both Judah and the northern tribes that comprise Israel (chs. 5-24). King David (1,000-961 BC) captures Jerusalem, makes it the capital, and brings the ark from Kiriath-jearim to Jerusalem. (6:1-15). David wishes to build a temple, but the prophet Nathan tells him that one of David's sons will be the one to build the temple. Instead, in 7:1-29, Nathan tells David that it is God’s will that he will establish in the House of David an everlasting dynasty in which God will raise up an offspring from David(Jesus), establish his kingdom, and where God will be a father to him and he shall be a son to me. It is here that God fulfills the second covenantal promise – a royal dynasty. David commits adultery with Bathsheba and plots the death of her husband, Uriah the Hittite; for this God punishes him, saying that the sword shall never depart from his house. David acknowledges his sinfulness to Nathan and to God (see Psalm 51). And so the first child of David by Bathsheba would die after seven days. For the remainder of King David’s reign there would be tragedies: one of his sons, Amnon, rapes one of his daughters, Tamar; another son, Absalom, kills the first son, Amnon; his favorite son, Absalom, rebels and is killed, until finally only two contenders for the succession remain, one of them Bathsheba's son, Solomon, who would become king in 961 BC only after being reminded of his promise to Bathsheba. Session 12

2. Royal Kingdom The Book of I Kings 1-11 – The Reign of King Solomon First Kings begins with the enthronement of Solomon and the death of David (chs. 1-2). Chapters 3-11 recounts the reign of King Solomon who builds up the kingdom at a cost!. In chapter 3, Solomon in a dream prays for wisdom, receives it and exercises it in judgment evidenced by the famous story of two women both claiming to be the mother of the surviving infant in which he calls for his sword to divide the child in half thus revealing the true mother. (3:16-28) The building of the first temple in Jerusalem in 961 BC. (6:1-38) which took seven years. Solomon’s palace would take thirteen years to build! In 9:1-9, Solomon has a vision in which God warns that if he and his people turn away from God and his commandments and serve other gods, he will cut off Israel from the land, that the temple will become a heap of ruins, and Israel will become a proverb and a taunt among all peoples – a foreshadowing of the exile! Chapter 10 describes the excesses of wealth – the 666 talents of gold, drinking vessels made of gold, ships returning laden with gold, silver, ivory, apes and peacocks. Finally, chapter 11 concludes with the dark side of Solomon who has 700 wives and 300 concubines. His heart would not remain true to God, he would build temples for his wives to worship their Gods by taxing his people, forged foreign alliances, the Lord would be angered with Solomon, and would raise up adversaries against him. By 930 BC, the kingdom is already dividing into the 10 tribes of the Northern Kingdom (Israel) and the 2 tribes of the Southern Kingdom (Judah). Solomon reigned in Jerusalem for 40 years from 961-922 BC, was buried with his father, David, in Jerusalem and was succeeded by his son, Rehoboam. Session 12