King David is now old, and he announces Solomon as the next King. The Lord had given Solomon directives on how to build the temple, and David hands them down to Solomon since he will be building the temple and not David. King David charges Samuel to serve the Lord faithfully, and then he charges the people to give to the Temple as he has, and they did it with joy. We see the greatness of King David's kingdom, and then he dies, and Solomon becomes the next King of Israel.

In 1 Chronicles chapters 17-22, we see that King David wants to build a house for the Ark of God, yet God says no, but instead He will build a house through David's son, and it will be an everlasting kingdom. We also see some of David's military success and his fighting men. We then also see that David sins when he send Joab to take a census of Israel. God lets David pick his punishment, and he picks a 3 day plague. David confesses his sin, and places a sacrifice and an altar on Ornan the Jebusite's threshing floor. The plague stops, and this will become the place for the Temple when Solomon builds it. Then King David, plans and prepares for the building of the temple, and then he charges his son, Solomon to be faithful to the Lord. David also charges the leaders of Israel to also be faithful and to help Solomon with the task of building the Temple of the Lord.

In 1 Chronicles chapters 13-16, David, the King of all Israel, brings the Ark of the Lord to Jerusalem, the capital. The first attempt did not go well, but then David sought how to bring it correctly, and the Lord blessed. We also see that David was blessed by being established in his position of King, the Lord blessed King David with sons, and he was blessed with military success. David then sets up the Levites and the Priests to take care of the Ark and he makes sure there are musicians before the Lord. This section ends with a Psalm of David. It is a Psalm of Praise, of Thanksgiving, of Remembrance, of Requests. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, and then we take a quick peek at Romans chapters 9-11, as the Apostle Paul talks about how "All Israel" can be saved.

In 1 Chronicles 10-12, we see the transition of King Saul to King David. Saul dies and loses his kingdom because of disobedience, and God gives David the kingdom. Jerusalem becomes the capital. We meet David's mighty men, and get a rosy colored view of David's inauguration. I then take a moment and explain why sometimes the same stories in the Bible, like 1 Chronicles and 2 Samuel, don't match up exactly, and how that builds my faith. 

In 1 Chronicles 1-9, we see the line of King David from Adam and all the way until after the Exile. We also see the importance of the Levites and Priests, and the importance of worship. The writer gives us a taste of the "Retribution Principle" which means those who are faithful, God blesses, and to those who are unfaithful, He curses. We also see that God is faithful to his covenant, and that covenant extends to us who believe in Jesus Christ.

In 2 Kings chapters 18-25, we see some godly kings of Judah who follow the Lord with all their heart and soul and might, but we also see some ungodly kings, and eventually Judah is overcome by the King of Babylon, the people are exiled there, and the city of Jerusalem is burnt to the ground. Even though the City of David is destroyed, God is still at work.

In chapters 14-17 of 2 Kings, we see the various kings of Israel that did evil in the eyes of the Lord. We also see that Judah is following suit. The writer of 2 Kings explains why Israel, the The Ten Northern Tribes, are taken into captivity, and the main reason is that the Lord God of Israel, the one who brought them out of Egypt, is the only one they were to worship, and they did not do that. The question this lessons asks us is:  Do we worship God AND...?

In 2 Kings 8b-13, we see that Israel is declining due to the King of Syria. We also see that Judah is becoming corrupt because of intermarriage between the kings of Judah with the daughters of Israel. Elisha the prophet dies, YET, God is faithful to his covenants with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David. 

In 2 Kings chapters 3-8a, we see the miracles of Elisha, and how he indeed received a double portion of Elijah. We also compare how Elisha resembles Jesus in the New Testament.

In 2 Kings chapters 1 & 2, Elijah's ministry comes to a close, and before he is taken up in a whirlwind, Elisha asks for a double portion of Elijah's spirit. After the chariot of fire and the horses of fire separate Elijah and Elisha, the whirlwind takes Elijah up to heaven. Elisha sees it happen, and the Lord fulfills Elisha's request, the Lord moves with Elisha as He did with Elijah.