*Note: We began this occasional series on our sister site – LivingWithFaith.org – but looking ahead we realized that many of the themes and details of the series will fit better on this site.  As a result we have transferred the first posts and will now be running  the monthly installments here. Enjoy!



The biblical books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles tell the remarkable story of the kings of ancient Israel – the united monarchy of Saul, David and Solomon, and the thirty-nine kings (and one queen) of Judah and Israel who followed them after the kingdom broke into two parts: the Southern Kingdom (the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, usually called Judah) and the Northern Kingdom (most of the remaining tribes, called Israel).

Reading the story of these kings helps one realize what a checkered pattern of righteousness and evil the history of ancient Judah and Israel was.  Actually, the checkered effect is mainly visible for Judah because the kings of the northern tribes of Israel were pretty much unfailingly corrupt according to their biblical obituaries.  But when we look at ancient Judah, the mixed good/bad pattern is very clear. Even beginning with the kings of the briefly united monarchy, we see the problem: King Saul started out good and ended up bad, his successor, David, started out good and despite some unfortunate lapses into sin ended up good. Solomon started out good, but despite his wisdom ended up swayed by evil. 

It’s when we then look at the successors of Solomon – the kings of Judah – that the situation gets almost bizarre. Of the 20 rulers of Judah, we are told that over half of them (10 kings and Queen Athaliah)  started out evil and stayed that way. Only a quarter of all the kings (Asa, Jehoshaphat, Jotham, Hezekiah and Josiah) started their reigns on the right track and apparently ended up as good.  Three kings (Joash, Amaziah and Uzziah) actually started out well, but ended up evil. Only one king – Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah –  started out evil and actually ended up well.

Looking at this checkered panorama of obedience and apostasy, we can only wonder at the patience of God in giving ancient Judah and Israel hundreds of years – over 40 rulers – to “get it right.” Eventually, however, the rulers of the kingdoms did only evil and God brought on them the judgment of which they were repeatedly warned. But the story of the kings of ancient Judah and Israel is a fascinating tapestry full of details which illuminate both human nature and the desire to obey God.  Our new monthly series – starting this week – examines the ancient kings and focuses on the many and often important lessons we can learn from them!

Scripture in Focus: Genesis 15: 9-21 

In Genesis 15:9-21 we find the story of God sealing his covenant with Abram (before he became Abraham) by means of animal sacrifices.  In response to Abram’s request for a sign that God would fulfill his promise (vs. 8),  God instructed him to take various animals and sacrifice them in a particular manner.  After killing the animals, Abram divided them into halves, placing them on the ground in such a way that someone could walk between the halves of the carcasses.  The narrative then states:  “When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram …” (Genesis 15:17-18).

Many biblical commentaries suggest that this event was symbolic of such things as the “furnace of affliction” Israel would suffer in Egypt, but there is no reason to make such a symbolic connection, especially one so stretched.   The real meaning of this event can be clearly seen from what is known of ancient Near Eastern land grant treaties (a type of “suzerain-vassal treaty” in which an agreement is made  between two unequal parties, one of higher status and one of lower status, in which land is granted to the ruler of lower status on condition of faithfulness to the higher king). In this type of ritual, sacrificed animals were divided in half and in some cases the participants to the treaty walked between the halves of the animals as a way to seal the agreement made by the participants.  This legal procedure of the world in which Abram lived is clearly central to understanding the story of Genesis 15.  Perhaps Abram walked between the animal halves when he arranged them on the ground,  but it is clear that God did – represented by the burning torch which “passed between the pieces.”

Another, much later (c. 590 BC), but clearly parallel biblical example of this ritual in the time of Zedekiah involves an animal  being killed, cut into two pieces, and then individuals passing between the divided pieces (Jeremiah 34:8–22 and note vss. 15, 19).

The Hebrew Bible speaks of  covenants not as being “made” but as being “cut” (Hebrew karat ), and the ancient sacrificial covenant animal cutting practice explains that usage.