Daily reflections

From the biblical account, it looks as though Solomon lived a life marked by conspicuous consumption. There was nothing he denied himself; it was bling on a scale that would make a Russian oligarch look a little dowdy.

The writer of 1 Kings ascribes Solomon's spiritual downfall to the many foreign women he took as wives or concubines. No doubt many would have been acquired as status symbols or in the course of diplomacy, but there was still...

The judgement God promises because of Solomon's behaviour falls not on the king, but on his son Rehoboam. The loyalty of the northern tribes of Israel to the house of David had always been fragile. After they entered Canaan...

A prophet from Judah has confronted Israel's new king, Jeroboam, and asserted God's authority over him. As a symbol of God's rejection of Jeroboam's regime, he is not to accept hospitality on his way home. A foolish old Israelite...

King Jeroboam has rejected God and instituted the worship of two golden calves in an attempt to control his new country's religion. When he's faced with urgent questions of life and death, though, he realises that only the...

Unlike his father Abijah and his grandfather Rehoboam, King Asa clamped down on idolatry and 'remained faithful to the Lord all his life' (verse 14). He was also generous to the Temple, making gifts of gold and silver to replace...

We often open our Bibles looking for uplift and inspiration, but this bleak and depressing chapter in the story of Israel is more like Game of Thrones. Judgement is pronounced on King Baasha and his family; they will die and...

Elijah, one of the greatest of the prophets, has some of the best and most exciting stories in the Old Testament. He's an Israelite, and his career is marked by a conflict with Israel's wicked and semi-pagan King Ahab. He...

It's interesting to see what Paul commends the Thessalonian church for in his opening words. It isn't for their correctness of doctrine, but for the way they 'put their faith into practice', for the way they 'work so hard...