The newest addition to the Old Testament Series In the years to come millions of people from all over the world will visit the site of Ground Zero in New York City. There they will tell themselves the story of what used to be there, of how it came to disappear, and how we need to make sure that such a thing can never happen again. Ruins can cause us to look back in remembrance so that we can move forward in wisdom. The unknown author of Kings had just that in mind when he picked up his pen to write an account of his nation's history for his fellow-Jews who were in captivity in Babylon. Terrible as the September 11 atrocity was, this man was facing devastation on a far greater scale. It wasn't a sizeable portion, but the entire capital city of Jerusalem that had been destroyed by a powerful enemy, and the population destroyed, deported or dispersed as refugees. The golden city was a heap of ruins, a monument to disaster. Even worse, the nation's identity as the people of God, with a special calling in the world, seemed to have come to an end. The writer stands, as it were, on the Ground Zero of Jerusalem and asks two questions: what happened and where do we go from here? Where have we been and where are we going? What did we do wrong and how can we be sure not to make the same mistakes again? On one level, the books of Kings provide a history of the period of the monarchy in Israel, from the death of David to Judah's last king. This is "preached history, " true to the facts but designed to bring a message. It is highly selective, covering almost four hundred years in very broad strokes and is described as a theological narrative. In this Holman Old Testament Commentary, Gary Inrig buildsbridges from the 21st century to three pivotal centuries in the life of Israel.
