In the books of 1 and 2 Kings, nineteen evil kings from nine different dynasties rule the Northern Kingdom of Israel. They will lead the people into idol worship and apostasy from Yahweh's covenant. Their sins will result in conquest by the Kingdom of Assyria in 722 BC, to exile from their homeland, and to captivity in foreign lands. The Southern Kingdom of Judah remains loyal to the descendants of the House of David. Some Davidic kings are bad kings like the rulers of the Northern Kingdom, but others are godly kings who delay God's divine judgment on the Southern Kingdom by calling the people to repentance and renewal of their covenant vows. In the end, however, sin outweighs righteousness, and Judah is conquered by the Babylonians in 587 BC, and taken into exile in Babylonian lands. The book, however, ends on a promising note: the Davidic heir is not dead. He is living in captivity in Babylon, and there is the faint hope that God's promise of an eternal covenant with the House of David and that a Davidic king will rule forever will still be fulfilled (2 Sam 7:16, 29; 23:5; 2 Chr 13:5; Sir 45:25; 47:11/13).
References for the course are found in the Course Bibliography. The Lesson for the week will posted on Tuesday before each class date.