1 Kings traces the history of God's people from the heights of glory and prosperity enjoyed during the reign of Solomon, through the subsequent division into separate northern and southern kingdoms, and on to the dark days of Elijah's lone stand on Mount Carmel against the worshippers of the false God Baal and its aftermath. The example of Solomon and those who followed him stands as a stark warning to Christians today of the serious consequences of disobedience to God's revealed Word. The same God who would not countenance devotion to false gods will brook no rivals in the affections of his people today.

But 1 Kings is not only a book about human failure. It is also a book about God's sovereign purpose, which cannot be thwarted and defeated by human disobedience. In the story of the kings of Israel and Judah, as in all the Old Testament narrative, we see God pointing people to the coming King of whom Solomon, in all his splendour, was only a faint and imperfect picture. Commending Roger Ellsworth's recent book The Shepherd King - Learning from the life of David, one reviewer wrote:

'I am more than grateful for a deeply pondered, carefully written and delightfully helpful study, worthy of and suited to the widest readership.'
Alec Motyer