Weary of Wandering in Kings

I have been in the books of Kings and Chronicles for a long while now....how long?  Not sure....but at least 4 months, though it feels like 4 years.

It reminds me of the first time I read through Leviticus as a new Christian.  The minutia of the law and regulations seemed to drag on and on....and on.  Funny, but now I typically enjoy Leviticus.


So why is this particular stretch of the Bible wearing me out?  Who doesn't like reading about kings, the key players of the kingdoms?  These books are full of the drama of continual war, conspiracies, and miracles--what's not to intrigue?  Here are some of my thoughts on why I'm struggling in the Era of the Kings:

Confusing Names

One of the biggest struggles within Kings is the need to keep track of many similar names. 

First, there are duplicate names.  Both Israel and Judah contain a Jehoram, an Ahaziah, Jehoash, and a Jehoahaz.  To confuse things further these kings often reign as contemporaries of each other. There are also variants of spellings on the same names: Jehoash can also be Joash.  Jehoram can be Joram. And finally, there are just a whole lot of "Jeho"  "Ahaz"  combos in general.  It requires a good deal of clear thinking to gain any traction when trying to distinguish between and remember these figures to begin with.  The additional element of name confusion requires intense effort.

Weaving Chronicles, Kings & Prophets

Another obstacle is the concurrent accounts of things between Chronicles and Kings.  If a person wishes to read the full accounting of each historical figure or era, they must jump between the chronological accountings in Kings, Chronicles, and the various prophets.  As we have 2 books of both Kings and Chronicles, and a wide entourage of prophets to weave throughout, the reader is forced to jump around constantly.  It's logistically demanding to flip pages, flip commentaries, reconcile the accounts, even when following a clear chronological sequencing.

Same Old Problems, Just New Players

Finally, when reading through the Kings, I find the same old problems cropping up over and over again.  There is the matter of not removing the high places.  There are many kings who do evil in the sight of the Lord and few who do good.  Even those who are good are not THAT good.  Even the best of them tend to have offspring that undo their work.  It's a depressing theme that unfortunately holds true throughout life as well.  Those who do their best are often at the mercy of those who screw it all up.   God looks on, but He doesn't always bring immediate justice.  His pacing and perspective varies...though longsuffering, He will not tolerate injustice indefinitely.