What good will it do us twenty-first century Christians to study the kings who ruled a nation of Hebrews three thousand years ago? For people who get excited about battles and dates and ancient political maneuverings, the answer is obvious. All history, even Hebrew history, is great.

But what about the rest of us? God must have had some reason for designing his Holy Book so that one-third of the Old Testament recounts historical events. He wasn't just entertaining history buffs. A look at the issues surrounding these kings will give us some clues.

We see Solomon, who prayed as if he knew exactly what God desired to give, then fell into paganism under the influence of his seven hundred(!) wives. And we ask, "Do I ever place the people I love ahead of God?"

We see Jeroboam and Rehoboam, who split their nation in civil war and then split their places of worship. (Who among us has endured civil war within our church that could end in separate places of worship?)

We see Ahab, who ignored God even though prophets shouted into his spiritually deaf ears. And we look with dread upon our own potential deafness.

They ruled for four centuries, these Hebrew kings. There were forty-two of them. Some ruled only days, others for a lifetime. Some were so minor that they rate only a line of text. Others fill whole books. Some were evil; some were good. The biblical text evaluates each one at the end of his life. A reminder that we, ourselves, will undergo the same evaluation.