1 Kings: The Wisdom and the Folly (Focus on the Bible Commentaries | FB)
Overview
For each section of the Bible, the Focus on the Bible Commentaries summarize the passage of Scripture, including the intentions of the authors, the historical and cultural environment, and the questions and issues raised by a particular passage. But most importantly, the Focus on the Bible Commentaries brings you into the heart of the Bible, by explaining Scripture in an accessible way that makes sense for daily Christian living.
1 Kings is a continuation of a narrative of the history of Israel which begins in 1 Samuel and continues through into 1 & 2 Kings. While we so often struggle with the events and issues of the book of 1 Kings, Ralph Davis helps us to see how it we can apply to the contemporary settings of the twenty-first century. As usual, Ralph Davis uses pastoral application and laces it with his own sense of humor. He is noted for tackling scholarship head on.
What’s more, with the Logos edition, Scripture passages are linked to your favorite English translation for quick reference, or to your Greek and Hebrew texts for original-language study! That gives you quick access to the message of the Bible as you study it! You can also read the 1 Kings: The Wisdom and the Folly along with your Bible dictionaries, encyclopedias, and the wealth of other Bible study tools in your digital library. This commentary will serve as a vital aid for sermon preparation, for personal and group Bible study, and for anyone looking to apply the text of Scripture to practical Christian life.
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- Chapter-by-chapter commentary
- Accessible and readable exposition
- Eminently useful for preaching, teaching, and both personal and group Bible study
Top Highlights
“In my view, Elijah’s mission at Horeb was to bring covenant accusation against Israel for breach of the covenant.23” (Pages 261–262)
“What is it that you get despondent about? Do you ever get depressed for God’s sake?” (Page 269)
“Can there be a clearer picture of what faith essentially is? Faith is staking everything upon Yahweh’s sheer word, wagering all upon the veracity of God.” (Page 214)
“I have agreed with Ronald Barclay Allen that Elijah was not terrified by Jezebel but broken by her unrepentant paganism and by her continuing power throughout the nation.” (Page 266)
“Sometimes Christians slip into thinking that if we only get the truth to people or press upon them our most rigorous and cogent arguments, then.… But let Jezebel be your teacher about what the human heart is like. There was a blaze of light on Mt. Carmel, but unless Yahweh grants internal light to see his external light the darkness remains. Yahweh’s fire consumed everything (18:38) except the blindness in Jezebel’s mind and the recalcitrance in her will. ‘And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world and men loved darkness rather than light …’ (John 3:19). This realization must temper all our expectations in our evangelism, counseling, and preaching.” (Page 267)
No preacher should be without them. No thoughtful Christian can fail to be excited and edified by them. Hence, I hurried to get a review copy of his work on 1 Kings. As with his other Old Testament commentaries, the author is able to mix page-turning writing skills which make for easy reading, with the most rigorous and orthodox scholarship.
—Evangelicals Now
One of the reasons I enjoy Davis’s exposition so much is that I feel confident that he has done his exegetical homework, and so is not just delivering blessed, unhistorical thoughts on the text. Yet at the same time, he applies the text so well.
—Simon Gathercole, Lecturer in New Testament Studies, University of Cambridge
- Title: 1 Kings: The Wisdom and the Folly
- Authors: Dale Ralph Davis
- Publisher: Christian Focus
- Publication Date: 2008
- Pages: 352
Reviews
13 ratings
Rob Senn
7/26/2023
This is the 5th commentary I've read by Davis in the Focus on the Bible series & they've been consistently the best! In truth, they won't answer every question you have, but they do the best job of presenting the main point the author intends to make. They're also very inexpensive, so you can pick up another commentary to address the peripheral matters which this commentary doesn't pursue.
Isaac Gould
1/19/2023
Nelson Moncayo
6/25/2021
Paulo Rabello
10/9/2020
J-P O
2/13/2020
Hyoungil Lee
7/9/2019
sukjae lee
2/28/2017
Randall Laase
1/4/2017
Mark Henzler
5/16/2014
D.Ralph Davis is my favorite commentator, a Hebrew scholar who's writing style totally unstuffy. He has great insights and an engaging way of seeing the text. He is the only one who convicts me when I read a commentary. All of his books are great for the preacher. My only complaint about Davis' work is that he does not put out a "Big Idea" for the passage, but that is something you can do yourself after reading his work and studying the text. : Bonus - history buffs will love the Civil War illustrations.
