Hey, it’s me Benson! You may remember me from my work on the animated film “Regular Show.” But today, I’m here to talk about something a little different…the Bible book of 1 Kings!
Now, let me tell you, this book is filled with some seriously intense stories. For starters, it picks up where the book of 2 Samuel left off, with King David getting pretty old and ready to pass on the throne to his son Solomon. But there’s a catch – Solomon’s brother Adonijah tries to make a claim for the throne himself, causing all sorts of drama.
Thankfully, Solomon becomes king anyway and he’s actually a pretty wise ruler. In fact, he famously asks God for wisdom and is granted it, which helps him make some pretty smart decisions. For example, he’s the one who orders the famous “splitting of the baby” to determine who the true mother is.
But of course, there’s still plenty of conflict to go around. One of the most contentious issues is whether or not the Israelites should be allowed to worship other gods along with Yahweh. Some of Solomon’s successors allow this, while others are more strict about only worshipping the one true God.
There’s also plenty of drama surrounding the prophets of the time. Elijah and Elisha are two of the most prominent, and they perform all sorts of miracles to demonstrate God’s power to the people. Elijah famously defeats the prophets of Baal in a showdown on a mountain, and Elisha raises a young boy from the dead.
But perhaps the most famous story from 1 Kings is the downfall of Solomon himself. Despite his wisdom, he falls into temptation and starts marrying women from other nations who worship different gods. This leads to his own worship of these other gods and ultimately drives him away from the faith of his ancestors.
Overall, 1 Kings is a fascinating (albeit intense) look at the history of Israel and the struggles its people faced in trying to remain faithful to God. And while it may seem like a far cry from the cartoons I’m used to working on, I’ve always been interested in exploring different kinds of storytelling.
So there you have it, folks – Benson’s take on 1 Kings. And as always, I’ll leave you with a little joke to lighten the mood: “Why was the computer cold? Because it left its Windows open!” Ha, I crack myself up sometimes.
