The Motive behind “Tracking Kings”
A number of years ago, a pastor in Grand Blanc, Michigan, invited me to teach a series of systematic crunched down surveys on the books of the Bible. In the books of Kings and Chronicles, an amazing fascination with the kings of the old divided kingdom of Israel became apparent. These four books quickly reminded me of difficulty of keeping the kingdoms and the kings separated in the Old Testament narrative.
After conducting a brief survey with a number of believers in several churches in Michigan and Indiana, I was shocked to learn that the majority viewed Kings and Chronicles boring, too difficult to understand, unimportant, let alone attempting to grasp in a study. Yet, in spite of my findings, God had placed a desire in all their hearts to know about these nineteen kings and one queen.
The kings of Israel and Judah are important for three fundamental reasons. (1) The lineage of the promised Messiah descends through the kings of Judah. (2) From the end of II Chronicles to the last word in Malachi is a span of twenty-five books. Everything in these books in one way or another was, and still is, connected by God, directly or indirectly, to the era of the kings. (3) God says, “All scripture [is] given by inspiration of God, and [is] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” (II Tim. 3:16-17) Thus, we must accept the fact that this verse includes the books of Kings and Chronicles!
The Mission of “Tracking Kings”
God used the above discoveries to plant a two-fold burden in my heart. (1) There was the need of constructing a simplified systematic fashion of studying the kings using a blend of harmony and commentary in an easy to grasp format. (2) To illustrate how the books of Kings and Chronicles define themselves, utilizing a close as possible timeline. (3) Considering such a study, it became apparent that a yoke be present coupling the necessity of Biblical reflecting Old Testament history with the lives and times of these leaders to such a point that each reader could easily be able to discover twenty-first century personal applications.
It is in these most important inspired Old Testament books that God quickly reminds us of man’s unchangeable sinful nature and of His loving, merciful, and gracious offer to reach down to him. God still loves to equip and move with His people – making history!
The Manner of “Tracking Kings”
1.- establishment of a chronological timeline
2.- written in an easily understandable manner
3.- plenty of informative end notes
4. – define proper names when first used
5.- utilize maps and charts as needed
6.- generous quotes to broaden perspectives
7. – challenging questions for the reader to dig deeper
8. – assist the reader to note value of I & II Kings and I & II Chronicles
9.- structure so as book can be used as a self-study guide, reference book, or a textbook
10. – insert as much text as needed providing convenience the reader
11.- a guide assisting the reader whereby he or she may meet the supreme KING
The Menu of “Tracking kings”
1.- 25 chapters.
2. – 2 fundamental parts
a. – “Trail Begins” – quick over view – of 1021 years.
b. – “The Split in the Trail” – chapters 9-25 – covering 387 years.
3.– time line of entire book – B.C.1996 to B.C.588 or 1,408 years
4.- 143 questions
5.- 179 end notes
6. – bibliography of 56 books & 4 web sites.
7. – four indexes
8. – 460 pages
Availability
Although available from Barnes& Noble, Amazon, and I Tunes, may I suggest buying directly from me rllroger1948@gmail.com roger@rogerluther.com or the publisher – tel: 864.836.4111 ext. 104 (the publisher’s office) fax: 864.610.8047 sspillman@truepotentialmedia.com or https://www.facebook.com/TruePotentialMedia for at $19.99 plus shipping and handling. Digital copies are now available from the publisher, Amazon, or iTunes books. The cost is $9.99.
