After years of putting it off, I finally achieved a long-time goal of mind: read through the Kings & Prophets of the Old Testament chronologically. It took me all of 2024 and was such a sweet, rewarding way to engage with Scripture last year. So, I wanted to share some of the main insights and themes I noticed during my study.

I often come across the misconception that the God of the Old Testament (OT) is nothing like the God of the New Testament (NT); in other words, I’ve heard many characterize God in the OT as wrathful and vengeful, while the God in the NT is kind and compassionate. But this generalization couldn’t be further from the truth. While I knew before my Kings & Prophets study that this dichotomy about God between the OT and the NT was false, I was still struck by the resounding theme of God’s compassion throughout the OT. I noticed for the first time reading through the books of the Prophets that following a pronouncement of punishment for Israel’s or Judah’s sins, God almost always by the same prophet promises restoration and deliverance to come. The Prophetic books usually end on this hopeful note, such as in Micah:

“Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in unchanging love. He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities under foot. Yes, You will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.” (Micah 7:18-19)

Outside of the Prophets, God also shows a ton of mercy to the wicked kings of Israel and Judah, which was another aspect of Kings and Chronicles I had glossed over in the past. One such king is Ahab, infamously married to Jezebel and one of the worst of Israel’s kings. Yet, because Ahab acknowledged God, God extends mercy to him:

“It came about when Ahab heard these words [a rebuke from the Lord], that he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and fasted, and he lay in sackcloth and went about despondently. Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ‘Do you see how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? Because he has humbled himself before Me, I will not bring the evil in his days, but I will bring the evil upon his house in his son’s days.’” (1 Kings 21:27-29)

This was mind-blowing to me, but it just goes to show the heart of God. While God is still just in His promise (which is eventually fulfilled) to punish the house of Ahab for his wickedness and the evil he leads Isreal into, God nonetheless extends compassion to Ahab on account of the king’s humility before the Lord.

Ahab isn’t the only evil king to receive mercy from God; Manasseh, one of the worst of Judah’s kings, has a similar encounter. As punishment for leading the people into idolatry, Manasseh is taken captive by his enemies. This is Manasseh’s response—and God’s:

“When [Manasseh] was in distress, he entreated the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. When he prayed to Him, He was moved by his entreaty and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God.” (2 Chronicles 33:12-13)

Again, Scripture shows us both the justice and the mercy of God. There are other examples as well, throughout the Kings & Prophets, but these two examples were the most memorable. I find it very humbling to read, because it challenges how I consider God’s character in light of our sin. Yes, justice is required, and He truly is a God of second chances and compassion. He cares for His people, even those who hurt Him through their sin. He cares for me, even though I hurt Him with my sin.

Beyond Israel and Judah, the Prophetic books also show God’s care fornon-Israelite nations. Jonah is probably the most familiar example; he was sent to Ninevah, which—read in the context of Kings & Chronicles—means he was sent to Israel’s enemies to call them to repent and experience the mercy of God. How often are we like Jonah, wanting to keep God and His kindness to ourselves and let our enemies experience His judgment? That was a convicting question that I encountered in my study.

Ninevah / Assyria is not the only enemy of Israel to experience God’s mercy. Egypt, who once enslaved the Israelites, also receives a similar treatment in some Prophetic books. One notable example, which also includes a blessing towards Assyria, comes from Isaiah:

“The Lord will strike Egypt, striking but healing; so they will return to the Lord, and He will respond to them and will heal them… In that day Israel will be a third party with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, whom the Lord of hosts has blessed, saying ‘Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance.” (Isaiah 19:22, 24-25)

For some reason, this surprised me—the positive, redemptive promises extended to nations other than Israel. I had in my head that the NT was the only place where God’s promises are extended to Gentiles (non-Israelites), but there is a clear premise in the OT promises that God did not just have Israel and Judah on His heart, but He had an intention to redeem the whole world.

And He redeems the whole world, of course, through Christ. Unlike the previous revelations, this is not a new realization for me. I’ve studied the prophecies about Jesus in the OT multiple times. But it was nonetheless a recurring theme I made special note of during my study: Jesus was always the plan for redemption. One of my favorite passages that I hadn’t spent a lot of time previous on comes from Zechariah:

Then say to him, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Behold, a man whose name is Branch, for He will branch out from where He is; and He will build the temple of the Lord. Yes, it is He who will built the temple of the Lord, and He who will bear the honor and sit and rule on His throne. Thus, He will be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two offices.’” (Zechariah 6:12-13)

What an encouraging, hopeful proclamation! And one full of allusions the NT continues to use in reference to Jesus Christ.

I’ll admit, here at the end, that the prophets can be a little difficult to read. There’s a lot in there that doesn’t make sense or that I don’t know what it exactly refers to. There’s a lot still left for me to learn from those books and passages. But that doesn’t intimidate me—it excites me. Because the Word of God continues to teach, to hold new lessons and connections. It’s very cool to me that I’ll never be done learning from Scripture.