In Matt 7:24-27, the Lord says that a believer’s life is like a house. He can build a valuable and sturdy house if he does the things the Lord tells him to do. If he is disobedient, the house will come crashing down. This, of course, has nothing to do with receiving eternal life, which is free. The Lord is talking about doing good works and “building a house” that will be rewarded in the world to come. Disobedience will result in the loss of those rewards.

The books of 1 and 2 Kings were originally one book. We don’t know for sure who the author was, but whoever it was begins with a positive example of building a house for the Lord and ends with a negative example. These two examples are like bookends for 1 and 2 Kings.

The books begin with David and Solomon. David was a man after God’s own heart. He pleased the Lord. David wanted to build a house–which would be the temple in Jerusalem–for the Lord. The Lord said that building that house would be left to David’s son, Solomon. After David’s death, Solomon began his reign on a high note. Like David, Solomon was obedient to God.

With the background of David and Solomon’s obedience, a magnificent house was built for the Lord in Jerusalem. It was luxurious and the pride of the nation. There had never been a building like it before, or one like it since. The cloud of God’s presence filled it (1 Kings 1–8). What blessings were upon that house and the nation because they did what the Lord told them to do!

If we use the Lord’s illustration in Matthew 7, we could say that the house was built upon a strong foundation–the foundation of God’s Word. The beautiful building in Jerusalem was a wonderful picture of this.

But the negative side of things is seen in 2 Kings, which ends with the destruction of the beautiful house that David and Solomon had been instrumental in building. Sadly, the house’s beautiful and valuable furniture that is described in the first few chapters of 1 Kings is also described in 2 Kgs 25:13-17; it is being carried away by the Babylonians. The house itself was destroyed when the Babylonians burned it to the ground (25:9).

Why did this happen? Because, unlike David and Solomon and the people of their day, the kings of Judah had disobeyed the Lord. The people followed suit. The house the nation had built fell. To borrow the words of the Lord: “and great was its fall” (Matt 7:27).

Very graphic illustration, isn’t it? We begin the book of 1 and 2 King with a beautiful, gold-filled, building that is the envy of the world. It is blessed by God. The book ends with the same building, a smoldering pile of garbage. What was the difference? Faithfulness and obedience to the Lord.

Obviously, the temple in Jerusalem was for the Nation of Israel. But it is a metaphor for our lives. If we are faithful to the Lord, our lives will be like an ornate, beautiful building when we stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ. Like the cloud of God’s presence that filled the temple in 1 Kings, God’s approval will be upon such a life. It will be rewarded. What a beautiful picture that will be!

If we are faithless to Him, our lives will be like a building that has been torn down. Instead of the cloud of God’s approval, there will be a cloud of smoke as our works are burned up, along with eternal rewards.

First Kings begins with a beautiful building. Second Kings ends with its destruction. Which one do we want to be the picture of our lives?