Preaching's Preacher's Guide to the Best Bible Reference The books of 1 and 2 Kings cover the history of Israel from the last days of the united kingdom under David to the eventual fall of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Within these books, the deuteronomic code - 'doing what is right in the Lord's sight' - provides a framework by which monarchic history is measured. In the kings' cultic failures lies the apostasy of the nation...