An Interim "Introduction" to Sefer Melakhim

From chapter 14 and onwards, we read brief accounts of kings that are formal and contain standardized language. The focus of the book of Melakhim is to be on the Mikdash.  The book begins with the rise of Shlomo and the building of the Mikdash, and it ends with its destruction.  The blame is also clear.  This is a book that targets the leaders, and hence it assesses the leadership – king by king - to discern which national figures accelerated the path to that great calamity of destruction and which tried to reverse or stem that process, steering the nation on a path of repentance.  Every king is listed and surveyed in order to understand their part.  Hence, no link in the chain from building to destruction may be omitted. It knows precisely where to place the blame, which area of deviance constitutes the core of the problem. Our book is focused and locked-in upon idolatry and its associated practices.