The books of 1 and 2 Kings take a people at the peak of blessing at the end of 2 Samuel to a place where everything seems lost and all has been stripped away. John Olley in his Bible Speaks Today commentary tells us ‘Kings can be read simply as an account of the sinfulness of kings that led initially to the fall of Samaria and the end of the northern kingdom of Israel, and ultimately to the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile. It is a story of wilful and persistent idolatry and associated injustice that resulted inevitably in the fulfilment of the curses that had been part of the covenant warnings given by God.’ Yet then, as now, times of turmoil encourage and challenge us to reflect on life and reassess our values and direction of travel and to respond to God’s call through the prophets: seek me and live. We encounter Elijah and Elisha, with miracles resonant of so may of the miracles of Jesus, from provision of food to resurrection of the dead. We also, again, find the place of women elevated. Women are not seen as the cause of the problems, but as Scott Cormode in his introduction to Kings at the end of the prayer station indicates, women are shown as models of how God will provide for God’s people.