William Chaplar (August 18,1961 / Trenton, New Jersey)

Kings in the Old Testament numbered a lot,
and few can remember them all.
But even those of us who ditched Sunday school
know Solomon, David, and Saul.

At first there was Samuel, a favorite of God,
though never an actual king.
And yet, when the Israelites begged to be ruled,
Saul to them did Samuel bring.

The next would be David, Jesse's youngest son;
in him we saw courage and might.
According to God, it was David alone
who did just about everything right.

Then after him Solomon took up the reign;
the cleverest one of them all.
King Solomon's wisdom was quite unsurpassed,
so who'd believe he too would fall?

Jeroboam, Josiah, Nadab and the rest
would each confront their own pitfalls.
But the Old Testament kings that we all know the best
are Solomon, David, and Saul.