Today’s passage: 1 Kings 16:21-34

Helpful thoughts:

• The conflict between supporters of Omri and Tibni lasted about four years.
  • King after king, line after line, the same sins continue to abound in Israel.
• With Ahab’s reign, Israel went into the worship of Baal, with Jezebel as it’s worship leader.  Baal was a false god who had been worshipped in and around Canaan since before Israel arrived out of their bondage in Egypt.
• The rebuilding of Jericho fulfilled the curse of Joshua 6:26.  It also serves to illustrate Israel’s abandonment of God.
  • Builders of cities who worshiped these false gods would give their infants up as sacrifices to appease the gods to provide safety to their new cities.  These children who died were probably sacrificed and laid in the foundation of the city.

Questions to consider:

1. If kings are being killed and replaced, and if the people of the nation were desiring to follow God, what kind of king do you think would eventually prevail?  What are we learning about the nation of Israel as a whole within this continuing narrative?
2. The loss of Hiel’s sons was a curse from God.  If Hiel saw these deaths as sacrifices for the benefit of the city, would their deaths have been mourned or celebrated by the people?  What has to happen for a people to celebrate what God calls a curse (Romans 1:18-32)?
3. The reign of Ahab was a financially prosperous time in the kingdom of Israel.  How should this serve as a warning to us today?  Does financial prosperity always equal blessing from God?  How does Christ bring contentment regardless of our financial standing?

Today’s passage: 1 Kings 16:8-20

Helpful thoughts:

• Just as Baasha had done to the house of Jeroboam, Zimri does to the house of Baasha.
• Zimri reigns in Tirzah for a grand total of seven days.  The shortest reign in the history of Israel.
  • Sadly, he only needed seven days to get this reputation of being an evil king.
• Even though Zimri burned his own (Or, the king’s) house down upon himself, his act of suicide was also a pronouncement of judgment from the Lord.  Zimri’s death was the consequence of his own sin, both his sinful desires in reigning as a king and also his final act of defiance in suicide.

Questions to consider:

1. In what way does Elah’s demise compare to that of David’s sin?  Where was the army at the time of his death?  What was he busy doing while others were fighting for the nation?
2. How does a passage like this help us to think about the motive of suicide?  Is a person who commits suicide actually in control, or are they in bondage? (Romans 6:15-23)  How has God’s redemption freed us, and to whom has it given us now?
3. Why was Zimri a wicked king?  What kind of a man had he been already for him to have this reputation after just seven days on the throne?  If you want to be a godly person seven years from now, what would help you get there over the next seven years?

Today’s passage: 1 Kings 15:25-16:7

Helpful thoughts:

• Jeroboam’s line lasted just over two years after his death.  God’s promise to Jeroboam had been fulfilled.
• To give us a time reference, the twenty four years Baasha reigned over Israel were 909-886 B.C.
• Baasha was used by God to end the line of Jeroboam over Israel because of their sin, and then Baasha carried on in the same sin, and saw the same consequence.

Questions to consider:

1. Given the fact that Baasha reigned for twenty four years, he certainly would have felt that he’d been a superior king than Nadab (Or perhaps even better than Jereboam).  What aspects of his reign might he have been proud of that made him forget or ignore the most important thing?
2. What were these kings of Israel supposed to do for the well-being of their people?  What did their sinful leadership result in (Including for their own sons who would begin to reign in their place)?
3. While poor, sinful leadership will often result in an increase of sinfulness among the people, what does Jehu’s presence and usefulness to the Lord help us to remember?  What opportunities to follow the Lord might present themselves under different leadership?

Today’s passage: 1 Kings 15:1-24

Helpful thoughts:

• Here is a chart for a visual on the reigns of the kings.
• Some think that the name Abijam was a purposeful name change.
  • He is referred to as Abijah in 2 Chronicles 13.  Abijah means, “My Father is Yahweh.”
  • Abijam means, “Father of the sea.”
• Seeing Maacah the daughter of Abishalom mentioned twice in two generations seems strange until we realize a few things concerning her.
  • She had become a notable member of the royal family (Queen Mother) and was a major proponent of obscene idol worship.
  • Her father’s name, Abishalom, could also be spelled, “Absalom.” (2 Chronicles 11:20)  Abijah was Solomon’s and Absalom’s grandson.  Asa was their great-grandson.
• Asa didn’t need to rely on the king of Syria to help him.  God is all-powerful (2 Chronicles 16:7-10).

Questions to consider:

1. Why did the Lord allow evil men to rule in Jerusalem on David’s throne (Verse 4)?  Even though these men were changing from generation to generation (And sometimes from year to year), what is true of the Lord’s promises?
2. What was the one thing Asa didn’t do in regards to the worship of the people of Judah?  What would allowing the pagan high places remain in Judah provide for future generations, even future kings?
3. What might be the “high places” of our day and culture?  It’s easy to look back at Israel’s history and see the obvious error, but is there anything that we might struggle with today that Christians from other generations (even the early church) might see as obvious idolatry and worldliness?

Today’s passage: 1 Kings 14:21-31

Helpful thoughts:

• After focusing on the northern ten tribes, our attention is turned back to Judah and King Rehoboam.
• Jeroboam built altars to prevent people from going to Jerusalem.  But, they were worshiping false gods in Jerusalem as well!
• Just one generation after Solomon, allies had turned into enemies and the gold in Jerusalem was replaced with bronze.
  • Solomon had been married to Pharaoh’s daughter.  But, Shishak was the leader of a new dynasty in Egypt.  Therefore, any family ties were now without any significance.

Questions to consider:

1. What is so startling about the level of sin Judah was participating in?  Why had God used Israel to drive the other nations out of Canaan? (e.g. Genesis 15:16)
2. Why do you think Naamah the Ammonite is named at the beginning and end of this passage?  What did Solomon’s marriages to all of the foreign women result in? (1 Kings 11:1-4)
3. We belong to a kingdom that is not of this world.  How has God called the Church to conduct themselves as a people who have been set apart? (Romans 12:2)

Today’s passage: 1 Kings 14:1-20

Helpful thoughts:

• Abijah’s name means, my Father is Yahweh.  Evidently, he took his name to heart (Verse 13).
• When hardship and sickness are the only things that drive us to the Lord, we are making a grave mistake.  Jeroboam’s desire to hear from the Lord’s prophet was sadly not a sign of repentance.
  • Jeroboam’s attempt to disguise his wife from a man who he believes will know whether his son will survive is an evidence of his misunderstanding, but also of his desperation.
• Jeroboam just wanted to know about his one son.  His wife now had the terrible task of bringing home much more bad news.
  • The bad news covered everything from their sick son to the fall of Israel!

Questions to consider:

1. What was the reason for this judgment from God?  What had Jeroboam done with the responsibility of service God had entrusted to him?
2. What was Israel to learn through this revelation and judgment?  What can we still learn today?
3. Is it beyond the realm of possibility that churches today could still alter our worship and practice in order to align with or benefit national interests?  How might that look in the church today?  What would be the consequences?  How would we start to measure “righteousness”?

Today’s passage: 1 Kings 13:11-34

Helpful thoughts:

• The fact that this old prophet was living in Bethel (The center of this new false worship) and had been living well without any struggle with the locals or with King Jeroboam should itself have served as a bad sign.
  • Since the old prophet’s sons were at the altar and saw the whole exchange between the man of God and King Jeroboam, it is safe to assume the family was involved in the wicked sacrifices.  Perhaps they had even been appointed priests.
  • The old prophet was either purposefully deceiving the people of Israel, or he was testing the man of God in his own way to see if the Lord had truly sent him…maybe both?
• God’s revealed word never contradicts itself.  God’s will never contradicts His word.
• A donkey does not stand next to a lion.  They run.  A lion does not stand next to a corpse or a donkey.  They kill and eat.  This was a supernatural sight, given to prove God’s sovereign judgment.
  • The animals were the only obedient participants in this account.

Questions to consider:

1. Is everyone who claims to be a pastor, preacher, servant of God, really someone we should be listening to? (Matthew 7:15-20)  How else could we know for sure? (Acts 17:11)
2. In the end, what did the old prophet conclude?  What was the result of his conclusion?  Did it change anything?  What does verse 33 indicate the people wanted to do?
3. What does God rightfully expect people to do in response to His word and commands?  Does God turn a blind eye or minimize sin?  How does the cross prove this to be true?  How is God’s mercy tied to His justice?

Today’s passage: 1 Kings 13:1-10

Helpful thoughts:

• Bethel was one of the two locations (The other being Dan) where Jeroboam had set up the altars with the golden calves for worship.
• This prophecy was fulfilled over three hundred years later! (2 Kings 23:15-20)
• The man of God reveals extra instructions he had received directly from God.  This information will be essential to understanding the next passage.

Questions to consider:

1. Given the prophecy and the immediate signs that were given, what would have been the right response of King Jeroboam and the northern ten tribes?  How should their worship have changed?
2. How does God’s prophecy show that He already knew they would not repent?  Had they repented, would there have been an altar to destroy three hundred years later?  Is there anything the Lord does not know?
3. How does God’s eternal omniscience, sovereignty, justice, mercy and grace all work together when we consider Christ’s all-sufficient sacrifice for us on the cross?  Is there any sin that God missed in your life that Christ did not pay for?  (Hebrews 10:10)

Today’s passage: 1 Kings 12:16-33

Helpful thoughts:

• Israel (The northern 10 tribes) came to that announcement prepared to abandon the king.
• Adoram was the man who represented the very things for which Israel left Rehoboam’s rule.  The king was either being very foolish, or he was using Adoram as a litmus test to feel out just how serious Israel was about seceding.  Either way, he learned just how serious they were and he fled.
• The tribe of Benjamin was split between the two kingdoms.
• God had just given Jeroboam a kingdom, evidently he did not trust God to preserve it for him.

Questions to consider:

1. Where have we seen the idea of the golden calf before (Exodus 32:4)?  What was Jeroboam’s motivation for making these calves, replacing the feasts, and making priests from every tribe?  What was the real purpose for the creation of this new false religion?
2. Why was this new religious practice destructive, even though it was initially patterned after the real thing?  Once man decided it could be altered, who was now in control?
3. How was the history of Israel (And now the kingdom of Judah) trending?  Are things getting better or worse?  Were the problems from without or from within?  Is there a man among the twelve tribes that can right all these wrongs?  What are the repeated failings of all Israel supposed to help us to see?  What kind of Messiah do we need?