Today’s passage: 2 Kings 14:1-29

Helpful thoughts:

• This chapter contains yet another civil war where the king of Israel defeats the king of Judah, destroys part of Jerusalem and plunders the Temple.  Such a sad reality.
• Azariah began to reign when his father was a hostage in Samaria.  They remained coregents until the death of Amaziah.
  • Elath is a strategic location…one that could easily be forgotten about given the geography of the nation.
• During Jeroboam II’s reign, Israel and Judah combined covered the same land area that had been ruled over during Solomon’s reign.
  • The prophet Jonah is the same Jonah who had the pleasure of riding through the sea in the belly of a big fish. (Jonah 1:1-3)

Questions to consider:

1. Why didn’t Judah capture Israel?  Why did Israel grow and flourish?  Who was (and still is) in control?
2. Are you starting to feel a bit of monotony reading through the accounts of these kings?  What are we learning about Israel/Judah and their ability to keep God’s Law and follow Him on their own?  What is the monotony teaching us?
3. What does the world look to in order to make things “better?”  Who do we truly need?  To whom does the world need us to point them?

Today’s passage: 2 Kings 13:1-25

Helpful thoughts:

• The name of the “savior” or “deliverer” is not given in verse 5.  What Israel needed to know was that their Lord was to be their true deliverer.
• Joash and Jehoash refer to the same king.  And, there was a Joash reigning as king in Israel and in Judah at the same time.
  • Israel’s king Joash was the grandson of Jehu, who had eliminated the line of Ahab.
  • Israel’s king Joash walked in the ways of Jereboam, the first king of Israel, and then named his son Jereboam as well.
• When the man touched Elisha’s bones and resurrected, it was a sign to Israel that the promises and prophecies of God through Elisha were still as valid as when Elisha was alive.
  • They saw Elisha as their father and their defense, or at least he was the personification of it.  But again, the Lord was their savior, not Elisha.

Questions to consider:

1. What would allow a people to believe they are trusting in the Lord and loving his prophet while at the same time, worshiping against God’s will and sharing their worship with other gods?  How does that happen?  What is needed to bring repentance?
2. When were the times when Israel cried out to God (Just like they did during the period of the judges)?  Why would the king have been scared to see Elisha die…just before it was the time of year for wars?
3. The church is given to us for fellowship and mutual edification.  We grow together as a community.  But, who do we gather to worship?  Who is our King?  Who is our Savior?  Who will make our church victorious?

Today’s passage: 2 Kings 12:1-21

Helpful thoughts:

• Joash/Jehoash became king at the age of seven.
  • Jehoiada the High Priest lived to be 130!
  • After Jehoiada’s death, Joash turned sharply toward idolatry, even killing Jehoiada’s son.
• Joash seems to have been responsible for refurbishing the Temple and then depleting it.
• Though this young king had survived the coup of his grandmother Athaliah, he would not make it to fifty years old.  He was later killed by his own servants.
  • Much more information about Joash’s reign can be found in 2 Chronicles 22:10-24:27.

Questions to consider:

1. Why is verse 3 so important?  When we pursue righteousness, how much righteousness should we pursue?  Is it right to be satisfied with being mostly good?  How did the Apostle Paul deal with this struggle (Romans 7:21-25)?  If our church is the people, how important to the whole are our individual pursuits of godliness?
2. In 2 Chronicles 24:4-5, we see why the Temple refurbishing didn’t get started as planned.  In our passage in 2 Kings 12, we are told they did receive the money but would not use it for the Temple.  How could these actions by the Levites and Priests have hurt the cause of their ministry?  Why must the church today be honest and accountable with finances and maintain a good work ethic?
3. What can Joash’s change in allegiances remind us of?  Do we really need to be with people who will faithfully encourage us to pursue Christ?  How does God’s gift of the local church help us to stay focused on Jesus?

Today’s passage: 2 Kings 11:1-21

Helpful thoughts:

• Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, didn’t weep when she learned of her son’s death.  She saw opportunity and sought to kill her own family.
  • It comes as no surprise (Though it should be shocking) that Athaliah’s reign included the construction and operation of a temple to Baal.
• Johoiada was the high priest in the Temple during Athaliah’s reign on David’s throne.
  • Little Joash was able to live in the Temple for six years undetected.
  • His survival would have been a secret to the country.  As far as they knew, the line of David was dead and Athaliah was Queen.
• In Deuteronomy 17:18-20, the Lord commanded the kings to write and have their own copy of the Law/Testimony in order to know the Lord and rule in obedience to Him (Verse 12).

Questions to consider:

1. In relation to the way we see political terms in office in our day, what would it have been like to have “Queen Athalia” in charge of Judah, on the throne of David in Jerusalem for six years?  Did God lose control for a little while there?  Has he lost control in the nations of the world today?
2. In what ways was the age of Joash and the need for Jehoiada’s leadership through this “coup” a blessing to Judah?  How did it help to set things right and lead to some repentance?  What was the Lord doing?
3. Was Joash’s copy of the Bible (As far as it had been written then) given to him as a good luck charm?  What would he need to do with it if it was going to help him?  Be encouraged to keep reading and studying God’s Word!  Way to go!

Today’s passage: 2 Kings 10:1-36

Helpful thoughts:

• As long as Ahab’s descendants lived in Israel, they had a right to the throne and Jehu was a criminal on the loose.  Jehu’s only path to victory was to wipe out Ahab’s line.  Therefore, he issued this challenge.
• Once again, the king’s own servants willingly (And gruesomely) executed those in Ahab’s household.
  • Jehu wasn’t yet satisfied however, as he went on to kill all the servants of Ahab’s house in Jezreel, and later in Samaria as well.  He would later be judged for this extra bloodshed (Hosea 1:4).
• Jehu vocalized his own zeal for the Lord, but in reality, he only had zeal to do what the Lord had prophesied in ways that brought him to power.
  • Jehu was content with the amount he knew, with the amount that brought him to power.  Even the destruction of the temple to Baal and those worshippers was a way of eliminating all who were loyal to Ahab.

Questions to consider:

1. Did the willingness of Ahab’s servants to slaughter his descendants truly show a sincere loyalty to Jehu?  What were they truly motivated by (Verse 4)?  Were they following Jehu (Or the Lord’s commands) with their whole heart?
2. Is it always good to feel strongly about something?  Does feeling strongly/passionately about something automatically mean you are right? (Proverbs 19:2)
3. What was Jehu truly passionate about in the end?  What guided his desires and actions?  What does it mean to walk with the Lord will all your heart?  What do we need to know and where do we go to learn it in order to follow the Lord with all our heart (2 Timothy 3:16-17)?

Today’s passage: 2 Kings 9:1-37

Helpful thoughts:

• This prophet under the leadership of Elisha was to go, give the prophecy and get out as fast as possible.  This was a dangerous mission.
  • However, the readiness of the people to revolt against the line of Ahab (And Jezebel) is quite apparent.  Jehoram’s men and even Jezebel’s own personal assistants turn on them at the first opportunity.
• Jezebel called Jehu, “Zimri” to remind him of Zimri’s fate (1 Kings 16:9-20).  She was not speaking kindly or fearfully.  She was mocking him and trying to intimidate him.
• Ahaziah (King of Judah) was also family with the line of Ahab through Athalia his mother.
  • The next chapters will show a great threat to the Davidic line in Judah.

Questions to consider:

1. So far, what does it look like God is doing through Jehu, the new king of Israel?  What might we expect from him once he has confirmed the throne?  Do you think he will follow the Lord as he has seen these prophecies fulfilled?
2. Knowing the spiritual condition of the northern kingdom of Israel, do you think that Jehu and his men were eager to follow the Lord upon hearing of this anointing or was their readiness to act more closely tied to their hatred of the king and the line of Ahab/Jezebel?
3. How does Jezebel’s taunting of Jehu and her own assistant’s actions, along with the fact that no one stopped the dogs from eating her dead body, show us about her attitude and actions?  How did she see herself?  How must she have seen and treated others?  How would God want us to treat other people?  For whom do they exist?

Today’s passage: 2 Kings 8:1-29

Helpful thoughts:

• Elisha was not being dishonest in verse 10.  Ben-Hadad did not die of his sickness, he was murdered.
• There was a Jehoram as king of Israel and as king of Judah at the same time.  The name “Joram” is used for both as well.
  • Their name was not the only thing they had in common.  Jehoram of Judah lived and ruled like a king from Samaria.
• Athaliah was the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel.  She became the wife of Jehoram/Joram in Judah and also the mother of the next king, Ahaziah.
  • She influenced these kings of Judah, her husband and son, in the same way Jezebel had influenced Ahab.

Questions to consider:

1. In a book which records much disobedience and discipline, how does the narrative of this woman differ (Verses 1-6)?  What did she do when Elisha gave her this instruction?  Whom did God use to make things right when she returned?  Is anything too hard for the Lord?
2. Read 2 Chronicles 22:10-12.  What did Athaliah do in order to rule over Judah herself?  Whom did she seek to kill, what relation were the heirs to the throne?  What relation was her own son to our Savior (As a prince of Judah and descendant of David)?  In what way did she go even beyond the wickedness of Jezebel?
3. Even though we might see the kings of Israel and of Judah as being separated from each other, what is true of them at this point?  How closely are they related?  How would/did these family connections push the kings of Judah away from their Davidic ancestry?

Today’s passage: 2 Kings 6:24-7:20

Helpful thoughts:

• Elisha was praised when the Syrian raiders were captured in Samaria, and hated in the time of famine.
  • Of course, it wasn’t Elisha that was hated as much as it would have been his God.  Even if King Jehoram had focused his anger on God’s prophet, God was the one in sovereign control.
  • When we are angry with our circumstances, we are angry first at God.
• The Lord’s power is on display again as not a single fight broke out in this battle.  Syria fled without any effort on the part of Israel.
  • They were helpless and hopeless on their own.  Our God is a God of salvation.

Questions to consider:

1. Why was King Jehoram’s complaint truly against the Lord?  When things don’t seem to be going the “right” way in our lives, what must we remember?
2. When any “trouble” comes from the Lord, what is our right response?  To whom should we cry and in what way?  What should the king’s sackcloth have represented first, Israel’s hunger or their need for repentance?
3. What does the church need the most?  What does the Lord desire of our hearts and then our actions?

Today’s passage: 2 Kings 6:1-23

Helpful thoughts:

• The miracle of the floating ax head took place while the prophets under the tutelage of Elisha were building a bigger setting for their instruction.
• By calling Elisha, “My father” King Jehoram was indicating he was now well aware of who held the most power in Israel.
• These raiders would not continue their raiding in Israel, but in tomorrow’s passage we will see a more formal attack attempted by the Syrian king.

Questions to consider:

1. What is significant of Elisha’s request to have the young man’s eyes opened?  Did the angel army come at their request or had they already been there?  Why were those angels there already?
2. Is God fighting our battles for us, or are we on God’s side and therefore His battles are our battles, and our battles His?  Why is this distinction so important?
3. Why can it be so easy to forget about the work of angels around us?  If you were an angel that was spending a great deal of time working around and for you, what growth would you be encouraged to see?

Today’s passage: 2 Kings 5:1-27

Helpful thoughts:

• The king of Syria would not have attributed Naaman’s victories to the Lord.  But, in truth, it was the Lord who sovereignly gave Naaman these victories.
  • God does not only pay attention to the Jews or to Christians.  He is the God of all creation and His Kingdom will consist of saints from every tribe, tongue, and nation.
• After his healing, Naaman the Syrian was one of the only people in Israel who only believed in the one true God.
  • Elisha, desiring to set himself apart from other “prophets” would not accept anything in return from Naaman.  He wasn’t in a “business” for profits.
• It was believed that a person could only truly worship a god of any nation on that nation’s soil.  Naaman wanted to take some Israel back to Damascus so that he could worship the Lord.
  • Naaman’s position required he assist with the king’s pagan idolatry.  He would not be worshiping in his own right and did not want his duties to be misconstrued as divided loyalty.

Questions to consider:

1. How would the false doctrine of only being able to worship the gods of a particular nation when on their soil have impacted worship in that day and region?  Why do you think that false doctrine ever emerged?  What would it prevent the nations from doing?  What happens when patriotism gets mixed with false worship?
2. Gehazi decided he would try to take something from Naaman behind Elisha’s back.  What did he actually receive?  Why were Gehazi’s actions wrong?  How could he have impacted Elisha’s testimony and the ministry of the Lord if they were acting like the other false prophets who were in it for the money?
3. What is the irony of this narrative?  Compare and contrast the beginnings and endings of Naaman and Gehazi.