Glory and Captivity Divided Kingdom

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1 Glory and Captivity Divided Kingdom This inductive Bible study is designed for individual, small group, or classroom use. A leader s guide with full lesson plans and the answers to the Bible study questions is available from Regular Baptist Press. Order RBP1681 online at orders@rbpstore.org, call toll-free , or contact your distributor. REGULAR BAPTIST PRESS 1300 North Meacham Road Schaumburg, Illinois

2 The King James Version is the English translation used in our Sunday School curriculum. The Doctrinal Basis of Our Curriculum A more detailed statement with references is available upon request. The verbal, plenary inspiration of the Scriptures Only one true God The Trinity of the Godhead The Holy Spirit and His ministry The personality of Satan The Genesis account of creation Original sin and the fall of man The virgin birth of Christ Salvation through faith in the shed blood of Christ The bodily resurrection and priesthood of Christ Grace and the new birth Justification by faith Sanctification of the believer The security of the believer The church The ordinances of the local church: baptism by immersion and the Lord s Supper Biblical separation ecclesiastical and personal Obedience to civil government The place of Israel The pretribulation rapture of the church The premillennial return of Christ The millennial reign of Christ Eternal glory in Heaven for the righteous Eternal torment in Hell for the wicked GLORY AND CAPTIVITY: DIVIDED KINGDOM Adult Bible Study Book Vol. 55, No Regular Baptist Press Schaumburg, Illinois Printed in U.S.A. All rights reserved RBP1684 ISBN:

3 Contents Preface Lesson 1 The Kingdom Begins to Crumble Lesson 2 The Kingdom Rips Apart Lesson 3 Loyalty Lessons Lesson 4 Elijah: Prophet of Contrasts Lesson 5 The Life and Death of Wicked King Ahab Lesson 6 The Mantle Passes to Elisha Lesson 7 The Closing Period of Elisha s Ministry Lesson 8 Providence and Protection Lesson 9 A Royal Path to Ruin Lesson 10 Becoming a Success Lesson 11 Humble Prayer Lesson 12 Judah s Final Years Lesson 13 Past Lives with Present Lessons

4 Preface You are about to begin an important study of the books of 1 and 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles. Granted, these history books describe people and events dating back as far as three thousand years to a period from 931 to 585 BC, but their message is still relevant. The wars, bloodshed, and seemingly senseless killings of hundreds of thousands of people back then point to a human problem that still exists the problem of sin. Israel and Judah s sin of rebellion against the God of their fathers led to upheaval, violence, and destruction. If people today travel a similar path, they will experience a similar fate. In addition, these sacred records provide the necessary background and context for understanding nearly all the Old Testament prophets, both major and minor. How impoverished we would be without them! They also offer timeless lessons and principles for personal life. Knowledgeable Christians recognize these books as fully inspired and totally accurate. Plus, Romans 15:4 explains, Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. In the despair of twenty-firstcentury antichristian sentiment, war, and terrorism, we need this hope. As you read and study 1 and 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles, remind yourself often that what you read is verbally inspired God-breathed and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works (2 Timothy 3:16, 17). With this attitude and outlook, you will find these ancient records enriching your life and testimony. 7

5 Lesson 1 The Kingdom Begins to Crumble God is the ultimate authority in the life of a believer. 1 Kings 11 The LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.... O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker. For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand (Psalm 95:3, 6, 7). Leaders such as Hitler, Mussolini, and Saddam Hussein ruled their countries as dictators without checks and balances. Eventually they desired even more power and went beyond their countries borders to try to conquer neighboring nations. Hitler in particular set his sights on conquering the world. All these dictators were resoundingly defeated by nations that opposed their endeavors. Israel s kings ruled with God as their check. But the kings were always tempted to forget God and claim ultimate authority in the nation. At the beginning of his reign, Solomon was careful to submit to God as his ultimate authority. However, as he aged and became comfortable in his position, he claimed more and more of the authority that belonged only to God. 9

6 10 GLORY AND CAPTIVITY Getting Started 1. What checks and balances are in place for the leaders of your country? 2. What are the checks and balances for any positions of authority you hold? 3. What would happen if you decided to grasp for more power than your position of authority gives you? Searching the Scriptures The key to understanding Israel s Divided Kingdom is to know why the split occurred. To do so, we have to look to the end of Solomon s reign. King Solomon was the last king of the United Kingdom of Israel. His actions led to the crack that spread to a chasm between the Northern Kingdom, eventually called Israel, and the Southern Kingdom, eventually called Judah. Disloyalty Solomon s decline began with his relationships with his hundreds of wives. Many of these wives came from the nations that bordered Israel. Others were from nations that occupied Canaan before Israel invaded the land. God had forbidden the men of Israel from marrying women from the nations they were supposed to drive out (Deuteronomy 7:1 3). This prohibition included the Hittites. Solomon disobeyed a clear directive from God when he married Hittite women. 4. Read 1 Kings 11:1 and 2. What warning did God give along with His command not to intermarry with nations who still occupied Canaan?

7 The Kingdom Begins to Crumble What evidence in 1 Kings 11:2 shows that Solomon s relationships with his forbidden wives left him vulnerable to falling away from God? Clave refers to loyalty and affection (11:2). Solomon s love for forbidden wives was so deep that it affected his loyalties. God wanted Solomon s loyalty. In Deuteronomy 30:20 Moses used the word cleave the same word used to describe Solomon s relationship with his wives to relate the type of relationship that God wanted with each Israelite, especially the kings. 6. Describe what it means to be loyal. Eventually Solomon s wives drew his heart away from God (1 Kings 11:3, 4). His heart was no longer perfect, or at peace with and loyal to God. 7. Read Deuteronomy 30: What blessings did God promise to those who had hearts for Him? 8. What would be the consequences of disloyalty to God? 9. What might Solomon have hoped to gain that was better than being loyal to God? Disobedience Solomon s disloyalty to God quickly led to disobedience to God (1 Kings 11:5 7). Solomon went after, or lived his life according to,

8 12 GLORY AND CAPTIVITY Ashtoreth and Milcom (Molech). Serving Ashtoreth and Milcom involved practices such as prostitution and child sacrifice. Clearly such religious acts are appalling to God. But pleasing God was no longer the focus of Solomon s life. He lived to please his wives and appease their gods (11:8). Solomon couldn t claim ignorance of God s commands. The Lord had made two personal visits to Solomon to specifically warn him about following after other gods (11:9, 10). The Lord became angry with Solomon for his disobedience in spite of the clear commands He had communicated to him. 10. First Kings 3:5 14 and 9:1 9 relate the Lord s visits to Solomon. Read the passages and record how you would have reacted to such personal visits. Solomon had to expect God to become angry, for God loved Israel, He wanted to bless the people, and He wanted them to be a beacon of light to the Gentiles. Solomon s choice to give his loyalty to other gods was resisting God s plan. God wasn t going to frown and look the other way. He had to deal with Solomon s sin and communicate once again the seriousness of sin and His abhorrence of it. Ignoring the sin would only make it worse. 11. Read 1 Kings 11:11. God said He would rend, or tear, the kingdom from Solomon. What does God s having to tear the kingdom from Solomon tell you about Solomon s willingness to let God take it from him and his descendants? Solomon was perhaps the most affluent, powerful man to have ruled on earth at that point in history. God s words to him about taking away his kingdom had to be jolting. Solomon was unaccustomed to not getting his own way. After Solomon turned his heart away from God, he was a king with no apparent checks and balances. He had forgotten that God is

9 The Kingdom Begins to Crumble 13 the ultimate King and that God s Word was to be his guide for life. In spite of Solomon, God spared part of the kingdom for the sake of David and Jerusalem (1 Kings 11:12, 13). God had promised David that his descendants would sit on the throne in Jerusalem, the place of His temple. In the Millennium, Christ will have this place of honor. The city will then fulfill God s purpose by being a testimony to God s holiness and love (Zechariah 14). 12. Read Zechariah 14:8, 9, and 16. How significant will Jerusalem be in the millennial Kingdom of Christ? 13. What role will Christ play in the Millennium? Discipline God raised up Hadad the Edomite and Rezon the king of Syria to war against Israel and cause trouble for Solomon. These characters had a history of conflict with Israel. Both of them rose out of crushing defeats by David to become Solomon s adversaries. 14. Read 1 Kings 11: What evidence, if any, do you find of Solomon turning from his evil ways back to the Lord? 15. In what sense did Hadad and Rezon serve as a warning to Solomon that God had had enough of his waywardness? 16. Read 2 Samuel 8:3 6, 13, and 14. What caused David to have success against the Syrians and Edomites?

10 14 GLORY AND CAPTIVITY 17. What types of situations might God use to warn believers today that they no longer recognize Him as the ultimate authority in their lives? The third person God used to discipline Solomon was Jeroboam, a diligent, industrious man whom Solomon made an officer over the nation s forced laborers (1 Kings 11:26 28). While Jeroboam was going about his business, Ahijah the prophet met him in a field outside Jerusalem (11:29). Ahijah had a shocking message from the Lord. Division To illustrate his message, Ahijah took off his new garment and tore it into twelve pieces (1 Kings 11:30). He then laid the pieces out before Jeroboam and told him to take ten pieces. After Jeroboam picked up ten pieces, Ahijah revealed the meaning of the simple exercise by declaring the word of the Lord: Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee (11:31). 18. Suppose you were in Jeroboam s place. What would be going through your mind as you listened to the word of the Lord through Ahijah? 19. Why do you think God chose the tearing of a new garment to represent the dividing of the kingdom of Israel? Ahijah went on to explain to Jeroboam the reason God was taking the kingdom from Solomon (11:32 36). His words about Solomon s unfaithfulness were a rehearsal of the message the Lord had already personally given to Solomon (11:11 13). 20. Read 1 Kings 11: Count how many times God refers to Himself by using the pronouns I, me, and my/mine. What does

11 The Kingdom Begins to Crumble 15 this number reveal about the ultimate authority God has and demands in the lives of those who trust in Him? Ahijah continued his message to Jeroboam by promising God s blessing on Jeroboam if he would recognize God as the ultimate authority when he assumed his position as king of Israel. Apparently God s message fell on deaf ears, for Jeroboam didn t take God up on His promise when he eventually became king. 21. Read 1 Kings 11:40. a. How does this verse show that Solomon still refused to submit to God s authority and enjoy His blessings? b. What other king tried to kill the man God had appointed to be the next king? (See 1 Samuel 19:1 and 2.) 22. Read Psalm 95:3, 6, and 7. What did Solomon miss out on because he refused to live with God as his ultimate authority? Solomon s life ended tragically. Perhaps no one else had as much potential to influence his world as Solomon did. Instead he left a nation filled with cracks and ready to crumble. Making It Personal Solomon s decline ought to cause us to closely examine who we have set up as the ultimate authority in our own lives. We all have the opportunity to recognize God as our ultimate authority. Putting God in His rightful position in our lives is the best choice we can make.

12 16 GLORY AND CAPTIVITY 23. Finish the following statements after you have prayerfully considered your life. The ultimate authority in my life is... I know I look to God as my ultimate authority, because... To make God my ultimate authority, I must Spend time every day over the next week worshiping God as a way of training your mind to look to God as your ultimate authority. 25. Memorize Psalm 95:3, 6, and 7. Use these verses as a daily reminder to recognize God as the authority in your life.

Bibliology BUILDING CONVICTION AND CONFIDENCE IN THE BIBLE. REGULAR BAPTIST PRESS 3715 N. Ventura Drive Arlington Heights, IL

Bibliology BUILDING CONVICTION AND CONFIDENCE IN THE BIBLE REGULAR BAPTIST PRESS 3715 N. Ventura Drive Arlington Heights, IL 60004-7678 The Doctrinal Basis of Our Curriculum A more detailed statement with