Study Questions The Books of 1 & 2 Kings by Paul R. House 2 Kings Lesson 16 Elijah Denounces Ahaziah (page 242) up to Elisha s Work as (page 252) 2 Kings v. 1:1-18 1. What are the canonical and theological Issues in the later part of 1 Kings and the very first part of 2 Kings (1 Kgs 17:1 to 2 Kgs 1:18)? 2. Our author lists four potential applications for us implied in 1 Kgs 17:1 to 2 Kgs 1:18. Which of the four applications do you find you most intriguing and might likely attempt? 3. The book tells that upon Ahab s death King Mesha of Moab rebels. We have archaeological evidence of this (bottom of page 253.) Is it important to you that there is third-party physical evidence that the events related in the Bible actually occurred? Why or why not? 4. The events in the first twelve verses of the 2nd chapter mirror or closely resemble events that occurred in another Bible character s life. Who? 5. Our book doesn t mention it but from other of our studies we know that in the Transfiguration of Jesus two biblical characters appear with Jesus. Who? Lesson 17 Elisha s Work as Prophet, Miracleworker & Kingmaker (page 252) v. 2:1-3:27 Elisha s Performs Miracles (page 264) 1. The introduction to 2 Kings Chapters 2 through 13 recaps what we have read previously that sets the stage for what we are about to read (pg 252.) The author mentions three things (first, second, third ) what are the three things that the stage for 2 Kings 2:1 13:25? 2. The historical authenticity of the Old Testament is sometimes questioned. It is important when actual archeological discoveries support the history described in the Bible. The bottom of page 253 talks about such a find. What is it? How does it support the Biblical story? 3. The introduction says, Jeru wasted no time in disposing of the kings of Judah and Israel. We know from the Elijah s theophany that God orders Jeru anointed king over Israel (Northern Kingdom) how/why do you suppose that Jeru the new king of Israel kills a king of Judah? 4. Why do you think Elisha answered the way he did in verse 2 Kings 3:13? What disadvantages are there for people who only call on God in times of crisis? 5. The description of the journey where ultimately Elijah departs and Elisha replaces him describes things intended to connect Moses and Elijah in the readers mind. What are they? 6. In Jesus Transfiguration (Mark, Matthew and Luke) two individuals from the Old Testament appear with Jesus. Who are they? How does this connect to 2 Kings Chapter 2? 7. Many of us are familiar with the miracles of the Old and New Testament from our religion classes or from what we have heard read from the pulpit or other source somewhere in our lives. Were you familiar with Elisha s spring water miracle?
Lesson 18 Elisha s Performs Miracles (page 264) v. 4:1-6:33 Elisha Predicts the Siege s End (page 279) 1. Elijah has passed from the scene and Elisha has picked up hi cloak. Elijah was a great prophet that the Bible even ties to link indirectly with Moses. How do 2 Kings Chapters 4 and 5 go about introducing us to Elisha? What is the biblical writer doing? What is he trying to set in the reader s minds? 2. Elisha does things to feed people in Gilgal where there is a famine. What does the second thing that involves loaves of barley bread remind you of? 3. Our books says, Naaman s healing and conversion is one of the best known and most popular stories in 1, 2 Kings. Had you heard this story before? Do you remember how you learned this story? 4. Why was Naaman angry over Elisha's instructions? In what ways have you expected God to work and were "disappointed" or even resistive when He worked another way? 5. A slave girl serving Naaman s wife plays a role in his healing. Does it surprise you that Judah raid into Israel took captives? These people were blood relatives. 6. Defeating the siege of Dothan by the army of the King of Aram (Damascus Syria) involves a vision with chariots of fire. Where else have we heard about chariots of fire Lesson 19 Elisha Predicts the Siege s End (page 279) v. 7:1-9:37 Jehu Kills Ahab s Family (page 291) 1. What is the point of Elisha's promise in 2 Kings 7:1? Why did the captain doubt it? What causes you to doubt the word of the LORD? 2. Elisha tells Hazael, one of Ben-Hadad s lieutenants, that he will become king. Hazael then assassinates Ben-Hadad by smothering him and assumes the kingship. Do you recall this was predicted by the LORD himself? When? Where? 3. It is always comforting to find contemporary records that validate the biblical account. What do we have that validates Hazael usurping the Syrian royal thrown? (hint: see top of 284) 4. Jehoram succeeds his father Jehosaphat as king of the southern kingdom Judah. Who does he marry? 5. How did Jehu's companions react to the young prophet and his message? Do you think their response affected Jehu? How do your companions influence you good or bad? 6. There is a misprint in our book for 2 King 9:22. Is reads idolatry. The commentary corrects the misprint on the next page. What should it read? Why is this metaphor for abandoning Yahweh particularly accurate given Jezebel s propagation of Baalism? 7. So Jeru kills both kings and then goes to Jezreel. When Jesebel hears he is coming she puts on her makeup and combs her hair. Why?
Lesson 20 Lesson 21 Lesson 22 Jehu Kills Ahab s Family (page 291) v. 10:1-12:21 Elisha s Final Days (page 304) 1. What did Jehu do right and what did he do that was wrong in verses 2 Kings 10:18-36? 2. 2 Kings 10:27 says Jeru tore down the temple of Baal. Where (chapter, verse) did we learn that a temple for Ball had been built in the Northern Kingdom? Was it a surprise for you to find out that there was a Baal temple to tear down? 3. Jeru, however, doesn t lead Israel back to faithful (Pentateuch) worship of the LORD, Yahweh. Instead he reinstitutes what? 4. When Athaliah found out her son, Ahaziah, the king, was dead what did she do? The children she had killed were related to her in what way (son, daughter, cousin, uncle. etc.)? 5. When Athaliah discovers she is about to be overthrown she cries treason. Why is this ironic? 6. What were the positive things that the priest, Jehoida, did in chapter 11? Were any of his actions wrong? 7. How did Joash placate Hazael who had raised an army and attached other smaller countries Elisha s Final Days (page 304) v. 13:1-25 Israel Disintegrates (page 317) 1. What evidence of God's favor or grace for Israel do you see in verses 13:1-9? Why do you think God was so gracious to them? 2. Chapter 13 is a bit strange. Kings come and go in three or four paragraphs. The arrow thing is quite odd. Explain what happens when Jehoash visits the dying Elisha. 3. Again archeological evidence was found that reinforces the biblical account. Explain what the Assyrian stele tells us about Jehoash and how that relates to what the Bible tells us. 4. The canonical patterns in 2 Kings 2:1-13:25 lead to several theological truths (see pg 313). List three or four of these theological truths? 5. In summarizing what we have read in 2 Kings 2:1-13:25 our author says kings have a theological purpose. What is it? 6. What do these chapters, the early part of 2 Kings, teach us about the nature of God? Israel Disintegrates (page 317) v. 14:1-29 Azariah s Reign (page 327) 1. Aram and then Syria had been the constant enemy of Israel and to a lesser extent Judah. What happened in 802 B.C. that changed the situation with Syria? 2. Assyria had a different approach after conquest. In that past conquest had meant carrying off the riches of the concurred. What did Assyria do differently? 3. Thing get even worse when Israel and Judah battle each other at Beth Shemesh. Why exactly did they go to war? Is this the way just rulers rule? 4. Look at 14:7-10. What would you say Amaziah's main problem was? Have you ever had a similar problem? What was the outcome? Proverbs 16:18 reads, Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. Does this apply here? 5. Why did the hired Israeli mercenaries plunder Judean towns on the way home? 6. Judah has a series of several kings who the biblical writer says did what was right in the eyes of the LORD. But they fail to do what? What is it (are the things) they fail to remove? [Even though they are not all are popular (for example, removed through assassination), they do right in the eyes of the LORD ]
Lesson 23 Azariah s Reign (page 327) v. 15:1-16:20 Assyria Destroys Israel (page 338) 1. Azariah (Uzziah) is trying, with the exceptions of the high places, to do good in the eyes of the LORD. Why then does he usurp the priests position and offer incense himself? 2. What do you think happened to cause Menahem to treat Tiphsah so cruelly? Our commentary says it was his brutality is unparalleled in intertribal warfare in Israel. 1 Kings 4:24 says Solomon ruled everything his side of the Euphrates river from Tiphsah even to Aziza (another name for Gaza.) 3. Menahem comes to power through assassination. He pays off Assyria to leave Israel alone. His son Pekahiam come to power and is assassinated by Pekah. Assyria attacks and takes the northern territories of Israel. The political response within Israel is to assassinate Pekah. What do you see happening here? If Israel wanted to stay free and independent what should have happened? 4. In times of great pressure we often rely on human resources like the leaders of the northern kingdom did. Do you recall what Paul wrote to the Corinthians? What should we be relying upon? Why is that so difficult especially in times of great pressure? 5. And in the south, Judah, Ahaz comes to power. He is attached by the Israeli and Aramean armies. What two things does he do in response to this siege? Send to Assyria for help and what else? Lesson 24 Assyria Destroys Israel (page 338) v. 17:1-41 Judah Disintegrates (page 349) 1. Samaria, the capital of Israel falls. When and politically why? 2. The biblical writer then goes on to list a series of theological woes that cause Israel s fall. List the three or four you feel might be most important. Which seem the most abhorrent to you? 3. All though this tale the name of Israel s first king, Jeroboam, come up again and again. At this point in history his reign was nearly 200 years in the past. How much of the current situation in the U.S. do you suppose we can blame on James Monroe? The LORD even picked Jeroboam. We can t say the same about Monroe. What did Jeroboam do that he can take some blame in the writer s mind for the elimination of Israel as a nation? 4. In the Applicational Implications section our commentator lists six areas. What are they? Have you felt that our commentator may have been stretching to find application in some of his previous summaries? Are any of these six a stretch? 5. Is there one (or more) of these six that you would like to focus on for yourself? Which one? Why?
Lesson 25 Lesson 26 Judah Disintegrates (page 349) v. 18:1-37 Hezekiah Prays for Deliverance (page 365) 1. Now Judah stands alone. But it survives another 135 years. Looking at the introductory material of our last section how is Judah able to survive half again as long as Israel did? 2. Page 354 quotes 2 Kings 20:1-7 where Hezekiah gave Manasseh every possible training in carrying out the affairs of state. Yet in the middle of the next paragraph our commentator concludes, Manasseh had none of his father s spiritual conviction. Is there a contradiction here or not? 3. Hezekiah came to power in Judah in 715 B.C. What was he able to do that no other Judean king had been able to do over the past 215 years? (Hint: what has been the biblical writer s consistent complaint against all the other kings?) 4. Hezekiah is even compared to which previous king? 5. Hezekiah stops some religious practices but he also reinstates some religious practices. What? 6. However, Hezekiah isn t perfect. What threatened by Assyria what does he do to the temple? Hezekiah Prays for Deliverance (page 365) v. 19:1-22:20 Manasseh and Amon s Wicked Reigns (page 376) 1. Hezekiah s prayer begins, Oh LORD God of Israel enthroned between the cherubim. What is he describing? Where is he? In the temple, yes, but where within the temple? 2. Hezekiah addresses the LORD as God of Israel but says his dominion is what? 3. Previously the prophets sought out the king to give God s message. What did Hezekiah do that was different? 4. Over 2800 years ago Hezekiah gives us a pretty good example of prayer. His prayer contains three parts. What are they? Think through the three sections of his prayer. Should we include all three in our prayers today? 5. The Lord responds to Hezekiah s prayer through Isaiah. What if anything did you find particularly interesting in God s response?? Lesson 27 Manasseh and Amon s Wicked Reigns (page 376) v. 21:1-22:20 Josiah Leads Reform (page 385) 1. How long did Manasseh, Hezekiah s son, reign? Why is this regency duration notable? 2. Read the opening 18 verses of Chapter 21. Note that Hezekiah brought Manasseh into a coregency from roughly puberty (when his oaths became binding) to his father s death. What went so terribly wrong when his father tried so hard? 3. God s promise to the descendent kings of David was conditioned on three things. Manasseh violates all three. What are they? (see commentary on 21:7-9) 4. His father, Hezekiah, sought Isaiah s prophecy. Tradition holds that Manasseh did what to Isaiah? 5. Are there some people who are just bad? Can nurture always overcome nature? If you meet someone like Manasseh what should you do? 6. The discussion of Josiah begins on page 380 with the section titled Josiah s Righteous Reign. Read the opening sentence in our author s comments. Read it a second time. Comment.
7. Manasseh had nine years to learn at his father s hand. Josiah wasn t even that old when he came to power and had no tutelage from his father. Yet at 16 years of age he begins reforms. What happened? How did Josiah at 16 see what so many previous kings never saw their whole life 8. Something very, very important happens in verse 22:8. What is it? 9. Think through what Hilkiah the high priest found. How was it ever lost? 10. Go back and look at the 1 st question for Lesson 23. Does this lost set of instructions perhaps help explain how Azariah (Uzziah) came to burn his own incense? Lesson 28 Lesson 29 Josiah Leads Reform (page 385) Babylon Destroys Judah (page 396) v. 23:1-24:20 1. In the end of the previous Chapter, 22, the prophetess Huldah says that because of Josiah s heart was responsive and he humbled himself before the Lord he himself would be treated well. However, disaster would befall Judah because of its past grievous sins. But Josiah sets out to change God s mind. Comment? Futile or had God shown mercy before for a true and lasting change of heart? 2. One of the things Josiah does is destroy the quarters of the male prostitutes in the temple. Comment. What does this say about his predecessor Manasseh? 3. Josiah event tore down a high place that Solomon had built for Ashtoreth, Chemosh and Molech. He then went into Assyrian territory (formerly Israeli territory) and tore down the alter at Bethel Jeroboam had built. What does this say about Josiah?? 4. The priests who facilitated the worship at the high places in the former northern kingdom territory were executed. While those who worked at Judean high places were simply relocated to Jerusalem. Why the hugely different treatment? 5. Josiah did more than any previous king. Yet the biblical test reads, Nevertheless, the Lord did not turn away from his fierce anger against Judah? Why? 6. In an ill advised attempt to intercept the Egyptian army passing through his territory Josiah dies. The Pharaoh puts a second son on the thrown. His son Jehoianchin is taken ways to Babylon along with the leading residents of Jerusalem. This is eleven and a half years after Manasseh death yet the biblical text implies it is a result of the heinous acts of Manasseh. Comment. Babylon Destroys Judah (page 396) up to v. 25:1-25:30 The END (page 410) 1. Babylon hauls Jehoianchin away and makes yet another son of Josiah, Zedekiah Jehoianchin s father s full brother (same mother), king. Zedekiah proceeds to rebel against the Babylonian king who installed him, Nebuchadnezzar. Why did Zedekiah rebel against the same Nebuchadnezzar who conquered Jerusalem nine years previous forcing the abdication of his nephew and captivity of Jerusalem s leading citizens? 2. As the city is falling what do Zedekiah and his remaining army do?? 3. Last time Nebuchadnezzar allows the surrender of the city s leadership. What happens this time, to the temple, to the palace, to the buildings and homes within Jerusalem s walls, to the walls themselves? 4. Nebuzaradan the commander hauls the chief priest and other leaders away. What does Nebuchadnezzar do with them this time? 5. What happens to Zedekiah? His sons? 6. What ultimately becomes of Jehoianchin? The commentator acts as if this gives some hope of restoring the Davidic line. Do the math he was 8 years old when hauled away and 45 years old when released from prison. What are your thoughts?