BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 25, Day 3: Select Passages From Jeremiah
7)
Jeremiah 2:5-6; 3:19-20: God’s people followed worthless idols and therefore became worthless themselves. They no longer sought the Lord. Instead, the people were unfaithful even when God gave them everything.
Jeremiah 4:6; 6:1: God is bringing destruction from the north.
Jeremiah 10:17-18: God will bring distress on His people. They will be captured and forced to leave the land.
Jeremiah 25:8-14: I will summon all the peoples of the north and my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,” declares the Lord, “and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy[a] them and make them an object of horror and scorn, and an everlasting ruin.10 I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, the sound of millstones and the light of the lamp.11 This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
12 “But when the seventy years are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation, the land of the Babylonians,[b] for their guilt,” declares the Lord, “and will make it desolate forever.13 I will bring on that land all the things I have spoken against it, all that are written in this book and prophesied by Jeremiah against all the nations.14 They themselves will be enslaved by many nations and great kings; I will repay them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.”
8a)
Jeremiah 4:19-21: Jeremiah is distraught, in anguish. He must speak.
Jeremiah 9:1: Jeremiah cries for his people.
Jeremiah 10:23-25: Jeremiah pleads for God’s people. He asks God to pour out His wrath on other nations that do not acknowledge Him.
Jeremiah 15:16-18a: Jeremiah loved God’s word. He sat alone sometimes becuase of his obedience to God. Jeremiah was angry at being the bearer of bad news. He was in pain and did not know when it would end. He wondered about God’s goodness and power.
b) It bothers me, but it’s impossible to linger on or you will be like Jeremiah and let it consume you. I pray about it, and let God do the rest.
c) Lord, let me see those who need you and your Son, Jesus Christ. Let me pray over them to find you and to be open to you. Let me see what you see. Let me help who you want me to help. Let me be more like you. In Jesus’s name, Amen.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 25, Day 3: Select Passages From Jeremiah
I can’t imagine the burden that Jeremiah felt with his calling in life. To be the bearer of bad news, the one no one likes and the one everyone hates is tough. It was definitely by the will of God, that’s for sure.
End Notes BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 25, Day 3: Select Passages From Jeremiah
God’s people are so ungrateful for what He has done for them that they dismiss Him. This has to pull at God’s heart.
Therefore, God will bring judgment.
Jeremiah is grieved for his people. He pleads with God for mercy and to judge the Babylonians for their evil, too.
Jeremiah feels alone sometimes because of his obedience, calling from God, and faithfulness to God. How many of us feel that way, too?
Jeremiah points out the people’s sins, tells them judgment is coming and to repent, and gives them hope.
SUMMARY OF GENESIS 3:19; JOB 5:7 & PSALM 109:21-22
Genesis 3:19: “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground,since from it you were taken; for dust you areand to dust you will return.”
Job 5:7: “Yet man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward.”
Psalm 109:21-22: “But you, Sovereign Lord, help me for your name’s sake; out of the goodness of your love, deliver me. For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me.”
BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 22, Day 3: Genesis 3:19; Job 5:7; and Psalm 109:21-22 & Others
6a) Since the Fall, humans have and will suffer as part of the Fallen condition. Yet, the glory that awaits us makes our sufferings pale in comparison.
b) Human suffering tests us and strengths us. It also grows us closer to God. It can also be the work of Satan or of God who wishes for others to see his work through others’ pain and suffering.
c) That God’s ways are not our ways. He is higher than us, and He has a purpose for pain and suffering that most of the time we do not understand why. Our lot is to walk the path He has laid out for us, whether we like it or not.
7) God does all things. He is in control. Yet, He is with us and will strengthen us. God keeps us humble.
8 ) Our troubles achieve for us eternal glory, and we are being renewed in God each and every day. We will once again reign with God in Eden. When life is tough, we know that there is much more beyond this world, so we can persevere and endure, waiting on God’s timing.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 22, Day 3: Genesis 3:19; Job 5:7; and Psalm 109:21-22 & Others
I love how there’s always a purpose in our suffering, even when we can’t see it. We just have to trust that God has it.
End Notes BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 22, Day 3: Genesis 3:19; Job 5:7; and Psalm 109:21-22 & Others
Trouble comes to us as a judgment from God. Since all men sin, they deserve the trouble that befalls them.
Jesus bore these sins for us as our Redeemer.
The plain fact of the matter is that no one knows why we suffer because God’s ways are not our ways. He knows why we suffer, and it’s up to us to discover the purpose in our suffering and to rely wholeheartedly on Him in the midst of it.
It’s an on-going challenge to resist sin; yet, it’s an opportunity to experience God’s strength
Suffering can be as discipline, from Satan coming against us, or from living in a fallen world. It’s how you respond that matters most.
Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. The book of the Law was found in the temple. Josiah tore his robes when he read the book because he knew none of the other kings had followed it.
The Lord responded by saying He would bring disaster on this place and its people, according to everything written in the book the king of Judah has read.17 “Because they have forsaken me and burned incense to other gods and aroused my anger by all the idols their hands have made,[a] my anger will burn against this place and will not be quenched.’18 Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord: Because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard what I have spoken against this place and its people—that they would become a curse[b] and be laid waste—and because you tore your robes and wept in my presence, I also have heard you, declares the Lord.20 Therefore I will gather you to your ancestors, and you will be buried in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster I am going to bring on this place.’”
2 Kings 20:
When Hezekiah became ill, the prophet Isaiah said, “This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.” Hezekiah wept and the Lord promised to add 15 more years to his life. And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for my sake and for the sake of my servant David.’
Hezekiah showed the envoys his riches, and Isaiah prophesied that they would be carried away by Babylon. His son, Manasseh, succeeded him as king.
2 Chronicles 34:
Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. He purged Judah and Jerusalem of high places, Asherah poles and idols.4 Under his direction the altars of the Baals were torn down; he cut to pieces the incense altars that were above them, and smashed the Asherah poles and the idols. He repaired the temple of the Lord.
The book of the Law was found in the temple. Josiah tore his robes when he read the book because he knew none of the other kings had followed it. He read the book to the people and renewed the covenant in the presence of the Lord. Everyone in Jerusalem and Benjamin pledged themselves to it. Everyone followed the Lord as long as Josiah lived.
BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 17, Day 3: 2 Kings 22:1-23; 20; 2 Chronicles 34
6a)
2 Chronicles 34:1-2: Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years.2 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and followed the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left.
2 Chronicles 34:3a: In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his father David.
2 Chronicles 34:3b-7: In his twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of high places, Asherah poles and idols.4 Under his direction the altars of the Baals were torn down; he cut to pieces the incense altars that were above them, and smashed the Asherah poles and the idols. These he broke to pieces and scattered over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.5 He burned the bones of the priests on their altars, and so he purged Judah and Jerusalem.6 In the towns of Manasseh, Ephraim and Simeon, as far as Naphtali, and in the ruins around them,7 he tore down the altars and the Asherah poles and crushed the idols to powder and cut to pieces all the incense altars throughout Israel. Then he went back to Jerusalem.
2 Chronicles 34:8: In the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign, to purify the land and the temple, he sent Shaphan son of Azaliah and Maaseiah the ruler of the city, with Joah son of Joahaz, the recorder, to repair the temple of the Lord his God.
7a) He tore his robes and inquired of the Lord about the consequences of those who acted before him.
b) You truly can’t grow with God until you do acknowledge your weaknesses before Him.
8a) Nevertheless, the Lord did not turn away from the heat of his fierce anger, which burned against Judah because of all that Manasseh had done to arouse his anger. 27 So the Lord said, “I will remove Judah also from my presence as I removed Israel, and I will reject Jerusalem, the city I chose, and this temple, about which I said, ‘My Name shall be there.
b) God heard Josiah and postponed punishment: “Therefore I will gather you to your ancestors, and you will be buried in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster I am going to bring on this place.’”
Josiah read the Law to the people and renewed the covenant in the presence of the Lord. Everyone in Jerusalem and Benjamin pledged themselves to it. Everyone followed the Lord as long as Josiah lived.
c) I hope rightly. I hope I repent and turn to His ways and not mine. This is not always the case, I’m sure. I’m unsure on the recent experience.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 17, Day 3: 2 Kings 22:1-23; 20; 2 Chronicles 34
I love reading about the good kings much more than the bad kings. It gives me hope for the human race.
End Notes BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 17, Day 3: 2 Kings 22:1-23; 20; 2 Chronicles 34
2 Kings 22:
Josiah followed the Lord. He repaired the temple. According to 2 Chronicles 34, the repair of the temple happened after Josiah committed to the Lord at age 16 and began getting rid of idolatry in Judah. The book of the Law is found and read. Deuteronomy 31:24-27, tells us that there was a copy of the Book of the Law beside the ark of the covenant from Moses on. But, the book had been neglected for so long due to bad kings.
Deuteronomy 17:18-20 says each king was to have a personal copy of the law, and he was to read it.
Deuteronomy 31:9-13 commands the entire law to be read to an assembly of the nation once every 7 years at the Feast of Tabernacles to remind the people of God’s word.
There was apublic reading of the law in Joshua 8:34, during the reign of Jehoshaphat (2 Chronicles 17:7-9), more than 500 years later, and in the reign of Josiah (2 Chronicles 34:30), more than 250 years after Jehoshaphat. There could have been more readings, too.
A spiritual revival happened, especially in Josiah. He sought the Lord, and the Lord says judgment is coming, but he spares Josiah due to his faithfulness and postpones judgment of the people. We’ve seen this a lot in this study where God takes pity on his people when they repent and postpones judgment (Ahab,1 Kings 21:25-29). This should encourage us.
2 Kings 20:
God extends Hezekiah’s life 15 years when He tells him that he will die (which is kind of God). He does this because he was faithful to the Lord. We know from 2 Kings 18:2 and 2 Kings 20:6 that Hezekiah was 39 years old when God told him he would die soon. This is also recorded in Isaiah 38.
Hezekiah prayed to God, and God answers (something we all should do). God confirmed his prophecy with a sign (another thing God did not have to do but does out of mercy for us).
Next, we see Hezekiah sin by being prideful of his riches that God gave him. He did not testify about God to these envoys either. This is a sin that God addresses. God says they will be taken away to Babylon, but Hezekiah is joyous because it won’t be in his day.
Hezekiah did not finish well. Will you?
2 Chronicles 34:
Josiah was a good king who worked to end idolatry in Judah. He restored the temple and discovered the book of the Law again. Josiah is overjoyed and goes to God. God answers. He will punish his people but not in Josiah’s time. Josiah will be gathered to his people.
Josiah renews God’s covenant and helps the people to follow God’s ways.
Hezekiah son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign in Judah, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He held fast to the Lord and did not stop following him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses. He purifed the temple, celebrated Passover, and encouraged worship of the Lord.
BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 16, Day 4: 2 Kings 18:1-8; 2 Chronicles 29-31
9a) He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. The first commandment is to love the Lord your God before all others. Therefore, idol worship could not be tolerated ever.
b) The Lord has to be first in everything we do, always. The hard part is trying to remember that.
10)
The role and activity of the priests: He purified the temple and the priests and rededicated them to the Lord. Hezekiah assigned the priests and Levites to divisions—each of them according to their duties as priests or Levites—to offer burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, to minister, to give thanks and to sing praises at the gates of the Lord’s dwelling. He ordered the people living in Jerusalem to give the portion due the priests and Levites so they could devote themselves to the Law of the Lord.
Calling the people back to God: He celebrated Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread, inviting everyone including Judah to come to Jerusalem and do so. More high places were smashed.
11a) You have to fix what is wrong before you can do what is right. Hezekiah understood this by smashing idol worship and restoring the priesthood and retraining them to serve God. He took action once the corrective measures were taken to restore the priesthood and put God at the center of people’s lives once again.
b) Good question. He’s definitely asking me to put him first more and get my priorities straight.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 16, Day 4: 2 Kings 18:1-8; 2 Chronicles 29-31
Amongst all the bad kings, the good ones shine out — and boy do they shine brightly. Love reading about Hezekiah and his example of how it can only take a few things to turn the world around for many.
End Notes BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 16, Day 4: 2 Kings 18:1-8; 2 Chronicles 29-31
In 2 Kings, we see Hezekiah’s reign was righteous, so he prospered. God preserved the royal line of King David (and thus Jesus) through Hezekiah.
In 2 Chronicles 29-31, we see Hezekiah cleanse the temples and restore worship and sacrifices. Passover is celebrated, and the regular work of the priests is restored.
Joel reports the word of the Lord, which is a prophecy of the locusts coming. A nation has invaded and destroyed the land. Everyone should mourn, fast, and cry out to the Lord.
The day of the Lord is coming, so all should tremble. Nothing will escape and everything will be destroyed. An army comes with the Lord at the head. God calls his people to return to him for He may relent. Fast, gather, and pray for the Lord to spare His people.
BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 14, Day 2: Joel 1:1-2:17
3a) “What the locust swarm has left the great locusts have eaten; what the great locusts have left the young locusts have eaten; what the young locusts have left other locusts have eaten.” Basically, everything will be eaten and laid to waste, and the people’s joy will wither.
b) The day of the Lord is coming where everything besides the fields will be devoured. Everything will be a desert waste. The earth shakes, the heavens tremble, the sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars no longer shine. All is dreadful.
c) It’s not too late for God’s people to turn to him, repent, and be saved. Declare a holy fast, offer grain and drink offerings, and come together to pray. Have the priests ask for forgiveness. Cry out to God.
4a) He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.
b) 2 Chronicles 7:14 says that if people humble themselves, pray, and seek God, as well as turn from their wicked ways, God will forgive their sins and heal their land. True repentance is with the heart. Turn to God and away from sin. False repentance is saying the words but you don’t mean it. Your actions don’t change as you seek to be like Him.
5) Wow. Lots. Many financial struggles, health concerns, injuries, and moves. Yet, He is still with me throughout it all.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 14, Day 2: Joel 1:1-2:17
I liked this passage because it’s not just gloom and doom. It’s gloom and doom with the message of hope of forgiveness.
End Notes BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 14, Day 2: Joel 1:1-2:17
Joel prophesied to Judah. He does not date his book with the names of kings, so Bible scholars believe the book was written around 835 B.C. He also never refers to the two kingdoms of Israel.
Joel is therefore believed to be one of the earliest prophets and was prophesizing while both Judah and Israel were still free. Only Obadiah is believed to have been before Joel. Jonah, Hosea, Amos, Isaiah, and Micah were of this time period, too.
Remember, this was the time of Queen Athaliah at the beginning of the reign of King Joash. (2 Kings 8:26, 2 Chronicles 22:2) She was the one who killed all her heirs except Joash who escaped.
Fun Fact: Joel means “Jehovah is God.”
Judah will experience famine and crisis. Judah should mourn. The priests should repent for the nation.
Drought is coming. The day of the Lord means on God’s timing. It means God’s judgment and His restoration of those who turn to Him.
In Joel 2, Joel predicts an invasion of the land. The invasion never happened because the people repented. We see Joash take the throne. (2 Kings 11:4-21)
God has sent the army, but the people can still repent.
The Lord prepared judgments against Israel (locusts, fire, and a plumb line) but Amos asked the Lord to forgive, and He did. Amaziah, a priest of Bethel, tried to kick Amos out of Israel and send him back to Judah, so he would quit prophesying there. Amos told him God sent him to Israel to say they will be exiled from their native land.
Amos 8
The Lord told Amos he will spare his people no longer, as he sees a vision of a basket of ripe fruit and the Lord standing by the altar.
Amos 9:1-10
God will kill all of the sinners amongst his people. No one will escape.
BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 13, Day 4: Amos 7:1-9:10
10)
7:1-3: Amos saw locusts, but asked the Lord to relent against Israel, and he did.
7:4-6: Amos saw fire, but asked the Lord to relent against Israel, and he did.
7:7-9: Amos saw a plumb line, but asked the Lord to relent against Israel, and he did.
8:1-3: Amos saw a basket of ripe fruit, but the Lord will spare his people no longer.
9:1-10: Amos saw the Lord standing by an altar, and God will kill all of the sinners amongst his people. No one will escape.
11) Amos faithfully obeyed the Lord’s calling to prophesy against Israel.
12a) God gives everyone plenty of chances to turn to him, but he’ll judge at the end. People never change; they are sinners at heart.
b) I should always be looking for God and turning to him.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 13, Day 4: Amos 7:1-9:10
Gloom and doom here. The people sin; God judges. This is the entire story of the Old Testament (and the New Testament) except that God gives us Jesus to save us.
End Notes BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 13, Day 4: Amos 7:1-9:10
Amos 7: Amos sees the judgment of Israel with locusts, fire, and a plumb line. Prayer is powerful, as Amos saves the people here. A plumb line helps to build straight walls. God’s people must be straight against His standards.
Bethel was the center of Israel’s idolatry, and Amos was faithful in delivering God’s warnings to His people.
Amos 8: The ripe fruit has turned sour. Israel is dishonest and cheats the poor, so God will judge.
Amos talks about the famine of not hearing God’s word. God grants us the ability to hear his word and to benefit by it.
Jonah prayed to God from inside the fish. He called out to God who brought him up from the pit. Jonah will proclaim God’s name and say that salvation comes from the Lord. The Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.
SUMMARY OF MATTHEW 12:39-41:
For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The people of Nineveh repented when Jonah preached, but Jesus is here who is greater than Jonah.
BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 12, Day 3: Jonah 2 and Matthew 12:39-41
7a) God listens even in our darkest (literally) hours.
b) “I have been banished from your sight; yet I will look again toward your holy temple.” Even though God has given us consequences for our sins, we can still praise him in his infinite mercy. He always lifts us up.
8a) Mankind is stubborn. Sometimes, we have to hit rock bottom to come to Him.
b) Patience. I’m trying to be patient as I yearn to move some place else.
9a) I hopefully learn not to disobey God and suffer the consequences. But when I do, all I have to do is cry out to Him for forgiveness and redemption.
b) Jonah saved many people in Nineveh. That matters to God.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 12, Day 3: Jonah 2 and Matthew 12:39-41
I can just picture the fish vomiting up Jonah. I’m unsure who was more relieved: Jonah or the fish?
End Notes BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 12, Day 3: Jonah 2 and Matthew 12:39-41
Jonah is distressed to be separated from God. Yet, he praises God and realizes his mistake at resisting Him. He repents and promises to do what God tells him to do. He realizes salvation is the Lord.
Note Jonah was delivered after he truly repented of his wrongs. This is what we must do, too.
Jonah most likely was vomited onto the shore and then made his way to Nineveh.
Jehoshaphat was king of Judah. He reigned 25 years. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. However, the high places were not removed, and the people continued to offer sacrifices there. He was at peace with the king of Israel, Ahab. He rid the land of the male shrine prostitutes. He built a fleet of trading ships that never sailed. He died, and his son, Jehoram, succeeded him.
Ahaziah son of Ahab only ruled two years. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord. He served and worshipped Baal and provoked the Lord to anger.
BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 6, Day 3: 1 Kings 22:41-53
9) He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. However, the high places were not removed, and the people continued to offer sacrifices there. He was at peace with the king of Israel, Ahab. He rid the land of the male shrine prostitutes.
10) He did evil in the eyes of the Lord. He served and worshipped Baal and provoked the Lord to anger.
11a) Judah follows the Lord; Israel does not. This can only lead to disaster for Israel.
b) God is just. He lets those who follow him rule a long time. Those who don’t follow him die young. God rewards those who follow Him and punishes those who do not.
12) God is always good. Despite my shortcomings, He is there for me. He always forgives and promises the chance for a better tomorrow. I have hope that I’ll do better and be better because of the Lord and Jesus Christ.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 6, Day 3: 1 Kings 22:41-53
Great summary to end 1 Kings. Israel does evil in the eyes of the Lord; Judah does good. My prayer is to do good in God’s eyes always.
End Notes BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 6, Day 3: 1 Kings 22:41-53
2 Chronicles tells more about Jehoshaphat’s good that he does:
Jehoshaphat sent teachers out into his kingdom to teach God’s Word (2 Chronicles 17:7-10).
Note Jehoshaphat did not take down the high places. He wasn’t perfect.
Note that Jehoshaphat did not make an alliance with Ahab’s son. He learned his lesson after the battle that killed Ahab.
Coming up, we see that Jehoshaphat’s son, Jehoram, did not follow in the Lord’s ways because he married Ahab’s daughter (2 Chronicles 18:1). He would be noted as a bad king for Judah. (2 Chronicles 22:2-4).
Ahaziah’s short reign was partly due to the pronouncement of judgment against him for his father Ahab’s sins. 1 Kings 21:29.
1 Kings comes off the heals of King David and then descends from there.
There was peace between Aram and Israel for three years until Jehoshaphat king of Judah went to see the king of Israel, Ahab. Israel and Judah looked to make an alliance to take Ramoth Gilead back, but Jesoshaphat requested to inquire of the Lord first. The only prophet left was Micaiah whom Ahab did not like because he prophesied against him. All of the other prophets said to go to war and Micaiah was urged to agree. However, Micaiah refused, saying he could only say what the Lord had told him.
When Micaiah arrived when summoned for his inquiry unto the Lord, he told them that the Lord would entice them to go to war against Ramoth Gilead, but the war will be a disaster for them and that their leader would die. Zedekiah slapped Micaiah in the face, and he was ordered back to Amon to go to prison with nothing but bread and water till Ahab returns safely.
BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 6, Day 2: 1 Kings 22:1-28
3) Jehoshaphat allied himself with Ahab via marriage. Jesoshaphat would join Ahab in the war after seeking the Lord’s counsel.
4a) Both ignored what Micaiah said and went to war anyway.
b) He only wanted to hear the good prophecies for him, not the bad.
c) Ahab only wants to hear what he wants to hear from Micaiah. He gets angry at God’s messenger rather than himself who disobedyed God to bring this upon him.
5) Unsure here. I think I’m following all of His promptings, but it’s so hard to tell.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 6, Day 2: 1 Kings 22:1-28
It’s fascinating how the two kings are working together when they were enemies before. Power and political advantage are strange things.
End Notes BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 6, Day 2: 1 Kings 22:1-28
King Ahab asked King Jehoshapat to ally with him against Syria. Ramoth-Gilead was only 40 miles from Jerusalem, the capital of Judah.
Jehoshaphat only picked prophets that told him what he wanted to hear. Knowing this Jehoshapat wanted to hear from a prophet of the Lord.
The two rulers sat at the gate of Samaria, which was a traditional place to make decisions. The unfaithful prophets all said what the king of Israel wanted to hear.
Apparently, Micaiah was already in prison (1 Kings 22:26). The assistants to King Ahab tried to persuade Micaiah to repeat the words of the 400 other prophets, but Micaiah refused. Ahab hated anyone who opposed him. Micaiah mocks the other prophets by repeated what they had said, and then tells the truth when prompted by Ahab.
On the right side of God sits the host of heaven on the left sits fallen angels. A fallen angel would lead Ahab into battle. Ahab would pay with his life for his fallen leadership, while Israel paid for following false gods.
Micaiah was met with violence upon this news and anger. Yet, God’s plans never fail.
When Jezebel found out from Ahab that Elijah had killed all of the prophets with the sword, she threatened to kill him. Afraid, Elijah fled. He left his servant at Beersheba while he went into the wilderness. He prayed to die. He woke to an angel who fed him and gave him water. The angel appeared again telling him to eat and drink for strength.
Elijah then traveled 40 days and nights till he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. While in a cave, the word of the Lord came to him and asked him what he was doing there. Elijah said how he is afraid for his life.
BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 5, Day 2: 1 Kings 19:1-10
3) First, he was elated and boastful. Then he was afraid for his life. He also experienced remorse and sadness over the Israelites and their worship of other gods. Frankly, he was depressed. He was physically exhausted, too.
4a) God sent an angel who fed him and gave him water. The angel appeared again telling him to eat and drink for strength.
b) Similarly, God has provided when I’ve been exhausted from the trials of life with food, clothing, shelter, friendships, and more.
5) God asked, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” Elijah replied, “I have been very jealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.”
6) Elijah prays for God’s help. He listens to and for God. He obeys God and trusts God for provision.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 5, Day 2: 1 Kings 19:1-10
I think many of us have reached breaking points like Elijah to the point where we wish we were dead. Note here how God is there at our weakest moments, waiting to pick us up and strengthen us in the days ahead.
End Notes BSF Study Questions People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided Lesson 5, Day 2: 1 Kings 19:1-10
Jezebel was not impressed with God’s show at Mount Carmel. Instead, she went after the instigator.
Beersheba is about 80 miles south of Mount Carmel. We are not told if God told Elijah to go there or not. All we know is God wanted to protect Elijah.
It’s ironic that Elijah prayed to die, but he’s one of the few humans that ever lived that never experienced death. Sometimes a no from God is a good thing.
Elijah was wore out, plain and simple.
We see this many times in the Bible where God provides for our physical needs before our spiritual needs.
On Elijah’s 40-day, 200-mile journey to Mount Horeb (or Mount Sinai), it is likely he gained strength physically.
Obviously, God knew the answer to why Elijah was there, but God graciously allows Elijah to explain his feelings and relieve the burdens on his heart.
Basically, Elijah is saying life is unfair here. He shouldn’t have his life threatened if he is doing God’s work (but this is usually the case). He wants an easy life like we all do. But, as God’s servant, he would not have that.
