AUTHOR: Unknown, but Possibly Jeremiah
1 and 2 Kings
KEY VERSE: 2Ki 6:17 And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.
AUTHOR: Unknown, but possibly Jeremiah.
THEMES: 1. God rewards righteousness and punishes sin. 2. God is faithful to His promises as shown in His favor to David’s descendants. 3. The word of God’s prophets will come to pass.
CONTEXT: David is old and near death, and a crisis emerges regarding the succession. The two contenders are Adonijah, who is David’s eldest surviving son, and Solomon, who is the son David promised Bathsheba would be king someday.
I. The Reign of Solomon 1Kings 1-11
A. Solomon becomes King Ch1-2
1. David gets a NURSE.
2. David’s eldest surviving son, named Adonijah, decides to become King.
3. The prophet Nathan alerts Bathsheba, who goes to David and beseeches him to help her and Solomon, to whom he promised the THRONE.
4. David advises Solomon and warns him about Joab. David dies.
5. Adonijah requests to marry Abishag David’s nurse.
B. Solomon’s supernatural wisdom Ch3-4
1. At Gibeon, the Lord offers to grant Solomon any request. Solomon asks for WISDOM.
2. Example of wisdom: two prostitutes and a baby.
3. Solomon acquired great wealth and reputation, and Kings came from all over to marvel at his wisdom.
C. The Temple, the Palace, and the King of Tyre Ch5-8 Solomon built a permanent TEMPLE to house the Ark of the Covenant using the basic plan of the Tabernacle.
D. The Skeptic of Sheba Ch10 A Queen of Arabia heard of Solomon’s moral and religious wisdom, but did not believe it, so travelled to Israel to see for herself.
E. The wives of Solomon and the death of him Ch11 As the years went by, Solomon expanded his POLITICAL influence by marrying daughters of various kings of other nations.
II. The Kingdom Permanently Divided 1Kings 12-2Kings 17
A. The Kingdom splits in twain Ch12 Rehoboam was Solomon’s son and successor
B. Jeroboam I of Israel Ch13-14:19 Jeroboam was a BAD, BAD King.
C. Rehoboam and the Kings of Judah Ch14:20-15:24
D. Naughty Israelite Kings Ch15:25-16
E. Elijah Ch17-22
1. Famine in the Land Ch17 A bad king of Israel named Ahab was in charge, and his wife Jezebel was even worse. God raised up a prophet named Elijah to warn Ahab of a coming famine. During this famine Elijah hung out by a little STREAM, and the Lord sent ravens with food every day. When the stream dried up the Lord sent Elijah to the home of a widow.
2. Fire from Heaven Ch18 Elijah confronted Ahab, who worshiped Baal, and proposed a contest between Elijah and 450 prophets of Baal.
3. Running Away Ch19 When Jezebel heard that the prophets of Baal had been killed, she vowed to KILL Elijah, who ran away and bitterly complained of his persecution.
4. The story of Ben-Hadad and Ahab of Israel Ch20
5. Ahab wants to buy Naboth’s Vinyard
6. Ahab buys the Farm instead Ch22 Ahab dies in an unadvised war, and as foretold his blood is licked by the dogs when his chariot is cleaned
F. Elisha 2Kin 1-8
1. Elijah was taken to heaven in a chariot of fire, but left his mantle with his disciple Elisha; and God granted Elisha a DOUBLE portion of anointing.
2. Elisha was responsible for many miracles, including raising a young boy from the dead.
3. A Syrian general named Naaman was struck with LEPROSY. He had heard there might be a prophet in Israel who could heal him, so he went to the Syrian King who wrote a letter to the King of Israel requesting healing for Naaman.
4. Elisha’s students became so numerous that they overpopulated the prophetic school, and had to move to some new digs by the Jordan river. .
5. Elisha kept warning the King of Israel about various war plans of the Syrians, so the Syrian King decided to send an army to capture Elisha. When he and the students rose up one morning they were surrounded. A young prophet was a little anxious, and Elisha asked the Lord to open his eyes. He did so, and the young man saw that the enemy itself was surrounded by the Host of God and chariots of FIRE.
G. During the siege of Samaria, a terrible FAMINE took hold. Israel has bad Kings, Judah has both bad and good kings Ch9-14
1. Jezebel and her sons are killed Ch9 A new dynasty is formed in Israel by Jehu.
2. Jehu killed the entire retinue and house of Ahab, and he killed all the prophets of Baal, but he allowed idol worship and though he was one of the best kings of Israel, he still goes down as a BAD king.
H. Back in the Southern Kingdom, Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, mother of now-dead Ahaziah, seized power and tried to kill all of David’s descendantsThe last kings of Israel Ch15 A succession of bad kings
I. Israel defeated, Captured, and Scattered by the Assyrians Ch16-17 Assyria was probably the world’s first empire, centered in present-day Iraq, with Nineveh the capital. The Assyrians attacked Israel and Judah, and ultimately conquered it, CONQUERING the Israelites throughout the Empire and replacing them with other people.
III. The Surviving Kingdom of Judah to Captivity 2Kings 18-25
A. The Assyrian King Sennacherib 2Kin 18-19 The Assyrians besieged Judah and, even after receiving a hefty tribute from the good King Hezekiah, threatened to destroy Jerusalem
B. The death of Hezekiah – Psych! Ch20 There is a parallel account of this in ISAIAH 38. Hezekiah was terminally ill, but prayed to the Lord, and was given an additional 15 years of life.
C. Manasseh gets it wrong Ch21 Manasseh was Hezekiah’s son, and he was a bad King of Judah, restoring Baal worship and shedding innocent blood. After his death his son Amon reigned two years (also a bad king) but was killed by his servants. Josiah his son was made King.
D. Josiah gets it right Ch22-23 Josiah walked in the ways of the Lord like David. He ordered the Temple to be repaired, and in the repair process the workers discovered a book of the LAW that had apparently been lost and forgotten.
E. Judah taken captive to Babylon Ch24 At about this time, Assyria was overcome by one of its provinces, and the General of this province, Nebuchadnezzar, besieged and destroyed Nineveh, setting up a new empire with its capital at Babylon
F. The Fall of Jerusalem Ch25 Zedekiah decided to REBEL against Nebuchadnezzar, and this proved fatal to the Kingdom.
TEXTING ALTERNATIVE I: 2Ki 6:17 And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.
TEXTING ALTERNATIVE II: God’s sovereign plans are not always easily understood when we ignore the bigger picture.
Small Group Questions
1. Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived, yet he gave in to lust and idolatry. What lesson can we learn from this?
2. When Rehoboam chose to lord it over his people instead of comfort them, what were the consequences?
3. What was Elijah’s greatest accomplishment? For Tim’s opinion, write
4. How did God distinguish between a “good” king and a “bad” king?
Kings of Israel and Judah
Saul / 1050-1010 BCDavid / 1010-970
Solomon / 970-930
Judah (and Benjamin) / Israel (Ten Northern Tribes)
King / Reign / Character / Prophets / King / Reign / Character / Prophets
1. Rehoboam / 931-913 / 17 years / Bad / Shemaiah / 1. Jeroboam I / 931-910 / 22 years / Bad / Abijah
2. Abijah / 913-911 / 3 years / Bad / 2. Nadab / 910-909 / 2 years / Bad
3. Asa / 911-870 / 41 years / Good / 3. Baasha / 909-886 / 24 years / Bad
4. Elah / 886-885 / 2 years / Bad
5. Zimri / 885 / 7 days / Bad
6. Omri / 885-874* / 12 years / Bad / Elijah Micaiah
4. Jehoshaphat / 870-848* / 25 years / Good / 7. Ahab / 874-853 / 22 years / Bad
5. Jehoram / 848-841* / 8 years / Bad / 8. Ahaziah / 853-852 / 2 years / Bad
6. Ahaziah / 841 / 1 years / Bad / 9. Joram / 852-841 / 12 years / Bad / Elisha
7. Athaliah / 841-835 / 6 years / Bad / 10. Jehu / 841-814 / 28 years / Bad
8. Joash / 835-796 / 40 years / Good / Joel / 11. Jehoahaz / 814-798 / 17 years / Bad / Jonah Amos Hosea
9. Amaziah / 796-767 / 29 years / Good / 12. Jehoash / 798-782 / 16 years / Bad
10. Uzziah (Azariah) / 767-740* / 52 years / Good / Isaiah
Micah / 13. Jeroboam II / 782-753* / 41 years / Bad
11. Jotham / 740-732* / 16 years / Good / 14. Zechariah / 753-752 / 6 mo / Bad
12. Ahaz / 732-716 / 16 years / Bad / 15. Shallum / 752 / 1 mo / Bad
13. Hezekiah / 716-687 / 29 years / Good / 16. Menahem / 752-742 / 10 years / Bad
14. Manasseh / 687-642* / 55 years / Bad / Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah / 17. Pekahiah / 742-740 / 2 years / Bad
15. Amon / 642-640 / 2 years / Bad / 18. Pekah / 740-732* / 20 years / Bad
16. Josiah / 640-608 / 31 years / Good / 19. Hoshea / 732-712 / 9 years / Bad
17. Jehoahaz / 608 / 3 mo / Bad / 722 BC Fall of Samaria to Assyria
18. Jehoiakim / 608-597 / 11 years / Bad / Daniel
Ezekiel
Jeremiah / * Co-regency
19. Jehoiachin / 597 / 3 mos / Bad
20. Zedekiah / 597-586 / 11 years / Bad
Destruction of Jerusalem, 9th Av, 586 BC, Babylonian Captivity
The Last Five Kings of Judah
1.JosiahReigned 31 years (640-609 BC)
2. Jehoahaz (Shallum)
Reigned 3 months (609 BC)
Taken prisoner to Egypt by Pharaoh Neco / 3. Jehoiakim (Eliakim)
Reigned 11 years (609-598 BC)
Died in Jerusalem / 5. Zedekiah
Reigned 11 years (597--586 BC)
Taken prisoner to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar
4. Jehoichin (Jeconiah, Coniah)
Reigned 3 months (December 9, 598 - March 16, 597 BC)
Taken prisoner to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar (with Ezekiel)
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