We 10 Kings of Israel Are 8. Hezekiah

                                        The Man Who Was Afraid of Death

  1. Read 2Kings 18:1-6. Was Hezekiah a good king?

       Did he owe his Godliness to his father's example? (Read 2 Kings 16:2-4)

       What lesson can you learn from that?

2. Read Gen. 3:1-5 and 2Kings 18:19-35. How was Satan's deception through the serpent and the "field commander" similar?

     What can we learn about the ploys of Satan from this?

    Hezekiah defeated the Assyrian army without "firing a shot". God did it all because Hezekiah called out to God for help. Before we give too much credit to Hezekiah, like other doubting kings before him, he tried to make a deal in 2 Kings 18:13-16. Other kings before him asked wicked countries to ally with them but Hezekiah didn't have that option as the Assyrians conquered all those countries already. This was more a victory where God stood up for His name. See 2 Kings 18:33-35, 19:5,6,22,23,27,34,35. Can you learn any lesson from this?

3. Read 2 Kings 20:1-6. What happened to Hezekiah?

     As a result of his healing, what two bad things happened? (Read 2 Kings 20:12-19, 21:1-16)

Read 2Corinthians 5:8, Phil. 1:21-23, Heb. 2:14-15.  What should our view of death be?

We10 Kings of Israel Are 7. Jotham

                                          A Faithful Nobody

  1. Read 2 Chron.26:3-23. Who was Jotham’s father?

      Overall, would you call him a good, godly king or an ungodly, evil king?

       Defend your answer.

      What action was his downfall and what was the underlying cause of that action?

2. Read 2 Chron.27 and 2 Kings 15:32-38. What are some of your impressions of Jotham’s life? (Be creative. Give him a personality profile)

  How did his life differ from his dad’s?

3. Uzziah became famous. (2Chron.26:8,15). He couldn't handle it. Make a list of famous people - christians, celebrities, etc. - that became famous and couldn't handle it.

     If you became famous, could you handle it?

     Do you desire to be famous?

4. Read Psalm 131 (just 3 verses). How does this add to the theme of this lesson?

5. Briefly describe what happened to Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4:28-34.

6. Read John 3:26-30. What were John the Baptist's disciples concerned about?

     Why was John not concerned?

7. How does 1 Thes. 4:11,12 and 1 Tim. 6:6 characterize Jotham's life?

 

We 10 Kings of Israel Are - 6. Joash

                                            Joash    The kid in youth group

1. When I ask people, "Are you a Christian?", the two most popular answers (remember, I live in the Bible belt) are #1) I go to such and such church  2) My grandpa's a preacher. True story! How would you answer that question or better, what do you think is the best way to answer that question?

2. Joash's life illustrated those 2 wrong answers in question 1. Let's look at the second response first. According to 2Chron. 22:10-12 and 23:16-21, who raised this orphan boy and what kind of people were they?

     Look at 2 Chron.24:2. What worries you or what foreboding do you get from this verse?

      How do you see this play out in 2Chron. 24:17-25?

      Look at these 2 passages from the New Testament - John 8:34-44 and Matt 25:1-13. What do these tell us about claiming other's faith to get in?

    3. Looking at wrong answer 1 in question 1, read 2 Chron. 24:4-14. Was Joash zealous for the "church"?

  

       Read Matt. 13:24-30. This is the famous wheat and tares (weeds) parable told by Jesus. Imagine this is a parable about your church. What principles could you come up with from this parable?

      Read Matthew 7:21-23. What do you picture Joash saying when he stands before the Lord?

  4. 70% of church youth group kids leave the faith when they go to college. I see them as little Joashes. How do we decrease that number in your opinion?

We 10 Kings of Israel Are… 5. Jehoshaphat

                                     Jehosophat - Picking Good Friends

1. Read 1Kings 22:41,42. Who were Jehosophat’s parents? What do we know about them? (1Kings 15:11-15)

   You would think a godly king would raise godly children but it rarely happened. Did it happen in this case? (1Kings 22:43-46)

   List your top 5 keys to raising godly children in order of importance and why you think they are important, either from experience and /or from the Bible.

   A.

   B.

   C.

   D.

   E.

2. Although Jehosophat was a good, godly king, he lived on the edge in a few areas in life which came back to haunt him. What were some of those areas?

  A. 1Kings 22:1-37. (2 Chron. 19:2)

  B. 2 Chron.20:35-37 (2 Corinthians 6:14,15)

  C. 2Chron. 20:33a

3. What were some possible ramifications of this incomplete devotion to God ?

    A. 2 Chron 20:33b

    B. 2Chron.21:1,5,6

4. What were some good things Jehosophat did?

    A. 2 Chron. 17:3-9

    B. 2 Chron. 19:4-11

    C. 2 Chron. 20: 1-30

    D. 2Kings 3:11-14

    E. Although we've commented on his friendship with unbelievers, what may have been a positive result of this in 1Kings 21:26-29.

     What are your principles for friendship/association with unbelievers?

   

We 10 Kings of Israel are 4.Jeroboam

                                    Leaving a Legacy 

1. Compare the promises given to Solomon in 1Kings 9:4,5 and Jeroboam in 1Kings 11:18. What do you notice about them?

 What does this tell you about GOD?

2. After receiving 10 of the tribes, what caused Jeroboam to disobey this amazing offer from God. See 1Kings 12:26,27

    Read the following verses and write down what are the promises from God to you and what’s keeping you from claiming them.

     A. Mark 10:29,30

      B. Matt.6:25-33

       C. Luke 12:11,12

       D. Heb.13:6

  Can you think of other promises of God that you don’t claim due to fear or lack of faith?

3. Read 1Kings 12:28 and 6-16. What did Rehoboam and Jeroboam have in common?

    Recount a time in your life when you listened to the wrong people

 4. Read 1 Kings 15:25,26, and 1Kings 14:7-13. What were some consequences of Jeroboam’s sin?

  

      How does this relate to or scare you?

      Look at 1Kings 14:13. What is unusual about this passage? 

          What can you learn about death from this passage?

5. Read 1Kings 15:34

                           16:19

                          17:21-23

     What legacy did Jeroboam leave?

       What kind of legacy do you want to leave?

We Ten Kings of Israel Are - 3. Solomon

                                              The Mercy of God

 

             Some people have the mistaken notion that the Old Testament is all about an angry God with wrath while the New Testament is about a gracious merciful Jesus as if God had a character transformation and suddenly turned nice. Or maybe you picture Jesus like an anger management therapist calming the Father down. Read the following Old Testament passages and tell how they show God's mercy.

    1.Lam. 3:33

    2. Jer. 32:41

   3. Isa. 28:21

   4.Hos. 11:1-9

   5. Ex. 33:8,19

   6. Ex. 34:6,7

   7.Duet. 7:9

   8. Ps. 86:5,13-17

   9. Ps.103:8-10

   10. Ps. 145:6-9

   11. Isa. 63:7-9a

   12. Joel 2:13

   13. Jonah 4:2

   14. Isa. 55:6-9

In addition, God is "provoked to anger" 15 times but never is he provoked to love or mercy. Why? Because love and mercy is his default mode.

2. Read Duet. 17:16,17. Then read 1Kings 10;26 - 11:10. List the sins that Solomon committed.

3. Read 1Kings 11:14:40. What were the results of Solomon's sins?

    Read Duet 30:11-20. How does this both relate to Solomon and you?

  4. Read 1Chron. 17:11-14. Despite all Solomon's shortcomings/sin, will we see Solomon in Heaven?

     Go back to question #1. How does that question relate to question #4?

     What lesson can we learn from this? (and it isn't sin all you want because you'll get to Heaven anyway)

We Ten Kings of Israel Are - 2. David

 1. Read 1 Sam.16:7. What do you think God is looking for in your heart?

        1Sam. 13:14 and Acts 13:22 give some insight into this. What do they say?

        David wants to pass on his heart to the next generation in 1Chron.22:19 and 28:9. How do these help answer question 1?

2. David lived his life with the constant awareness of God's presence. In what areas was David aware? Look at the following verses to answer.

    A. 1 Sam.30:23, 1 Chron 22:18, 1 Sam.17:46, 2Sam.8:6,14?                    

         How does this relate to you?

    B. 2Sam.5:10-12?

         How does this relate to you?

    C.  1Sam 22:5 & 23:2,4,11,12  & 2Sam. 5:19,23?

          Read 1Chron 15:13,14. What happened when he didn't inquire?

     D. 1Sam.24:12-15, 2 Sam.3:39?

         Read 1Sam 25:21,22,26-33. When did David almost take revenge, and how did God work things out in verse 39?

        Read Rom.12:17-21. How does part "D" relate to you?

      E. 1 Chron. 18:11 & 29:14?

          How does this relate to you?

2 A.W Tozer once said, "What we think about, when we have time to think reveals who we are." (Or something like that) What did David think about?

     A. 2Sam 9:1,  & 21:2-4 ?

     B. 2 Sam 22, 1 Chron.16:8-36?

    Look at the 2 times he didn't

      -2Sam.11:1-5. How could he have prevented this from happening?

      - 2Sam 24:2-4  What was the sin behind this?

3. Summarize how you can be a person after God's own heart using David as your example.