Growing in Christ Bible Study Genesis to Revelation Week 23

Read 2 Chron. 1-16

1. Read 2 Chron 1:7-10.  What does Solomon ask for?

    Read 2 Chron. 1:11,12 and James 4:3. Why is God pleased with his prayer?


                                           What is a principle of prayer you can learn from this?

Watch the video. Why was the genie skeptical?

2. Read 2Corinthians 6:14. What principle does this give us as far as dating or marrying unbelievers?

This is a very famous New Testament verse but let's develop this through what we've read so far in the Old Testament.

Read Gen. 26:34,35 and 27:46. What negative fallout occurs from marrying unbelievers in this passage?

Read Gen. 34:1-4 and 21-23. What is the danger of dating an unbeliever in this passage?

Sometimes an unbeliever will pretend to be like you to marry you. How can you tell they are pretending? (see my blog on how can you tell if the guy you are dating is really a Christian)

What will happen once you get married?

Read Exodus 3:1 and 4:24-26. What negative fallout occurs from marrying unbelievers in this passage?

Read Deut. 7:2-4, 1Kings 11:2 and 2 Kings 23:13. Why did God not want the Israelites intermarrying?

How did Solomon prove God's warning to be true?

Read 2 Chron. 8:11. What in this verse tells us Solomon knew what he was doing was wrong?

In your opinion, if being the wisest guy in the world, being a believer, knowing the commands of God, having God appear to him twice - if that couldn't keep him from marrying unbelievers or sexual sin, how can WE possibly avoid it?

Read 1 Sam. 25:3, 32-36. Describe what Abigail's life is like married to the unbeliever Nabal.

Read 2Sam 6:16, 20-22. What negative fallout occurs from marrying unbelievers in this passage?

Jehosophat was a great king of Judah. However he made the mistake of letting his kids marry unbelievers. Look at 2 Kings 8:16-18 and 25-27. What negative fallout occurs from marrying unbelievers in this passage?

Read 2Chron. 12:13,14 and 15:16. What was the fallout to the kingdom of Solomon marrying an Ammonite?
 



3. Read 2Chronicles 2:5,6 and 1Cor. 6:19. Is your Church building the "House of God"?  Explain.



      From these verses, what is a function of the building?



      Should you spend a lot of money on a church building? Why or why not?


      Read 2Chron 7:8-10. When we leave Church, how should we feel?



4. Read Deut. 17:14-20 and iKings 10:23-29 and 12:4. List the ways Solomon violated Moses' warnings.



5. Read 2 Sam 7:12-15 and Ecc. 12:9-14. Do you expect to see Solomon in Heaven? Why or why not?



6. Read 2Chron. 12:1-12 and 13:7. Give some reasons why you think Rehoboam went bad?



       How does that apply to you?



        What was the fallout from living against the law of God, even though he repented?



        How does 12:8 relate to your life?



7 Read about the 2 wars in  2Chron. 13:3-18 and 2Chron. 14:8-15. Why was Abijah victorious?



     Why was Asa victorious?


      Read 2Chron. 16: 1-6. How did Asa sin? (vs.7) Give some reasons why he might have done this after "just" defeating the Cushites with the power of God.



     If you view this battle as a test by God of Asa, which he failed, how does 16:9 explain the reason for testing?


     Read 16:9-14. What were the results of failing this test?



8. Read 2 Chron.16:12,13. Is this a warning against using doctors (Christian Science and Scientology)? Why or why not?




Notes for students or teachers

  
  Solomon started out great probably for a number of reasons. He had a very Godly father who saw his last calling in life as passing on a Godly legacy to his son Solomon. He was surrounded by Godly influences, especially Nathan and Zadok. Lastly he had a mission - build the temple. Because of this he prayed unselfishly and God actually appeared to him twice. His prayer of dedication of the temple shows a love for, knowledge of, and worship to the one true God. Unfortunately the good things God gives us, if we aren't careful become idols to us and pull us away from God. Therefore his wealth became a source of pride, oppulence, and gluttony to him. His wisdom became a source of pride to him as people came from many countries to hear him pontificate. He built a magnificent palace for himself which took longer to build than the temple. His power and desirability and possibly even his thinking he was above everyone enabled him to have any woman he wanted and his appetites were insatiable and ruled over his knowledge of right and wrong. He also had peace and when the temple was finished, all that was left for him after that was boredom and satifying appetites. (see David and Bathsheeba). We need to be careful that we stay busy yet don't substitute busyness for a growing relationship with God or think we are "holy" because we are busy serving God. You can see this in Churches. Often when the building project / fund raiser is completed they fall apart because they substituted a project for a relationship with the Lord.
       Solomon's "good things" (blessings from the Lord) became his idols and they turned him away from God. If you read Ecclesiastes you see that he realized that none of these things fulfilled but left him empty. In the end he turned back to God but the damage was tremendous. His marriage to an Ammonite woman gave him Rehoboam who didn't surround himself with wise people (or a Godly mother) and because of his accustom to the rich life continued to tax the people at the same -maybe higher- rate as his father Solomon. This led to splitting the kingdom and multiple civil wars. Rehoboam did humble himself later in life and I believe was forgiven by the Lord, yet God gave him over to the oppression of the world to show him what he was missing out on by going his own way. God will forgive us when we sin but we often have to live with the reprucussions. A good illustration of this is pounding a nail in a board representing sin in our life. God will remove the "nail" but it will leave a hole in the "board". In Rehoboam's life it was substituting the richness and the glory of God in his life represented by gold shields which he could in freedom and clear conscience shine before to the rest of the world - being replaced by tarnished cheap bronze shields which he had to keep hidden either because they were embarressing or else he was afraid of enemies seeing them and further plundering him because he had lost the protection and power that comes from following God.
     Rehoboam's turning back to the Lord may have been confirmed by having a son, Abijah, that called on the Lord and was victorious, followed by a Godly grandson, Asa who followed the Lord wholeheartedly and surrounded himself with Godly people who encouraged him and challenged him in his walk. Once again, later in life when Asa maybe got lazy (35 years of peace) and possibly wanted to just put the rest of his life on cruise control, God tested his heart with a battle. (see Hezekiah in a few lessons from now). Despite experiencing a remarkable victory against a superior Cushite army (35 years ago) this time he allied himself with a godless country to fight against the northern kingdom even using the temple's (God's) wealth to buy them. God was giving him a chance to further strengthen and bless him by calling on the Lord, but instead he didn't trust the Lord and defeated them the worldly way trusting his own intellect and strength. Because of this, God rebuked him and to further illustrate how proud Asa had become, when afflicted with a disease, he was so "ticked" at God, he refused to humble himself and ask God for his help. Because of this he died. Are you trusting in God to do the miraculous in your life or are you trusting in your own abilities and cleverness? When you are confronted by sin, how do you respond - in humility like David or Rehoboam or in anger and pouting like Asa? These are tests to eliminate pride in your life. Will you pass them or fail?
     Lastly, what is Church? Actually, we are the church - the body of Christ - that meets in a building we probably mistakingly call the Church. Does God inhabit the building - no, He inhabits us. Picture it this way, we are like charcoal. We are lit and giving off heat, but as we go on our own through the week we lose our glow as we give off heat all week. So we meet back together with a bunch of other coals on Sunday and we catch fire again and leave on fire. You can see the value of leaving in groups and fellowship during the week to keep the fire from burning out. If Solomon had surrounded himself with Godly people, that he didn't feel like he was above them but a peer, would he have succumbed to the lusts of the flesh? I don't think so. I do think we have some misconceptions that stem from a faulty view of the "Church" as being a place where God dwells. "No running in God's house"! "Wear your best, we are going to God's house"! (actually I have a tux, should I wear that to Church?). It also leads to one day a week Christians who forget that they are the Church where God dwells 24/7. The building itself however, as the community sees it, should somehow demonstrate how special God is. How that plays out... you figure that out.

Growing in Christ Bible Study Genesis to Revelation Week 22

Read 2 Samuel 11 - 1 Kings 2 and 1 Chron. 11-29

  1. Read 1Chron 13:3-11. Why did God strike Uzzah dead? (1 Chron. 15:13-15)



   Does this seem unfair? Why or why not?



   Relate this to John 4:24



   Compare this to the sin of Cain (the sacrifice not the murder) and the sin of Saul offering the sacrifices himself instead of waiting for Samuel.




  2. Read 2Sam 11 & 12. List some factors that led to David's sin? (see also James 1:14,15)




   Read 2 Sam. 12:11-14 , 1Chron. 21:29,30 and Psalm 51. List some consequences of David's sin



 




    We've seen the consequences of Saul's sin and David's. Who in your opinion got the worst consequences?                               Try to explain why this might be.








  2. Read about Absalom and his rebellion in chapters 13-18. What could David have done differently throughout Absalom's life to prevent this rebellion?





   3. Hidden in the midst of these little known passages are 3 gems. Read these 2 verses and tell how they summarize the entirety of the Bible;

        2 Sam. 14:14


        2 Sam. 19:28


       2 Kings 22:19,20

    4.  David let Absalom have Jerusalem. Why do you think he did?



          Note 15:25,26    Why didn't David take the ark with him in your opinion?



         Look at Shimei in 16:5-13 and 19:16-23. Do you have any Shimeis in your life? What spiritual principles do you learn from David's dealings with him?




      5. Read 1 Chron. 21 and 27:23,24. Why was taking a census sinful?




          Read 2Sam. 24:1. Compare this to 1Chron. 21:1. How do you explain the discrepancy?



         What effect did the near death experience have on Arunah in 1Chron. 21:20-23?


          What Biblical principle can we learn from that?


          How does David respond in verse 24?


           How does that apply to your life?




         Why was this the perfect place to build the temple?




  6. Read 1Chron. 22:5-16. How did David spend the last days of his life?




      How is this different from the way that most people spend their last days?


   Notes to Teachers/Students

      A very "unfair" occurance happens to Uzzah. Here is this well meaning worshipper who just tries to keep the ark from hitting the ground and God strikes him dead. What is that all about? The reason is seen 2 chapters later where we see the set pattern God has established for transportation - priests and poles. It was not to be transported like the Phillistines did - on a cart. It was not to be touched - the ground is less sinful than us. Lastly, coming to God the way we determine rather than the way He determines is the essense of sin and lostness. Cain brought fruit and veggies rather than the prescribed blood. Eli's sons came up with a different way to offer fellowship offereings. Saul decided to offer the sacrifice himself even though he was a Benjaminite, not a Levite. Today the stumbling block to salvation is we want to earn our way to Heaven instead of accepting God's free gift by faith. (Rom.9:30-33)
     David gets it right the second time, brings the ark home, and is at the pinnacle of success. But one time of battle he stays home while everyone else goes out fighting. He is alone, he is bored, he sees something he should have immediately turned away from and dwells on it. He inquires about her, sends for her, and sleeps with Bathsheba. It wasn't a sin to be tempted but he was foolish to put himself in a vulnerable position. We need to watch out for laziness, boredom, and being alone especially at night and keep busy doing the Lord's work. Nip temptations in your mind. Don't search for details, don't ask people what they know about such and such, just be like Joseph and flee. Also at the heart of this sin, David felt he was more important than Uriah and took his wife.
       The consequences of his sin were tremendous. There was rape, murder, insurrection, isolation that occured within his family. His infant with Bathsheba died. His son slept with David's concubines. But worse than that was he lost his intimate fellowship with God and the clear conscience that went with that. When Absolom came against him, David left Jerusalem rather than expose the people to the collateral damage of his sin and I'm not convinced he had peace that he would defeat Absolom as punishment for his sin. When Shemei unjustly cursed him, David wasn't convinced the cursing wasn't true or undeserved because of his sin. The joy of living with a clear conscience before the Lord seemed totally non existant after this sin. Like Esau selling his birthright for a pot of stew, a rash decision to satisfy his appetites ruined his whole future. May we be able to step back and count the cost before satisfying the flesh.
       Satan wants to tempt David to sin and God gives him permission. David takes a census of the fighting men to see how powerful he is and is immediately grieved when he hears the 7 figure number. He realizes numbering them is a sin because he is taking pride in his strength rather than God's. (see the lesson of Gideon). God gives him a choice of punishments and he chooses punishment by the hand of God because God is merciful. Indeed God is and stops short of the deserved punishment due to his mercy at the house of Arunah. The judgement of God for sin and the mercy of God meet and at that place the temple was built. What a beautiful picture. We are due judgement and death for our sin but God shows His mercy at the cross. We meet at a church where fellow believers meet together to celebrate God's mercy thru his son Jesus and we worship Him there offering everything we have because like Arunah, when you realize that God rescued us from death, "our" possesions and lives are seen in a brand new light.
        As David was nearing death, he spent his last years preparing his child for serving God and rather than spending all "his" possessions on himself, he was using them to further God's glory. What a difference from our mentality - lets retire, get a house on the beach and sip Margaritas while we enjoy the fruiy of our labor. May that never be!!