Month: June 2021

Obadiah Overview for tomorrow

~ Patricia ~ Leave a comment
  • Fun Fact: Obadiah, the shortest book in the Bible.
  • Obadiah means ‘servant of the Lord’.
  • Obadiah was speaking of the doom of Edom.

So who are the people of Edom? When did the “fighting” begin between the Edomites and the Israelites? Actually Genesis 25:19-

“Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. 22 The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” 

Ever since they shared a womb! The people of Edom were the descendants of Esau.  Esau (Edomites) and Jacob (Israelites).   The Edomites never passed up an opportunity to attack or invade God’s people.  This 21 verse book will predict that the Edomites will be destroyed forever.  And so it has been.  There are two themes in this short book:  Justice and Pride.

As we just read the Psalms and Proverbs we recall that God countlessly reminds us that He will eventually bring justice, in His timing.  As far as pride, the capital of Edom was Petra.  Petra was a rocky mountainside just south of the dead sea.

Dinhabah - Wikipedia

The Edomites would attack enemies and then retreat to this city that was virtually impregnable (I like using that word…makes me sound smart 🙂 ) because of its topography.  Built on the cliff of a Red mountain (I find it ironic that it was red because Esau in Hebrew meant “red”.) So they were very confident and prideful that they could attack any nation and never be attacked back.  Here is a picture of Petra.  The Book of Obadiah, a message from the Lord addressed to them to pronounce their destruction once and for all.

Petra

Meyers Study Bible Obadiah

2 Chronicles 19-23

~ Patricia ~ 2 Comments

Yes, we are overlapping (repeating) stories again.  Same stories told from different views.

5 chapters today…but not hard!  You got this!

When we see it is just a Chronicles read, we know it is primarily going to concentrate on the tribe of Judah.  Remember Ezra is writing this book as a history lesson for the people that will return to rebuild a temple.  Looking back on the history they are going to want to trace the covenant line of “their” people, so that will be the tribe of Judah.

As I am reading I am doing some memory recall.  Just in case you jumped in late (or just need it) here are some things that make this reading crystal clear:

Chapter 19:

What makes sense now that we have read for 6 months:

  • Jehosaphat lives in Jerusalem- He is the king of the tribe Judah— Judah and Israel split like a civil war.  Judah is the covenant line to bring forth the Messiah-so their capital in Jerusalem.  That makes sense. (the Northern tribe’s capital is Samaria.)
  • He appointed Judges- Dueteromomy 16:18- The king is to appoint Judges to help him rule the land. Makes sense.
  • Priests are only to be from the tribe of Levi. (Levites).  And the HIGH priest MUST come from Aaron’s family (Moses’ Brother) Makes sense. Click here for a visual handout.  Look for Amariah.

Chapter 20

  • The Moabites and the Ammonites.  Who are they?  Go way back to the story of Sodom and Gomorrah.  Genesis 19:30-18.  When Lot fled with his daughters, they did not have a man to create a family so they got him (their father) drunk and made a baby with him.  The children born grew the nations Moabites and Ammonites. Makes sense.
  • When Jehoshaphat stood in front of the assembly he was committing the situation to God and recalled Solomon’s prayer from 2 Chronicles 6 and of course Psalm 136 ❤️:

“Give thanks to the Lord,
    for his love endures forever.”

  • The Bible never hides the faults of every man/woman God used (gives me hope for my own life).  Jehoshaphat was a fantastic king but he too had his faults.  He did make another alliance forbidden in the Law (Exodus 23), this time with Ahaziah, whose ways were wicked.  So what they built together God destroyed. Makes perfect sense.
  • Verse 15 gave me goosebumps! “This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.”

Let’s break down chapter 21…You can’t make this stuff up!!

Look at the drop from Jehoshaphat to Jehoram…the apple fell FAR from the tree.  The new king of Judah marries Ahab and Jezebel’s daughter.  What?? Why??? Ohhhh the humanity!  His father (Jehoshaphat) brought a huge revival to the nation by teaching the scriptures and trusting the Lord and his son marries the daughter of the most notorious Baal worshiper? (I am going to skim over 21:8 Edom and Libnah revolt, we will talk about that later this week). Just put the word Edom in your pocket for now. (verse 10:To this day Edom has been in rebellion against Judah)

So how bad was Jehoram!  Bad!

Elijah the prophet writes him a letter. This is the only record we have of a prophet from the Northern Kingdom rebuking a king of the Southern Kingdom. (All the other prophets God sent to Judah were from Judah). The letter stated:

  1. You have not followed in the footsteps of your father or grandfather
  2. You instead followed the ways of your horrible in-laws-Ahab’s family
  3. You murdered your whole family, and they were better than you
  4. The Lord will punish you by striking down your family (all except 1)
  5. And Last but not least, you are going to sit on the “throne” and poop  🤢💩☠️ the rest of your days.

Look at #4.  Why except 1?

“Not a son was left to him except Ahaziah, the youngest.”

God made a Covenant in 2 Samuel 7 that the line of David will bring the Messiah.  If the Lord had not left him one son to carry the kingship…the Covenant would have been broken.

When God makes a promise…it’s better than a pinky promise!

Jehoram- end of the chapter:

 He passed away, to no one’s regret, and was buried in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.

Chapter 22 and 23:

(I keep posting this image because it helps me, so maybe it helps someone else?)

How can his son be worse you ask???

Well, who is Ahaziah’s mother?

2 Chronicles 21 - Jehoram's Poor Marriage Choice | Bible study ...

His mom is Athalia.  His grandmother is Jezebel!!

“He too followed the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother encouraged him to act wickedly. 4 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, as the house of Ahab had done, for after his father’s death they became his advisers, to his undoing. 5 He also followed their counsel when he went with Joram son of Ahab king of Israel to wage war against Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth Gilead.”

The irony!  Their grandfathers made an alliance and did the same thing at the same place years ago!

Then I read this:   “He was brought to Jehu and put to death….While Jehu was executing judgment on the house of Ahab, he found the officials of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah’s relatives, who had been attending Ahaziah, and he killed them. 

If he killed his sons who will be king?  What will happen to the Davidic Covenant??

THIS IS CONFUSING (for me) so let’s break it down:

When Athaliah (Jezebel’s daughter) the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to destroy the whole royal family of the house of Judah (so her family line would survive and not the line of Judah). 11 But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram, took Joash (her brother) son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the royal princes who were about to be murdered and put him and his nurse in a bedroom. Because Jehosheba,[f] the daughter of King Jehoram and wife of the priest Jehoiada, was Ahaziah’s sister, she hid the child from Athaliah so she could not kill him. 12 He remained hidden with them at the temple of God for six years while Athaliah ruled the land.

So for 6 years the heir to the throne, Joash,  was hidden while Jezebel’s daughter ruled the line of Judah.

OK, I lied.  I said this was not a hard read.  My head is spinning with names, but I think I drew enough arrows to have it in my head.

Chapter 23:  Picture the Priests of the Temple, huddled up making a plan (in my head it looked like a coach and his football players)Group Health Cooperative - Words of Wellness Blog

EVERY detail was planned out to make sure the House of David Survived, even down to making sure no blood came near the Temple.  THE LINE OF DAVID SURVIVES!!!

WOW!  What a daily read!!!

1 Kings 22 and 2 Chron 18

~ Patricia ~ 1 Comment

Today we end 1 Kings:

Last week we read about several kings but we ended with Jehosapaht on the side of Judah. (use your visuals)

I don’t want to lose you as the reading gets a little more difficult.  Lots of names here.  Use your “Kings” visuals to help you get through it.  Who is Micaiah?  Let’s look at the whole thing:

When Ahab ruled over Israel and Jehoshaphat over Judah, the two kings decided to come together to attack the city of Ramoth-Gilead to retake it from the Arameans. Before going to battle, they consulted with more than 400 “royally” appointed (not God appointed) counselors of Israel. These were fake prophets who had no regard for correctly delivering the word of the Lord. To please King Ahab and obtain his favor, these prophets only served to tell the king what he wanted to hear.

When you read this last chapter you can view it from a human standpoint “I think that is a great idea Jehoshaphat, making a treaty with Israel to overtake Aram.” OR you can look at it from God’s point of view and maybe see it a little differently.  Even though Jehoshaphat in chapter 17 started a revival for Judah we now see him 3 years later waiting and waiting for Ahab to be killed just like the Lord had promised OR fear Ahab would conquer Aram completely.

The counselors brought before Ahab all prophesied victory in battle, but King Jehoshaphat remained suspicious. He wanted to hear from an independent prophet who would be faithful to the word of the Lord. Ahab offered to seek the counsel of Micaiah but warned Jehoshaphat that he hated this prophet. The reason? Micaiah always predicted evil for Ahab. An evil king will receive bad news from God, so, if Micaiah was true to his calling, he could do nothing but deliver “evil” messages to Ahab. So Ahab hated him.

Standing before the two kings, Micaiah at first sarcastically told Ahab what he wanted to hear, forecasting good news of victory over the Arameans. But Ahab, knowing Micaiah’s sarcasm, made him swear to tell the truth, and Micaiah told the wicked king what God really had to say. The prophet’s report was devastating: “I saw all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd, and the LORD said, ‘These people have no master. Let each one go home in peace’”.

So what happens?  Zedekiah slaps him in the face!

So then what happens??  Micaiah says (I picture it with a smile on his face) “You will find out on the day you go to hide in an inner room.”

Oh no he didn’t say that!  Yes, he did!  😂. Wait, (now I picture him laughing) he ends with “Mark wy words!” (MIC DROP!)

In the end, Elijah’s prophesy comes true and Ahab meets his fate of death and his blood being licked by dogs. (despite the switcharoo plan…you can’t switcharoo on the Lord!)

Overall Jehsaphat was an accomplished leader and considered a “Good King” following the ways of the Lord (except for removing all the “high places” (altars for worship to false gods).

Next on our checklist, we see (look at the visual near top of the post for Judah Kings)

  • Judah King: Jehoram (slipping
  • Israel King: Ahaziah–52 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, because he followed the ways of his father and mother and of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin. 53 He served and worshiped Baal and aroused the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, just as his father had done.

(We know that all the kings on the Israel side are bad)

1 Kings 20-21

~ Patricia ~ 1 Comment

So I found chapter 20 to be a very hard read (I hope I wasn’t the only one).  We already know we don’t like Ahab and in our heads think well God must not like him either.  That could not be further from the truth.  God will use or turn the heart of anyone He chooses.

In this case, there are 3 world powers rising up:

  • Aram
  • Assyria
  • Babylon

Ancient Babylonian Trade and round boats. - History's Ramblings

Ben-Hadad the king of Aram attacks Samaria (which we know is the new capital of the Northern tribes, Israel).  Ahad defeats Aram.  The Lord sends a message to Ahab warning him that this will happen AGAIN next year.  And it does!

Until….

32 Wearing sackcloth around their waists and ropes around their heads, they went to the king of Israel and said, “Your servant Ben-Hadad says: ‘Please let me live.’”

The king answered, “Is he still alive? He is my brother.”

The answer should have been NO! But he says “He is my brother”, meaning….he too is a king like me….so of course I will let you live.

What???? NO!  All that work from the Lord to bring victory and he caves like that….was a wimp!  He makes the Treaty.  So God went a message:

“This is what the Lord says: ‘You have set free a man I had determined should die. Therefore it is your life for his life, your people for his people.’” Sullen and angry, the king of Israel went to his palace in Samaria.

Chapter 21 was an easier read for me.  In short, Jezelebl wears the pants!    Naboth was following the Law when he would not give the land (Numbers 27)

So after you read this horrible outcome of bringing false accusations and having Naboth killed,  the Lord sends a message of doom to Ahab…

BUT WAIT!  What was Ahab’s response??  Did he get angry?  Did he pout (like usual)? Nope….he humbled himself before the Lord for the first time.

God is a just God and even though someone repents does not take away the consequence that was set in motion by the sin

Numbers 14:18 ‘The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.’

1 Kings 21:28 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite: 29 “Have you noticed how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself, I will not bring this disaster in his day, but I will bring it on his house in the days of his son.”

Gives me something to think about

1 Kings 17-19

~ Patricia ~ 1 Comment

In 1 Kings 16 we were altrady introduced to Ahab.  It said in verse 31: he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him. 32 He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria.

First, Ahab and Jezebel was probably a political marriage to bring strength to Israel.  This marriage would combine Israel and Sidonia because there was a growing threat from the people of Damascus taking over.

The Sidonians (current day Lebanon) were known for worshipping Baal, a fertility god.  However, their god was specifically a storm god who controlled the rain.  I have to keep reminding myself that these kings are from the 12 tribes of Israel.  It’s mind-blowing.

The first verse in today’s read is:

Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.”

Elijah begins our journey into the scriptures from the Prophets.  A prophet a person which the Lord uses to bring a message to the people, most often a warning.  It is a very dangerous job to carry out.  In chapter 18 we read that Jezebel was on a mission to kill as many prophets as she could find.  Meanwhile, Obadiah, a prophet himself, was trying to hide as many others as possible in caves to save their lives.  The Lord tells Elijah….(paraphrase)”Go and talk to Ahab, the horrible man with the crazy wife who has been looking for you JUST to kill you”.  What??? Ummmm no thanks!!  BUT HE DOES.

Chapter 18.  Sarcasm is my love language-so Elijah and I would be good friends for sure.  If you know this story: read it with fresh eyes, word for word (no oun intended. God will show you a new detail every time.  IF this is your first time reading it, God is in the details.

Pin on adam

Chapter 19

After reading this, what did you think about?

11 The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

 

 

1Kings 15:25-16:34 and 2Chron 17

~ Patricia ~ Leave a comment

If you like a good checklist to see what we will pick off our “Honey Do” list: Click here.  Looking at it you will see that we are coming up in Elijah (a pretty familiar name) and the book of the Prophets, starting with Obadiah. (completed is the *)

Today we switch to the Northern tribes that Jeroboam led to break off from the line of David.

    • Nadab
    • Baasha
    • Elah
    • Zimri
    • Omri
    • Intro to Ahab

Nadab-25 Nadab son of Jeroboam became king of Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel two years. 26 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, following the ways of his father and committing the same sin his father had caused Israel to commit. (that pretty much summed it up)]

Baasha-Asa king of Judah, Baasha son of Ahijah became king of all Israel in Tirzah, and he reigned twenty-four years. 34 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, following the ways of Jeroboam and committing the same sin Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit. (I am seeing a pattern)

Elah- Elah son of Baasha became king of Israel, and he reigned in Tirzah two years……they aroused the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, by their worthless idols.

Zimri-Zimri reigned in Tirzah SEVEN days. He must have been busy committing so many sins in just 7 days!  But Omri did evil in the eyes of the Lord and sinned more than all those before him. (Good grief)

Omri- After a short tribal split (again) Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned twelve years.

  • Omri’s reign is significant because he purchased and builds the capital of Samaria, a strategic location.   This fortified capital lasts the rest of the Northern Kingdom. (we will also talk about it a lot when we get to the New Testament)

FreeBibleimages :: Israel taken into captivity in Assyria :: The ...

Finally, we get to Ahab.  I remember the first time I read this book I about fell over when I found out Jezebel was a person in the Bible.  I thought it was just a nickname for a “bad girl”.  Who knew!

“Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria over Israel twenty-two years.” (See, now reigned in Samaria makes sense).31 He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him. 32 He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria. 33 Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to arouse the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than did all the kings of Israel before him. 

Raiders-- King Ahab part 1 - Pine Run Church of Christ

When we switch to 2 Chronicles we are switching back to the South/Rehomboma/Judah- Jehoshaphat

3 The Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he followed the ways of his father David before him. He did not consult the Baals 4 but sought the God of his father and followed his commands rather than the practices of Israel.

9 They taught throughout Judah, taking with them the Book of the Law of the Lord; they went around to all the towns of Judah and taught the people.

1 Kings 15:1-24 and 2 Chronicles 13-16

~ Patricia ~ 1 Comment

Print whichever one works for you:

Click here for this one

Click here for this one

Adult Ed: Kings

If neither of those work for you: I like this one too-

Click here to print: (I like them all!)

Davidic line - Wikipedia

1 Kings 15 v:1-24 only

Look below: this is interesting! (I am going to post this a lot, you don’t have to print it) This is a common view of the Bible.  This is JUST the Kings from Judah. None of the kings were good from the side of Israel.  So track along. For the life of me I cannot remember the names so I keep this visual on my computer screen as a read:

As we read today (2 Chronicles gives more detail) we will see why the line graph moves up from Rehoboam to Abijah and significantly higher for Asa.

  • 1 Kings is in Blue
  • 2 Chron is in Red

Abijah- v.3 “He committed all the sins his father had done before him; his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his forefather had been.” (All the kings will be compared to David.  David may have sinned many times BUT he never worshipped any other God than the Lord).  So why was he better than Rehoboam? v.5-5 Don’t you know that the Lord, the God of Israel, has given the kingship of Israel to David and his descendants forever by a covenant of salt?   Abijah is referring to the Davidic Covenant in 2 Samual 7.  He is talking to Jeroboam and saying “You idiot!  Don’t you know you have split yourself off from the line of the Covenant, God will take his hand off your people,  you even let ANYONE become a priest, even if they are not a Levite…that’s horrible”.

Asa– v.11 “Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as his father David had done. 12 He expelled the male shrine prostitutes from the land and got rid of all the idols his ancestors had made.” ……v.14-14 Although he did not remove the high places( only the ones in Judah), Asa’s heart was fully committed to the Lord all his life. (this was his mistake, he did not remove the pagan altar’s)  v.11-11 Then Asa called to the Lord his God and said, “Lord, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army. (You can see why on the line graph he moved up to the GOOD section.)  BUT….not Revival….why?  He did not fully trust the Lod in what he JUST said-16:2 “Asa then took the silver and gold out of the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and of his own palace and sent it to Ben-Hadad king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus. 3 “Let there be a treaty between me and you,” he said, “as there was between my father and your father. See, I am sending you silver and gold. Now break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so he will withdraw from me.”  WHY MAKE A TREATY?? AND WHY GIVE THEM THE CONSECRATED TEMPLE GOLD?  Oh Asa….close but no cigar.

12 In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was afflicted with a disease in his feet. Though his disease was severe, even in his illness he did not seek help from the Lord, but only from the physicians. 13 Then in the forty-first year of his reign Asa died and rested with his ancestors.

Kings can be confusing so I hope this helped as we picked off the first 2.  Good Stuff…I could have cut and pasted all of 2 Chronicles!!  Use your visuals!  The next king is “revival”

2 Chronicles 10-12

~ Patricia ~ 1 Comment

This is the synoptic read from yesterday so if you are jumping in today for the first time…read yesterday’s post for today.   We now see it from a priest’s point of view.  One pattern I am really picking up on is rebellion occurs at times of royal succession, which makes sense because people are opportunists.  Saul to David to Solomon and now to Rehoboam, the passing of the crown is a very dark time.

Since the time of Judges, the tribes have had issues getting along however this is now a total separation from each other like the Civil War in our history.  Here is what cracks me up…Ezra is being opportunistic when he writes this book. Ezra, the author, is a priest (a Levite), writing this History book to encourage the rebuilding of Jerusalem when the people return after the captivity, right? (don’t be confused, the captivity has not happened yet.  This book is written way later to a different audience so he biased…does that make sense?)

13 The priests and Levites from all their districts throughout Israel sided with him. 14 The Levites even abandoned their pasturelands and property and came to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons had rejected them as priests of the Lord 15 when he appointed his own priests for the high places and for the goat and calf idols he had made. 16 Those from every tribe of Israel who set their hearts on seeking the Lord, the God of Israel, followed the Levites to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices to the Lord, the God of their ancestors. 17 They strengthened the kingdom of Judah and supported Rehoboam son of Solomon three years, following the ways of David and Solomon during this time.

Ezra is taking a moment to reassure The Remnant People  (the people that will return to Jerusalem after it is destroyed). They were on the “right’” side, they chose the Davidic Line…the Covenant Line.  Does that make sense?  Trivia: Which one is the right side? Put the answer in comments.

Chapter 12:  Read this chapter very carefully.  Click here if you need to reread it.

v1: After Rehoboam’s position as king was established and he had become strong, he and all Israel with him abandoned the law of the Lord. 2 Because they had been unfaithful to the Lord, Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem in the fifth year of King Rehoboam.

v6:6 The leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, “The Lord is just.”

(As a result, remember all the beautiful furniture in the Temple…gone! and Rehoboam replaces them with Bronze??)

12 Because Rehoboam humbled himself, the Lord’s anger turned from him, and he was not totally destroyed. Indeed, there was some good in Judah.

However, remember the other day we talked about the “dash” on a tomb headstone.  How would his life be summed up? Rehoboam, the son of a man who was given Wisdom, brought Peace to Jerusalem and built the Temple his dash unfortunately would say…

14 He did evil because he had not set his heart on seeking the Lord.

1 Kings 12-14

~ Patricia ~ 3 Comments

I post this a lot because I love it:

Do you have this handout? | Bible timeline, Understanding the ...

Click here if you want to print it.  If you don’t have a color printer,  I love it so much I would be happy to mail you a copy.

We are at the 2 arrows that point to Jeroboam and Rehoboam.  One line will fall into enemies’ hands-Assyria.  The other will fall into enemy hands-Babylon.  Now, look at the two arrows that converge into The Return.  One is faded out on purpose.  The dark red WILL return to Jerusalem back to Jerusalem.  Those that return are called the ‘remnant people’.   Above and below the Kings are names in Red and Blue.  Red means they were horrible kings and worship may gods and Blue means they only worship 1 God– The Lord.  Next to the names (written in blue) are the Prophets that God raises up to give a message (usually a warning) to the kingdom during that king’s reign.  I hope all that made sense, if it didn’t please let me know, it’s important.

1 Kings chapter 12- The Divided Kingdom.- Not to sound like a broken record but just in case you jumped in today, from the beginning of time God set it up to be our King (Theocracy).  The people begged for a “human” king, and even though they were warned this was a bad idea, God gave them one to show them they were wrong (Monarchy-Saul, David then Solomon) Well, that’s not working either so now we will try a Divided Kingdom-I am guessing that’s not gonna work either.

I think Chapter 12 is pretty clear and doesn’t need a recap…but if I did,  I would have talked about how obvious it is that the apple didn’t fall from the tree.  Rehoboam should have consulted with the Lord!  Second to that was the wise counsel, which proved to be wise.  BUT he decided to take his advice from his cronies instead who probably only hung out with him for the extravagant lifestyle (it’s easy to make friends when you are stinking rich).  Why would the gang want him to have less money?  Actually, they saw dollar signs in their eyes and said…MORE MONEY!

This is the vehicle God used to fulfill the prophecy we read 2 days ago when the prophet tore the cloak into pieces representing the Nation.

A Kingdom Divided — Watchtower ONLINE LIBRARY

The leaders of this rebellion sing an old song from the time this same thing happen to his grandfather David (I kid you not) 2 Samuel 20:

“Now a troublemaker named Sheba son of Bikri, a Benjamite, happened to be there. He sounded the trumpet and shouted,

“We have no share in David,
    no part in Jesse’s son!
Every man to his tent, Israel!”

So all the men of Israel deserted David to follow Sheba son of Bikri”

Kings: The Divided Kingdom | My Blog

The Kingdom divides Judah/Benjamin in the South and the other 10 tribes in the North.  BOTH men were wrong!  Rehoboam should have lightened the work/tax load off the people which his father created from all the building projects and Jeroboam should have followed God’s precepts about who gets to appoint a king…Only God!  The Covenant is only promised through the royal line of David, and Jeromoab just messed up and took 10 tribes with him!

It is obvious that Jeroboam is insecure and paranoid about his followers so he appeased the people by making “local” places to worship so they didn’t have to travel all the way to Jerusalem (where they would come to their senses!!)  He builds golden calves closer to home for them! Calves or bulls were pagan worship rituals usually to worship fertility gods. What in Sam Hill is everyone thinking? Have they just tossed out everything they knew about the Temple??  (reminds me of the Song from the Alter to the Door by Mercy me!).

King Jeroboam - Lessons - Tes Teach

Find Dan (North Israel, east of Jordan River) and Bethel (South Israel left of Jordan River).  Smart! No reason to travel into Judah for the festivals…(These towns will come up again)

Wait!  Flag on the field!!  What about the priests that are required to take care of the place of worship?? Oh, they are in Jerusalem!  So what do we do??

31 Jeroboam built shrines on high places and appointed priests from all sorts of people, even though they were not Levites.

STOP!  I can’t handle it!

Have Mercy!  This post it too long!  I will breeze through the rest so you can get about your day! (If unleashed today I could write all day on this)

Chapter 13- A very specific prophetic warning was told to Jeroboam–

 ‘A son named Josiah will be born to the house of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who make offerings here, and human bones will be burned on you.’” 3 That same day the man of God gave a sign: “This is the sign the Lord has declared: The altar will be split apart and the ashes on it will be poured out.”

And the altar DID split so clearly this Josiah situation is going to happen.  And it will….in 300 years.

OK, wrapping it up, the rest of the chapter is cool to read but note the introduction to “false” prophecy and that the author made an example from the animals.  The animals showed more self-restraint than humans.

Chapter 14-

“The Lord will raise up for himself a king over Israel who will cut off the family of Jeroboam. Even now this is beginning to happen. 15 And the Lord will strike Israel, so that it will be like a reed swaying in the water. He will uproot Israel from this good land that he gave to their ancestors and scatter them beyond the Euphrates River, because they aroused the Lord’s anger by making Asherah poles.16 And he will give Israel up because of the sins Jeroboam has committed and has caused Israel to commit.”

Mark my words  Mark God’s words…it is going to happen!  He uproots them alright.  As we continue I have a choice of 2 handouts.

Names!  We are about to read about a lot of Kings.  Sometimes it can get confusing as to what side they are on.  I use the timeline handout (above) BUT this is a good one to write a note next to or if you like checklists you can cross them off as we read.  Click here to print a copy.

Adult Ed: Kings

I am a geek and I like to have a list of the King lined up with the year range and the Prophet that is raised up along with it.  So this is the one I use.  Click here for this one.  Either is fine.  Just your preference.

GREAT JUMP IN SPOT! (I will help you with visuals)

~ Patricia ~ Leave a comment

IT IS HARD TO NOT GET BEHIND!  Life is BUSY.  You may have dropped off a LONG time ago and said “I am going to catch up” and now you are too far….Maybe you recently fell off and have Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes yet to read.  HERE IS THE DEAL…and listen to me….We are at a JUMP IN SPOT LIKE YOU WOULD NOT BELIEVE!

Click here to print this timeline.

Many of us can retell the Bible up to David (if you can’t grab a children’s Bible and flip through it….I have done it).  David was given a Covenant that in short said “The Messiah will come from your descendants…he will be the King of Kings”  David gave the crown (Covenant) to his son Solomon.  Well, Solomon now will give the crown (Covenant) to his son Rehoboam.  (His name starts with an R for “Reigning” King…I made that up but put it in your pocket)

There were “King Rules” about not storing up horses, not marrying many wives, reading the scriptures, and applying them daily, and Solomon failed at all of them!  Solomon was the wisest man on the planet and he still struggled with the application and listening to God (It’s like a firefighter not putting out his fire after camping and he burns down a forest)

TOMORROW we will read 1 Kings 12-14.  It’s so good!!  Find your Bible, get a bookmark, and put it there.  Why?  Because we are going to read what is called the DIVIDED KINGDOM (man, why all the caps Trish…way too excited).  Literally, the tribes are going to SPLIT (see I told you) and make 2 nations.  This is NOT good people.  The Covenant does not split, just the people.

Here are some visuals so that when you read tomorrow.  Look below at the yellow boxes.  Rehoboam and Jeroboam.  As you read about these 2 guys if you are like me and get a little overwhelmed with names,  just “nickname them” (I have a nickname in my head for everyone)

  • “R”-Reigning King- Solomon’s son-Covenant
  • “J”-Jerk (sorry, that is what my nickname is)  He is a JERK for leading 10 tribes into a division that will NOT carry the Covenant.

Kings: The Divided Kingdom | My Blog

Look below.  This is a NORTH/SOUTH split.  To keep this straight in your head you are going to think of all the songs or phrases you have heard about the “Lion of Judah” and know that the one that will keep the Covenant is JUDAH.

The Divided Kingdom - Week 3 - The Great Divide - Grace Church

Here is the Timeline and how the Prophets are going to mix into History.  So Cool, right!!

30. Understanding the Writing Prophets | Bible.org

Looking forward to it!