Kings of Israel 2

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Last week we began a study in Kings.

We looked at the first 3 kings to serve the divided kingdom.

Why was the kingdom split? Solomon’s worship of foreign gods.

How was the kingdom split? 10 tribes in the north, called Israel and 1 tribe in the south called Judah.

What tribe supported one or the other at times? Benjamin

We left off in 1 Kings 15 with the introduction of Asa (Judah)

9 In the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa became king of Judah, 10 and he reigned in Jerusalem forty-one years. His grandmother’s name was Maacah daughter of Abishalom.

11 Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as his father David had done.

This is the first time we have seen those words. Why did we see a reference to David? Because David followed after God, and kept the covenant.

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 fathers had made. 13 He even deposed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother, because she had made a repulsive Asherah pole.                   

Asa cut the pole down and burned it in the Kidron Valley. 14 Although he did not remove the high places, Asa’s heart was fully committed to the Lord all his life. 15 He brought into the temple of the Lord the silver and gold and the articles that he and his father had dedicated.

Asa was a good guy, but he did have one fault. What was it? V14 He did not remove the high places. He tolerated them. This should be a warning to us not to turn a blind eye to evil around us.

16 There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel throughout their reigns. 

Baasha had a treaty with Ben-Hadad who was the son of king of Aram, so it wasn’t just Israel at war with Judah. Asa got the idea to enter into his own alliance with Ben-Hadad. So he looted the treasuries of the temple and the nation and sent gold and silver to Ben-Hadad.

20 Ben-Hadad agreed with King Asa and sent the commanders of his forces against the towns of Israel. He conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel Beth Maacah and all Kinnereth in addition to Naphtali. 

24 Then Asa rested with his fathers and was buried with them in the city of his father David. And Jehoshaphat his son succeeded him as king.

Over to Israel

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, walking in the ways of his father and in his sin, which he had caused Israel to commit.

There’s that verse we see again and again.

27 Baasha son of Ahijah of the house of Issachar plotted against him, and he struck him down at Gibbethon, a Philistine town, while Nadab and all Israel were besieging it. 28 Baasha killed Nadab in the third year of Asa king of Judah and succeeded him as king.

29 As soon as he began to reign, he killed Jeroboam’s whole family. He did not leave Jeroboam anyone that breathed, but destroyed them all, according to the word of the Lord given through his servant Ahijah the Shilonite— 30 because of the sins Jeroboam had committed and had caused Israel to commit, and because he provoked the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger.



32 There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel throughout their reigns.

We just talked about that.

 

33 In the third year of 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, walking in the ways of Jeroboam and in his sin, which he had caused Israel to commit.

16 Then the word of the Lord came to Jehu son of Hanani [the prophet] against Baasha:

Another pattern here: God uses prophets to speak to the kings.

2 “I lifted you up from the dust and made you leader of my people Israel, but you walked in the ways of Jeroboam and caused my people Israel to sin and to provoke me to anger by their sins.

His judgment is the same as Jeroboam’s neither would have a long line of his heirs on the throne. 

6 Baasha rested with his fathers and was buried in Tirzah. And Elah his son succeeded him as king.

8 In the twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Judah, Elah son of Baasha became king of Israel, and he reigned in Tirzah two years.

9 Zimri, one of his officials, who had command of half his chariots, plotted against him. Elah was in Tirzah at the time, getting drunk in the home of Arza, the man in charge of the palace at Tirzah. 10 Zimri came in, struck him down and killed him in the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah. Then he succeeded him as king.

Just like Jeroboam, an official from the court became king.

11 As soon as he began to reign and was seated on the throne, he killed off Baasha’s whole family. He did not spare a single male, whether relative or friend. 12 So Zimri destroyed the whole family of Baasha, in accordance with the word of the Lord spoken against Baasha through the prophet Jehu— 



15 In the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, Zimri reigned in Tirzah seven days. The army was encamped near Gibbethon, a Philistine town. 16 When the Israelites in the camp heard that Zimri had plotted against the king and murdered him, they proclaimed Omri, the commander of the army, king over Israel that very day there in the camp. 17 Then Omri and all the Israelites with him withdrew from Gibbethon and laid siege to Tirzah. 18 When Zimri saw that the city was taken, he went into the citadel of the royal palace and set the palace on fire around him. So he died, 19 because of the sins he had committed, doing evil in the eyes of the Lord and walking in the ways of Jeroboam and in the sin he had committed and had caused Israel to commit.



21 Then the people of Israel were split into two factions; half supported Tibni son of Ginath for king, and the other half supported Omri. 22 But Omri’s followers proved stronger than those of Tibni son of Ginath. So Tibni died and Omri became king.

The people chose their king.

25 But Omri did evil in the eyes of the Lord and sinned more than all those before him. 26 He walked in all the ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat and in his sin, which he had caused Israel to commit, so that they provoked the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger by their worthless idols.

28 Omri rested with his fathers and was buried in Samaria. And Ahab his son succeeded him as king.

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29 In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria over Israel twenty-two years. 30 Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him. 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 provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger than did all the kings of Israel before him.



Because the purpose of this study is to look at the kings of Israel & Judah, we’re not going to spend a lot of time on Elijah & Elisha.

In 17 we meet the prophet Elijah.

How did God communicate with the kings? Through a prophet.

Elijah goes to Ahab and tells him that there is going to be a drought.

neither dew nor rain in the next few years” and then heads out into the desert where he is fed by the ravens.



7 Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no

rain in the land. 8 Then the word of the Lord came to him: 9 “Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food.”

When he gets there, she is preparing her last meal. She’s so poor, she only has enough flour left to make a small cake for her and her son. Elijah tells her to make him dinner first.

14 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of

flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord gives rain on the land.’”

A while later the woman’s son gets sick & dies. Elijah lies on top pf the corpse and he comes back to life.

In 18 God tells Elijah to go tell Ahab the drought is over.

18:2  Now the famine was severe in Samaria, 3 and Ahab had summoned Obadiah, who was in charge of his palace. (Obadiah was a devout believer in the Lord. 4 While Jezebel was killing off the Lord’s prophets, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them in two caves, fifty in each, and had supplied them with food and water.) 

5 Ahab had said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs and valleys. Maybe we can find some grass to keep the horses and mules alive so we will not have to kill any of our animals.” 6 So they divided the land they were to cover, Ahab going in one direction and Obadiah in another. 7 As Obadiah was walking along, Elijah met him.

Elijah tells Obadiah to tell Ahab that he’s come to talk to him. Obadiah panics. During the drought Ahab has had search parties out looking for Elijah. Obadiah is afraid it’ll look like he knew where Elijah was the whole time. Elijah assures him, it’ll be okay.



16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah. 17 When he saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, you troubler of Israel?”

18 “I have not made trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied. “But you and your father’s family have. You have abandoned the Lord’s commands and have followed the Baals. 

19 Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”

You know the story.

23 Get two bulls for us. Let them choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. 24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire—he is God.”

So the prophets call on Baal all morning, all afternoon, and into the evening. Nothing happens.

Elijah then builds an altar and digs a trench around it. He puts a pile of wood on it and prepared a bull for sacrifice. Then he has a helper pour 12 barrels of water on top of the wood, sacrifice and altar - so much water that it even fills the trench. Then he calls on God and fire falls from Heaven and consumed everything including the water in the trench.



39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!”

40 Then Elijah commanded them, “Seize the prophets of Baal. Don’t let anyone get away!” They seized them, and Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered there.

41 And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.” 42 So Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees.

While he’s praying he tells his servant to look for rain.

45 Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain came on and Ahab rode off to Jezreel. 46 The power of the Lord came upon Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.

 

19  Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.”

We know Elijah ran into the desert where an angel ministered to him.

And later

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?”

15 The Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram.

Remember Aram is Syria and they already have a king – Ben-Hadad.

16 Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. 17 Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu.

These 3 men were to finish what Elijah started on Mt. Carmel and destroy Baal worship.

19 So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair. Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him.

Thus naming him as a successor. 

20 Now Ben-Hadad king of Aram mustered his entire army. Accompanied by thirty-two kings with their horses and chariots, he went up and besieged Samaria and attacked it.

Then he set his sights on Israel. He sent word to Ahab to surrender. Under the advisement of his officials, Ahab refused. Ben-Hadad mustered his army.

Meanwhile a prophet came to Ahab and told him that God would give Israel victory over Syria and that Ahab would lead the troops himself.

Jump down to   

19 The young officers of the provincial commanders marched out of the city with the army behind them 20 and each one struck down his opponent. At that, the Arameans fled, with the Israelites in pursuit. But Ben-Hadad king of Aram escaped on horseback with some of his horsemen. 21 The king of Israel advanced and overpowered the horses and chariots and inflicted heavy losses on the Arameans.

Ben-Hadad regroups and returns with more troops the next spring. Again the prophet tells Ahab that God will go before them.

 

29 For seven days they camped opposite each other, and on the seventh day the battle was joined. The Israelites inflicted a hundred thousand casualties on the Aramean foot soldiers in one day. 

30 The rest of them escaped to the city of Aphek, where the wall collapsed on twenty-seven thousand of them. And Ben-Hadad fled to the city and hid in an inner room.



33b When Ben-Hadad came out, Ahab had him come up into his chariot. 34 “I will return the cities my father took from your father,” Ben-Hadad offered. “You may set up your own market areas in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria.”

Ahab said, “On the basis of a treaty I will set you free.” So he made a treaty with him, and let him go.

On the way back to his palace Ahab comes upon a prophet.

42 He said to the king, “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.’” 43 Sullen and angry, the king of Israel went to his palace in Samaria.

In 21 Ahab wants to plant a vegetable garden. So he looks around and finds a vineyard near the palace. He offers to buy it but the owner, Naboth refuses to sell. Ahab mopes around the palace until his wife Jezebel asks him what’s going on. Jezebel tells Ahab not to worry about it. Then she writes letters on Ahab’s stationary and seals them with Ahab’s seal.

The letters instruct the town officials to throw a party and have 2 scoundrels sit near Naboth. During the feast these 2 guys accuse Naboth of blasphemy and stir up the people to stone him.

15 As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned to death, she said to Ahab, “Get up and take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite that he refused to sell you. He is no longer alive, but dead.” 16 When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he got up and went down to take possession of Naboth’s vineyard.

He seized the property. Add theft to murder and false accusation.

How does God communicate with the king? He sends a prophet.

Elijah goes to Naboth’s field to confront Ahab.

What do you think the judgment will be? Same as Jeroboam and Baasha – no long line of descendants on the throne.

AND  

23 “And also concerning Jezebel the Lord says: ‘Dogs will devour Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.’

24 “Dogs will eat those belonging to Ahab who die in the city, and the birds of the air will feed on those who die in the country.”

25 (There was never a man like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, urged on by Jezebel his wife. 

26 He behaved in the vilest manner by going after idols, like the Amorites the Lord drove out before Israel.)

Look what happens:

27 When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and fasted. He lay in sackcloth and went around meekly.

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.”

 

22 For three years there was no war between Aram and Israel.   2 But in the third year Jehoshaphat king of Judah went down to see the king of Israel. 3 The king of Israel had said to his officials, “Don’t you know that Ramoth Gilead belongs to us and yet we are doing nothing to retake it from the king of Aram?”

4 So he asked Jehoshaphat, “Will you go with me to fight against Ramoth Gilead?”

Jehoshaphat replied to the king of Israel, “I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.” 5 But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, “First seek the counsel of the Lord.”

Quick look at the chart: Jehoshaphat, good king or bad king? Good.

6 So the king of Israel brought together the prophets—about four hundred men—and asked them, “Shall I go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?”

Who’s the king of Israel? Ahab.

So what kind of prophets are these? False.

6b “Go,” they answered, “for the Lord will give it into the king’s hand.”

7 But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there not a prophet of the Lord here whom we can inquire of?”

8 The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man through whom we can inquire of the Lord, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.”

“The king should not say that,” Jehoshaphat replied.

 So they call for Micaiah.

17 Then Micaiah answered, “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.’”

18 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Didn’t I tell you that he never prophesies anything good about me, but only bad?”

19 Micaiah continued, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne with all the host of heaven standing around him on his right and on his left. 

20 And the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there?’

“One suggested this, and another that. 21 Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before the Lord and said, ‘I will entice him.’

         22 “‘By what means?’ the Lord asked.

“‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets,’ he said.

“‘You will succeed in enticing him,’ said the Lord. ‘Go and do it.’

23 “So now the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours. The Lord has decreed disaster for you.”

With that one of the prophets slaps Micaiah in the face and Ahab has Micaiah sent to prison.



29 So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up to Ramoth Gilead. 30 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will enter the battle in disguise, but you wear your royal robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle.

31 Now the king of Aram had ordered his thirty-two chariot commanders, “Do not fight with anyone, small or great, except the king of Israel.”

32 When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they thought, “Surely this is the king of Israel.” So they turned to attack him, but when Jehoshaphat cried out, 33 the chariot commanders saw that he was not the king of Israel and stopped pursuing him.

34 But someone drew his bow at random and hit the king of Israel between the sections of his armor. The king told his chariot driver, “Wheel around and get me out of the fighting. I’ve been wounded.” 35 All day long the battle raged, and the king was propped up in his chariot facing the Arameans. The blood from his wound ran onto the floor of the chariot, and that evening he died. 36 As the sun was setting, a cry spread through the army: “Every man to his town; everyone to his land!”

37 So the king died and was brought to Samaria, and they buried him there. 38 They washed the chariot at a pool in Samaria (where the prostitutes bathed),  and the dogs licked up his blood, as the word of the Lord had declared.

40 Ahab rested with his fathers. And Ahaziah his son succeeded him as king.

Over to Judah

41 Jehoshaphat son of Asa became king of Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel. 42 Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-five years. His mother’s name was Azubah daughter of Shilhi.   

43 In everything he walked in the ways of his father Asa and did not stray from them; he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. The high places, however, were not removed, and the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.

Have we read this before?

Why were there high places that needed to be taken down?

Go back to the chart. Who was the king before Jehoshaphat? Asa.            

44 Jehoshaphat was also at peace with the king of Israel.

46 He rid the land of the rest of the male shrine prostitutes who remained there even after the reign of his father Asa.

Rabbit trail: Not a Lisa rabbit trail but a Kings rabbit trail.

47 There was then no king in Edom; a deputy ruled.

48 Now Jehoshaphat built a fleet of trading ships to go to Ophir for gold, but they never set sail—they were wrecked at Ezion Geber. 49 At that time Ahaziah son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “Let my men sail with your men,” but Jehoshaphat refused.

I did some research and found that:

  • Jehoshaphat controlled Edom, which gave him access to Ezion Geber.
  • Jehoshaphat wanted to have the same kind of wealth that Solomon’s had, so he set out to build a fleet.
  • We just read that the ships were wrecked.
  • 2 Chr. 20:36, 37 tells us the Lord destroyed his fleet because of Jehoshaphat’s alliance to build it with Ahaziah, (Ahab’s son, who we will look at next week).

50 Then Jehoshaphat rested with his fathers and was buried with them in the city of David his father. And Jehoram his son succeeded him.

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