God demands obedience and trust.

Lesson for Sunday, July 30, 2017

REVIEW:

  • As we have been studying through theBible, we have covered roughly half of thehistory of the earth. We started off all ofthese lessons in the book of Genesis andintroduced the Seven C’s of History.
  • Can anyone recall those seven events weused to frame all of history?
  • In terms of timing, we are at 1000 BC in ourstudies. Solomon finished and dedicatedthe temple in 1005 BC and reigned overIsrael 40 years, just as his father had.
  • Today, we are going to look at the end ofSolomon’s reign and amajor shift in the historyof Israel.
  1. The Reign of Solomon (1 Kings 11:1-13)
  2. Observe the Text:
  3. How many women did Solomon have as wives and concubines? At least1,000.
  4. Where were those women from? Egypt, Moab, Ammon, and other nations.
  5. Why would Solomon take foreign wives? Likely alliances made withsurrounding nations, but many of them must have been for selfish reasons.
  6. How do we know God was not pleased with Solomon? The Lord had saidthat they should not intermarry with those surrounding nations.
  7. Let’s look at Deuteronomy 17:14–17 to understand more about what ishappening in this passage about Solomon. What three prohibitions did God give to the king who would be overIsrael?
  8. How many of these had Solomon violated? All three (cf. 1 Kings 10:21, 28–29).
  9. Look back to 1 Kings 11. Did the foreign wives turn Solomon’s heartaway from God, as God said would happen? Yes, he even built altars andworshipped the false gods with his wives.
  10. What was God’s response to Solomon’s physical and spiritual adultery? TheLord was angry and told Solomon that He would tear the kingdom out of his hands.
  11. When was this to happen, and why the delay? After Solomon’s death and for thesake of David and Jerusalem; out of God’s sovereign choice to do as He pleases.
  12. Would the whole kingdom be taken away? No, one tribe would remain underSolomon’s son’s control.
  13. For what other reason would God not take the entire kingdom away fromSolomon? God had given His word with the Davidic Covenant.
  14. Interpret the Word:
  15. Three hundred fifty years before the Israelites had even asked for a king,God had warned them about the oppression they would face under aking. That same warning was reiterated by Samuel when the Israelitessought to have a king.
  16. Saul, David, and Solomon had all been charged by God to walk in Hisstatutes and keep His commands so that their kingdoms would prosper.Solomon started off so well. He sought God and wisdom from Godto rule, but he failed.
  17. What else would we expect from one of Adam’sdescendants? We all fail. We all sin. None of us follows God as He desiresor perfectly obeys God’s commands.
  18. If we think we would have done better than Solomon, we are probablydeceiving ourselves and not recognizing how many ways we seek our ownidols to worship. We may not have 1,000 wives, but we often allowour hearts to be turned away to seek our own pleasures and worship idolsjust as Solomon did.
  19. Solomon’s reign ended as recorded in 1 Kings 11:41–43.
  20. The Reign of Rehoboam (1 Kings 12:1-20)
  21. Observe the Text:
  22. Who was present at Rehoboam’s coronation? All of the people and Jeroboam wentto Shechem to make him king.
  23. Who did the people of Israel call back from Egypt? Jeroboam.
  24. What did the people and Jeroboam propose to Rehoboam? They suggested heshould remove the burdens Solomon had placed upon them. If he would, the people would servehim as king.
  25. When Rehoboam sought the counsel of the elders who served his father,what was their advice? They encouraged him to lighten the burden so that the peoplewould serve him loyally.
  26. What advice was given by Rehoboam’s younger counselors? That he shouldincrease the burden.
  27. How did the people respond to Rehoboam’s decision to increase theburden on the people? They abandoned Rehoboam as king and installed Jeroboam as theking over the children of Israel in the north.
  28. What tribe was left under Rehoboam’s rule? Only Judah was left.
  29. How is Rehoboam referred to in verse 16? The references to David and the son ofJesse are of Rehoboam, the one sitting on David’s throne.
  30. Why did Rehoboam decide to increase the burden of the people? Thetext clearly states that this was from the Lord (v. 15). God used the foolishness of Rehoboam andhis young counselors to bring about the events that He had already ordained. God already toldSolomon that the kingdom would be ripped from his son, so God was using these events to bringabout His plans.
  31. Interpret the Text:
  32. Rehoboam acted just as Solomon had and just as God had warned. Thedesire to seize more power and wealth for himself took control of him. Hechose to reject God’s commands and to mistreat the people put under hiscare. As a result of his disobedience, Rehoboam faced a significantconsequence—he lost the majority of his kingdom and introduced amajor division in the nation of Israel.
  33. From this point on, the NorthernKingdom, known as Israel, was at war with the Southern Kingdom, knownas Judah.
  34. Rehoboam’s foolishness had dire consequences for all of thoseunder his authority and for future generations—whether they liked it or not.

IF TIME: Object Lessons Activity

Applying God’s Word:

  • How did the actions of Solomon and Rehoboam expose their sin of unbelief?
  • Solomon was warned that having wives from other nations would be a snare. What are some of the things in your life that you know are forbidden, but you keep toying with in unbelief, thinking that they will bring pleasure rather than destruction?
  • Many people often claim that it is unfair that we should suffer forsomething Adam did. Knowing that Rehoboam’s bad decision broughtabout war and division among the Israelites for centuries to come, howcan we draw an analogy to help people understand the universal effectsof sin that came through Adam to all his descendants?
  • When we compare the kings and rulers of men to King Jesus, we can easilyrecognize how far short these earthly kings fall. Why do we, as people,tend to put so much trust in what a new king (president/governor/senator/council member) can do to change the future?
  • How does knowing that King Jesus is coming back to fully establish Hiskingdom give you hope for the future?