I Kings 15-16 - Daily Study Questions – War and Peace
1. 1 Kings 15:1-8. A) Who replaced Rehoboam as king of Judah and how long did he reign (v1-2)? B) What kind of man was he; how did Yahweh treat him and why (v3-5)? C) How does the author characterize his kingdom (v 6-7, see also 2 Chron. 13) and who succeeded him (v8)? / A) Abijam (also spelled Abijah) ascended to the throne after Rehoboam died. He was the great-grandson of Absalom. His reign lasted only three years. B) Abijam was just like his father Rehoboam and his great-grandfather Absalom. He sought after idols and evil. The Hebrew word translated “wholly devoted” here means “complete, safe, at peace.” Abijam was at odds with Yahweh, incomplete. However, Yahweh was gracious to him for David’s sake. David’s faithful heart that was after Yahweh’s heart still affected those two generations removed from him. The Father is faithful to His promises always. C) Abijam’s reign was marked by war with Jeroboam. There are no details in the 1 Kings account. You have to go to 2 Chronicles 13 to see what Yahweh did for him in spite of his unfaithfulness to Yahweh. There was a great battle in which the Kingdom of Israel brought in 800,000 men to the Kingdom of Judah’s 400,000. Abijam declared his allegiance to Yahweh and, although Jeroboam ambushed them, Yahweh intervened and 500,000 Israelites died that day. The key verse is verse 18 of 2 Chronicles 13, “Thus the sons of Israel were subdued at that time, and the sons of Judah conquered because they trusted in the LORD, the God of their fathers.” (emphasis mine) Following his reign his son Asa became king.2. 1 Kings 15:9-24. A) What immediate differences do you see in the reign of Asa as opposed to his father (v9-15)? B) Summarize the war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel. What strikes you about this (v16-22, see also 2 Chron. 16:7-12)? Apply to you. C) Overall, what kind of king was Asa and who replaced him (v23-24)? / A) The first major difference we see is the length of his reign. Asa reigned 41 years compared to his father’s 3 years. His reign probably began when he was very young but that is still an impressively long reign, one year longer than David’s reign in fact. The author says, “Asa did what was right in the sight of the LORD, like David his father.” Especially during this time of turmoil in these two kingdoms, this was an amazing epitaph. He tore down the idols his father had made, removed the male cult prostitutes and he even deposed his grandmother from her position as queen because of her idol worship. Apparently, whatever image she had erected was so horrid that it made people shudder (literally what the Hebrew means). He had it cut down and burned. Asa also brought in gold and silver utensils into the temple. The only thing that he did not do was remove all of the high places. Regardless of that, Yahweh characterized his heart as exactly the opposite of his father Abijam (verse 14). B) Asa was at war with Baasha (current king of Israel, replaced Jeroboam in Asa’s second year as king) all of the days of Baasha’s reign. Apparently Baasha built a fortification similar to the Berlin wall to prevent people from entering Judah from Israel. Here is where Asa makes a huge mistake. He never cries out to Yahweh for help but instead takes the gold and silver in the treasuries of the Temple and in the treasuries of his own house and “buys” the loyalty of Ben-hadad, an ally of Baasha. His plan works and then he takes all the materials of the fortification that Baasha built and builds the cities of Geba and Mizpah. In 2 Chronicles 16:7-12, we see the full extent of Asa’s rebellion against Yahweh. Hanani the seer (prophet) comes to him and proclaims judgment on Asa for trusting in men rather than Yahweh. Asa put him in prison for this. In the last year of his reign, Asa contracted a very severe disease in his feet. Sadly, the last words written about Asa in verse 12 are, “yet even in his disease he did not seek the LORD, but the physicians.” We must be careful in our walk with the Lord not to become over confident. Sometimes, when Yahweh is blessing us and things are going well, we forget that it is His hand that got us there. Pride will always bring us down. C) Overall, Asa’s rule is characterized as good and he was blessed in most every way despite his bad choices. Just like David, Yahweh saw his heart and said it was devoted to Him. Jehoshaphat, his son, replaced him.
3.1 Kings 15:25-31. (Important note: Attention now turns to the kings of Israel) A) Who replaced Jeroboam as king of Israel and what characterized his reign (v25-26)? B) Summarize the end of his reign and who replaced him (v27-28). C) How did Baasha secure his reign and why did Yahweh allow him to do it (v29-31)? D) What difference do you see already between Israel and Judah? / Now the attention shifts to the kings of the northern kingdom, Israel. A) There was great instability in the kingdom of Israel all of its years of existence. Jeroboam had been king for twenty-two years and the man who took his place was Nadab. Nadab only ruled two years and walked in the evil of his father Jeroboam. This is another way of saying that he not only left the golden calves that his father had built but he also continued in the worship of such. B) His reign only lasted two years because he was usurped and assassinated by Baasha of the house of Issachar. There was a rebellion and Baasha killed Nadab at the town of Gibbethon. All of this took place during the third year of the reign of Asa over Judah. You will see this kind of reference a lot in these passages. The author uses the reigns of the kings of each kingdom as a way to make time references. The original readers would have found this very helpful but it is admittedly somewhat confusing to us sometimes. C) Baasha followed the tradition of the Gentile kings around him and removed all the heirs of Nadab. In fact, Scripture states that he wiped out the entire family of Jeroboam. This was in fulfillment of the judgment declared by Ahijah in chapter 14. The sins of Jeroboam had greatly angered Yahweh and He brought overwhelming judgment on his descendants. Our sins never just affect us. D) Already a stark contrast has begun to arise between the kingdom of Israel and the kingdom of Judah. Judah is in no way perfect but there is a definite attempt on the part of Asa to follow Yahweh and to change the spiritual path of Judah. Nothing of that kind has even been attempted in the kingdom of Israel and, sadly, never will be attempted during this period.
4. 1 Kings 15:32-16:5. A) What characterized the reign of Baasha and how long did he reign in Israel (v32-34)? [As review, look back at the sin of Jeroboam (1 Kings 12:25-33)]. B) Who prophesied against Baasha (v1)? Paraphrase his prophesy (v2-4). C) Why was Yahweh angry with Baasha (v2)? What are some ways we make this mistake in our own lives? / A) Baasha had become the king of Israel through the murder of Nadab in the third year of the reign of Asa over Judah. He reigned for a very long time, twenty-four years. Baasha was evil and walked in the sins of Jeroboam his father. Jeroboam had placed a golden calf in the city of Bethel in the southern portion of the kingdom of Israel and a golden calf in the city of Dan in the northern part of the kingdom of Israel. He appointed non-Levites priests and instituted his own feasts as well as placed houses of worship in the high places. In short, Jeroboam had completely abandoned Yahweh. In these footsteps Baasha also followed. B) Jehu the son of Hanani was a prophet who prophesied against Baasha. His prophesy reminded Baasha that it was Yahweh who had given him his position as king. Instead of taking the opportunity to reform the ways of Israel, Baasha had chosen to exalt himself instead and follow the evil ways of Jeroboam. As a result, Yahweh was cursing his household. Verse 4 says, “Anyone of Baasha who dies in the city the dogs will eat, and anyone of his who dies in the field the birds of heaven will eat.” C) Yahweh is not just angry with Baasha’s sin but also that he has led the people of Israel into sin as well. His sin had not just affected him. In our own lives this can occur as well. If you have children, they follow your lead and, if your lead is sinful, they will be led into that same sin. Also, many people watch us that we are never aware of. We are all leaders in some form or fashion and must strive to not only be good examples but also repent of the foolish choices we will make along the way. Whether we know it or not, people see and take notice of these things.
5. 1 Kings 16:6-14. A) Who took Baasha’s place and what happened to his household (v6-7)? B) Summarize the length of Elah’s reign in Israel and how it ended (v8-11). C) Why did Zimri do what he did and what does that say about Yahweh (v12-14)? Apply to your own life / A) After Baasha died, his son Elah took his place. It seems that Yahweh’s judgment was apparent even before the events that occur in verses 8-11. Verse 7 speaks of Yahweh striking Elah’s household but does not go into specifics of what that means. B) Elah’s reign lasted only two years. One of his chariot commanders, Zimri, plotted to take the throne from Elah. He waited until Elah had become very drunk at a feast and then went in and assassinated him. After taking the throne, Zimri proceeded to wipe out Baasha’s entire remaining household. He killed all the male descendants as well as the kinsmen redeemers. C) The actions of Zimri were allowed by Yahweh in order to carry out the judgment against the house of Baasha prophesied by Jehu. Again, the author points out that it is not just the sins of Baasha and Elah that angered Yahweh but the fact that they had led Israel into the same sins. The Hebrew word translated as “provoking” literally means “to offend, insult, provoke to rage.” These men had offended Yahweh by their worship of idols. To emphasize the foolishness of their choices, the Hebrew word the author uses for idols actually means “vanities” or, more precisely, “void, complete nothingness.” We must never forget that everything else we choose to put our allegiance or faith in instead of Yahweh is “void, complete nothingness.” Our Father will not stand idly by and watch us lead others into foolishness. His patience has an end.
6. 1 Kings 16:15-24. A) How long was Zimri’s reign and how did the people respond to his take over (v15-16)? B) What did Omri do next and how did Zimri respond when he found out (v17-20)? C) Describe the dilemma that faced Israel and how it was resolved (v21-23). D) How long did Omri reign as king over Israel and what city did he establish (v24)? / A) Zimri’s reign was both violent and very short-lived. He was king a grand total of one week (7 days). The people in the camp close by Tirzah, the northern kingdom’s capital city, were angered by Zimri’s actions and immediately appointed Omri, the commander of the army, as king. Omri is extremely significant because it is his line that will rule the northern kingdom all the way through 2 Kings 10. B) Omri brought all Israel with him and attacked Tirzah. They surrounded the entire city and it quickly became clear to Zimri that he was defeated. Zimri proceeded to commit suicide by entering the citadel of the palace, locking himself in and burning it down around himself. This completed Yahweh’s judgment on Zimri and his household. The kingdom of Israel is a place marked by idolatry, evil and violence. What a sad place to be when compared to the glory of the kingdom of David and Solomon! C) After Zimri’s dramatic death, the kingdom of Israel divided itself in half. One half chose to follow Omri as king but the other half made a man named Tibni king over them. This split kingdom of Israel lasted six years and came to an end with the death of Tibni. Scripture gives no details as to how Tibni died but it does say that the people following Omri “prevailed” over the people following Tibni. The Hebrew here does give some indication of a conflict or a seizure of power so it may be that Tibni was killed. Either way, Omri assumed full control of all the northern kingdom at this time. D) The entire length of Omri’s reign was twelve years. He bought the hill called Samaria for two talents of silver and established the new capital of the northern kingdom, Samaria. The choice of this location was very wise because it was not only centrally located but also easily defended.This man and his descendants, although militarily and politically powerful rulers, would bring Israel to new lows of evil and idol worship.
7. 1 Kings 16:25-34. A) Paraphase the description of Omri and his reign (v25-27). Who succeeded him (v28)? B) How long did Ahab rule Israel and what described him as king (v29-30)? C) Whom did he marry and what made this so bad (v31-33)? D) Who does the chapter close out describing and why do you think it is included (v34, see also Joshua 6:26)? / A) From a secular viewpoint, the world around Omri saw him as a very successful ruler. Assyrian inscriptions call the northern kingdom “the land of Omri.”He was so successful in setting up his kingdom that his dynasty would last a total of forty-four years. However, Scripture has a very different assessment of Omri. Verse twenty-five states, “And Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD, and acted more wickedly than all who were before him.” B) Ahab became king of Israel in the thirty-eighth year of Asa’s reign over Judah. His father had done more evil than all those who had preceded him but Ahab managed to do more. The evil in the northern kingdom just continues to get worse. C) Ahab married Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal king of Tyre and Sidon. This was a very pagan family. Ethbaal’s name means “Baal exists.” Ahab proceeded to walk in the sins of his wife Jezebel serving Baal and building an altar and temple for Baal in Samaria. He also built an Asherah which was a female deity worshipped through sexual acts. D) This chapter closes with an interesting story. A man named Hiel the Bethelite proceeds to rebuild the city of Jericho. If you will remember, in Joshua 6:26 it was said that, “Cursed before the LORD is the man who rises up and builds this city Jericho; with the loss of his first-born he shall lay its foundation, and with the loss of his youngest son he shall set up its gates.” Hiel lost his firstborn son Abiram when he laid the foundations and lost his youngest son Segub when he finished the gates. Yahweh’s word will be fulfilled and He will not allow rebellion to go unpunished. We must not think that we can choose to ignore the word of the Lord and not have to face the consequences of that choice. Hiel was successful in rebuilding Jericho but at what cost?