Class Notes, 2 Kings 6:1-8:29

2 Kings 6:1-7 (NIV) The company of the prophets said to Elisha, "Look, the place where we meet with you is too small for us. 2 Let us go to the Jordan, where each of us can get a pole; and let us build a place there for us to live."
And he said, "Go."
3 Then one of them said, "Won't you please come with your servants?"
"I will," Elisha replied. 4 And he went with them.
They went to the Jordan and began to cut down trees. 5 As one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron axhead fell into the water. "Oh, my lord," he cried out, "it was borrowed!"
6 The man of God asked, "Where did it fall?" When he showed him the place, Elisha cut a stick and threw it there, and made the iron float. 7 "Lift it out," he said. Then the man reached out his hand and took it.
1. This is one of those stories that can make you wonder why it is in there.  It doesn't seem very significant.  In my limited opinion, there are at least four possibilities for its conclusion
1. It is there for completeness.  The problem is that so much of the OT stories are left out that it would seem unusual for God to include complete details of Elisha
2. It demonstrates Elisha's ability to perform miracles from God.  The problem is that his other miracles have already demonstrated that in much greater degree
3. It teaches the importance of taking care of borrowed items, which is a moral quality.  The problem is that this goes without saying
4. It is symbolic of something far more important.  This means that the miracle actually happened (i.e., scripture is literal), and that there was an explanation later by Elisha (something we are not privy )
2. If it is symbolic, what do we see?
• A tool, which is useful and valuable.  Israel is valuable and could be useful to God
• The tool flies off the handle.  Israel goes off in its own direction -- not in the direction God wanted to use it
• The tool sinks to the bottom of the river making it lost and unrecoverable (sank too deep).  Israel is lost and has sank too deep spiritually to be useful
• Elisha miraculously causes it to float.  God can miraculously restore Israel to spiritual usefulness again
• APPLICATION:  God wants to use us in his ministry to reach our world.  We are never so useless that we can't be restored.  But we do have to choose, God does not force our participation.  Rather it is an honor to be used by God
2 Kings 6:8-23 (NIV) Now the king of Aram was at war with Israel. After conferring with his officers, he said, "I will set up my camp in such and such a place."
9 The man of God sent word to the king of Israel: "Beware of passing that place, because the Arameans are going down there." 10 So the king of Israel checked on the place indicated by the man of God. Time and again Elisha warned the king, so that he was on his guard in such places.
11 This enraged the king of Aram. He summoned his officers and demanded of them, "Will you not tell me which of us is on the side of the king of Israel?"
12 "None of us, my lord the king," said one of his officers, "but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the very words you speak in your bedroom."
13 "Go, find out where he is," the king ordered, "so I can send men and capture him." The report came back: "He is in Dothan." 14 Then he sent horses and chariots and a strong force there. They went by night and surrounded the city.
15 When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. "Oh, my lord, what shall we do?" the servant asked.
16 "Don't be afraid," the prophet answered. "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them."
17 And Elisha prayed, "O Lord, open his eyes so he may see." Then the Lord opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
18 As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, "Strike these people with blindness." So he struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked.
19 Elisha told them, "This is not the road and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will lead you to the man you are looking for." And he led them to Samaria.
20 After they entered the city, Elisha said, "Lord, open the eyes of these men so they can see." Then the Lord opened their eyes and they looked, and there they were, inside Samaria.
21 When the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, "Shall I kill them, my father? Shall I kill them?"
22 "Do not kill them," he answered. "Would you kill men you have captured with your own sword or bow? Set food and water before them so that they may eat and drink and then go back to their master." 23 So he prepared a great feast for them, and after they had finished eating and drinking, he sent them away, and they returned to their master. So the bands from Aram stopped raiding Israel's territory.
3. It is an interesting story, God supernaturally provides intelligence to the King of Israel, frustrating the King of Aram.  He believed he had a spy on his staff.  More likely the officers had spies in Israel, because they knew what was happening.  Anyway, the king of Aram (possibly Ben-Hadad II), decides to eliminate Elisha
4. What also makes the story interesting is the contrast between the seen and unseen
• Elisha cannot see what is said (only God is omnipresent), so God must be providing the information to him
• The king of Aram attacks the physical person of Elisha with a physical army
• Elisha's servant is worried.  Worry often occurs when we only consider the seen (problems, circumstances, etc) and ignore the unseen (God)
• Elisha opens his servants eyes to see God's army (which was quite large)
• Elisha blinds the eyes of the enemies of God so that they cannot see the "seen"
• Elisha guides the blind to a new location, Samaria, so that they can see
• Joram recognizes the miracle, indicative of him humbling himself by calling Elisha, "Father"
• Consequently, Joram treats them most kindly, resulting in a number of years of peace
5. APPLICATION: God has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see.  Believers on the other hands have their eyes opened to understand spiritual truth.  But believers can also so focus on the seen that they miss out on the unseen.  The unseen is seen with eyes of faith.  Which is why scripture tells us to walk by faith and not by sight
2 Kings 6:24-25 (NIV) Some time later, Ben-Hadad king of Aram mobilized his entire army and marched up and laid siege to Samaria. 25 There was a great famine in the city; the siege lasted so long that a donkey's head sold for eighty shekels of silver, and a quarter of a cab of seed pods for five shekels.
6. This would be Ben-Hadad II
7. The siege is very long as evidenced by the price of food
8. Seed ponds are probably better translated as Dove's dung
9. Two women will make a deal to eat their own babies, although one later reneges.  The issue causes Joram to be quite angry
• His response is to kill Elisha
• Probably because Elisha had foretold the event
• Joram wore sackcloth representing repentance, but won't don't really get any sense of repentance from the king
• Also, Joram shows impatience with the Lord.  Saul showed similar impatience with Samuel
• Nothing shows the real you, then hard times that never seem to end
2 Kings 6:32-7:2 (NIV) Now Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. The king sent a messenger ahead, but before he arrived, Elisha said to the elders, "Don't you see how this murderer is sending someone to cut off my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door and hold it shut against him. Is not the sound of his master's footsteps behind him?"
33 While he was still talking to them, the messenger came down to him. And [the king] said, "This disaster is from the Lord. Why should I wait for the Lord any longer?"
7 Elisha said, "Hear the word of the Lord. This is what the Lord says: About this time tomorrow, a seah of flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria."
2 The officer on whose arm the king was leaning said to the man of God, "Look, even if the Lord should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen?"
"You will see it with your own eyes," answered Elisha, "but you will not eat any of it!"
10. Elisha does not see the king's messenger nor the king, but he knows they are coming
11. Additionally, Elijah tells everyone what they cannot see, and that is that the siege will end tomorrow
12. The result of this insight into the unseen is for the king's aid to express his unbelief
• We need to understand that this is not a "I can't believe it"
• It is a militant "You are crazy, and that will not happen"
• Lastly, it is in response to God's word from God's prophet
• APPLICATION: What is our response to things God tells us from his word?
2 Kings 7:3-9 (NIV) Now there were four men with leprosy at the entrance of the city gate. They said to each other, "Why stay here until we die? 4 If we say, 'We'll go into the city'-the famine is there, and we will die. And if we stay here, we will die. So let's go over to the camp of the Arameans and surrender. If they spare us, we live; if they kill us, then we die."
5 At dusk they got up and went to the camp of the Arameans. When they reached the edge of the camp, not a man was there, 6 for the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots and horses and a great army, so that they said to one another, "Look, the king of Israel has hired the Hittite and Egyptian kings to attack us!" 7 So they got up and fled in the dusk and abandoned their tents and their horses and donkeys. They left the camp as it was and ran for their lives.
8 The men who had leprosy reached the edge of the camp and entered one of the tents. They ate and drank, and carried away silver, gold and clothes, and went off and hid them. They returned and entered another tent and took some things from it and hid them also.
9 Then they said to each other, "We're not doing right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves. If we wait until daylight, punishment will overtake us. Let's go at once and report this to the royal palace."
13. Why does God use the lepers of the city to save the city?
• They are outcasts, not to be seen
• They are useless.  They can't do anything good because of their condition
• They are unclean and avoided on sight
14. They are also selfish.  They rummage through tents, hiding their booty, before finally deciding to tell others.  And then only because if others find out, they might lose their life
15. They were unworthy in every respect, unclean on the outside and self-centered on the inside.  They were Israel, but they were saved by God
2 Kings 7:10-12 (NIV) So they went and called out to the city gatekeepers and told them, "We went into the Aramean camp and not a man was there — not a sound of anyone — only tethered horses and donkeys, and the tents left just as they were." 11 The gatekeepers shouted the news, and it was reported within the palace.
12 The king got up in the night and said to his officers, "I will tell you what the Arameans have done to us. They know we are starving; so they have left the camp to hide in the countryside, thinking, 'They will surely come out, and then we will take them alive and get into the city.'"
16. I can't fault the king completely for his response to the news.  Certainly, it could be a Trojan horse in reverse. But there is a theme running through this passage and it is represented in his response …
• The king viewed things from a human perspective and not a spiritual perspective
• He saw events different from their actuality
• He chose to forget God's word from Elisha
• So even though his salvation is before him, he refuses to believe it is there.  It is almost as if "it can't exist if I didn't work for it"
• He sees problems well, but he is blind to grace
2 Kings 7:17-20 (NIV) Now the king had put the officer on whose arm he leaned in charge of the gate, and the people trampled him in the gateway, and he died, just as the man of God had foretold when the king came down to his house. 18 It happened as the man of God had said to the king: "About this time tomorrow, a seah of flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria."
19 The officer had said to the man of God, "Look, even if the Lord should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen?" The man of God had replied, "You will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of it!" 20 And that is exactly what happened to him, for the people trampled him in the gateway, and he died.
17. God judges the king's aide, not for a careless remark but rather for a refusal to believe the truth.  Ultimately all mankind will be judged on the same basis.  A refusal to have faith in God nullifies a person's opportunity for salvation
• If we focus too much on the seen, we may miss out on the miracles before us
18. APPLICATION:
• 2 Cor 5:7 (NIV) We live by faith, not by sight.
• Heb 11:1-2 (NIV) Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for.
• Heb 11:6 (NIV) And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
19. What is our response to the events of life?  Do we only see the seen, or do we look to God to see the unseen?

Class Notes, 2 Kings 1:1-5:27

Note: 2 Kings begins with the story of Elijah's translation to Heaven (chapter 2) and ends with Israel's translation to Babylon (Constable, 2010).
2 Kings 1:1-8 (NIV) After Ahab's death, Moab rebelled against Israel. 2 Now Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria and injured himself. So he sent messengers, saying to them, "Go and consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, to see if I will recover from this injury."
3 But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, "Go up and meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and ask them, 'Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going off to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?' 4 Therefore this is what the Lord says: 'You will not leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!'" So Elijah went.
5 When the messengers returned to the king, he asked them, "Why have you come back?"
6 "A man came to meet us," they replied. "And he said to us, 'Go back to the king who sent you and tell him, "This is what the Lord says: Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending men to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you will not leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!" '" 
7 The king asked them, "What kind of man was it who came to meet you and told you this?"
8 They replied, "He was a man with a garment of hair and with a leather belt around his waist."
The king said, "That was Elijah the Tishbite."
1. What does it appear that God is doing Ahaziah's life?
• God is trying to get his attention, he is creating crises
• Moab rebellion (although it is not complete, only the early stages) -- political crisis
• Fall through the lattice -- personal crisis
• Intervention by Elijah -- spiritual crisis
2. What is Ahaziah doing?
• Seeking anyone but God
• (in the passages that follow) trying to kill Elijah
2 Kings 1:13-17 (NIV) So the king sent a third captain with his fifty men. This third captain went up and fell on his knees before Elijah. "Man of God," he begged, "please have respect for my life and the lives of these fifty men, your servants! 14 See, fire has fallen from heaven and consumed the first two captains and all their men. But now have respect for my life!"
15 The angel of the Lord said to Elijah, "Go down with him; do not be afraid of him." So Elijah got up and went down with him to the king.
16 He told the king, "This is what the Lord says: Is it because there is no God in Israel for you to consult that you have sent messengers to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Because you have done this, you will never leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!" 17 So he died, according to the word of the Lord that Elijah had spoken.
Because Ahaziah had no son, Joram succeeded him as king in the second year of Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah.
3. Why does Ahaziah want Elijah to come before him?
• He thought he could force a reversal of the prophecy
• It shows complete contempt for God and his chosen prophet
• There is some word play on man ('ish) of God coming down and fire ('sh) coming down
4. What is the result of Ahaziah's refusal to humble himself before God?  His death, and removal of his lineage from the ruler ship
5. And why is this result, because God does not kill people for a lack of belief?
• Because Ahaziah is the King, he is the leader over the people.  Therefore his actions affect more than just himself
• Leaders are held to a higher standard, especially our response to crisis
• The King should be the spiritual leader of the nation (in Israel's covenant relationship with God) -- does not arguably apply to other countries
2 Kings 3:1-11 (NIV) Joram son of Ahab became king of Israel in Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned twelve years. 2 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, but not as his father and mother had done. He got rid of the sacred stone of Baal that his father had made. 3 Nevertheless he clung to the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit; he did not turn away from them.
4 Now Mesha king of Moab raised sheep, and he had to supply the king of Israel with a hundred thousand lambs and with the wool of a hundred thousand rams. 5 But after Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. 6 So at that time King Joram set out from Samaria and mobilized all Israel. 7 He also sent this message to Jehoshaphat king of Judah: "The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to fight against Moab?"
"I will go with you," he replied. "I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses."
8 "By what route shall we attack?" he asked.
"Through the Desert of Edom," he answered.
9 So the king of Israel set out with the king of Judah and the king of Edom. After a roundabout march of seven days, the army had no more water for themselves or for the animals with them.
10 "What!" exclaimed the king of Israel. "Has the Lord called us three kings together only to hand us over to Moab?"
11 But Jehoshaphat asked, "Is there no prophet of the Lord here, that we may inquire of the Lord through him?"
6. What does Joram do that might be in response to the lessons God was teaching Ahazaiah?
• He does a partial cleanup, but is not fully committed to seeking God
7. I'm not sure if this is a continuation of the rebellion that started with Ahaziah or not
8. Three kings head out to attack: King of Israel, King of Judah, and the King of Edom
9. It is not clear who came up with the brilliant idea of taking 100K plus men through a seven-day march through the desert (seems to be Joram's idea)
2 Kings 3:11-20 (NIV) But Jehoshaphat asked, "Is there no prophet of the Lord here, that we may inquire of the Lord through him?"
An officer of the king of Israel answered, "Elisha son of Shaphat is here. He used to pour water on the hands of Elijah."
12 Jehoshaphat said, "The word of the Lord is with him." So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.
13 Elisha said to the king of Israel, "What do we have to do with each other? Go to the prophets of your father and the prophets of your mother."
"No," the king of Israel answered, "because it was the Lord who called us three kings together to hand us over to Moab."
14 Elisha said, "As surely as the Lord Almighty lives, whom I serve, if I did not have respect for the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you or even notice you. 15 But now bring me a harpist."
While the harpist was playing, the hand of the Lord came upon Elisha 16 and he said, "This is what the Lord says: Make this valley full of ditches. 17 For this is what the Lord says: You will see neither wind nor rain, yet this valley will be filled with water, and you, your cattle and your other animals will drink. 18 This is an easy thing in the eyes of the Lord; he will also hand Moab over to you. 19 You will overthrow every fortified city and every major town. You will cut down every good tree, stop up all the springs, and ruin every good field with stones."
20 The next morning, about the time for offering the sacrifice, there it was — water flowing from the direction of Edom! And the land was filled with water.
10. The result of the march is a crisis
11. The passage shows us one of the big differences between the kings, what do you see?
• Jehoshaphat takes the lead in inquiring of God during the crisis
• Not sure why Jehoshaphat did not inquire earlier, although he might have and it is not recorded.  Maybe God is trying to teach Joram how to handle crises
• Jehoshaphat's actions are in stark contrast to Ahaziah's and Joram
12. As a result of the water, Moab thinks they see blood (three kings fighting against each other) and rush out to get the booty
• Consequently, they are not in battle lines when they meet the three kings
• The result is a huge and easy victory for the three kings
• And the lesson for the King is that the leader of God's people must seek God
13. APPLICATION: All of us have some leadership responsibilities, either at work or in our families.  God calls us to those positions of responsibility.  The best thing we can do as a leader is to seek God in crisis, and even better seek God in the everyday happenings of life
2 Kings 4:8-21, 27-28 (NIV) One day Elisha went to Shunem. And a well-to-do woman was there, who urged him to stay for a meal. So whenever he came by, he stopped there to eat. 9 She said to her husband, "I know that this man who often comes our way is a holy man of God. 10 Let's make a small room on the roof and put in it a bed and a table, a chair and a lamp for him. Then he can stay there whenever he comes to us."
11 One day when Elisha came, he went up to his room and lay down there. 12 He said to his servant Gehazi, "Call the Shunammite." So he called her, and she stood before him. 13 Elisha said to him, "Tell her, 'You have gone to all this trouble for us. Now what can be done for you? Can we speak on your behalf to the king or the commander of the army?'"
She replied, "I have a home among my own people."
14 "What can be done for her?" Elisha asked.
Gehazi said, "Well, she has no son and her husband is old."
15 Then Elisha said, "Call her." So he called her, and she stood in the doorway. 16 "About this time next year," Elisha said, "you will hold a son in your arms."
"No, my lord," she objected. "Don't mislead your servant, O man of God!"
17 But the woman became pregnant, and the next year about that same time she gave birth to a son, just as Elisha had told her.
18 The child grew, and one day he went out to his father, who was with the reapers. 19 "My head! My head!" he said to his father.
His father told a servant, "Carry him to his mother." 20 After the servant had lifted him up and carried him to his mother, the boy sat on her lap until noon, and then he died. 21 She went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, then shut the door and went out.
...
27 When she reached the man of God at the mountain, she took hold of his feet. Gehazi came over to push her away, but the man of God said, "Leave her alone! She is in bitter distress, but the Lord has hidden it from me and has not told me why."
28 "Did I ask you for a son, my lord?" she said. "Didn't I tell you, 'Don't raise my hopes'?"
14. Two more crises follow.  In one case a poor women and her children, after the husband's death, are to be sold into slavery to pay off their debts
• She goes to God's prophet in her crisis, and God answers in a miraculous way
15. The other case is a rich women, who on her own initiative provides a place for Elisha to live when he is in town
• She is very quick to stress that she has no needs or desire
• She is childless but she is somewhat content with that situation
• Content may not be the correct word as she specifically does not want to get her hopes up
• Which means, that she really did want a child
• She did not want to pray for one, because she did not want to be disappointed
• I can relate, because when our son was sick, I was tired of the emotional swings and the easiest thing was to never get overjoyed because then I couldn't be disappointed
• But when you prevent yourself from experiencing joy, to a certain extent, you are not really living, you are just numbing the pain of life
• Life has joy and pain.  It can make sense with a proper view of God
• Elisha decides to petition God for a child and she has a child in her old age.  But then she is confronted by a crisis as her child dies (just what she was afraid would happen)
• The situation for saving the child's life is very difficult (even Elisha has crises)
16. APPLICATION: Crises, problems, difficulties are all natural times to turn to God.  We can't avoid them.  They are a product of a fallen world that has rejected God, independent of our own actions.  The world is in decay.  We can't stop living in order to avoid pain.  We can't try to avoid our need to turn to God -- subtly, the stoic Christian is really just a person to afraid to deal with God.  He doesn't necessarily have more faith because of his response to crisis, he may just be hiding his fear of pain

Class Notes, 1 Kings 16:29-22:53

1 Kings 16:29-33 (NIV) 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. 
1. We just look at Jeroboam, and then Omri as the worst kings
2. Ahab one-ups them -- how?
• He introduces a foreign wife as queen in Israel
• Jezebel means dunghill
• Jeroboam refashioned worship of Yahweh, but Ahab replaces God with Baal (and Jezebel with Asherah)
1 Kings 17:1, 7-9, 13-14, 17-18, 22-23 (NIV) 17:1 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."
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."
13 Elijah said to her, "Don't be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 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.'"
17 Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing. 18 She said to Elijah, "What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?"
22 The Lord heard Elijah's cry, and the boy's life returned to him, and he lived. 23 Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, "Look, your son is alive!"
3. There are actually three different stories of trust
• The first, God takes away the rain and tells Elijah to live near a brook, and ravens feed him
• Then Elijah is to live off a widow and her son who have nothing
• Then God allows the widow's son to die, and Elijah, blaming himself, prays and God performs another miracle
4. What I find interesting is that if Elijah had not come, what would have happened to the woman and her boy? 
• They probably would have died
• So after providing a miracle to keep them both alive, how does the women respond to her son's death
• She blames the prophet (and to a certain extent God)
• She blames her sin
5. APPLICATION: Suffering cause us to respond in an emotional and illogical manner to events.  We are slow to remember God's blessings, but quick to blame God when life does not turn out the way we wished
6. APPLICATION: Note that Elijah learns a great lesson in prayer (that he will apply later).  Certain request require fervent prayer
1 Kings 18:1-14 (NIV)  After a long time, in the third year, the word of the Lord came to Elijah: "Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the land." 2 So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab.
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. Obadiah recognized him, bowed down to the ground, and said, "Is it really you, my lord Elijah?"
8 "Yes," he replied. "Go tell your master, 'Elijah is here.'"
9 "What have I done wrong," asked Obadiah, "that you are handing your servant over to Ahab to be put to death? 10 As surely as the Lord your God lives, there is not a nation or kingdom where my master has not sent someone to look for you. And whenever a nation or kingdom claimed you were not there, he made them swear they could not find you. 11 But now you tell me to go to my master and say, 'Elijah is here.' 12 I don't know where the Spirit of the Lord may carry you when I leave you. If I go and tell Ahab and he doesn't find you, he will kill me. Yet I your servant have worshiped the Lord since my youth. 13 Haven't you heard, my lord, what I did while Jezebel was killing the prophets of the Lord? I hid a hundred of the Lord's prophets in two caves, fifty in each, and supplied them with food and water. 14 And now you tell me to go to my master and say, 'Elijah is here.' He will kill me!"
7. First thing to notice is Obadiah -- what do we learn about him
• God calls him a devout believer
• He served a wicked King
• He disobeyed orders that were morally wrong
• And while he put his life on the line, his trust in God waivered when God calls him to a new task
8. APPLICATION : We forget God's protection when God calls us to a new task
1 Kings 18:16-21 (NIV) 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."
20 So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. 21 Elijah went before the people and said, "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him."
But the people said nothing.
9. There are only a few passages in scripture that are quite so blatant in their description of a contest between good and evil.  Job is an interesting story along this line, and Elijah and the prophets of Baal are the other.  In both, God intervenes in a very miraculous manner.  But what will be the ultimate result in the history of Israel?
• The great miracle will do little to change the course of Israelite history
• Not even the next king will be any different
1 Kings 18:30-39 (NIV) Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come here to me." They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord, which was in ruins. 31 Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, "Your name shall be Israel." 32 With the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs of seed. 33 He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, "Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood."
34 "Do it again," he said, and they did it again.
"Do it a third time," he ordered, and they did it the third time. 35 The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.
36 At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: "O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. 37 Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again."
38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up 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!"
10. We skipped Elijah's taunting near the end of Baal's 6-hour turn.  Elijah actually does make fun of their God, suggesting that he was relieving himself, or a long journey (showing his limitations).  Clearly the pagan religion was harmful as evidenced by the cutting of the body by the prophets
• I don't believe that making fun or speaking bad of another religion is a good idea.  Again, the text only tells us what happened in history.  Not everything that Elijah did was biblical
11. We could compare the two cases.  Baal's prophets took all morning and did all kinds of things to make something happen.  Elijah does everything to make sure his sacrifice won't catch on fire, and then does one simple prayer
12. What is the result?
• An amazing miracle
• 450 prophets immediately killed
• No long-term change in anything
13. APPLICATION: Jesus relates a story of Abraham and a rich man who wanted to warn his brothers.  In essence, people don't believe in miracles.  Their effect is short term with little long-term value
1 Kings 19:1-4 (NIV) 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."
3 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day's journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. "I have had enough, Lord," he said. "Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors."
14. Definitely, not seeing is not believing
15. How does Elijah respond to Jezebel's threats and why?
• He becomes discouraged
• Mountain top experiences are often followed by valley discouragements
• Real life has a way of making us forget the great things of God
16. Elijah, after such an incredible miracle, is ready to completely give up -- why?
• Fear of his life
• No impact on the people
• Relying on the miraculous over the daily (to be seen next).  You can not fuel your Christian life by experiences
1 Kings 19:9-14 (NIV) There he went into a cave and spent the night.
And the word of the Lord came to him: "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
10 He replied, "I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too."
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?"
14 He replied, "I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too."
17. Why does God ask questions?
• God's questions are never his benefit, they are always for the recipient's benefit
18. How does Elijah respond?
• The covenant is rejected by the people
• The places of worship are broken down
• The other spiritual leaders are dead
• And I am also going to die
• SUMMARY: pity party
19. God tells him to go out and see the presence of God.  What does he see?
• A miraculous wind that can shatter mountains and rocks (Lord is not in the wind)
• A powerful and miraculous earthquake (Lord is not in the earthquake)
• A fire (Lord is not in the fire)
• A gentle whisper (What are you doing here, Elijah?)
20. APPLICATION: Our trust is often held together by the miraculous.  But a real relationship with God is not based on mountain top experiences, but on listening to the gentle whisper of God.  Elijah was living off of the miraculous, but God wanted him to live off the daily, routine relationship with him
21. APPLICATION: Also, the question -- what are you doing here, (tom)?  What is God wanting me to do, and what am I doing to fulfill the gentle whispers?  Elijah, ridiculously repeats his answer back to God, as if God had a hearing problem.  Elijah had a listening problem
1 Kings 19:15-18 (NIV) 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. 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. 18 Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel — all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and all whose mouths have not kissed him."
22. "Go back the way you came" is the reason God asks "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
23. And oh, by the way, there are seven thousand in ISRAEL who have not bowed the knee to Baal -- it is never as bad as you might think it is
24. One more note:  James says Elijah was a man of prayer just like us.  But in three cases of prayer, in only one case did God answer immediately

Class Notes, 1 Kings 12:1-16:28

Constable Chart, pg 42
1 Kings 12:1-11 (NIV) Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all the Israelites had gone there to make him king. 2 When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard this (he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), he returned from Egypt. 3 So they sent for Jeroboam, and he and the whole assembly of Israel went to Rehoboam and said to him: 4 "Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you."
5 Rehoboam answered, "Go away for three days and then come back to me." So the people went away.
6 Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime. "How would you advise me to answer these people?" he asked.
7 They replied, "If today you will be a servant to these people and serve them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your servants."
8 But Rehoboam rejected the advice the elders gave him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him. 9 He asked them, "What is your advice? How should we answer these people who say to me, 'Lighten the yoke your father put on us'?"
10 The young men who had grown up with him replied, "Tell these people who have said to you, 'Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but make our yoke lighter'-tell them, 'My little finger is thicker than my father's waist. 11 My father laid on you a heavy yoke; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.'"
1. Why Shechem?
• Northern site, far from Jerusalem in the south
• Suggestive of a brewing storm.  Issues have been building steadily over the years, but no one wanted to challenge Solomon
• Solomon is to blame for his mismanagement of the people
• Also, for his greed (666 tons of gold a year, but did not slack off the gaining of gold), desire for power (chariots and gold shields), and lust (which brought foreign gods into Israel)
• 1 John 2:15-17 (NIV) Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For everything in the world — the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does — comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.
• It does have historical significance
2. The people's complaint?
• Taxation and forced labor (the hard labor was only for non-Israelites living in the land or conquered land, but there could have been light forced labor which impacts earning potential)
• Quite possible that Judah was exempt (another reason for the meeting in the north)
• The people promise to serve if Rehoboam would lighten the load
3. What do we learn about Solomon's elders?
• They are well-chosen -- possibly wiser than Solomon was during his later years
• Their advice?
• If you will be a servant (attitude)
• (if you will) serve them (action)
• (if you will) answer them favorably (tactfulness)
• Then (the result or consequences), they will serve you
4. What are the consequences to Rehoboam of lightening the load?
• It would reduce his riches (income) and his status (size of forces).  Would not seem to affect lust -- using the 1 Jn 2:16 relationship
5. Why does Rehoboam pursue a second opinion?
• Rehoboam has already rejected the advice of the elders
• Rehoboam pursues a second opinion to find one that agrees with what he has already decided to do
• APPLICATION:  We do the same thing.  We keep looking for counsel until we find the one that agrees with what we wanted to do all along
6. What do Rehoboam's friends suggest and why do they suggest it?
• What? Don't make it easier, make it harder -- put your foot down
• Why?
• Young, inexperienced, and stupid
• Because they are his friends, they know what he wants to hear.  So they tell him what he wants to hear.  Besides, he is the king, and they want to remains friends with the king.  Friendship with the king promises a full and rich life
• APPLICATION:  Sometimes, so-so friends will do exactly the same thing in order to curry favor.  True friends are willing to tell you what you do not want to hear
1 Kings 12:12-19 (NIV) Three days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam, as the king had said, "Come back to me in three days." 13 The king answered the people harshly. Rejecting the advice given him by the elders, 14 he followed the advice of the young men and said, "My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions." 15 So the king did not listen to the people, for this turn of events was from the Lord, to fulfill the word the Lord had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah the Shilonite.
16 When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, they answered the king:
"What share do we have in David,
what part in Jesse's son?
To your tents, O Israel!
Look after your own house, O David!"
So the Israelites went home. 17 But as for the Israelites who were living in the towns of Judah, Rehoboam still ruled over them.
18 King Rehoboam sent out Adoniram, who was in charge of forced labor, but all Israel stoned him to death. King Rehoboam, however, managed to get into his chariot and escape to Jerusalem. 19 So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.
7. Verse 12 shows us Jeroboam's standing with the people.
8. How does verse 13 (Rehoboam rejecting advice and answering harshly) with verse 15 (this turn of events was from the Lord)?
• I don't know how it all fits together.  I do know that God is sovereign and man has free will.  Additionally, God sees the future and intervenes where appropriate.  Actually, to allow bad things to happen is easy -- just let people be people and listen to Satan's lies.  Doing good is a little more difficult and probably requires more intervention
9. Verse 18 gives us some insight into Rehoboam's cluelessness
• He sends Adoniram out (Solomon used him) and he is stoned
• Rehoboam himself is almost killed as well
• Rehoboam did not hear the message from the people.  He thought everything was as it had been.  Not only was he unwise and stupid, he had no perception
1 Kings 12:20-25 (NIV) When all the Israelites heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. Only the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the house of David.
21 When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he mustered the whole house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin — a hundred and eighty thousand fighting men — to make war against the house of Israel and to regain the kingdom for Rehoboam son of Solomon.
22 But this word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God: 23 "Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon king of Judah, to the whole house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, 24 'This is what the Lord says: Do not go up to fight against your brothers, the Israelites. Go home, every one of you, for this is my doing.'" So they obeyed the word of the Lord and went home again, as the Lord had ordered.
25 Then Jeroboam fortified Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. From there he went out and built up Peniel.
10. In order to figure out these verses, we need to examine a lot of things
• How is the map arranged?  Benjamin is south of Judah -- all of the other tribes are north of Judah
• Why is only Judah loyal to the house of David?  Because he is of their tribe.  Why not Benjamin?  They would be the least loyal because of what happened to Saul, but they have no choice
• So, by default, even though it is not loyal, Benjamin is joined to the Southern kingdom
• Most of the 185K soldiers are probably from Judah
• Also, as we shall see, most of the Levites will relocate to Judah.  The Levites did not have a particular area of land
11. Shemaiah warns the soldiers, after they are gathered, to not fight against Israel.  Why does Rehoboam listened?
• To disobey a prophet's command would have hurt Rehoboam even more
• Also, Benjamin wasn't really into it anyway, as evidenced by verse 20
12. History on relations:
• 57 years of antagonism;
• 33 years as allies;
• 119 years of antagonism (Constable, 2010)
1 Kings 12:26-33 (NIV) Jeroboam thought to himself, "The kingdom will now likely revert to the house of David. 27 If these people go up to offer sacrifices at the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem, they will again give their allegiance to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah. They will kill me and return to King Rehoboam."
28 After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves. He said to the people, "It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt." 29 One he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan. 30 And this thing became a sin; the people went even as far as Dan to worship the one there.
31 Jeroboam built shrines on high places and appointed priests from all sorts of people, even though they were not Levites. 32 He instituted a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the festival held in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. This he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves he had made. And at Bethel he also installed priests at the high places he had made. 33 On the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a month of his own choosing, he offered sacrifices on the altar he had built at Bethel. So he instituted the festival for the Israelites and went up to the altar to make offerings.
13. There is so much wrong with these verses.  What was the single biggest event of the Exodus?
• The rebellion of Israel by creating the golden calf
• God was ready to abandon the nation.  In the end, the presence of God, the tabernacle, wasn't within the nation, but was outside of the area because of this sin
14. So Jeroboam doubles down on the sin by creating two golden calves
• Note: he also goes for advice, but it is obvious the advice is not godly wisdom but world wisdom
• He places one in Bethel (house of God from Jacob/Israel's day) and Dan
15. What is Jeroboam's reasoning?
• He was afraid of his life -- i.e., he does not trust God
16. Where does he get the priests?
• He appointed priests from all sorts of people.  In other words, individuals who had no upbringing in the sanctity and holiness of the priestly system
• Also, the all sorts suggests a great diversity of worship, and of gods
• Another verse suggests that the priests were anyone who wanted to be a priest
17. What day did he pick for the festival?
• He chose his own day
• He also picked a day and month unrelated to any of Israel's religious  festivals
18. APPLICATION: Jeroboam essentially creates his own religious system.  And it is a free-for all system where anyone can worship whatever god they choose.  The problem is that they had a covenant with God, and that covenant did not allow diversity of worship
• Today's situation is different.  I do not believe that the US is in a covenant relationship with God.  I do believe there is only one way to God and that is through Jesus Christ.  But in the new covenant, no one is forced to believe the truth, although they forfeit eternity by disbelief.  But to enter God's kingdom and become a part of God's family, and God's body, the church, one must believe in Jesus Christ.  A church is not a Christian church who does not accept these truths