This week, we shall continue the
study of the book of 1 Kings in the Old Testament.
(1) After Elijah fled from Jezreel to Beersheba upon the threat of Jezebel, he left his servant behind and walked a day’s journey into the desert: Can you recall the following things (before v. 8)?
a. What physical condition he was in
b. What he prayed to the Lord for
c. How God responded to this prayer
(2) Now he reached Horeb, the mountain of God (Exod. 3:1):
a. Did he know that it was a miracle that he was so fed and could travel 40 days and nights, strengthened by the food so provided by God?
b. How should he feel about how God was treating him?
c. If you were Elijah, what would have gone through your mind during the 40 days and nights of travel (in silence)?
d. As he arrived at the mountain of God, would he be more prepared to meet with God? Why or why not?
e. What should he say to God when God appeared (as He did to Moses)?
(3) As it turned out, the first word that God asked was, “What are you doing here?”. Of course God knew, and God’s question was not out of His ignorance, but to teach and to allow Elijah to reveal and see his own condition (see God’s question to Adam in Gen. 3:11):
a. After God’s kind treatment and his long journey in solitude, what and how should Elijah answer?
b. What was his answer?
- What was the focus of his answer?
- Was what he said all true?
- Was he the only prophet left?
- If the rest of God’s prophets were killed, why should he be any different?
- What then did his answer reveal about himself?
(4) What was God’s response to his answer?
(5) Things that happened as he hid in the cave included (i) a great and powerful wind that tore the mountain and shattered the rock, (ii) an earthquake, and (iii) a fire:
a. While God was not in any of these things, why did they happen?
b. How did Elijah react to such an earthshaking experience?
c. In essence, what was the message to him before God spoke in a small voice?
d. How should he be prepared to answer God this time?
(6) What did God say to him this time?
(7) Why did He repeat the same question that He had already asked (in v. 9)?
a. Was God satisfied with Elijah’s first answer?
b. While the questions were exactly the same, what might be the difference in the tone of God’s voice this second time? Why?
c. What answer did God expect from Elijah this time?
(8) What was Elijah’s answer?
(9) If God was not satisfied with his first answer, would He be satisfied with his answer now?
(10) What does Elijah’s reply represent and why?
(11) If you were the Lord, how would you deal with Elijah?
(12) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
(1) What was your answer to the last question yesterday (i.e. if you were the Lord, how would you deal with Elijah)?
(2) After such a demonstration of power through wind, earthquake and fire, followed by a gentle voice, what changes was God hoping to see in Elijah’s attitude?
(3) In vv. 15-18, we read about the response of God to Elijah’s refusal to change:
a. He was asked to anoint Hazael king over Aram: We have no idea on whether Elijah did go and anoint Hazael or not, but Elisha was the one who told Hazael that he would be king (2 Ki. 8:7-15). What would be the result of Hazael being anointed king over Aram, as far as Israel was concerned?
b. He was to anoint Jehu king over Israel:
- Who actually anointed Jehu? (2 Ki. 9:1-6)
- What then happened to Ahab and Jezebel because of Jehu? (see the prophecy in 2 Ki. 9:7-10)
c. He was to anoint Elisha to succeed him: What would Elisha do as his successor? (v. 17)
d. How did each of the above three commands serve to answer Elijah’s complaint?
e. How did God conclude His answer to Elijah in v. 18? What did God mean?
(4) The Bible does not make mention of the anointing of Hazael and Jehu by Elijah, but it does give us an account of his anointing of Elisha which was a rather unusual act:
a. What do the 12 pairs of oxen tell us about his Elisha’s family background?
b. How did Elijah “anoint” Elisha?
c. Why did he not properly anoint him and explain what God had told him?
d. Why did he say, “What have I done to you?”?
e. As Elisha understood the meaning of his calling, what did his action of burning his plowing equipment signify?
(5) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
(1) At first this powerful king of Syria (i.e. Aram) was demanding voluntary tribute in the form of treasures from the royal treasury plus the wives and children of Ahab’s own choosing:
a. Why didn’t Ahab choose to fight?
b. Why didn’t he pray to his god, Baal?
c. Why did he not seek to ask the Lord, who had demonstrated His power at Mount Carmel, for help?
(2) Why was Ahab, who was so weak and submissive, emboldened to fight back when Ben-Hadad threatened to forcefully loot not only the royal treasures but that of all the rich within his land? (See Note below.)
(3) Given the wickedness of Ahab, why would God send a prophet to foretell his victory? (v. 13)
(4) Why did Ahab ask, “Who will do this?... And who will start the battle?”? What kind of a king was he?
(5) How confident was king Ben-Hadad? (v. 18)
(6) We are not told how “vast” the entire Aramean army was (20:1, 13), but 7,000 soldiers of Israel was certainly a very small army:
a. What was the result of the battle? (vv. 19-21)
b. What should king Ahab and his people learn about the Lord?
(7) Why should God still care about Ahab and the people?
(8) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
Note:
The proverb quoted by Ahab likely means that one should not boast until one has actually won. To put on one’s armor means one is about to go to war; to take the armor off means one has achieved victory.
(1) What do you think this first victory meant to the worship of Yahweh in Israel and the status of God’s prophets? Do you think the prophets of God had to hide again?
(2) Based on the words of the advisers to the king of Aram, consider the following:
a. Did they attribute their defeat to the strength of Israel’s army or God? Why?
b. What made them think that the Lord was only a territorial god — that of the hills?
c. How do non-Christians view our God today, if they are not atheists?
d. Why?
(3) Why did the advisers tell the king to replace their “kings” with other officers? (see v. 15)
(4) Why does the Bible describe Israel’s army as “two small flocks of goats"? How many men could they muster? (v. 15)
(5) While we are still not told how large the Aramean army was, how great a casualty did the Israelite army inflict upon the Aramean? (vv. 29-30)
(6) How could it happen and why? (v. 28)
(7) As ungodly as Israel had been, how would you describe them as they were willing to listen to the prophet and fought with 7,000 men against more than 127,000 Aramean soldiers?
(8) The kings of Israel were known to be “merciful” (i.e. by comparison to the kings of the heathen nations):
a. Why was it the case?
b. Was it necessarily a good thing or not?
c. Why?
(9) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
(1) If you were the companion of the prophet in question, would you listen to him and strike him with a weapon?
(2) What is meant by “By the word of the Lord”? (v. 35)
(3) What does this presumably “unnecessary” incident serve to teach us?
(4) Why did the prophet have to wound himself to make the point to Ahab? Was it not enough for him to just tell the king of his error?
a. What does it say about being a servant of the Lord?
b. What does it say about the seriousness of Ahab’s mistake?
(5) Ahab certainly acted out of being “merciful”:
a. Why did God call Ben-Hadad “a person devoted to destruction? (Lev. 27:29)
b. What was the core of Ahab’s mistake?
(6) Why did Ahab react with being sullen and angry?
(7) How should he have responded to the revelation of his sin?
(8) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
(1) Should Ahab know that no Israelite could sell his ancestral land according to the Law of Moses? (See Lev. 25:23-28; Num. 36:7)
(2) Why then would he even ask Naboth to sell him his ancestral land?
(3) What did Ahab want to buy the land for?
(4) Why did he feel so sullen and angry?
a. Was it because he could not realize his dream of cultivating a vegetable garden?
b. ...because he felt humiliated as a king?
(5) Based on the conversation between Ahab and Jezebel, consider the following:
a. What kind of a husband and king was Ahab?
b. What kind of a wife and queen was Jezebel?
(6) In her scheme to take over Naboth’s land (vv. 8-10), how many of the Ten Commandments did Jezebel break blatantly? (see Exod. 20:3-17)
(7) What do you think was the most evil or heinous part of her plot? Why?
(8) Why didn’t anyone, including Ahab, stop this crime?
(9) In your opinion, who should be held responsible for this crime?
(10) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
(1) Can you sense how Jezebel treated her murder of Naboth?
(2) How would you describe this woman?
(3) How did Ahab react to the news of the death of Naboth?
(4) How would you describe this man?
(5) As God had been using other prophets in the meantime, why do you think God used Elijah again in this particular incident?
(6) What crime did the Lord accuse Ahab of? (v. 19) Was it not his wife who murdered Naboth?
(7) What was the state of mind of Ahab when Elijah “found” him?
(8) What is meant by the accusation that he had “sold” himself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord?
(9) What would be his punishment? (21:21, 22, 24)
(10) What would be the punishment for Jezebel? (v. 23) Where would her punishment take place and why? (Note: Most Hebrew manuscripts have “by the wall of the plot of ground at Jezreel”.)
(11) How does the Bible explain why the punishments were so severe? (vv. 25-26)
(12) Given such a commentary on Ahab’s sins, why would God delay bringing upon him the prophesied disaster?
(13) What have you learned about the character of our God? Are you amazed by this?
(14) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?