II Kings
Memory
Verse:
“Again and again the Lord had sent prophets to warn both Israel and
Judah to turn from their evil ways; he warned them to obey his Commandments
which
he had given to their ancestors through these prophets, but Israel wouldn’t
listen.”
2 Kings 17:13, 14
Author: Unknown; possibly Jeremiah or a
group of prophets.
Purpose: To demonstrate the fate
that awaits all who refuse to make God their
true leader.
Date: 930 B.C.
Lesson
#1: Elisha’s Ministry. 2 Kings 1:1-12
‘Now the time came for the Lord to take Elijah to
heaven by means of a whirlwind! Elijah
said to Elisha as they left Gilgal, “Stay here, for the Lord has told me to go
to Bethel.” But Elisha replied, “I swear
to God that I won’t leave you.” So they
went on together to Bethel.
When they arrived on the other side of the river,
Elijah said to Elisha, “What wish shall I grant you before I am taken away?”
Elisha replied, “Please grant me twice as much prophetic power as you have
had.” You have asked a hard thing, Elijah
replied. “If you see me when I am taken
from you, then you will get your request.
If not, you won’t.”
Suddenly a chariot of fire, drawn by horses of fire,
appeared and drove between them, separating them, and Elijah was carried by a
whirlwind into heaven. Elisha saw it and cried out, “My Father! My Father! The Chariot Israel and the charioteers!”
1.
Who was taken to Heaven? (Elijah)
2.
What
was Elisha’s response to Elijah when Elijah told him to stay here? (I swear
to God that I won’t leave you.
3.
What
was Elisha’s request of Elijah before he was taken away? (Please grant me
twice as much prophetic power as you have had.)
4.
What
is prophetic power? (A prophet delivered
message from God to His people.)
5.
How
was Elijah taken into heaven? (On a
chariot of fire with horses of fire in a
whirlwind.)
6.
Do you think Elisha got his request from
Elijah? Why or why not?
Summary: God had prepared Elisha to take
Elijah’s place when He took Elijah to heaven.
As the Chariot
disappeared Elisha picked up Elijah’s cloak and returned to the bank of the
Jordan River, and struck the water with it. “Where is the Lord God of Elisha?” He cried out.
The water parted and Elisha went across!
Now a delegation
of the city officials of Jericho visited Elisha. “We have a problem,” they told him. “This city is located in beautiful natural
surroundings, as you can see; but the water is bad, and causes our women to
have miscarriages.” “Well” he said,
“bring me a new bowl filled with salt!”
So they brought it to him. Then
he went out to the city well and threw the salt in and he declared, “The Lord
has healed these waters.” They shall no
longer cause death or miscarriage.
One day the wife
of one of the seminary students came to Elisha to tell him of her husband’s
death. “He was a man who had loved god,”
she said. But he had owed some money
when he died and now the creditor was demanding it back. If she didn’t pay, he said he would take her
two sons as his slaves.”What shall I do?”
Elisha asked, “How much food do you have in the house?” “Nothing at all, except a jar of olive oil,”
she replied. “Then borrow many pots and
pans from your friends and neighbors!” he instructed. “Go into your house with your sons and shut
the door behind you. Then pour olive oil
into the pots and pans, setting them aside as they are filled.” So she did.
Her sons bought the pots and pans to her, and she filled one after
another! Soon every container was full
to the brim! “Bring me another jar,” she
said to her sons. “There aren’t any
more, they told her. Then the oil stopped
flowing! When she told the prophet what
had happened, he said to her, “Go and sell the oil and pay your debt, and there
will be enough money left for you and your sons to live on.”
1.
What did Elisha find left behind of
Elijah’s? (Cloak)
2.
What
was unusual about the cloak? When Elisha
struck the water with it the river parted)
3.
There
was another miracle involving water.
Tell about the event. (Elisha
healed a
well with a new bowl filled with salt.)
4.
Another
miracle that Elisha was responsible for was finding a way for a widow to pay
her husband’s debt. Describe the
event. How do you think the mother felt
when she thought she would have to give up her sons to pay the debt? Are there any other stories in the bible that
you can think of that have this same kind of miracle? (Turning water into wine at the wedding,
feeding 5,000 with five fish and two loaves of bread.) Can you think of any unusual events that have
happened to you and your families?
Summary: God is watching over His people and
providing for them. His miracles are
awesome to behold.
Lesson #3: Elisha continues to do miracles for God’s
people. 2 Kings 4:8-17, 32-37
‘One day Elisha
went to Shunem. A prominent woman of the
city invited him into eat, and afterwards whenever he passed that way, he
stopped for dinner. She said to her
husband. “I’m sure this man who stops in from time to time is a holy
prophet.” Let’s make a little room for
him on the roof, we can put in a bed, a table, a chair, a lamp and he will have
a place to stay whenever he comes by.
Elisha sent his
servant Gehazi to get the woman. He
asked her, “What they could do for her.” She replied, “I am perfectly
content. Elisha asked Gehazi “What can
we do for her?” He suggested, “She
doesn’t have a son, and her husband is an old man.” When she returned, he talked to her as she
stood in the doorway. “Next year at
about this time you shall have a son?”
It was true. The woman had a baby boy.
The boy became ill and died. Elisha went to her house. When he arrived, the child was indeed dead,
lying there upon the prophet’s bed. He
went in and shut the door behind him and prayed to the Lord. Then he lay upon the child’s body, placing
his mouth upon the child’s mouth, and his eyes upon the child’s eyes, and his
hands upon the child’s hands. The
child’s body began to grow warm again.
Then the prophet went down and walked back and forth in the house a few
times, returning upstairs. He stretched
himself again upon the child. This time
the little boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes! When the mother came in he said, “Here’s your
son!” She fell to the floor at his feet
and then picked up her son and went out.’
1.
Who did the woman think Elisha was? (a holy
prophet)
2.
What
did she do for him? (She provided a place for him to stay whenever he was in
their area)
3.
What
did Elisha tell the woman she would have? (a boy)
4.
What
happened to the boy? (He became ill and died)
5.
What
did Elisha do for the boy? (He prayed to the Lord first. Then he lay upon the boy’s body placing his
mouth upon the child’s mouth, his eyes upon the child’s eyes, and his hands
upon the child’s hands. Then he went
down and walked back and forth in the house a few times.)
6.
Was
this an easy thing to accomplish? (God can heal)
Summary: Elisha’s
prayer and method of healing show God’s care for the hurting. We must express genuine concern for others as
we carry God’s message. The purpose of
his ministry was to restore respect for God and his message, and he stood
firmly against the evil kings of Israel.
By faith, with courage and prayer, he revealed not only God’s judgment
on sin, but also his mercy, love, and tenderness toward faithful people. Elisha showed that God controls not only
great armies, but also events in everyday life.
When we listen to and obey God, he shows us his power to transform any
situation. God’s care is not reserved for
kings and leaders, but is for all who are willing to follow him. He can perform miracles in our lives.
Lesson #4: The Divided Kingdom: Kingdom of
Judah, Two tribes, Capital, Jerusalem
Below is a summary of the Southern
Kingdom Kings and their reigns.
Jehoram/Joram
reigned for eight years. He married a
wicked daughter of Ahab, compelled the people to worship idols, and killed all
his brothers. (8:16-24)
Jehoahaz/Ahaziah
reigned one year: Friend of Joram of Israel (8:24-9:29).
Athaliah
(Queen) reigned six years. Killed all of
her grandchildren except Joash who was hidden by his nurse for six years, and
ravaged the Temple to furnish Baal’s temple (11:1-20).
Joash
reigned forty years. He was crowned king at the age of seven by Jehoiada (the
High Priest), promoted peace and prosperity and repaired the Temple and smashed
the altars to Baal. But, after Jehoiada
died, Joash abandoned God, and even had Jehoiada’s son killed (1:1-12:21).
Amaziah
reigned for 29 years. He was basically
good but did not completely wipe out idol worship, organized the army, took a
census (14:1-20).
Jotham
reigned for sixteen years. He rebuilt
the upper gate of the Temple, rebuilt walls and cities, but still permitted
idol worship (15:32-38).
Ahaz
reigned for sixteen years. He sacrificed
his own son to heathen gods; nailed the Temple doors shut (16:1-20).
Hezekiah
reigned for 29 years. He was a devoted
follower of God; reopened Temple doors, cleansed the Temple, reinstated priests
and their duties, organized an orchestra to aid worship, destroyed idols
including the bronze serpecnt of Moses because people had begun to worship I,
celebrated Passover and even invited people who were living in the North to
participate, constructed large public waterworks, was given 15 extra years of
life, foolishly showed ambassadors the wealth in the Temple (18:1-20:21).
Manasseh
reigned for 55 years. He rebuilt all the
heathen shrines, sacrificed on of his own sons, practiced black magic, set up
an idol right in the Temple, murdered many of his own people, but repented
during his Assyrian captivity (21:1-18).
Amon
reigned two years (21:19-26).
Josiah
reigned 31 years. He loved God with all
his heart, repaired the Temple, found a lost scroll of the law (he promised to
obey it, thus God stayed desctruction fo Judah until after his death),
personally oversaw the major project of destroying idol shrines, reinstated the
priests of God, celebrated Passover with greater zeal than had been since
Samuel’s day, and was greatly loved by his people (22:1-23:30).
Jehoahaz
reined for three months. He was jailed
and taken to Egypt where he died (23:30-34).
Eliakiim/Jehoiakim
reigned for 11 years. He burned part of
God’s Word, was a puppet king for Egypt, then Babylon, watched gold and tools
taken from the temple oto Babylon, was first exile (in which Daniel was taken)
(23:34-24:5).
Jehoiachin
reigned for three months. Saw next exile
to Babylon (24:6-16, 25:27-30).
Mattaniah/Zedekiah
reigned for 11 years. He was the Temple
burned and Jerusalem destroyed, was tortured and carried away in the final
exile to Babylon (24:17-25:21).
This
is the end of the Southern Kingdom. It
was carried off captive to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar.
1.
Count
all of the evil kings that ruled.
2.
Count
all of the Godly kings that ruled.
3.
Think
about when your friends want you to do something that you know is wrong. Let
the girls provide examples.
4.
Are
you strong enough to say “no” to your friends?
Let the girls provide examples of how they responded to their friends.
5.
Discuss
how God gives you the strength even when you think you cannot stand strong.
Provide an example from your own life.
6.
Discuss
how you can respond to temptation.
Summary: Think of all
of the miracles Elisha had performed for these people. Yet, they still turned from God. We must be very careful that we don’t fall
into the way of the world and that we remain strong in God’s word.
Lesson #5: The
Northern Kingdom of Israel (10 Tribes) Capital: Sheche, then Tirzah, the
Samaria.
Below is a summary of the Northern
Kingdom of Israel Kings and their reign.
Ahaziah
reined for two years. Proposed a joint
trade venture with Judah (1:18).
Jehoram/Joram
reigned for 12 years. Suffered famine
and war during most of his reign (3:1-8:25).
Jehu
reigned for 20 years. He was responsible
for the deaths of Joram (king of Juda), Ahaziah (king of Israel), Jezebel
(wicked mother of Joram); destroyed the priests and temples of Baal; but did
not consistently follow God (9:1-10:36).
Jehoahaz
reigned for 17 years. He had an evil
reign including worship of Asheroth, usually called “shameful”.
Jehoash/Joash
reigned for 16 years. Even though he was
evil, he recognized the authority of Elisha as a prophet of God (13:10-14:16).
Jeroboam.
He reighed for 41 years. Very evil but
politically powerful, his nation enjoyed economic prosperity and military peace
(14:16-29).
Zechariah
reigned for six months. He encouraged
idol worship (14:29-15:12).
Shallum
reigned for one month (15:10-15).
Menahem
reigned for 10 years. He imposed heavy taxes and oppressed his people
(15:14-22).
Pekahiah
reigned for two years. He continued idol
worship (15:22-26).
Pekah
reigned for eight years. During his
reign many of the people were taken captive to Assyria (15:25-31).
Hoshea
reigned for nine years. His people
suffered heavy taxation by Assyria and eventual conquest, brining about
Israelite captivity and resettlement of foreigners in Israel (15:30).
This
brought an end to the Northern Kingdom.
Israel was taken to Assyria by Shalmaneser.
1.
Which one king recognized Elisha as a prophet
of God, but ignored who God was? (Jehoash)
2.
Even
people who have God in their hearts stray from His will. Ask the girls if this
has ever happened in their lives.
3.
Talk
about the grace of God that we have through Jesus Christ even when we make mistakes. The people in the Old Testament didn’t have
this grace. They lived under the law.
Summary: Prophets were
considered great men of God. They loved
the Lord with all their hearts, followed His laws and relayed messages to His
people. Today God talks directly to each
one of us. He can answer prayers,
perform miracles, heal the sick and intervene to help us in any
circumstance. We only need to pray and
seek His voice.
All scripture for this study was taken from Life Application Bible (the Living Bible), Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. and Youth for Christ/USA Wheaton, Illinois, 1988.
Posted 5/09
