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Lesson 1: Roots of Division
The year was 586 B.C. and Jerusalem lay in ruins, her walls torn down and the temple of God destroyed. Her inhabitants lay dead in the streets and surrounding fields, or had been marched off to Babylon. Her last king had tried to escape from the Babylonians, but had been captured, blinded and taken away…
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Lesson 2: Rehoboam & the Rupture of the Kingdom
One of the great Messianic promises recorded in the Old Testament was given when David desired to build a house for the Lord (2Samuel 7). David was told that he would not build the Lord’s house, but “When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant…
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Lesson 3: Jeroboam’s Failed Dynasty
We are first introduced to Jeroboam in 1Kings 11 following the Lord’s pronouncement that the kingdom, save one tribe, would be torn away from Solomon’s house and given to another (vss. 11-13). We then read how Jeroboam, an Ephraimite whom Solomon had exalted to a position of prominence, rebelled against the king. He rebelled because they Lord…
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Lesson 4: Unstable Kingdoms
This lesson covers approximately 40 years from when Abijah came to the throne of Judah in 913 B.C. to the death of Asa in 870 B.C. Instability in both kingdoms will be a point of emphasis throughout this lesson. Israel’s instability is easily seen in the fact that she had 5 kings from 4 dynasties,…
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Lesson 5: Ahab’s Rejection of Jehovah
As we’ve seen, Jeroboam’s religious innovations were not only clear violations of the Lord’s revealed will, but also created great instability in the kingdom of Israel. As Jeroboam and the kings who followed rejected the Lord’s will, they would find their lives and/or their dynasties cut short as God executed judgment on the king and…
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Lesson 6: Jehoshaphat’s Blindspot
The Scripture says of Ahab that he “did evil in the sight of the Lord more than all who were before him” (1Kings 16.30). In our last lesson we looked at the rule of this wicked ruler of the northern kingdom, but significantly during Ahab’s reign there was a righteous king in the southern kingdom.…
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Lesson 7: Ahab’s Legacy
“He did evil in the sight of the LORD and walked in the way of his father and in the way of his mother and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin.” (1 Kings 22:52, NASB95) “He walked in the way of the kings of Israel, just as…
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Lesson 8: Jehu’s Dynasty
The story of Jehu ties together two declarations from the Lord which were made during Ahab’s reign. First, the Lord had commissioned Elijah to anoint Jehu as king over Israel (1Kings 19.16). Second, the Lord declared that Ahab, Jezebel and all of their family would suffer a violent and bloody end (1Kings 21.17-24). Jehu would…
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Lesson 9: David’s Line Preserved
““When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. “He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.” (2 Samuel 7:12–13, NASB95) The…
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Lesson 10: Prosperity & Decline
When Abram first arrived at Shechem in Canaan, the Lord appeared to him and promised, “to your descendants I will give this land” (Genesis 12.7). Later, the Lord defined the borders of the land which He would give to Abraham’s descendants: “To your descendants I have given this land, From the river of Egypt as…