Notes for Lesson Twelve

Lesson 12 – Solomon, Divided Kingdom, Elijah and Elisha

I and II Kings

I. The Reign of King Solomon – I Kings 1-10 – 970 B.C. – 930 B. C.

A. How Solomon became king

· I Kings opens with David on his death bed

· How old is Solomon?

· Who is Adonijah? David’s ____oldest living____ son

· I Kings 1:38-53 - ____Solomon______ becomes king

B. Solomon shows great character – I Kings 3

· Solomon was an upright man – v.1-5

· God blessed him with ____one___ request

· v.6-9 – Solomon asks for an _____understanding___ heart so that he could ___discern____ between good an devil

· God was pleased that he did not ask for:

o A ____long___ life

o ___riches____ for himself

o the ___life_____ of his enemies

· Because of his humility, God would give him all of these – wisdom, a long life, riches and a peaceful reign

· v. 16-28 – Solomon’s wisdom is tested

· Matthew 12:42 tells us that Jesus surpassed Solomon’s wisdom

C. The building of the Temple – I Kings 6-10 – 957 B.C.

D. The Fall of King Solomon – I Kings 11

· Solomon had WAY too many wives - ____700____ wives and __300___ concubines

· These foreign women turned his heart from the Lord

· v.6 – Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord – built an altar to a foreign god

· Why did Solomon fall?

1. Unlike his father, Solomon dealt cruelly with his brother Adonijah (I Kings 2:24,25)

2. Like Saul, his heart was filled with _____pride___ (I Kings 10:18-25)

3. Led by his heathen wives, he fell into _____idolatry___ (I Kings 11)

· The writings of Solomon:

o The book of Proverbs

o Song of Solomon

o Ecclesiastes

III. The Divided Kingdom – I Kings 12- II Kings 25

· The main tension in Israel was between the tribes of ___Ephraim___ and __Judah____

· I Kings 11:29-40 – Ahijah tells Jeroboam that he would take the ten northern tribes and become a nation himself – Solomon heard about it and tried to have him killed

· I Kings 12:1-15 – Solomon dies - _____Rehoboam____ becomes king

· Jeroboam shows up at his inauguration and begs Rehoboam to lighten the tax load on the people – he refuses

· v. 15 tells us that ___God__ was orchestrating these events

· Jeroboam becomes king over Israel – Rehoboam remains over Judah – 930 B.C.

· There were good kings and bad kings over these two nations – see chart

I. Elijah and Elisha – I Kings 17-II Kings 9

A. Elijah

· During the reign of the kings, the Lord raised up ___prophets___ to be His voice

· ____Samuel___ played this role with Saul, ___Nathan____ played this role with David

· During the reign of Ahab, God raised up _____Elijah_____

· The story of the battle on Mount Carmel – I Kings 18

· The ride to heaven – II Kings 2:1-12

B. Elisha

II. Captivity

A. The Northern Kingdom – Israel

· Books written to Northern Kings by prophets - _____Jonah___, ___Amos_____ and _____Hosea______

B. The Southern Kingdom - Judah

Books written to Southern Kings by prophets - ____Obadiah__, ____Joel___, __Isaiah__, ___Micah___, _Nahum___, ___Zephaniah____, ____Habakkuk_____ and ___Jeremiah___