THEO I - Notes for Finals (Kings, Prophets)

God’s Pleasing Kings
JOSIAH
2 Kings 22-23:30, 2 Chronicles 34-35
Repaired the temple.
Found, read, and obeyed the
book of the law.
Tore down idols.
Destroyed Jeroboam’s calves!
Loved God with all his heart.
Walked in the way of David.
2 Kings 23:25
Before him there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; nor did any like him arise after him.

HEZEKIAH
2 Kings 18-20, 2 Chronicles 29-32
Restored the temple.
Held Passover.
Trusted God’s protection.
Angels killed 185,000 of the enemy.
Prayed for healing.

Hezekiah was ill, and God told him, through
the prophet Isaiah, he was going to die.
Hezekiah prayed with all his heart that he might
live. God granted him another 15 years. As a sign
that this was true, God moved the shadow on the
sundial back ten marks. That means God moved
the sun backwards!
2 Kings 18:5
He trusted in the Lord the God of Israel; so that there was no one like him among all the kings of Judah after him, or among those who were before him.

ASA

1 Kings 15:8-24, 2 Chronicles 14-16
Destroyed all idols.
Deposed Queen Mother for making an idol.
Repaired the altar of the temple.
Depended on God’s help in war.

2 Chronicles 14:11a
Asa cried to the Lord his God, .O Lord, there is no difference for you between helping the mighty and the weak. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this multitude.


AMAZIAH
2 Kings 14:1-22, 2 Chronicles 25
Obeyed God.
Pursued justice.
Trusted the prophets.
2 Chronicles 25:2
Amaziah did what was right in the sight of the Lord, yet not with a true heart.

JEHOSHAPHAT

1 Kings 22:41-46, 2 Chronicles 17-20
Trusted God’s prophets.
Prayed for help in war.
Defended Judah.
Sent teachers of the law to the people.
Appointed honest judges.

2 Chronicles 17:3,4
The Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the earlier ways of his father; he did not seek the Baals, but sought the God of his father and walked in his commandments, and not according to the ways of Israel.

UZZIAH

2 Kings 15:1-7, 2 Chronicles 26
Studied God’s law.
Built cities.
Enlarged the nation.
Had a mighty army.

JOASH

2 Kings 11:21-12, 2 Chronicles 24
Repaired the temple.
Destroyed idols and their
priests.

Joash was hidden from
his grandmother, queen
Athaliah. He was raised in
the temple by the priest
Jehoida. He was made
King at age 7.
2 Chronicles 24:2
Joash did what was right in the
sight of the Lord all the days of
the priest Jehoida.
JOTHAM

2 Kings 15:32-38, 2 Chronicles 27
Obeyed God and prevailed in war against his
enemies.
Built many cities and defenses.
Defeated the Ammonites.
2 Chronicles 27:2a
He did what was right in the sight of the Lord just as his
father Uzziah had done.

Good Kings Go Bad
UZZIAH
2 Chronicles 26:16
God gave Uzziah so much success that he became
proud and arrogant. He thought he could
break the rules by offering incense in the temple.
God struck Uzziah with leprosy, and he had to
give the Kingship to his son.
JOASH
2 Chronicles 24:22
Joash honors God as long as his mentor, Jehoida,
is alive, but rejects him after Jehoida’s death. He
ungratefully kills Jehoida’s son and the prophet
Zecheriah. He is eventually killed by his own
servants.
JEHOSHAPHAT
2 Chronicles 20:35
Jehoshaphat allied with the wicked King Ahab,
even arranging for their children to marry.
ASA
2 Chronicles 16:12
When he was ill, Asa depended only on physicians
for help. He did not trust God to heal him.
AMAZIAH
2 Chronicles 25:2,14
Amaziah failed to completely remove the high
places from Judah. Eventually he even worshipped
the idols of the people he defeated.
Bad Kings
Jeroboam (Israel)
1 Kings 11:26-12:20, 12:25-13:10, 13:33-14:19
Built the high places in Dan and Bethel that
caused Israel to sin from then on.
Appointed priests from any tribe, not just Levi.
When Jeroboam established his altars in
Bethel, a prophet came to tell Jeroboam
that decades later, Josiah would tear the altars
down. When Jeroboam cried to have the prophet
seized, the king’s arm withered! The altar broke,
and the ashes poured out of it. The king asked
the prophet to have God heal his arm. It was
healed, but Jeroboam learned nothing from this
and rebuilt the altar at Bethel.
When Jeroboam’s child became ill, the king told
his wife to disguise herself and ask the prophet
Abijah if it would live. Abijah immediately knew
who she was, and delivered God’s judgment on
Jeroboam to her.
1 Kings 14:16
God will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam,
which he sinned and which he caused all Israel to commit.

Ahab (Israel)
1 Kings 16:29-34, 18:17-19:2, 20-22:40,
2 Chronicles 18

Promoted worship of Baal with his wife,
Jezebel.
Caused a three-year drought in Israel.
Allowed his wife to kill Naboth for a vineyard.
Persecuted Elijah, God’s prophet.
Refused to listen to God’s prophets.
Sacrificed his children to idols.
1 Kings 21:25
There was no one like Ahab, who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the Lord, urged on by his wife Jezebel.


Omri (Israel)
1 Kings 16:16-28

Made king by popular rebellion.
Built Samaria to be the capital of Israel.
Established idolatry in Israel.
1 Kings 16:26
For Omri walked in the way of Jeroboam son of Nebat, and in the sins that he caused Israel to commit, provoking the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger by their idols.

Rehoboam (Judah)
1 Kings 12:1-24, 14:21-31, 2 Chronicles 10-12

Ignored the council of wise men.
Treated the people harshly, causing the division
of Israel from Judah.
Adopted pagan worship.
Judah was plundered by Egypt because they
abandoned God.
2 Chronicles 12:14
Rehoboam did evil, for he did not set his heart to seek the Lord.

Athaliah (Judah)
2 Kings 11:1-16, 2 Chronicles 22:10-15

Destroyed her whole family to have control.
The Levites and the commander of the guard
conspired to make her surviving grandson,
Joash, King.
Jehoshabeath, daughter of Jehoram and wife of
Jehoida, hid Joash from Athaliah in the temple.

2 Chronicles 22:10
Now when Athaliah, Ahaziah.s mother, saw that
her son was dead, she set about to destroy all the royal
family of the house of Judah.

Ahaz (Judah)
2 Kings 16, 2 Chronicles 28
Sacrificed his son to Molech.
Replaced God’s altar with one like Assyria’s.
His army was defeated and his people subjected
to other nations because of his evil.
Plundered the temple dishes to bribe Assyria.
Worshipped idols of the nations around him.
building high places in every city.
2 Chronicles 28:19
For the Lord brought Judah low because of King Ahaz of Israel, for he had behaved without restraint in Judah and had been faithless to the Lord.
Manasseh (Judah)
2 Kings 21:1-18, 2 Chronicles 33:1-20
Rebuilt the altars to Baal and other idols.
Put idols’ altars in the temple.
Sacrificed his son.
Practiced sorcery.
Killed innocent people.
Was taken away in shackles to Babylon.

2 Chronicles 33:9
Manasseh misled Judah and the
inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that
they did more evil than the
nations whom the Lord had
destroyed before the people of
Israel.
Hoshea (Israel)
2 Kings 17:1-6

Hoshea did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, yet not like
the kings of Israel who were before him.

Was a traitor to his master, king of Assyria.
Israel was completely defeated and its people
taken to other lands because of its sins.

Zedekiah (Judah)

2 Kings 24:18-25:7, 2 Chronicles 11-16
Followed the idolatry and disobedience of
his ancestors.
Mocked and disregarded God’s prophets.
Was taken to Babylon and blinded.
Judah suffered a great siege and famine,
and the temple was destroyed. Judah was
destroyed for its sins.

2 Kings 24: 20
Indeed, Jerusalem and Judah so angered the Lord that he expelled them from his presence.

Bad Kings Can Repent
Jehoahaz
2 Kings 13:1-9
When God punished Jehoahaz by making him
lose to his enemy several times, Jehoahaz
begged the Lord to help them. Since the people
were suffering greatly, God provided a mighty
soldier to give them victory.
Ahab 2 Kings 21:27-29
When Ahab heard God’s pronouncement of the
punishment that would come upon Ahab and his
family, the king tore his clothes, put on the
mourning robe of sackcloth, and fasted in sorrow.
Because he humbled himself before God,
God spared Ahab from seeing the judgment
come to pass.
Manasseh 2 Chronicles 33:10
When Manasseh was held captive in Babylon, he
humbled himself and admitted his sin before
God. God accepted him and let him return to
Jerusalem. There Manasseh removed the idols,
fixed the temple, and obeyed God. But the
people were still influenced by the disobedience
of his early reign.
What Makes a King Good?
You shall love the Lord with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind.
The Kings that loved God tolerated no other
Gods. They destroyed idols and deposed pagan
priests.

They worshipped God according to his will,
studying his Word to learn how to please Him.

They trusted God to help them in all things,
from winning battles to being healed.

They listened to wise men and prophets, and
learned from them.


Young People Can Make a Difference.
Both Joash (7) and Josiah (8) were very
young when they were made Kings. They
had true hearts and withstood all the
temptations of others.
What Makes a King Bad?
Selfishness
Idolatry
Ruthlessness
Violence
Pride
What influence did these kings have?
Israel and Judah were destroyed and
taken captive because they followed
their kings into idolatry, false worship,
and harsh treatment of each other.


Israel and Judah Were Destroyed for their Sins
2 Kings 17:7-17
All this took place because the Israelites had sinned against the Lord their God, who had
brought them up out of Egypt from under the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They worshiped
other gods and followed the practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before them, as
well as the practices that the kings of Israel had introduced.
The Israelites secretly did things against the Lord their God that were not right. From watchtower
to fortified city they built themselves high places in all their towns. They set up sacred stones and
Asherah poles on every high hill and under every spreading tree. At every high place they burned
incense, as the nations whom the Lord had driven out before them had done.
They did wicked things that provoked the Lord to anger. They worshiped idols, though the Lord
had said, "You shall not do this." The Lord warned Israel and Judah through all his prophets and
seers: "Turn from your evil ways. Observe my commands and decrees, in accordance with the entire
Law that I commanded your fathers to obey and that I delivered to you through my servants the
prophets."
But they would not listen and were as stiff-necked as their fathers, who did not trust in the Lord
their God. They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their fathers and the warnings
he had given them. They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless. They
imitated the nations around them although the Lord had ordered them, "Do not do as they do," and
they did the things the Lord had forbidden them to do.
They forsook all the commands of the Lord their God and made for themselves two idols cast in
the shape of calves, and an Asherah pole. They bowed down to all the starry hosts, and they worshiped
Baal. They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire. They practiced divination and
sorcery and sold themselves to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, provoking him to anger.


Prophets
Isaiah

Preached to Judah during reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah. He was contemporary to Hosea and Micah.
He was an educated member of the nobility.
Preached justice and obedience.
Saw visions of heaven.
Predicted the nature of the Messiah, a sufferer,
but also Prince of Heaven.

Isaiah 53:6 .All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned every one to his own way; and the
Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all..

Amos
Shepherd and vinekeeper.
Born in Judah but preached to Israel during the reign of Jeroboam II. Contemporary of
Isaiah, Micah, and Hosea.
Denounced the rich who oppressed the poor.
Taught that ritual sacrifices were not as fruitful as
obedience

Amos 4:12
.Prepare to meet thy God, oh Israel..

Micah
Preached to Judah during the reign of Jotham, Ahaz & Hezekiah.
Denounced the injustice and the suffering of the
people by misuse of power.

Micah 6:8 .He has showed you what is good; and what
does the Lords require of thee, but to do justly, and to
love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

Hosea
Preached to Israel during reigns of Uzziah,
Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah in Judah and from
Jeroboam II to the last kings of Israel. Contemporary of Amos, Isaiah & Micah.
Lying, stealing and adultery were common.
His own unfaithful wife is a symbol of Israel’s unfaithfulness to God.

Hosea 4:6 .My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge:because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you..




Joel
Preached to Judah during reign of Joash.
Explains the meaning of a horrific locust plague.
Repent from trusting in wealth instead of trusting in God.
Prophesied of Acts, when the spirit would be upon the people.

Joel 2:11
.The day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?.

Zephaniah
Preached to Judah during the reign of Josiah.
Condemned the idolatry and sins of previous kings.
Prepared the country for Josiah’s reforms.

Zephaniah 2:3 .Seek the Lord, all the meek of the earth, which have done his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be you shall be hid in the
day of the Lord.s anger..
Jeremiah
Preached to Judah during the reign of Josiah,
Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Zedekiah, and was contemporary to Zephaniah, Habakkuk, Daniel, and Ezekiel.
Known as the weeping prophet, Jeremiah sorrowed
over the harsh judgement Judah had brought upon
itself.
Warned the kings not to rebel against Babylon, or
they would lose the land.
Warned against false prophets that predicted success.
Wrote the books of Jeremiah and Lamentations.

Jeremiah 7:23 .Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people: and walk in the ways
that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you..

Nahum
Predicts the downfall of Ninevah because they
did not continue in their repentence from Jonah’s
time. Preached during reign of Josiah.

Nahum 1:7-8 .The Lord is good, a stronghold in the
day of trouble; and he knows them that trust in
him. But with an overrunning flood he will
make an utter end of the place, and darkness shall
pursue his enemies

Obadiah
Preached to Judah during reign of Jehoram
and comteporary with Elisha.
Delivered God’s judgement on Edom (Esau’s descendents) for their treatment of
Judah.

Obadiah 15b
.As you have done, it shall be done unto you..

Habakkuk Preached to Judah during
the reign of Jehoiakim.
The Babylonians will come to punish Judah
for its sins.
When the wicked thrive, remember God
is in control.

Habakkuk 2:4 .Behold, his soul which is lifted
up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by faith..

What is a Prophet?
Definition
Prophet: spokesman or messenger for God.
Deut. 18:18-22
I will raise up from among them a Prophet, a Hebrew like you. I will tell him what to say, and heshall be my spokesman to the people. I will personally deal with anyone who will not listen to
him and heed his messages from me. But any prophet who falsely claims that his message is from
me, shall die. And any prophet who claims to give a message from other gods must die.' If you
wonder, 'How shall we know whether the prophecy is from the Lord or not?' this is the way to
know: If the thing he prophesies doesn't happen, it is not the Lord who has given him the message;
he has made it up himself. You have nothing to fear from him.
What Prophets Do?
Reveal God’s messages to man.
Warn and advise the leaders and people to follow God.
Explain the judgments of God.
Give hope, by explaining the benefits of repentence.
Foretell the bessings and judgments of God in the future.
False Prophets
Told lies for money, power or popularity.
Were always defeated by true prophets.
Misled and deceived the people.

Why study the prophets today?
They reveal God’s feelings and thoughts to us.
The sins they condemned are still wrong.
Fulfilled prophesies provide confidence in God’s word.
They teach us how God uses nations to do his will.