1 Kings 17:15-34 - The brook dried up

17:15-23

The woman did as Elijah had told her., and so there was “food every day for Elijah”, and for the woman and her family. The flour was not used up, nor did the oil run dry. However, later the son became ill. The woman saw this as God’s judgement upon her. Elijah responded and prayed to the Lord, and the boy came back to life.

17:24

The woman was delighted and declared that she now knew that Elijah was a man of God. One of the ways we get to know God is through His delivering us from situations.

1 Kings 17:5-14 - Fed by ravens

17:5,6

Elijah obeyed the Lord, and the Lord’s promise proved to be reliable.

17:7-14

Because of the drought the brook dried up, but God had also allowed for this eventuality. God spoke to Elijah, telling him to go to Zarephath and stay there. God had prepared a widow to supply him with food. Elijah again obeyed the Lord. \he went to Zarephath And saw the widow gathering sticks,He asked for water and food. 

The widow did not see how she could supply him with food, she thought she only had enough for herself and her son. She also thought that her son and her would eat what she had and die.

Elijah heard from the Lord and told the widow what he had heard. Note that it seemed that the woman could not feed Elijah, but Elijah spoke the word of God to her. Sometimes we need to speak the word to people in order for them to help us.

1 Kings 17:1-4 - Now Elijah the Tishbite

17:1

Elijah now comes on the scene, the first of the two prophets Elijah and Elisha, they are different from the likes of Isaiah, Jeremiah etc, in that it is not their words that are remembered so much as their actions. However the importance of the word is stressed here.Elijah confronts Ahab, with the truth that it is God who determines the weather.

17:2-4

God tells Elijah to go, and assures him that He has made provision for him. We may think that God has forgotten us, but his plans are far wider than we imagine, we need to trust in the Lord not in our own understanding. He may even have made provision in ways we never imagined.

1 Kings 16:29-34 - Ahab became king of Israel

16:29-34

Ahab became king in Asa’s thirty eighth year and he reigned for twenty two years.Ahab  proved to be even more evil than any of those who had preceded him, as well as doing the same sins as Jereboam, he married Jezebel,and began to serve Baal, setting up a temple for Baal worship, along with an Asherah pole, he was the worst king ever. During his time Hiel rebuilt Jericho, that was not meant to happen. Joshua has pronounced  curse on anyone who rebuilt Jericho (Josh 6:26), and Hiel’s firstborn son died, as did his youngest son.

1 Kings 16:25-34 - The people of Israel were split into two factions

16:25-28

Sadly Omri “did evil in the eyes of the Lord, this renders everything else worthless. Omri died and Ahab succeeded him.

16:29-34

Ahab became king in Asa’s thirty eighth year and he reigned for twenty two years.Ahab  proved to be even more evil than any of those who had preceded him, as well as doing the same sins as Jereboam, he married Jezebel,and began to serve Baal, setting up a temple for Baal worship, along with an Asherah pole, he was the worst king ever. During his time Hiel rebuilt Jericho, that was not meant to happen. Joshua has pronounced  curse on anyone who rebuilt Jericho (Josh 6:26), and Hiel’s firstborn son died, as did his youngest son.

16:25-28

Sadly Omri “did evil in the eyes of the Lord, this renders everything else worthless. Omri died and Ahab succeeded him.

16:29-34

Ahab became king in Asa’s thirty eighth year and he reigned for twenty two years.Ahab  proved to be even more evil than any of those who had preceded him, as well as doing the same sins as Jereboam, he married Jezebel,and began to serve Baal, setting up a temple for Baal worship, along with an Asherah pole, he was the worst king ever. During his time Hiel rebuilt Jericho, that was not meant to happen. Joshua has pronounced  curse on anyone who rebuilt Jericho (Josh 6:26), and Hiel’s firstborn son died, as did his youngest son.

1 Kings 16:8-19 - Elah became king of Israel

16:8-10

Elah reigned for two years. One of his officials, Zimri, plotted against him. If someone goes against the Lord they will find no rest. Elah was getting drunk, and Zimri seized the opportunity and struck him down dead. Zimri became king and killedBaasha’s whole family, God’s word was fulfilled. Baasha and Elah had caused Israel to follow worthless idols, idols that cou;d not save them.

16:11

In killing off Baasha’s whole family Zimri thought he was securing his future.

16:12-19

Zimri only reigned for seven days. The Israelites did not seem to be too keen on Zimri being king, so they proclaimed Omri as king. Godless regimes are always unstable. Omri besieged Tirzah, Zimri saw that the end was near, so he set fire to the palace and died. All this happened because of his sins., and he had caused Israel to sin. A good leader causes the people to follow the Lord.

1 Kings 16:1-7 The word of the Lord came to Jehu

16:1-4

Jehu was the son of Jehoshaphat and grandson of Nimshi.  The Lord spoke to him about Baasha. Baasha was king of Israel, but had done evil. God reminds him that it was God who lifted him up to hid high position. We always go wrong if we forget about our utter dependence upon the Lord. Therefore Baasha was about to be wiped out by the Lord. God can raise up and pull down. The worst thing about Baasha was that he caused God’s people to sin (Matt 18:6). We should be people who encourage others to follow the Lord, not to disobey Him. Those belonging to Baasha would not even get a decent burial but would be eaten by dogs, or by birds.

16:5,6

Baasha duly died, but does seem to be buried. He was succeeded by his son Elah as king.

16:7

God spoke to Baasha through the prophet Jehu. Baasha was no better than Jeroboam.

1 Kings 15:30-34 - This happened because of the sins of Jeroboam

15:30-32

These were not random events, but “happened because of the sins Jeroboam had committed and had caused Israel to commit, and because he aroused the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel”. Note the last but there, “the God of Israel”. Israel’s whole identity lies in her relationship to the Lord, and her well being rests in her obedience to the Lord. This is still true today.  The rest of Nadab’s activities were recorded in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel. There was war between Asa and Baasha.

15:33,34

Baasga son of Ahijah became king of Israel and reigned for twenty four years.Sadly “he did evil in tde eyes of the Lord”, acting as Jeroboam had.

1 Kings 15:17-22 - Asa then took all the silver and gold

15:17

Ramah was a crucial town, control of this town would effectively cut off Judah.

15:18,19

Asa then puts his bribery strategy into action. Solomon had had a treaty with Syria, he also wanted to end Syria’s support for Israel. Ben-Hadad agreed with Asa and then attacked Israel. This had the desired effect of forcing Baasha to stop building Ramah

15:20-22

Asa’s plan seemed to work as Ben-Hadad attacked Israel. In response, Baasha stopped building Ramah and withdrew from Tirzah Asa issued an order to all Judah to dismantle Ramah and used the resources to build up Geba and Mizah.

1 Kings 15:23-29- Asa rested with his ancestors

15:23,24

As with most kings, other events of Asa’s reign were recorded in the annals of the kings of Judah, Asa died and was succeeded by his son Jehoshaphat.

15:25-29

Meanwhile Nadab son of Jeroboam became king in Israel, he reigned for only two years, and in those two years “did evil in the eyes of the Lord”. Baasha, son of Ahijah plotted against him, ending up killing him and becoming king. He then went on to kill Jeroboam’s whole family. This all happened in accordance with the word of the Lord spoken by Ahijah (1 Kings 14:10,11), the point is that in the midst of the chaos, the Lord is still in control.

w

1 Kings 15:11-16 - Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord

15:11-15

“Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord”. A key question for all of us is how we look at ourselves, do we judge ourselves by how others view us, or by how the Lord views us?  Asa was somewhat like David. He took positive action, like expelling the male shrine prostitutes and getting rid of the idols. He even deposed his grandmother Maakah. This latter action is an example of loving God more than family members. He did this because “she had made a repulsive image for the worship of Asherah. However, Asa did not remove the high places. He was not the only “good king” to have this failure. The high places were like stubborn weeds. The best thing is not to let them take root in the first place. “Asa’s heart was fully committed to the Lord all his life”. Even so he had these failings.

15:16

There was continual war between ISrael and Judah. Asa brought the treasures into the temple of the Lord. However, he then used some of the treasures to bribe the king of Damascus, and he wanted to stop Syria supporting Baasha. Asa was seeking to use his own wisdom to bring peace, rather than trusting the Lord.

1 Kings 15:1-8 - Abijah became king of Judah

15:1-3

Things now progress, though the nation regresses.Abijah becomes king of Judah and reigns for three years.His mother was the daughter of abishalom (possibly Absalom).

15:3-5

“He committed all the sins of his father” we are nor given a good picture of Abijah.David is used as the standard of comparison, though the Bible is also fully aware of David’s shortcomings. We are also told that God remembered\his promise to David. David’s failing with Uriah is noted.

15:6-8

There was no peace for there was war between AAbijah and Jeroboam throughout Abijah’s lifetime. Abijah was succeeded by his son Asa. Asa was a fairly good king, and reigned for forty one years.

1 Kings 14:25-31 - Abijah succeeded him

14:25-31

Egypt attacked Judah, and carried off the gold treasures. Rehoboam replaced these with bronze shields, a clearly inferior substitute, this is what happens when man abandons god’s ways.

We get another reference to the “annals of the kings of judah”. His reign involved constant warfare between him and Jeroboam. He died and was succeeded by his son Abijah.

1 Kings 14:1-16 His son became ill

14:1-3

Having gone against the Lord Jeroboam is now in a mess, and he is leading the nation in a wrong direction.  We now see that his sin Abijah is ill. Despite his disobedience he knows that Gis is his only hope. Yet he is scared of God, much like Adam and Eve hid from God after they had sinned. So he gets his wife to go to Ahijah the prophet, who had earlier spoken to Jeroboam (1 Kings 11)

Ahijah was blind, but God could still speak to him, and told him what was happening. A man dedicated to God can see better than any rebellious man. So he knew that Jeroboam's wife was coming, pretending to be someone else, he also gave him a word for the king.

14:4-16

So Jeroboam’s wife did as her husband had told her, disguised. Although Ahijah could not see, the Lord had told him that she would come. So when she arrived he knew exactly who she was and why she had come. He also told her that he had bad news for her. The boy would die when she went back home, Israel would mourn for him and bury him. The Lord would raise up a new king, who would cut off the family of Jeroboam. He would also strike Israel and uproot it from the land. This would happen because of idolatry.

1 Kings 14:1-16 Abijah became ill

14:1-3

Having gone against the Lord Jeroboam is now in a mess, and he is leading the nation in a wrong direction.  We now see that his sin Abijah is ill. Despite his disobedience he knows that Gis is his only hope. Yet he is scared of God, much like Adam and Eve hid from God after they had sinned. So he gets his wife to go to Ahijah the prophet, who had earlier spoken to Jeroboam (1 Kings 11)

Ahijah was blind, but God could still speak to him, and told him what was happening. A man dedicated to God can see better than any rebellious man. So he knew that Jeroboam's wife was coming, pretending to be someone else, he also gave him a word for the king.

14:4-16

So Jeroboam’s wife did as her husband had told her, disguised. Although Ahijah could not see, the Lord had told him that she would come. So when she arrived he knew exactly who she was and why she had come. He also told her that he had bad news for her. The boy would die when she went back home, Israel would mourn for him and bury him. The Lord would raise up a new king, who would cut off the family of Jeroboam. He would also strike Israel and uproot it from the land. This would happen because of idolatry.

1 Kings 14:17-24 - Failed subterfuge and bad news

14:17-20

Jeroboam’s wife went home and the son died as foretold, he was buried and mourned for.  Jeroboam reigned for twenty two years and was succeeded by his  son Nadab.

14:21-24

Attention now returns to Rehoboam, who was king in Judah, he reigned for seventeen years in Judah. His mother was an Ammonite. He was not a good king, for “Judah did evil in the eyes of the Lord. Something may be fine in man’s eyes but if it is not fine in god’s eyes we are in trouble. They were heavily into idolatry, setting up many high places and asherah poles. There were male prostitutes in the land, and the nation became just like the nations, who had been driven out. So Judah would also be driven out.. Being “like the nations” is nor what we are meant to be.

1 Kings 13:23-34 - Met by a lion

13:23-32

The man of God set off home, but was met by a lion and killed. News of the event reached the old prophet , and he set out to see what had happened. He had had no wish to see the man of God die, but his actions had contributed to it happening. Even so, the man of God was responsible for his own death. He had some remorse as he sought to give the man a decent burial, he also recognised that the words the man had spoken against the high places would come true.

13:33-34

Jeroboam, however, did not listen to the man’s word, but continued in his evil ways, appointing priests for the high places. This would lead to his own downfall, and that of the whole nation. The essence of this is the importance of the word of God, it is futile to go against the word of God.

1 Kings 13:15-22 - An old prophet

13:15-17

When he caught up with him he invited him home, knowing that this was against what God had told the man. We should always respect another man’s conscience and never try to make them do something against what they believe God wants them to do. Once again the man of God refuses.

13:18-22

The Old Prophet then claimed to know better than the man of God, saying, untruthfully, that \god had spoken to him. If we know that God has spoken to us we should not allow ourselves to be intimidated, even by folk claiming to speak the word of God. The man of God was taken in by the old prophet. The old prophet did then speak the word of God, condemning the man of God for his disobedience, saying he would die because of it.

1 Kings 13:1-14 - A man of God came from Judah

13:1-6

I find this to be a most disheartening event. We have just seen Jeroboam get things badly wrong, now we see a man of God get things wrong. \the man was sent by God from Judah  to confront Jeroboam.  The man of God foretells the coming of Josiah, and the judgement  upon Jeroboam. The essence of the warning is that the high places will come to  nothing. Jeroboam has acted in disobedience to\god and when we do that our plans will not succeed. Jeroboam tried to nullify the prophet by having the man arrested, but when he held out his hand it became leprous and the altar crumbled. Man cannot overcome god. Indeed, part of the word of the prophet was immediately fulfilled.Jeroboam now pleaded with the prophet to ask God to restore his hand. He at least realised that the man had a connection with the Lord. The prophet did this, and the king’s hand was restored.`

13:9-14

The king now realised that the man was indeed a man of God, and so invited him home, offering him a meal and a gift.However the man of God refused, because he had been told by god not to eat bread or drink water, and not to return home by the way that he came, and he acted in obedience to God’s command. So all looks well at this stage, but trouble is going to come, and through an “old prophet”. We need to be especially on our guard when we have just obeyed the Lord, or won a victory, for we are then most vulnerable. The “Old Prophet” knew what the man of god had done and said. Hechased after the man of God.