Kingdom Divided Lesson 1 – Genesis to Malachi

The purpose of the Bible is to show God’s love and mercy for His people Israel and to the world.  God’s Word tells us He created Adam and Eve in His image and created a beautiful garden for them to enjoy.  They fell into sin which had devastating effects on all mankind, but God provided a plan of redemption through His Son Jesus.

We can summarize the Bible by saying, it’s a redemption story of God’s love for humanity, and the sacrifice He was willing to make for all of mankind.  Most of all, it’s the unshakeable and infallible Word of God.  Or you could be more concise and say, It’s God speaking us you.  You could also say, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” – 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

The OT is very important to us.  Jesus quoted the OT many, many times.  If it was important to Jesus, it is should be important to us.  The OT gave us prophecies that were fulfilled in the NT (Luke 24:13-49) and is being fulfilled today.

Romans 15:4 tells us the importance of studying the OT.  “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”

Isaiah 5:1-7 describes God’s relationship with Israel.  He had richly blessed His chosen people Israel.  He gave them everything they needed, but instead they rebelled and had to be punished just as wild grapes have to be radically pruned.

Isaiah 41:8-9 – Israel is reminded they are God’s servants, chosen by Him.  They were His friends because of their family relationship to Abraham and because of this relationship Abraham’s descendants also had a special place before God.

In Acts 7 Stephen recalled the history of the nation of Israel from the beginning. He told the people why they refused to believe.  He called them a stiff-necked people.  He was trying to wake them up and stop rebelling and be thankful for God and all He had done for them.  They even killed the Son of God.

In Corinthians 10:1-13 Paul told us that we should learn from Israel’s story of successes and failures.  Their examples should keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did.  Instead we are just like Israel and do the same things.  We worship idols, commit sexual immorality, we test the Lord, we grumble and are never satisfied.

In this study we see Israel’s story at the end of the reign of King Solomon.  Solomon ignored God’s warnings so God brought judgment upon his kingdom.  After Solomon’s death, Israel divided into 2 kingdoms, the north kingdom called Israel and the southern kingdom called Judah.  This is the period we will be focusing on this year.

God’s nation of Israel was a United Kingdom under her first three kings – Saul, David and Solomon, but the kingdom never really had good kings.  God sent many prophets to steer them back to Him, but  they still rejected him.  Eventually God punished them by allowing them to be taken away into captivity. 

We begin with 1 Kings 11.  We see in 1 Kings 11:29-39 prophecy is revealed – Israel will be torn out of King Solomon’s hands and 10 tribes will be given to Jeroboam.  But for the sake of David, God will leave one tribe.  He will do this because they had forsaken Him, worshipped foreign gods, did not walk in His ways, nor done what was right or kept His statues and laws.

We should learn many lessons from Israel’s history.  Solomon was wise and very wealthy.  He enjoyed God’s favor, but as time went on he relied on his fortune, his military might and his political alliances instead of God who gave him all those blessings.  He focused on the gifts not the Giver.  Both Solomon and Israel had God’s blessings, but they turned from Him and went their own way worshipping false gods.  We are like that today.  We focus on the same things, ignoring God’s commands.  We reject God and worship false gods.  This should be a warning to us.  God won’t stand for our actions much longer.  There will be judgment to come.

How are you ignoring God?

What is keeping you from focusing on Him?

What false gods do you worship?

God is sending prophets to speak to you; are you listening?

Principle:  Israel’s history exposes an unfaithful people, but always reveals a faithful God.

This week’s attribute of God is He is Faithful.

Next time we will continue our study of Kingdom Divided starting with 1 Kings 11.  Hope to see you here. -- I encourage you to trust in Jesus.

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Kingdom Divided – Introduction

 

It’s time to begin our next Bible study.  This year is part 2 of People of the Promised Land – Kingdom Divided.  I won’t be the first to say that this study is hard and at times very confusing.  There are so many kings and prophets that it’s hard to keep them all straight.  I will try to do my best, but please don’t be too hard on me if I get some things discombobulated.

Why study the Bible?

The Bible is God-breathed.  When we read it, God is speaking to us.  It is reliable because God is perfect and always speaks the truth.  He is incapable of telling a lie.  Through the Bible God instructs us how to live and helps us know how to walk with Him in this life.

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” – 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

God is our Sovereign Creator.  He is holy.  He is faithful and true.  He knows everything, understands everything, and works flawlessly to accomplish His perfect plan.  He is the supreme authority with the right to say what is right and wrong, what is truth, and what are lies.  As we study the Scriptures, we see the sovereign hand of God.

The Bible is broken down into 2 sections – the Old Testament and the New Testament.  The OT covers God’s creation and the beginnings of the world.  God set up the nation of Israel to carry His message to the world.  The OT points to the coming of the God’s son, Messiah Jesus our Redeemer.  The NT fulfills the promises found in the OT.  It gives details of Jesus’ birth, life, death, and resurrection.  All through the Bible we see that God provided a way for sinful people to be redeemed and mend their relationship with Him.  The OT helps us understand God and His ways as it offers hope.  

The Bible is a collection of 66 books that is composed by more than 40 authors both Jewish and Gentile.  These authors were inspired by the Holy Spirit.  The Bible is God’s-breathed. 

This year we will study several books in the OT. 

1 Kings

2 Kings

2 Chronicles

Jonah

Amos

Obadiah

Joel

Hosea

Isaiah

Micah

Jeremiah

Lamentations

Nahum

Zephaniah

Habakkuk

We will study about a time of division, hostility, idolatry, and hope.  Israel rejected God, but He longs to restore what sin has destroyed.  There is value in studying the OT.  “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” – Romans 15:4.

While studying these lessons, listen for God to speak to you.  Studying all these different kings can be confusing, but hang in there and we will get through it and you may learn something.  While we don’t have all the answers, we can listen as He speaks to us.  He knows you more than you know yourself.  He knows what you think and what you need.

Do you expect God to speak to you through His Word?

Will you trust God as you learn more about Him?

Principle:  The Bible is God-breathed; it instructs us how to live and walk with God in this life.

Next week we will start our first study of Kingdom Divided.  Hope to see you here. -- I encourage you to trust in Jesus.

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As you know I always follow along the BSF (Bible Schedule Fellowship) schedule.  You can find weekly lessons to be printed on mybsf.org.  You can also find a BSF class near you by going to www.bsfinternational.org.  The same lessons are studied around the world, so classes start at different times.  In my area we start mid-September, follow the school calendar, and end in mid-May.

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People of the Promised Land – Kingdom Divided

 

Well it’s almost time to begin my posts of People of the Promised Land – Kingdom Divided.  I will begin around September 12.  As you know I follow Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) lessons as I do my weekly posts.  I won’t be the first to say that this study is hard and at times very confusing.  There are so many kings (mostly bad ones) and prophets that it’s hard to keep them all straight, but I will try to do my best.

Exactly what is BSF?  BSF is an interdenominational, in-depth Bible study.  It is for everyone.  It helps us know God and equips us to serve the Church throughout the world.  Hundreds of thousands of people of all ages across the world come together to study God’s word.  They study chapter by chapter together.  People meet weekly in all kinds of places – in churches or online in homes. 

BSF is unique taking a four-fold approach to studying – weekly printed lessons, small group discussions, listening to a lecture, followed up by reading the lesson notes.  All this is done for each lesson.  There are classes for women, men, young adults, students, and children.  You print your weekly lesson online and then answer the questions during that week.  Then on the designated time of your class, you attend the class of about 15-18 people for a discussion of the questions.  After class discussion, you meet together with all the classes (sometimes about 500 people) for a lecture on that week’s study.  You pick up your lesson for the following week which includes the lesson notes.  You see the four-fold approach?

To find a BSF class near you go to www.bsfinternational.org

Why study the Old Testament?  The OT lays the foundation for the teachings and events found in the New Testament and it prophecies about the coming Messiah Jesus.  The NT is only truly understood when you see its foundation and promises of the OT.  It details numerous prophecies that have come true showing the Bible is God’s Word and it tells of many prophecies yet to come.  It teaches us many lessons as we observe its characters.  In these characters we find guidance for our own lives.                                   

The OT is made up of primarily of the Mosaic Law, the history of the nation of Israel, and prophecy of the Jewish people.  We should study the OT because it’s part of God’s Word.  It answers questions like, ‘Where did we come from?’ and ‘Who is God?’.  It brings credibility to the NT, it’s the beginning of our story, and it shows God’s authority and His love for people.

The study of Israel’s kings and prophets show us our need for a Savior.  It reveals God’s character and humanity’s struggle with sin.  Through these people we learn that sin isn’t new to God and He takes sin seriously.  We can place ourselves in Israel’s shoes.  We have gone after idols, have become captive by sin, but it doesn’t have to end there.  We see that God offers a path to salvation thousands of times in the OT.  Paul declares, “A scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuked, correcting and training in righteousness” – 2 Tim. 3:16.

Join me for the study People of the Promise Land - Kingdom Divided (Sept 12).  Hope to see you here. -- I encourage you to trust in Jesus.

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