Bible Stories for Adults

The Divided Kingdom

1 Kings 11-12, 2 Chronicles 11-12

Next Week - God Gives Food to Elijah (1 Kings 15-17)
Bible Words to Remember:
I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. John 8:12

How did God bless Solomon's reign?
1 Kings 3:12-14 = Gave him wisdom, fame, wealth, peace & long life
Did Solomon attempt to obey God as David had?
1 Kings 3:3-4 = Walked in David's statutes, offered many sacrifices
What was Solomon able to do that David was prevented from?
1 Kings 5:2-5 = Build a temple to God

What things did Solomon import besides construction materials?
1 Kings 10:22 = Gold, silver, ivory, apes, baboons
1 Kings 10:28-29 = Horses & chariots from Egypt
How many chariots and horses did Solomon get from Egypt?
1 Kings 10:26 = 1400 chariots, 12K horses
Besides the trade deficit, what was wrong with this Egyptian horse trading?
Deuteronomy 17:16 = God forbade the king to stockpile horses or get them from Egypt
What provisions did Solomon's government require on a daily basis?
1 Kings 4:22-23 = 560 bushels flour & meal, 30 cattle, 100 sheep & goats, others
How were these extensive provisions supplied?
1 Kings 4:27-28 = Each district was taxed (1 month per year), also supplied horse feed

Where did Solomon get the laborers he needed for his building projects?
1 Kings 9:20-21 = Turned all non-Jews into slaves
How many laborers did Solomon enlist?
1 Kings 5:13-16 = 30K woodcutters, 70K carriers, 80K stonecutters, 3300 foremen
Where did Solomon get the foremen and his soldiers?
1 Kings 9:22-23 = Drafted Israelites (forced labor)
Although they were drafted, why was it important that they were not called slaves?
Leviticus 25:42 = Forbidden to make an Israelite a slave

What command had God given Israel that Solomon completely ignored?
1 Kings 11:1-2 = Don't intermarry because they will lead you astray
Was God's command not to intermarry new to Solomon?
Deuteronomy 17:17 = God had told Moses that king shouldn't take many foreign wives
Did Solomon take many foreign wives, or did he just fall in love with many foreign women?
1 Kings 11:3 = 700 foreign wives, 300 concubines
How was Solomon led astray by his wives as God had said would happen?
1 Kings 11:4-8 = He built high places for his wives' gods & followed Ashtoreth & Molech

How did God decide to punish Solomon for this evil?
1 Kings 11:9-11 = He'd tear away Israel & give it to a subordinate
Did God revoke His promise to David of a descendant on the throne forever?
1 Kings 11:12-13 = No, He would leave one tribe for David's sake
While God protected Solomon's reign, did He also keep things peaceful?
1 Kings 11:14, 23, 26 = God raised adversaries against Solomon

Who was Jeroboam?
1 Kings 11:28 = A worker who Solomon promoted to head labor force
Did Jeroboam rebel against Solomon on his own?
1 Kings 11:29-31 = No, God chose him and sent Ahijah to call him

What reason did Ahijah give that God was taking these tribes from Solomon's family?
1 Kings 11:33 = They have forsaken God, worshipped idols, not walked in God's ways
Why didn't God keep all of Israel together and give it all to Jeroboam?
1 Kings 11:32 = For the sake of David's faithfulness
Would Jeroboam take these tribes from Solomon right away?
1 Kings 11:34-36 = No, Solomon would keep all tribes. God would take from his son

What promise did God make to Jeroboam?
1 Kings 11:37-38 = Build dynasty like David's if he stays faithful
What happened to Jeroboam after Solomon found out what had happened?
1 Kings 11:40 = He ran away to Shishak in Egypt until Solomon died

Did Israel immediately accept Solomon's son Rehoboam as the next king?
1 Kings 11:42-12:1 = Yes, they went to Shechem to make him king
Who did Israel choose as spokesman and what request did they make?
1 Kings 12:2-4 = Jeroboam. Lighten the tax & labor loads.

What advice did Rehoboam receive from the royal elders?
1 Kings 12:5-7 = Say yes & win their loyalty
What advice did Rehoboam receive from his friends?
1 Kings 12:8-11 = Stand up & show your strength by being tougher
Which advice did Rehoboam follow? = Scorpions - whips with lots of sharp iron points
1 Kings 12:12-14 = That of his young inexperienced friends
Why had Rehoboam taken this approach?
1 Kings 12:15 = It was part of God's plan to take 10 tribes

How did the Israelites react to Rehoboam's response?
1 Kings 12:16 = They revolted and rejected Rehoboam as king
How strong was this rejection?
1 Kings 12:18 = Adoniram was killed when Rehoboam sent him out

What did the northern tribes of Israel do for a king?
1 Kings 12:20 = They made Jeroboam their king
Did Rehoboam accept the results of this rebellion?
1 Kings 12:21 = He immediately gathered an army to take back Israel
How was this battle between Judah and Israel stopped?
1 Kings 12:22-24 = God sent prophet Shemaiah to say He did this

Where did Jeroboam select for the capital of Israel?
1 Kings 12:25 = Shechem (Later to Tirzah - 1K 14:17)
Where was Israel's capital for most of the nation's existence?
1 Kings 16:23-24 = Samaria (Bought & built by Omri), 7 miles NW of Shechem

What eventually happened to the nation of Israel and why?
2 Kings 17:6-8 = People exiled to Assyria (253 years later), Worshipped other gods
What happened to the land of Israel, Samaria?
2 Kings 17:24-25, 28-29, 41 = Settled by other peoples who worshipped their own gods
Did the people of Judah accept the people of Samaria as brothers?
John 4:9 = Jews do not associate with Samaritans

Where had God selected to put His name?
1 Kings 14:21 = Jerusalem
What problem did Jeroboam have with the city where the Lord had chosen to put His Name?
1 Kings 12:26-27 = It was in Judah, People could return to Rehoboam if they go to J
How did Jeroboam handle this problem? = Dan & Bethel are at north & south ends of Israel
1 Kings 12:28-30 = Made idols & set worship centers in Dan & Bethel

Was Jeroboam intentionally creating his own religion?
1 Kings 12:31-33 = Yes. Built shrines, made up festivals & sacrifices
How carefully did he select priests for his new religion?
1 Kings 13:33 = Anyone who wanted to be priest was accepted
How were Jeroboam's actions accepted by the faithful people in Israel?
2 Chronicles 11:5, 13-17 = Levites & devout people left Israel & strengthened Judah
Did later kings of Israel return to God?
2 Kings 17:21-23 = All followed J's sins, God punished with exile

How faithful did Rehoboam remain?
2 Chronicles 12:1 = He abandoned God as soon as he was secure as king
How did God respond to Rehoboam's rejection?
2 Chronicles 12:2-5 = He sent Shishak to conquer Rehoboam & Judah
What was Rehoboam's reaction to his punishment?
2 Chronicles 12:6 = Humbled himself & accepted God's justice
How was this reaction taken by God?
2 Chronicles 12:7-8 = Decided not to destroy them, but make them subject to Shishak

What did Shishak do when he attacked Jerusalem?
2 Chronicles 12:9 = Just took the treasures of the temple & the palace
How might Shishak have known about these treasures?
1 Kings 11:40 = Jeroboam stayed with Shishak while Solomon lived
Did Rehoboam feel safe during the rest of his reign?
2 Chronicles 12:10-11 = No. Had guards with shields escort him around
Was Rehoboam threatened by anyone other than Egypt?
1 Kings 14:30 = Continual warfare between Rehoboam and Jeroboam