This week’s study on the Rise and Fall of Israel’s Monarch’s continues with a look at the Kings of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. After Jeroboam’s 22 year reign as the Northern Kingdom’s first king his son Nadab will succeed him to the throne and continue the wicked and evil practices of his father. This cycle of wickedness (most often marked by idol worship, perversion and complete disregard for Mosaic Law) continued for 188 years (931-722 B.C.) and all 19 kings of the Northern Kingdom of Israel are noted for doing evil in the sight of the Lord. The Northern Kingdom of Israel will have a total of 9 dynasties unlike the Southern Kingdom of Judah which has only one. The most prominent king of Israel is Ahab who was the Al Capone of his time and probably the most ruthless and vile leader to ever rule over either kingdom. King Ahab and his wife Jezebel were personally responsible for hunting down and killing the prophets of the Lord as well as promoting idol worship throughout the Land of Israel. Other prominent kings of Israel (all wicked) were Omri, Jehu and Jeroboam II to mention just a few. Their accomplishments were primarily political but neither accomplished anything of spiritual value. In the end the people of the Northern Kingdom of Israel and their capital of Samaria fell to the Assyrian Empire in 722 B.C. As such, the promises of the Lord to the people of the covenant (the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) would be fulfilled through the Southern Kingdom of Judah. That lesson is for next week….stay tuned.

Lesson 6 – The Kings of Israel (Student Copy)

Lesson 6 – The Kings of Israel (Teacher Copy)

Lesson 6 – The Kings of Israel – PPT

This week’s study on the Rise and Fall of Israel’s Monarch’s continues with a look at the Kingdom of Israel in trouble. Upon the death of Solomon, the United Kingdom of Israel will divide along similar lines that existed prior to the reign of King David. Much of this was due to the failures during the portion of Solomon’s reign in which he worshipped and pursued false gods which was forbidden by the Lord. The allowance of idol worship in the kingdom became a continual problem during the reign of all the kings of Israel and Judah. The failure of the kings to pursue the Lord wholeheartedly is at the root of the division between the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah. The division begins after Solomon dies in which the 10 northern tribes of Israel will follow Jeroboam (one of Solomon’s servants) and the other 2 tribes of Judah and Benjamin will follow Rehoboam (Solomon’s son). This civil war will continue for hundreds of years and the two kingdoms will never formally unite again. Each kingdom will have its own king. Those of the Northern Kingdom will establish their own set of kings (all wicked and evil), their own temple and their own form of worship which will primarily be a worship of false pagan gods. Those of the Southern Kingdom of Judah will fare a little better and their kings (all descendants of David) will be a mixture of good and bad kings, yet in spite of themselves and their often falling away from true worship of the Lord, they will at times repent and restore themselves to the Lord. This transition from a United Kingdom to a divided one is a bid of a sad story but all is not lost, and the Lord’s plan to restore His people to Himself is ultimately found in the Messiah – Jesus Christ.

Lesson 5 – A Divided Kingdom (Student Copy)

Lesson 5 – A Divided Kingdom (Teacher Copy)

Lesson 5 – A Divided Kingdom – PPT

This week’s study on the Rise and Fall of Israel’s Monarch’s continues with a look into the life of King Solomon – David’s son. Solomon will reign as King of Israel for a total of 40 years and he will expand the borders of the kingdom to their largest ever for any King who ruled over Israel. During Solomon’s reign he will build the Temple and will live at peace with his neighbors unlike his father David. Solomon will be blessed by the Lord with wisdom, wealth, honor, and a long life. Solomon will speak or write over 3000 proverbs (several hundred of which are preserved in the Books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes), he also wrote 1005 songs (one of which was recorded as The Song of Songs) and he was an expert in botany and zoology. Solomon was considered to be one of the wisest men to ever walk this planet and yet in spite of that wisdom, he failed to guard himself against complacency and the temptations of evil. As we will see in this portion of our study, Solomon makes a number of bad choices during the middle portion of his reign which leads to a pattern of sin that brings severe judgment upon him. In addition, his pursuit of worshipping false gods really becomes his undoing and will bring about the division of the Kingdom of Israel. It is a bit of a sad turn of events for a man who was given so much wisdom and wealth but Solomon will admit in other writings what happens when we get our focus off of the Lord and turn that focus on earthly things. Solomon will eventually write the Book of Ecclesiastes which will serve as an acknowledgement of his failures, an admittance of his errors and an assent toward repentance as he openly declares that the whole duty of man is to fear God and keep His commandments. Sadly this change of heart is too little too late and the damage is done as the United Kingdom of Israel will fracture in two. Stay tuned – more to come.

Lesson 4 – King Solomon (Student Copy)

Lesson 4 – King Solomon (Teacher)

Lesson 4 – King Solomon Part II – PPT

Of all of David’s sons, his choice to reign alongside of him during the final years of his life was Solomon. David made preparations for the construction of the temple and it would become Solomon’s task to complete. Solomon was the Lord’s choice to reign after David and Solomon was also embraced by the people of Israel to be their king. Solomon will reign as King of Israel for a total of 40 years and he will expand the borders of the kingdom to their largest ever for any King who ruled over Israel. During Solomon’s reign he will build the Temple and will live at peace with his neighbors unlike his father David. Solomon will be blessed by the Lord with wisdom, wealth, honor, and a long life. Solomon will speak or write over 3000 proverbs (several hundred of which are preserved in the Books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes), he also wrote 1005 songs (one of which was recorded as The Song of Songs) and he was an expert in botany and zoology. Solomon was considered to be one of the wisest men to ever walk this planet and yet in spite of that wisdom, he failed to guard himself against complacency and the temptations of evil. In this portion of our study we will see Solomon at his best and in our next lesson we will see him at his worst, but the Lord will direct him toward repentance. Solomon will eventually write the Book of Ecclesiastes which will serve as an acknowledgement of his failures, an admittance of his errors and an assent toward repentance as he openly declares that the whole duty of man is to fear God and keep His commandments.

Lesson 4 – King Solomon (Student Copy)

Lesson 4 – King Solomon (Teacher)

Lesson 4 – King Solomon Part I – PPT

This is the fifth installment in the series I am teaching this fall on the “Rise and Fall of Israel’s Monarchs”, which is a study on the Kings of Israel and Judah. During David’s first 20 years as king he continued to fight many battles and was away from home often. This resulted in all sorts of domestic failures at home, both for the nation, as well as in his personal family. This neglect of things at home, along with not completely following the teachings of scripture (Deut. 17:14-17), are what drove David into a cycle of sin that he struggled to break free from. David’s decisions to be unaccountable made him vulnerable to the very thing that made him such a notable person. His pursuit of righteousness (a man after God’s own heart), and integrity was blindsided by pride and arrogance because he didn’t allow himself to keep it in check! The days following David’s adultery with Bathsheba were some of his most challenging as he faced a number of family issues; the greatest of them was a rebellious son (Absalom) who sought to steal the kingdom away from him. David grieves over the bad decisions that he made and does show signs of a repentant heart but his actions (like ours) still have consequences. Over time the kingdom is restored to David but at a very heavy cost (the death of his son Absalom). Toward the end of his reign, David restores his relationship to the Lord, makes repairs to the fragile kingdom, and prepares to deliver a United Kingdom over to his son Solomon before he dies.

Lesson 3 – King David (Student Copy)

Lesson 3 – King David (Teacher Copy)

Lesson 3 – King David Part III – PPT

This is the fourth installment in the series I am teaching this fall on the “Rise and Fall of Israel’s Monarchs”, which is a study on the Kings of Israel and Judah. In this portion of our study we will cover the portion of David’s life when he takes over as the King of Israel and Judah. After the death of Saul a civil war breaks out between the house of Saul (led by his son whose name was Ish-bosheth) and the house of David. The tribes of Israel will follow Ish-bosheth and the tribes of Benjamin and Judah will follow David. Eventually David’s following will grow strong and he will become the sole ruler of a United Kingdom of Israel at the age of 30. David will eventually move the capital to Jerusalem and will rule from there for about 33 years. During these years David’s family will grow and the kingdom will expand. David will be responsible for the implementation of the priesthood and re-focus attention on obedience to the Law and the elimination of idol worship within the kingdom. The Lord will make a covenant with David in which the Lord tells David that He will make his name great and that David’s throne would be established forever. David has a desire to build a house (Temple) for the Lord but that job is reserved for his son Solomon. David will be quite successful in defeating the neighboring countries causing them to fear the Lord and make peace with the people of Israel. This was probably the best years of David’s 40 year reign as king before things begin to unravel a bit.

Lesson 3 – King David (Student Copy)

Lesson 3 – King David (Teacher Copy)

Lesson 3 – King David Part II – PPT

This is the third installment in the series I am teaching this fall on the “Rise and Fall of Israel’s Monarchs”, which is a study on the Kings of Israel and Judah. In this portion of our study we are introduced to a young man who will eventually become the most renowned and most respected king of Israel – King David. The Scriptures do not provide any detail of his birth and early childhood years. We are introduced to him when he is a young lad and although we are not completely sure, he was probably just entering his teenage years at the time he faces Goliath the Philistine. This portion of our study focuses on David’s defeat of Goliath the giant and David’s early days in King Saul’s army. David quickly moves up the ranks and having already been anointed by Samuel as the next King of Israel, he will eventually win the hearts of the people and become their second king. David will work hard to unite all the tribes of Judah and Israel with a focus on following God wholeheartedly. David is far from a perfect man but he was regarded as a man after God’s own heart which means to me that his heart was in the right place. I am glad the Lord understands the heart of man and though our outward actions have consequences (some good and some bad) – the Lord knows the intent of our hearts and judges accordingly. David was no exception and being a man of faith in the Lord, his motives and actions were for the most part, guided by that faith.

Lesson 3 – King David (Student Copy)

Lesson 3 – King David (Teacher Copy)

Lesson 3 – King David Part I – PPT

This time in Israel’s history represents a shift in which they will no longer be recognized by their loose tribal affiliations with a Judge as their leader, but will experience a more centralized government that will have a king on the throne. By the time Samuel was born, the Israelites (as a whole) were extremely idolatrous and immoral and the need for a strong “spiritual leader” was more evident than ever. Samuel became that leader but the peoples desire for a king to rule continued to drive their demands to be like all the surrounding nations. In spite of Samuel’s warnings as to what this king would represent and how he would treat them….they wanted him anyway and God granted them their wish as He gave them Saul.

Lesson 2 – From Samuel to Saul (Student)

Lesson 2 – From Samuel to Saul (Teacher)

Lesson 2 – From Samuel to Saul (PPT)

I will be teaching this new series beginning this week (Thursday evening – September 19). This study “The Rise and Fall of Israel’s Monarchs” is my newest study that covers the period in the Old Testament known as the Kings. It covers approximately 440 years of Israel’s history and encompasses approximately 22 out of the 39 books of the Old Testament. It will last approximately 10 weeks. The first lesson provides the Biblical and historical background to the overall period of the Kings from the days of the Judges up to and including the final king of Judah before they were conquered by the Babylonians and taken into captivity.

Lesson 1 – Kings and Queens Overview (Student)

Lesson 1 – Kings and Queens Overview (Teacher)

Lesson A – Kings and Queens Overview PPT

Daniel 12 concludes the final vision that Daniel receives and makes reference to in Daniel 10:1; “In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a message was revealed to Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar; and the message was true and one of great conflict, but he understood the message and had an understanding of the vision”. In this chapter (Daniel 12) the focus is on the events surrounding the time of the end which matches up with the description of events by Jesus in Matthew 24:15-25 and those written by the Apostle John in the Book of The Revelation which we often refer to as the Tribulation. The rather short chapter of Daniel 12 (just 13 verses) does not have the same specific detail as we find in Daniel 11, but the fact remains that the Lord has a plan of blessing for the people of the Covenant and all who follow Him. The Lord also has a plan for those who remain in rebellion against Him and choose to ally themselves with Satan and his demons which Daniel briefly speaks about here. There may remain a few unanswered questions and items of concern for Daniel but one thing that he could be sure of was a future resurrection to righteousness and to receive that which he was promised. We too can be sure of a future hope that was provided through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ on the cross if we but trust and believe. (John 3:16, Romans 10:9-10)

I trust that you have enjoyed this study through the Book of Daniel and I would welcome and appreciate any thoughts or comments that you might have. I will be returning to the study that I had been working on titled “Kings and Queens – The Rise and Fall of Israel’s Monarchs” so be on the lookout for the completion of that study. God Bless you as you continue studying His Word.

Lesson 12 – Daniel’s Last Vision Part III – Daniel 12 (Student Copy)

Lesson 12 – Daniel’s Last Vision Part III – Daniel 12 (Teacher Copy)