Discover the Book - Oct. 26, 2008

2008 Oct 26

Christ in 1&2^nd Samuel and 1^st&2^nd Kings

I Samuel: Life in the flesh or Spirit would be an apt title of this first book of Samuel. The striking contrasts between Hannah and Peniah, Samuel and Eli, David and Saul attest to this truth. We read some of the great stories of the Bible in First Samuel, like the persistent love of Hannah, the wicked sons of Eli, the calling of Samuel, the humiliation of Dagon, the disobedience of Saul, David’s calling from the flocks, David and Goliath, the friendship of Jonathan, Saul and the witch and so many more. This book also marvelously introduces to three key doctrines: the Doctrine of God, the Doctrine of Prayer and the Doctrine of Worship. We can briefly examine each.

I. The Doctrine of God is full of riches to grow by.

II. The Doctrine of Prayer is full of wisdom to pray by.

A. GOD GIVES OUR HEARTS DESIRE THROUGH PRAYER. Hannah prays for a son and is given Samuel [1:10, 12, 26, 27; 2:1].

B. GOD GIVES US VICTORY THROUGH PRAYER. Samuel prays for Israel and they are led to victory by God [7:5-10].

C. GOD GIVES US COMFORT THROUGH PRAYER. Samuel comes in sorrow to God for Israel that has rejected Him as their King [8:5-6].

D. GOD GIVES INSIGHT THROUGH PRAYER. God reveals secrets to Samuel while he is praying [9:15].

E. GOD GIVES US ACCESS THROUGH PRAYER. Samuel declares that a lack of prayer is sin [12:19, 23].

F. GOD GIVES NO EAR TO A REBEL. Saul finds his rebellion and rejection of God means God will not listen to him [28:6].

III. The Doctrine of Worship centers on the Psalms out of the hard times in the life of David.

II SAMUEL: The book of Second Samuel records the rise, fall and finish of a great man of God. We can learn so much from him as we look into the Scriptures.

I. David Serving: The Man after Gods own heart (II Samuel 1-10)

A. Honors God’s Servants [1:14]

B. Expresses God’s Forgiving Love [1:17-27]

C. Keeps in touch with God [2:1]

D. Portrays Genuine Grief [3:33-39]

E. Gives God the Glory [5:12]

F. Prays to God [7:18-29]

II. David Sinning: The Giant that Killed David (II Samuel 11-12)

III. David Surviving: Facing Personal Disasters God’s Way (II Samuel 13-17). David portrays a life entrusted to God’s care. He gives each care to the Lord. Watch him as he:

IV. David Singing: David’s Last Song (II Samuel 23)

V. David Speaking: Lessons from the Man after God's own heart:

A. God is the Author of Prosperity and Protection.1 Chronicles 29:12 Both riches and honor come from You, And You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might; In Your hand it is to make great And to give strength to all. (NKJV)

B. God warns no one is beyond the reach of Temptation. 1 Corinthians 10:12-13 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. (NKJV)

C. God knows Family Life is a real challenge for all of us. Genesis 18:19 "For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him." (NKJV)

D. God waits to restore us when we fall [Psalm 51]

I KINGS: The book of Kings is about kings. There are 19 Kings [all bad] in the Northern Kingdom and 19 [8 good and 11 bad] in the Southern. As Saul who had no heart for God, David who had a whole heart for God and Solomon who only had half a heart for Him - these 38 are a mixture of all three. The book of First Kings records the lives of the people of Israel as they lived “In the Eyes of the Lord”[11:6; 14:22; 15:5, 11, 26, 34; 16:7, 19, 25, 30; 21:20, 25, 22:43, 52]. This expression is repeated 14x in this book. We all need to ponder the theme of this book: to live IN THE SIGHT OF GOD!

I. Solomon: Forty Years

A. Good Start 1-4

B. Great Choices 5-8

C. God Given fame and fortune 9-10

D. Grievous Ending 11

II. Divided Kingdom: Eighty Years

A. Reheboam Complex: forsake wisdom 12

B. Two new kingdoms, two old problems: idolatry and disobedience 13-16

C. Elijah: God’s Man stands alone 17-19

D. Ahab: the worst 20-22

III. FOUR GREAT TRUTHS GLEANED FROM THIS BOOK:

A. God Keeps His Word so we should SEARCH IT DAILY.

1. God will judge the Apostasy [I Kings 8:46; 12:25-33]

2. God hates False worship 1 Kings 11:33 I will do this because they have forsaken me and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Molech the god of the Ammonites, and have not walked in my ways, nor done what is right in my eyes, nor kept my statutes and laws as David, Solomon's father, did. (NIV)

3. God punishes Disobedience 1 Kings 13:21 He cried out to the man of God who had come from Judah, "This is what the LORD says: `You have defied the word of the LORD and have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you. 1 Kings 13:34 This was the sin of the house of Jeroboam that led to its downfall and to its destruction from the face of the earth. (NIV)

4. God doesn’t forget His Warnings 1 Kings 16:34 In Ahab's time, Hiel of Bethel rebuilt Jericho. He laid its foundations at the cost of his firstborn son Abiram, and he set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, in accordance with the word of the LORD spoken by Joshua son of Nun. (NIV) Galatians 6:7-8 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. (NIV)

B. God Rewards Obedience so we should OBEY HIM ALWAYS!

1. Remember Solomon: His wisdom from God was known around the world. [4:29-34]

2. Remember Elijah: Standing Alone by Faith I Kings 17-18

a) In I Kings 17:7 Elijah finds the place of Faith: Faith emerges from Real Need

b) In I Kings 17:10-12 Elijah finds the Test of Faith: Faith challenges our deepest Fears

c) In I Kings 17:15-16 Elijah finds the Product of Faith: Faith enables us to experience Real Blessings.

C. God Seeks Devotion so we should WORSHIP HIM WHOLEHEARTEDLY!

1. He wants our Hearts [9:4].

2. He wants our Trust [18:21]

D. God Expects Priority so we should SEEK HIM FIRST! David wanted a house for God [5:3] more than his own wealth. He became a man after God’s own heart. Solomon wanted a house for both God and himself. He built God’s first. His house was five times larger than the Temple, and took twice as long to build! [6:38-7:1] Solomon defected from God in the end. As God looks around the earth, does He find you looking at Him with all your heart? Deuteronomy 4:29 But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul.

II KINGS: “Serving God” During the period covering the last 130 years of Israel and the last 250 years of Judah, II Kings records the response of the people to these prophets in the order they spoke and wrote: Elijah [*875-855 BC], Elisha [*855-795], Obadiah [840-825], Joel [825-810], Jonah [*785-770], Amos [*765-755], Hosea [*755-715], Isaiah [740-692], Micah [735-700], Nahum [650-620], Zephaniah [635-623], Jeremiah [625-575], Habakkuk [620-608], Daniel [605-535], Ezekiel [595-560]. The sad truth remains - few listened to God speaking through them. God’s servants listen to His Words. Second Kings stands as a book about Servants. God has good servants and bad servants. He rewards the good and punishes the bad. Life is all about who we will serve. In this book we see portraits of failed opportunities to serve God as well as beautiful lives of service for Him. Who are you serving today? God or yourself? We can draw an incredible wealth of lessons on servanthood from this small book. Here are no less than ten powerful components of those who serve God.

I. A Servant of God is Empowered for Ministry : There must be Absolute Surrender. Elisha showed this at his calling in I Kings 19:19-21. He patterned it in his daily life.

II. A Servant of God focuses on the source of problems. [2:19-22]

III. A Servant of God knows the secret of humility [3:15-25] because the way God sent water to aid Israel in the battle against Moab has a lesson on the way the Spirit of God works.

IV. A Servant of God serves by Sufficiency of the Spirit [4:1-7] as is portrayed in the Widow’s oil miracle.

A. IMPOSSIBLE DEBT: She had a humanly impossible situation [4:1] one only God can fix. So we are impossibly indebted to the lost world around us. Romans 1:14-15 I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome. (NIV)

B. INEXHAUSTIBLE RESOURCES: Oil is a picture of the Holy Spirit and as she poured into empty vessels the oil never ran out. So the Holy Spirit will flow out of us like rivers of water into empty dry and thirsting lives around us. John 7:38-39 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified. (NIV)

C. INCREDIBLE SUPPLY: The provision was for more than just the debt, it covered the daily supply also [4:7]

V. A Servant of God has genuine power [4:8-37] as demonstrated in the inability of Gehazi.

VI. A Servant of God declares the Gospel of a Humble and Contrite approach to God [5:1-27] as demonstrated in Naaman’s healing.

VII. A Servant of God will repent and return when the power of the Spirit departs their life [6:1-7] as illustrated in the miracle of the restored ax head.

A. BEWARE: Christians can lose the cutting edge for ministry by quenching the Holy Spirit.

B. STOP: No work can proceed without the axehead. The self generated service does nothing more than chopping with an ax handle accomplishes in felling trees. John 15:5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. (NIV)

C. GO BACK: The prophets went back to where the axehead was lost [6:6]. We need to go back to where we lost the blessing and get it back! Revelation 2:5 Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. (NIV)

VIII. A Servant of God is aware of God’s protection [6:8-23] as illustrated by the opening of the servants eyes and the blinding of the Syrian army.

A. Elisha lived with an awareness he was surrounded by God’s powerful army.

B. When God intervenes He renders our enemies Helpless [6:18], Hopeless [6:21] and Powerless [6:22-23].

IX. A Servant of God sees the Lord in all of life.

A. God is the Lord of History -- SERVE HIM! He shaped Judah and Israel’s future. He directed Naaman and Hazeel of Syria [5; 8:7-15].

B. God is Lord of the Universe -- TRUST HIM! His armies are present on earth though invisible [6:15-17].

C. God is Lord of the inexhaustible resources -- draw upon Him [4:1-7 oil; enemy army 19:35; etc.].

For more from Discover the Book Ministries, please visit discoverthebook.org.