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In the Lord’s Sight

Yahweh wanted to be King of His people and make a place for them. They rejected Him, and He warned them. He gave them what they wanted, and they became enslaved like everyone else. In 1 & 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles, people are faced with choices. Would they continue to reject the Lord and create their own high places of worship, or return to the Lord and His rightful place of worship? Would they do what was right IN THE LORD'S SIGHT as written in His word, or what was evil IN THE LORD'S SIGHT that seemed to work in the world? We face the same choices today...IN THE LORD'S SIGHT. #1kings #2kings #2chronicles #2023

Starter

Pray

Lord we thank You that You see all things. Help us to trust your plan for this world now, the world that you are currently building, and the new world you will bring when You return. As we look at the Kings of Your people and your people’s response from ages past, help us to see you and see ourselves. May we strive to understand our standing in Your sight as our King. May we long for the day when we will stand with all your people In the Lord’s Sight. Thank you for all that you have done and continue to do. Help us through our study today to know and trust you in our wavering and restraint. Thank you for your grace when we get it wrong. Thank you Holy Spirit for the word of truth and your church that you use to guide us. Amen

Study Questions

God had made a people of His own from Abraham. He had delivered them from slavery, subdued their enemies, and had brought them into the land that he promised them. However, because of their unwillingness to listen to God, his prophets, and his judges they asked for a king. God wanted to be their King. However, they rejected The Lord as King because they wanted an earthly King and earthly benefits now like all the other people of the earth seemed to have.

They thought an earthly king could do for them and provide for them what only God could. For 430 years, God allowed his people to experience the reality of rejecting Him as King and pursuing what they wanted in an earthly King. Thankfully in our King Jesus, the gift of His word, the power of His Holy Spirit, and the encouragement of His body the church, we can find help when we are struggling with wavering and restraint.

READ 2 Kings 15:32-35, 2 Chronicles 27:2-9, Jeremiah 4:1-2, Hebrews 10:23-25

  1. Unfortunately God’s people throughout history have often used Pragmatic Therapeutic Moral Deism or a similar pattern of thinking to make decisions about wavering and restraint.
    1. What is Pragmatic Therapeutic Moral Deism?
    2. How is Pragmatic Therapeutic Moral Deism a dangerous way to determine God’s will especially when we are struggling with wavering and restraint?
    3. What are better ways to determine and live in God’s will according to these verses?
  2. 2 Chronicles 27:2 says that Jotham “did what was right in the Lord’s sight as his father Uzziah had done. In addition, he didn’t enter the Lord’s sanctuary, but the people still behaved corruptly.” Jotham did not waiver and practiced biblical restraint but the people continued to waiver and throw of restraint.
    1. How do we see relationships often work in our lives today like Jotham and people?
    2. How can these passages encourage us when we have done what is right in the Lord’s eyes, but we are still struggling with the wavering and restraint of ourselves and others?

READ 2 Kings 16:1, 5, 2 Chronicles 28:1-15, Luke 10:20-37

  1. How did Ahaz do in his wavering and restraint? What were the specific things he did?
  2. Who did the Lord hand Ahaz over to and why?
  3. Jesus, in Luke 10, is being tested by a religious leader about eternal life. He tells a very similar story to the one we read in 2 Chronicles 28.
    1. What are the similarities in the 2 stories?
    2. How do we know if we have eternal life and are no longer under a curse?
  4. The Israelite leaders who were in a far more wicked environment and in a position of pride for their win ended up being more responsive to God through the prophet then Ahaz ever was to God.
    1. How do these stories help us understand how we should respond in our wavering and restraint?

READ 2 Kings 16:6-18, 2 Chronicles 28:17-19, 24-25

  1. What were all the ways Ahaz got it wrong in his wavering and restraint?
  2. What specific things did Ahaz do to practice Pragmatic Therapeutic Moral Deism and provoke God?
  3. How can we subtly do some of these same things to try and save ourselves?