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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. Thank you that you are the King, and you are building your kingdom to come where you will will be done. Help us to see how you are building THE KINGDOM and we are waiting for you our King and THE KINGDOM you will bring. 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 it seemed all the other people of the earth had. They wanted an earthly king to do for them and provide for them what only God can. For 430 years, God allows his people to experience the reality of having what they wanted, an earthly King. Thankfully in Jesus, we see that He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and we are waiting diligently for THE KINGDOM.

READ 1 Kings 12:26-29, John 18:36, Matthew 6:31-34, 16:15-18

  1. Like Jeroboam, what does a posture of defensiveness, fear, and scheming communicate about who’s kingdom we are trying to build? Discuss
  2. Our world is constantly trying to get us to look at other people’s “kingdoms” they are building or have built with covetousness and worry? Why?
  3. What are the common subtle ways we build our own kingdoms instead of God’s… relationally, politically, economically, etc.?
  4. What are the ways we as believers like to show off our kingdom as God’s kingdom when in reality we are using God to justify our own personal kingdom building? What are some ways we can easily tell the difference?
  5. If you have surrendered your life to Jesus, you are a coheir with Jesus, and you have been promised a kingdom through Jesus. Why, like the kings of the past, can’t we simply seek that kingdom, obey His word, step out in faith, and diligently wait for Him?

READ 1 Kings 12:30-33, 2 Chronicles 11:13-12:14, Matthew 20:25-28

  1. In what ways, do we see the tendencies today to abandon or twist the word of God like Jeroboam and Rehoboam did to fit the kingdoms we want to keep and build?
  2. How do we, like Rehoboam, take a little obedience and deliverance and use it to our own advantage instead of going after the high places of idolatry in our hearts and in God’s people?
  3. 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 Like Paul, what does God often send us so that we seek Him and THE KINGDOM and not exalt ourselves and our own kingdoms?
    1. How does God’s message to Paul tend to rub against the predominate modern western message of kingdom building?
  4. How can our attitudes of earthly entitlement and rights (like Jeroboam and Rehoboam) lead us away from being surrendered servants like Jesus tells us to be?

READ 1 Kings 13:1-10, 1 Corinthians 5:9-13, Matthew 9:10-13

  1. In these verses, we see the difficulty of kingdom realities in relationships. Discuss how we can find balance in the difficulty of kingdom relationships with those who seem to be unbelievers, those who claim to be believers, and those who claim to have a word from God.