1 Kings 22:41-53

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TALKS FOR GROWING CHRISTIANS

Good King Jehoshaphat; Wicked King Ahaziah

BACKGROUND NOTES



DOCTRINAL POINT(S)

  1. There is a difference between a good record and a perfect record.

  2. Christening is not a ticket to heaven.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

  1. How many times does God have to speak before we listen?

  2. Don’t be a mother like Ahaziah’s mother.

QUESTIONS

  1. Discuss the kings around the time of Jehoshaphat.

  2. What is the difference between a good record and a perfect record, as illustrated during the reign of Jehoshaphat?

  3. How many times does God have to speak before we listen? Illustrate from this lesson.

  4. How long did King Ahaziah reign? What did he do as king?

  5. How were most of the kings christened at birth? Is christening a ticket to heaven?

  6. What lessons can we learn from Ahaziah’s mother?

ANSWERS

  1. Jehoshaphat’s reign was from 875-850 B.C. At this time, Israel was a divided kingdom. Nineteen kings reigned in the north and they were all bad. The biblical record says that they did evil in the sight of the Lord. Twenty kings reigned in the south, and only eight are listed as good in the biblical record. King Jehoshaphat was one of those good kings.

  2. Jehoshaphat did that which was right in the sight of the Lord (1 Kings 22:56), and he was commended for this good record. However, three items in this portion of Scripture show that he did not have a perfect record. 1) The high places were not taken away, 2) he made peace with the king of Israel and approved of a political marriage, and 3) he made an alliance with wicked King Ahaziah.

  3. The alliance made between the two kings was near the end of Jehoshaphat’s reign. But he blindly went ahead with yet another alliance. This king ended up with broken ships, and we risk shipwreck if we will not listen to what God is trying to tell us. Did Jehoshaphat finally learn his lesson? See 1 Kings 22:49.

  4. Two years. He provoked the Lord to anger.

  5. Christening is the ceremony of baptizing and naming a child. Most of the kings of Israel and Judah were christened with names of the Lord, but they did not come to faith by this. Ahaziah was given his name, which means “the Lord holds”, or “the Lord sustains.” One must come by faith in Christ alone to get into heaven.

  6. Ahaziah did evil in the sight of the Lord, walking after both his parents. His mother was the wicked Queen Jezebel. Mothers have great influence on the moral characters of their children. Likely Jezebel, even more than Ahab, taught her son the finer points of idolatry. Mothers today can teach their children idolatry by both their words and their attitudes. That is, they teach priorities where God is not number one.

DISCUSS/CONSIDER

  1. Consider your record in the eyes of the Lord. (Good/perfect)?

  2. Are you a person who has to be spoken to by God time after time?

  3. What moral influence did your parents have on you? What kind of a parent are you? What kind of a parent would you like to be?

CHALLENGE

  1. Have you ever provoked the Lord to anger by disobeying Him?

KEY VERSES

  • “Jehoshaphat, son of Asa, walked in all the ways of his father. He did not turn aside from them, doing what was right in the eyes of the Lord. Nevertheless…” 1 Kings 22:43

  • “Ahaziah, son of Ahab, did evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of his father and his mother…for he served Baal and worshipped him, and provoked the Lord God of Israel to anger.” 1 Kings 22:52-53

1 Kings, Old Testament, TalksRon Reid1 KINGS 22:41-53