Kings and Queens of Israel and Judah
Teachers
Lesson Summary
The class began with announcements and prayer before reviewing the study’s four central themes: prioritizing God, careful association, the inevitability of consequences from poor decisions, and God’s desire for wholehearted commitment. The teacher focused on the reign of Ahab and Jezebel, illustrating how Ahab’s repeated bad choices—largely influenced by his marriage to Jezebel—produced devastating results for Israel. By drawing a parallel to Thomas Paine’s *Common Sense*, which warned against monarchy as a source of oppression, the lesson emphasized that the desire for human rule often leads to loss, tyranny, and spiritual decay, just as Israel experienced under its ungodly kings. The discussion referenced 1 Samuel 8, where God warned Israel about the pitfalls of requesting a king, and highlighted 1 Kings 16:31’s description of Omri’s evil, which Ahab exceeded. The teacher reminded the class that bad associations corrupt, using the example of Ahab’s inheritance of his father’s wickedness. The segment concluded with a call to apply these lessons to personal choices, to pray for those in need, and to pursue true commitment to God’s will.
Key Scriptures
And when they had cried unto Samuel, saying, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel heard the words of the people, and he entreated the Lord. And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king. And Samuel said unto the people, What manner of king will ye have? And the people said, As other nations. And the Lord said unto Samuel, They have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods: so shall they also do unto thee. And the Lord said unto Samuel, It shall be done unto thee according to all the works which they have done, and thou shalt do according to all the works which they have done. And the Lord said unto Samuel, I will send a man unto them, and he shall judge them.
And in the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah, did Ben-hadad the son of Ben-hadad king of Syria, come up and fight against Samaria; and he fought against Samaria three years. And in the third year, the king went up and fought against the king of Israel, and he smote the king. And the king of Israel said unto his servants, This is the son of the man of whom I said, Surely he will be a king unto me. And he said, As the Lord liveth, if you had not made this man a king, the king would have been exalted. And he died in the third year. And the king of Israel returned to his house. And the king of Syria, being at war with Israel, made an alliance with the king of Judah. And Ahab, king of Israel, took Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal the king of the Sidonians, and went and dwelt in Samaria, and he said to the king of Israel, I will give you my daughter to be wife to Ahab. And Ahab said, I will give you all that you can ask for. And he took it from the house of the king, and gave it to the king of Israel. And the king of Israel said, I will give you my daughter to be wife to Ahab. And Ahab said, I will give you all that you can ask for. And he took it from the house of the king, and gave it to the king of Israel.