Welcome back to Week 3 in the Book of 1 Kings!  You all are doing a GREAT job! Keep on going!!!  This week we will cross the half way point of our reading.  Up until this point we have been focused on Solomon but this week we will begin to see the rise and fall of more kings.  Some of the chapters are long so make sure you leave enough time to read them slowly and really soak it in.

If you missed week 1’s wrap up – it is here and if you missed week 2’s wrap up – it is here.

If you are looking for guidance in the color coding and daily insight into the reading – please visit me on Instagram and visit the hashtag #WomenLivingWell – there are lots of women posting their pictures of their color coded Bibles and their reflections on our reading. Remember, there is no right or wrong way to do this and not all of our Bibles will look alike.

Here’s what this past week’s looked like:

If you are new here – jump in with our reading this week and catch up on the weekends.

All are welcome to join anytime – there are no enrollments or sign-ups!

This Week’s Bible Reading Plan:

(Facebook Leaders:  You can use this as your Facebook Header this week. Just right click and “save as” or screen shot it.)

This week’s Reflection & Discussion Questions

(Leaders: Copy and paste these into your groups.  If you do not have a group, use these for a personal time of reflection.)

Chapter 11

Unbelievable!  Solomon in all of his wisdom, who built the extravagant temple for the Lord and had two appearances from God himself – married foreign women and turned into a fool – worshipping pagan gods.  Watching the fall of this great man is painful.  Sin brought ruin to his kingdom and family dynasty.  Sin ruins the honor of great men and ruins their families.

We assume that we will be wiser as we age, but Solomon was wiser in his youth than in his old age.  Age does not automatically bring wisdom but rather it’s an issue of our hearts and our obedience to God that brings wisdom. Have you seen this happen in the life of someone you know? How does watching the fall of someone else, serve as a warning to us? Is there an area in your life where sin has crept in? Name it and repent today.

Chapter 12

Before Rehoboam had even talked with his young friends, he had already rejected the counsel of the older men.  The older men encouraged him to serve the people, speak kind to the people and to lead with love.  The young men gave him the opposite advice and told him to lead with fear. The older men knew the traditions of Israel and how the King affected the daily lives of the people, while the young men had grown up in the royal court and they lacked the wisdom Rehoboam needed to lead the people.

It is common for us to feel more comfortable to ask our peers for advice than an older woman, but we are missing out on the rich wisdom older women have to offer us. Do you more commonly look to your peers for advice or older women?  Name some older women that you know you could go to if you were in need of advice.

Chapter 13

The prophet started out well, obeying God’s commands.  But then he chose to listen to a lie that directly violated the command he had from God and it ended in his death.  God used a lion to judge the prophet for his disobedience.  The lion killed him but did not eat the prophet’s body nor the body of the donkey, to show that this was punishment from God and not simply a hungry lion.

I’m so thankful God does not put a lion in our path when we disobey him – aren’t you?  We see here yet again a man who starts out well but does not finish well.  In the end, there’s a donkey and a lion left – and both of these represent the two choices the man had.  He could listen to the lion of Judah, God, and obey his word, or be stubborn and foolish like a donkey.  His dead body was evidence of his wrong choice.  In what ways are you tempted to doubt God’s Word or listen to the lies of this world over the Word of God?  I’m so thankful for God’s grace, but how serious is it that we obey God?

Chapter 14

Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, reigned in Judah and instead of worshiping in the magnificent temple that his father had built, he built high places to worship idols on every hill and under every tree!  This act of great defiance provoked God to jealousy.  God’s jealousy was not the sin of envy but rather he was jealous for what belonged to him, like an adulterous wife provokes her husband by her unfaithfulness.

Before we are too astonished at Rehoboam’s ability to so easily worship false idols, we must pause and self-reflect.  Anything that we take greater pleasure or security in than God is an idol.  Identify some of the idols you see in the culture around you. Which of these idols do you need to be on guard against in your own life?

Chapter 15

Corruption had spread in the land of Judah before the reign of Asa.  When Asa became king, he removed the idols from the land.  All of the kings were usually measured against David’s heart.  David was Asa’s great-great-grandfather and Asa was compared to David as one who did what was right in God’s eyes.  Asa did not have the same talents of music and poetry and military victory, but he had a heart that desired to do what was right.

Sometimes we are tempted to compare our lives with others, but God did not give us all the same talents and abilities. What he is looking for most is a heart that desires to do what is right.  If a story was being written about your life, would the author say these words about you, “she did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.”  Why or why not?

To print the 22 Discussion Questions for 1 Kings – Click Here.

This Week’s Verses of the Day:

(Leaders: You can use these images in your groups by using right click and “save as” or screen shot them.)

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Click HERE to print the Verses of the Day for 1 Kings 11-15.

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Here’s the Printable Bible Bookmark for the Book of 1 Kings.

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Here’s another explanation of the SOAK Bible Study Method and Bible Coloring Chart if you need more guidance:

Here is the SOAK method I refer to in the video:

And the Bible Coloring  Bookmark:Click HERE to Print the full page Coloring Chart
or here for the Bookmark Coloring Chart

Here are the highlighters, pens and pencils I refer to in the video:

Highlighters – Bible Hi-Gliders

Fine Line Non-bleeding Pens – Multi-Colored Gel Pens 

Colored Pencils – Crayola Twistables and Crayola Colored Pencils

I use the ESV Inductive Study Bible and the ESV Journaling Bible as my personal study Bible.

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Share your insights using the hashtag #WomenLivingWell. 

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Have a wonderful week in God’s Word – I’ll see you back here on the blog this Friday as we go deeper into God’s Word together! Remember, some of the chapters are quite long, so be sure to leave at least 20 minutes for your reading each day. I am in prayer for you all!(Don’t forget to visit me Monday through Friday over on Facebook  and Instagram.  )

Keep walking with the King,

Courtney 

If you’d like to purchase the companion journal to 1 Kings
it’s still available on Amazon!

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