Click below to download the Cornerstone Connections leader’s guide and student lesson. This week’s resources also include two lesson plans and a discussion starter video which offer different ways of looking at the topic. Each lesson plan includes opening activities, scripture passages, discussion questions, and real-life applications.
1 Kings 22; 2 Chronicles 17-21
Chapter 15
King Jehosaphat’s story is about someone who sought to do what was right in God’s eyes. He made his father’s life a model for his own. Do you have a role model like that? His desire to live for God and to live with God earned him a special sentence of affirmation in the Bible.
Have you ever asked a question that you already knew the answer to, but just had to ask anyway? Ahab knew what was right and who was right, but continued to ask the wrong people for the correct answer. Today’s lesson is about choices. Should one live like Jehoshaphat or Ahab? Listen to the many or the few? Listen to God or Satan? The answers may seem obvious from the outside, but the people involved in this story may have had a different perspective.
OPENING ACTIVITY: SIGHTINGS
Ask the students this question: “Where did you see Jesus at work this week?” Silence can be a good thing, but don’t let it go too long. If nobody volunteers to answer, you should share something from your week, then ask the question again. It may take several tries to get the students to open up, but it will be worth it when you do.
Knowing people on more than a superficial level is important. When you know people that way, you can make decisions about them that allow you to decide whether or not to be friends. Trust is built on knowing people. Trust in friendship, trust in God, and trust in oneself are all an important part of life. It affects everything, especially your approach to life and how you respond to the events that come into your path. If someone you trust asks you to do something, it is more likely that you will do it than if a complete stranger or someone you know to be untrustworthy were to ask you.
BIBLE STUDY GUIDE
Read 2 Chronicles 17:1-6 (NIV).
Jehoshaphat King of Judah
1 Jehoshaphat his son succeeded him as king and strengthened himself against Israel. 2 He stationed troops in all the fortified cities of Judah and put garrisons in Judah and in the towns of Ephraim that his father Asa had captured.
3 The Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he followed the ways of his father David before him. He did not consult the Baals 4 but sought the God of his father and followed his commands rather than the practices of Israel. 5 The Lord established the kingdom under his control; and all Judah brought gifts to Jehoshaphat, so that he had great wealth and honor. 6 His heart was devoted to the ways of the Lord; furthermore, he removed the high places and the Asherah poles from Judah.
Read 2 Chronicles 17:7-12 (NIV).
7 In the third year of his reign he sent his officials Ben-Hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel and Micaiah to teach in the towns of Judah. 8 With them were certain Levites—Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah and Tob-Adonijah—and the priests Elishama and Jehoram. 9 They taught throughout Judah, taking with them the Book of the Law of the Lord; they went around to all the towns of Judah and taught the people.
10 The fear of the Lord fell on all the kingdoms of the lands surrounding Judah, so that they did not go to war against Jehoshaphat. 11 Some Philistines brought Jehoshaphat gifts and silver as tribute, and the Arabs brought him flocks: seven thousand seven hundred rams and seven thousand seven hundred goats.
12 Jehoshaphat became more and more powerful; he built forts and store cities in Judah.
What important task did Jehoshaphat send his leaders out to do in his kingdom?
How did the people inside and outside the kingdom receive the reading of the law?
What did God do to show His pleasure with Israel?
Read 2 Chronicles 18:1-11 (NIV).
Micaiah Prophesies Against Ahab
1 Now Jehoshaphat had great wealth and honor, and he allied himself with Ahab by marriage. 2 Some years later he went down to see Ahab in Samaria. Ahab slaughtered many sheep and cattle for him and the people with him and urged him to attack Ramoth Gilead. 3 Ahab king of Israel asked Jehoshaphat king of Judah, “Will you go with me against Ramoth Gilead?”
Jehoshaphat replied, “I am as you are, and my people as your people; we will join you in the war.” 4 But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, “First seek the counsel of the Lord.”
5 So the king of Israel brought together the prophets—four hundred men—and asked them, “Shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I not?”
“Go,” they answered, “for God will give it into the king’s hand.”
6 But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there no longer a prophet of the Lord here whom we can inquire of?”
7 The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat, “There is still one prophet through whom we can inquire of the Lord, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.”
“The king should not say such a thing,” Jehoshaphat replied.
8 So the king of Israel called one of his officials and said, “Bring Micaiah son of Imlah at once.”
9 Dressed in their royal robes, the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah were sitting on their thrones at the threshing floor by the entrance of the gate of Samaria, with all the prophets prophesying before them. 10 Now Zedekiah son of Kenaanah had made iron horns, and he declared, “This is what the Lord says: ‘With these you will gore the Arameans until they are destroyed.’”
11 All the other prophets were prophesying the same thing. “Attack Ramoth Gilead and be victorious,” they said, “for the Lord will give it into the king’s hand.”
Read 2 Chronicles 18:12-26 (NIV).
12 The messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah said to him, “Look, the other prophets without exception are predicting success for the king. Let your word agree with theirs, and speak favorably.”
13 But Micaiah said, “As surely as the Lord lives, I can tell him only what my God says.”
14 When he arrived, the king asked him, “Micaiah, shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I not?”
“Attack and be victorious,” he answered, “for they will be given into your hand.”
15 The king said to him, “How many times must I make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?”
16 Then Micaiah answered, “I saw all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd, and the Lord said, ‘These people have no master. Let each one go home in peace.’”
17 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Didn’t I tell you that he never prophesies anything good about me, but only bad?”
18 Micaiah continued, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne with all the multitudes of heaven standing on his right and on his left. 19 And the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab king of Israel into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there?’
“One suggested this, and another that. 20 Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before the Lord and said, ‘I will entice him.’
“‘By what means?’ the Lord asked.
21 “‘I will go and be a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all his prophets,’ he said.
“‘You will succeed in enticing him,’ said the Lord. ‘Go and do it.’
22 “So now the Lord has put a deceiving spirit in the mouths of these prophets of yours. The Lord has decreed disaster for you.”
23 Then Zedekiah son of Kenaanah went up and slapped Micaiah in the face. “Which way did the spirit from the Lord go when he went from me to speak to you?” he asked.
24 Micaiah replied, “You will find out on the day you go to hide in an inner room.”
25 The king of Israel then ordered, “Take Micaiah and send him back to Amon the ruler of the city and to Joash the king’s son, 26 and say, ‘This is what the king says: Put this fellow in prison and give him nothing but bread and water until I return safely.’”
Read 2 Peter 2:1-2 (NIV).
False Teachers and Their Destruction
1 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.
Read Matthew 7:15 (NIV).
True and False Prophets
15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.”
Read 1 John 4:1 (NIV).
On Denying the Incarnation
1 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
What do you think false teachers look like today?
Why is it important to know Scripture and trust in Jesus?
Read 2 Chronicles 18:28-34 (NIV).
Ahab Killed at Ramoth Gilead
28 So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up to Ramoth Gilead. 29 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will enter the battle in disguise, but you wear your royal robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle.
30 Now the king of Aram had ordered his chariot commanders, “Do not fight with anyone, small or great, except the king of Israel.” 31 When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they thought, “This is the king of Israel.” So they turned to attack him, but Jehoshaphat cried out, and the Lord helped him. God drew them away from him, 32 for when the chariot commanders saw that he was not the king of Israel, they stopped pursuing him.
33 But someone drew his bow at random and hit the king of Israel between the breastplate and the scale armor. The king told the chariot driver, “Wheel around and get me out of the fighting. I’ve been wounded.” 34 All day long the battle raged, and the king of Israel propped himself up in his chariot facing the Arameans until evening. Then at sunset he died.
Read Revelation 20:10 (NIV).
10 And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
What happens to false prophets and people who misrepresent God?
APPLICATION
Today’s lesson was about the struggle between truth and lies. Much of the time truth and lies are so mixed together that it is difficult to separate fact from fiction. In our story, it would appear that Jehoshaphat knew both God and Ahab well enough that he wasn’t willing to just take the word of Ahab’s prophets at face value. Through the leading of the Holy Spirit, reading God’s Word, and listening to the voices of people who are trustworthy followers of God, we can usually get a very good sense of where God is leading. What we do with that information will dictate how we make important decisions in our lives and whether or not we will be faithful followers of God.
How does your relationship with God affect the decisions that you make in your life?
Can you think of any situations in which you chose to go a different direction from where God was telling you to go?
Read John 14:17-19 (NIV).
17 The Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.
In the end, the voices you listen to in life are important. Choose wisely! Following God isn’t going to be easy, but it will have long lasting implications for your life.
Send the follow-up activity handout (attached as a PDF) to each student for them to do in the coming week.
Find a quiet place to sit and write. Write down what you think has been the most important time you chose to listen to a different voice than God’s.
Now, take the piece of paper and tear it into lots of tiny pieces and put it in the recycle bin. If you ask, God will forgive you and help you to make better decisions in the future. And most importantly, He doesn’t hold your past bad decisions against you.
Read 1 John 1:9 (NIV).
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Read Psalms 103:10-12 (NIV).
10 He does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
There are so many different types of messages that we hear or read on a daily basis. News sources tell us what is happening around our city and in the world. Social media tells us about our contacts and their accomplishments, ideas, adventures, or troubles. Our parents, teachers, and supervisors give us information and instructions. Our friends talk and interact with us. Most importantly, the Bible gives us wisdom as we pause for daily devotions. Whatever we put into our brains makes some type of impression, whether for good or for evil. Jehoshaphat was only able to be a good leader for God because he actively and consistently gained wisdom from studying God’s law and by asking for God’s help. He experienced the most problems during those few times when he ignored God and followed the advice of others.
OPENING ACTIVITY: CHARADES
Small pieces of paper or notecards with the words/phrases below written on them
If the group is large enough, divide them into two teams. Each team will guess the following actions while volunteers from each side take turns acting them out. The actors will take turns drawing one piece of paper out of a hat or bowl per turn.
Discuss all the ways we receive information or communicate with others. Use the following questions to discuss how all that information affects us in either positive or negative ways.
TRANSITION
In this week’s lesson we will be discovering what godly wisdom is and how we can gain more of it. We will watch Jehoshaphat put into action the wisdom he received from studying God’s law and through devoted prayer. He was not perfect in all his actions, but he was a model worth observing as he conducted reformation campaigns, cast out idolatry, and relied on God to gain victories in battle.
VIDEO CLIP — IS GOD IN CONTROL IN MORALLY QUESTIONABLE SITUATIONS? | SOLOMON & KINGS PT. 7: GOD OF EVERYTHING
BIBLE STUDY GUIDE
Read Proverbs 1:7 (NIV).
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Read Colossians 2:2-3 (NIV).
2 My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Jehoshaphat studied God’s law and received wisdom to discern the difference between right and wrong. He had fear for God and spoke to Him with respect. Jehoshaphat honored God by obeying His law and his faithfulness resulted in greatness.
Read Romans 2:12-13 (NIV).
12 All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. 13 For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous.
Read Romans 7:7 (NIV).
The Law and Sin
7 What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”
When we grow in wisdom, we see what’s right and wrong more clearly. God’s law also reveals righteousness and sin. Great gain comes from obeying God’s law.
Depending on God
Read 2 Chronicles 20:12 (NIV).
12 Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”
Read Matthew 6:9-13 (NIV).
9 “This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’
Read Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV).
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.
We too can experience confidence and rock-solid faith in God when we stand still and allow Him to help us. Jehoshaphat was not perfect, but he inspires us to be faithful to God. His dependence on God saved his life in battle, while arrogant Ahab lost his life.
Praying for Wisdom
Read I Kings 3:7-12 (NIV).
7 “Now, Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. 8 Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. 9 So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?”
10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. 11 So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, 12 I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be.
Read James 1:5 (NIV).
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.
Wisdom comes from God. When we face problems, we should always ask God for help first. God is faithful to us and is eager to help us in times of trouble. When we obey God we find His wisdom in our actions.
APPLICATION
God offers you wisdom. Commit to doing one of the following and report about your experience when we meet again next week.
