I Kings Twenty Questions

1. Which son of David almost became king instead of Solomon?

2. In his final charge to Solomon, what old scores did David want the new king to settle?

3. What did Adonijah do to arouse the wrath of Solomon that ended with his execution?

4. How did Solomon settle his father’s scores with Joab and Shimei?

5. If the Lord appeared to you in a dream and said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you,” how would you answer?

6. Solomon’s reign is sometimes referred to as “the golden age of Israel.”  What are some biblical details that would support this idea?

7. How long did it take Solomon to build the Temple, and how long did it take him to build his palace?  (I Kings 6 and 7)

8. When the ark was brought into the Temple, why couldn’t the priests perform their duty?

9. Did Solomon believe that God would live in the Temple?  (I Kings 8:27)

10. What are some situations that Solomon lists where people can pray in/toward the Temple?

11. What does God say could move Him to reject the Temple and have it end up a pile of rubble? (I Kings 9)

12. Why is it apt that Jesus referred to Solomon as He did in Matthew 6:29?

13. What was Solomon’s downfall? (I Kings 11)

14. What caused the Kingdom to split into a civil war under Solomon’s son Rehoboam?

15. Which tribes stayed loyal to the House of David?

16. Why did Jeroboam institute idol worship in the northern tribes? (I Kings 12)

17. One of the great unsolved mysteries is what happened to the Ark of the Covenant.  What does I Kings 14:25-26 indicate about one of the possibilities?

18. What are some of the differences between a king that the Bible deems “evil” and one who “does right in the eyes of the Lord”?

19. One thing to notice is the continuity of David’s line in the southern kingdom of Judah, while the northern kingdom of Israel had dramatic turnovers in their leadership of unconnected houses.  Why was the first act of many new kings in Israel to slaughter all the previous king’s relatives?

20. While Judah occasionally had a good king on the throne, Israel’s kings were universally wicked.  Who was the evil king of Israel who served as the primary opponent to God’s prophet Elijah?

Next Week’s Reading: Psalm 43-45; II Kings