II Chronicles 21-36 Twenty Questions

1. With what physical disease did God afflict King Jehoram on account of his evil deeds?

2. Who took over Judah after King Ahaziah died?

3. Who rescued the child Joash from his murderous grandmother?

4. What role did the priest Jehoiada play in the restoration of the Davidic monarchy?

5. How did Joash raise money for the repair of the Temple?

6. What happened to Joash after Jehoiada died?

7. What is the meaning of the parable of the thistle and cedar in II Chronicles 25:18-19?

8. What caused the downfall of King Uzziah in II Chronicles 26:16?

9. How long did Uzziah suffer from leprosy?

10. To what was King Jotham’s power attributed to in II Chronicles 27:6?

11. In II Chronicles 28, how many prisoners and captives did the northern kingdom of Israel take out of the southern kingdom of Judah?

12. What ended up happening to the captives?

13. What evil things did King Ahaz do toward the end of his reign to try to turn his fortunes around?

14. How did King Hezekiah begin his reign?

15. What Jewish holiday did Hezekiah re-institute?

16. What is the Bible’s verdict on Hezekiah in II Chronicles 31:20-21?

17. This one may take a little cross-referencing: In II Chronicles 32:31, what miraculous event were the Babylonian envoys investigating?

18. What are some of the atrocious things that King Manasseh did in II Chronicles 33?

19. When the book of the Law was found in the Temple, to whom did the priest go to inquire of the Lord (II Chronicles 34:22)?

20. How does the Book of II Chronicles end?

II Chronicles 1-20 Twenty Questions

1. How did God respond to Solomon’s request for wisdom?

2. How many people did Solomon conscript to work on the Temple?

3. What skilled craftsman did Hiram, king of Tyre, send to Solomon to oversee the work on the Temple?

4. Why do you suppose so much gold was used in the construction of the Temple?

5. What was in the Ark when it was brought into the Temple?

6. Explain why (or why not) you believe the dedication of the Temple represents the high point for the nation of Israel.

7. According to II Chronicles 6:6, what two things has God chosen?

8. What promise did Solomon credit God with keeping in II Chronicles 6:15?

9. Based on Solomon’s requests in II Chronicles 6:19-42, how would you describe the point/purpose or function of the Temple?

10. “His love endures forever” is a refrain we hear frequently in the Bible.  Explain why you agree or disagree.

11. How does II Chronicles 7:13-14 resonate with particular significance today during our present crisis?

12. According to those verses, what should God’s people do?

13. According to those verses, what does God promise to do in response?

14. What historical events do God’s words in II Chronicles 7:19-22 portend?

15. Do you notice anything important about Solomon’s later spiritual life that was recorded in I Kings but is missing in II Chronicles?

16. What was the mistake of King Rehoboam that led to a civil war?

17. Which side did the Levites choose to support?

18. What caused Asa’s reign to end badly, according to II Chronicles 16?

19. What did Jehoshaphat do in II Chronicles 17:7-9 to strengthen his kingdom and its people’s faith?

20. With what evil king of Israel did good king Jehoshaphat ally himself?

I Chronicles Twenty Questions

1. Much of I and II Chronicles circles back and recapitulates earlier material found in the Bible.  What are some good reasons that the Bible repeats information?

2. Something to watch for is that I and II Chronicles generally portray David in a more positive light than I and II Samuel.  When some negative material is omitted (such as David’s sin with Bathsheba), what conclusions might we draw?

3. Where in history does I Chronicles 1:1 begin its story?

4. I Chronicles 4:9-10 tells us about Jabez and his prayer.  What did Jabez pray for?

5. Why do you think I Chronicles devotes so much time and attention to genealogical names?

6. According to I Chronicles 10, why was Saul rejected by the Lord?

7. Based on I Chronicles 15, what was David’s conclusion about why Uzzah was struck down and killed during the transport of the Ark?

8. After David decides he wants to build a house for the Lord, what does the Lord declare he will do for David in I Chronicles 16:10?

9. What bad advice did Hanun son of Nahash of the Ammonites receive in I Chronicles 19?

10. Compare II Samuel 24:1 and I Chronicles 21:1.  Who incited David to take a census?

11. How did Joab conduct the census because the idea was repulsive to him?

12. What does David’s prayer in I Chronicles 21:17 reveal about his heart?

13. How much did David pay to buy the threshing floor of Araunah, where the plague was stopped?

14. What did that site become?

15. What was David’s role in the construction of the Temple?   (I Chronicles 22:5)

16. According to David, why did God choose Solomon rather than David to be the one to build the Temple?

17. In I Chronicles 22:13, David tells Solomon to “Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid or discouraged.”  Where have we heard this before?

18. How does the role of the Levites change in I Chronicles 23 as Israel adapted from Tabernacle to Temple?

19. What musical instruments are mentioned for use in the worship of the Lord in I Chronicles 25?

20. Where did the gold and silver and precious stones for building the Temple come from, according to I Chronicles 29?

II Kings Twenty Questions

1. In II Kings 1, what was the difference between the way the first two captains approached Elijah in contrast to the third captain?

2. What was Elisha’s final request of Elijah?

3. How was the faith of the widow in II Kings 4 play a necessary part in her receiving an answer to her plight?

4. What kind of parallels can you find between the miracles of Elisha and the miracles of Jesus?

5. What was Elisha’s servant Gehazi’s sin and resulting punishment?

6. When Elisha led a band of enemy soldiers from Aram into Samaria, how were the captured soldiers treated?

7. How bad is the lack of food in II Kings 6:24-29?  (Remember this was referenced back when we were studying Deuteronomy 28:49-57!)

8. In the midst of this terrible famine, Elisha prophesied that the very next day food would be incredibly cheap.  He was ridiculed by the king’s right hand man.  How did God fulfill this prophecy?

9. Who killed the king of Israel Joram, the king of Judah Ahaziah, and the former Queen Jezebel in II Kings 9?

10. By what subterfuge did Jehu cleanse the land of Baal worship in II Kings 10?

11. What baby was secretly saved from the purge ordered by Athaliah and raised in the Temple for six years?

12. What was Elisha’s final prophecy?

13. What affliction did King Azariah of Judah (also called Uzziah) have?

14. For how many generations did the descendants of Jehu sit on the throne of Israel?

15. II Kings 17 describes the final destruction of Israel as a nation.  What does the Bible say is the reason they were exiled to Assyria and lost their kingdom?

16. II Kings 17 also describes what happened to the land after the Assyrians conquered Israel.  The region became known as Samaria, and many other nationalities were imported into it.  The native bloodlines and religion became mixed.  The worship described is called “syncretism.”  Why is it wrong to worship the Lord along with idols as the Samaritans did?

17. While Israel fell to the Assyrians, Hezekiah was a (good) king over Judah.  What are some things Hezekiah did to merit his accolade in II Kings 18:5?

18. According to II Kings 19:35, how were the Assyrians defeated?

19. Hezekiah was originally going to die, but God added fifteen years to his life in response to his prayer.  Can you name two destructive things that came out of those extra fifteen years he was given?

20. What kind of religious reforms did King Josiah institute after the Book of the Law was found during the renovations in the Temple?

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

II Samuel Twenty Questions

1. What questions do you have about this week’s reading?

2. After all the bad things that Saul did to David, why do you think David still mourned his loss in II Samuel 1?

3. What was the root cause of the bitter hatred between Joab (David’s general) and Abner (the House of Saul’s general) in II Samuel 2?

4. How did David reward the people who brought him “good news” about deaths in Saul’s family?  (II Samuel 1 and 4)

5. How long was David’s total reign, including his time over Judah and then over all of Israel?

6. What did Uzzah do wrong that he was struck down in II Samuel 6?

7. What did David want to do for the Lord after he had established himself and built his palace (II Samuel 7:2)?

8. How did God respond to David’s desire?

9. How are David’s actions in II Samuel 9 a fulfillment of the covenant he made with Jonathan in I Samuel 20:14-17?

10. Describe how David’s sin kept escalating in II Samuel 11.

11. In II Samuel 12:6, what did David conclude should happen to the man who took and killed his poor neighbor’s only ewe lamb?

12. What ended up happening to the child that Bathsheba had conceived with David?

13. What atrocious sin did David’s oldest son, Amnon, commit?

14. What ended up happening to Amnon?

15. The Bible says that Absalom was very handsome on the outside (II Samuel 14:25).  What was he like on the inside?

16. What horrible thing did Absalom do in II Samuel 16 that was a fulfillment of the prophet Nathan’s decree against David in II Samuel 12?

17. What ended up happening to Absalom?

18. How did David react to the news about the usurper Absalom?

19. What were the three destructive options that God gave David as judgment for him ordering a census (II Samuel 24)

20. Why do you think David made the choice that he did?

I Samuel Twenty Questions

1. Samuel’s birth can be considered a miracle.  Can you recall some other previous examples in the Bible of God providing a child in unusual circumstances?

2. What kind of “reversals” is God credited with in Hannah’s prayer in I Samuel 2?

3. What were the sins of Eli’s sons (2:12-17 and 2:22-25)?

4. What was Eli’s sin (3:13)?

5. How did the Philistines’ war trophy of the ark become a snare to them?

6. What were the sins of Samuel’s sons (8:1-3)?

7. What did Samuel warn the Israelites about what a king would do?

8. Why do the people still want a king (8:19-20)?

9. Why do you think God allowed the people to do something that was not in accord with His will?

10. What is Saul’s first victory as king (11:1-11)?

11. What are the two ways that Saul fell out of favor with the Lord (13:8-14 and 15:10-23)?

12. How had God prepared David for his battle with Goliath (17:34-37)?

13. How did David go from being a hero admired by Saul to being viewed with suspicion and fear by him?

14. What was the covenant made between Jonathan and David in I Samuel 20?

15. What ruse did David employ to be safe in Gath of the Philistines (22:10-15)?

16. What did Saul do to the priests at Nob in revenge for their assistance to David (22:6-23)?

17. When David had the opportunity to kill Saul in I Samuel 24, what did he do instead?

18. When David had a second opportunity to kill Saul in I Samuel 26, what did he do instead?

19. When Saul consults a medium to call up the spirit of Samuel, what does Samuel tell him (30:16-19)?

20. How do Saul and three of his sons die in I Samuel 31?