Something Rotten

Bible References

Selected passages from 1 and 2 kings

To the teacher

After solomon’s death, the 10 northern tribes split away from judah to form a separate

narion, differentiated from the southern kingdom ruled by David’s dynasty. This nation, kown

to us as Israel, is notable for its idolatry.

Israel’s history was one of politically in stability, without a strong family line of king

like that of David’s dynasty in Judah. The various tribes making up the northern kingdom had

competing interests, and this made for a volatile climate of assassination and upheaval, as

usurpers from different tribes grappled, one after another, for power. Middle school students

can understand this jockeying for status quite inatey, as a similar dynamic likely occurs within

the class even in a Christian school as well as in society at large.

This lesson will explore the roots of idolworship in Israel, as reflected in the life of

Jeroboam and coming to its ultimate realization under Ahab and Jezebel This lesson also

introduces a new sort of character into the Old Testament story (although prophets had been

active since the days of Samuel): the prophet.

Preparation/Materials

 Quiet (perhaps instrumental) music to play (optional)

 Activity sheet, one per student

 Copies of the NIV Study bible

Lesson Highlights

 God sent prophets to call his people back to himself.

 God blesses obedience and punishes disobedience.

 God keeps his promises

Background

The division between the northern and southern tribes that resulted in an open rift after

Solomon’s death had roots far back in Israel’s history. Although the tribe of Judah had quickly

anointed David to succeed Saul as king (2 Samuel 5:3), the northern tribes had not readily

accepted him. These tribes felt justified in reconsidering their allegiance to David’s house.

Their shouts of rejection of David’s dynasty (1 Kings 12:16) echoed earlier cries at the time

when Sheba had rallied the northern tribes to revolt against David. Then too, “all the men of

Israel deserted David…. But the men of Judah stayed by their king” (2 Samuel 20:2).

Once the division was final, Jeroboam of Israel set about consolidating his kingdom.

But his fear of the drawing power of Jerusalem prompted him to initiate a form of syncretistic

worship that started Israel down the road to idolatry and unfaithfulness to God. Setting up

worship centers in addition to the Jerusalem temple violated God’s command in Deuteronomy

12:1-7. In breaking with the kingship of David’s dynasty, the northern kingdom also broke

with faithful worship of the Lord in Jerusalem. By opening the door to idolatry, Jeroboam was

setting the stage for later pagan inroads to Israel.

The instability of the throne among the 10 tribes served only to augment this idolatry.

Kings were assassinated regularly in the Kingdom of Israel, as power shifted from one tribe or

faction to another. Several kings were powerful enough to establish their own brief dynasties;
Omri is notable in this respect. The apostasy of his son Ahab, however, stands out as one of

the lowest points in this history of God’s people.

Omri was a shrewd political operator, who cemented his relationship with the king of

Sidon by arranging the marriage between Ahab and the Baal-worshiping pagan princess

Jezebel. It would seem from 1 Kings 16:31-33 that Ahab did not just allow idolatry in Israel

but entered personally into Baal worship. The people of Israel were systematically led away

from the faithful worship prescribed in the Sinai covenant.

Lesson Steps

Brudge

1. Begin this lesson with a time of quiet reflection and journaling on the folowing topics:

 I feel closest to God when...

 I feel farthest from God when...

Give students at least five minutes to think and write. It might be appropriate to play

some quiet music (perhaps instrumental) while students are writing in order to reduce any

deelings of awkwardness. To transition out of this quiet time, give students a one minute

“heads-up” to begin wrapping up their thoughts.

2. As students finish up their journaling, write the following on the board: “Things that

get in the way of our relationship with God.” Invite students to come forward and write

suggestions based on their journaling.

3. Ask students whether they ever fell that “possessions” get in the way of their

relationship with the Lord. Pint out that this is common, even among veteran believers.

In our materialistic culture, possessions have an incredible pull that often deflects

people’s focus away from God. Ask students how this sin is addressed in the Ten
 Commandments. (the first and second commandment both address this issue: “no other

gods” and “no idols”.” To some degree the tenth “no coveting” applies as well.)

4. Remind students that the Lord will forgive this sin if we ask forgiveness and repent. If

it seems appropriate, you might lead students at this point in a prayer of cofession and

repentance.

5. Remind students that the history of God’s people is one of wrestling with God;

remember that the name Israel means “he struggles with God.” One of the clearest way

in which Israel struggled with God was in the repeated failure of God’s people to avoid

idol worship.

Scripture Link

1. Direct students to “Something Rotten” (page 26) in the student text. Read this section

together, and discuss the analogy between Israel’s Kings and popularitycrazed middle

school students who are often willing to “bump others off” to improve their own

position. Be sure students understand that in the case of Israel more then popularity was

at stake. It may help them understand this better if you explain that the “power” that

comes with popularity is what many of Israel’s king’s really coveted.

Something rotten

After King Solomon’s death, Israel was split into two separate nations. Solomon’s son

Rehoboam ruled Judah, the southern kingdom, continuing David’s royal line. King Jeroboam

ruled the northern kingdom of Israel. A conflict had been simmering among the tribes ever

since David’s anointing as king of Judah in place of Saul. Scripture tells us that “all the men of

Israel deserted David … but the men of Judah stayed by their king” (2 Samuel 20:2). Life for

God’s people had not been uniformly peaceful and calm. First Kings 11:40 tells us that King
Solomon had even tried to kill Jeroboam. After Solomon died and the kingdoms split, King

Jeroboam ruled Israel for 22 years. Following his rule, other kings vied for power, some of

them reigning for only a short time.

The drive for power can generate a great deal of damage, leaving behind a rotten stench.

We can see ourselves in the power-driven kings of Israel, as we figure out small and large ways

to manipulate our own situations for our advantage and power. How often do we use other

people to enhance our own popularity? Do we ever establish a friendship in order to get an

invitation to a concert of a major sporting event? Do we make friends with someone who is

popular or athletic, dumping our old and less outstanding friend in the process? Do we try to

make ourselves look good by putting others down? Have we ever turned our backs on our

friends because we wanted to impress someone older? Let’s face it: Something we’re willing

to do whatever it takes, at the risk of trashing our friends or ruining long-established

relationships, to feed our hunger for popularity. When this happens, the situation can be quickly

turn rotten. We may not even look back long enough to notice the hurt we’ve caused someone

else in our bid to gain popularity.

Our drive to become popular is a small example of the kind of hunger for power evident

in the northern kingdom. Israel’s kings had much more at stake than merely becoming popular.

The political power they craved too frequently entailed killing off their rivals, as well as, more

often than not, their rivals’ entire families to prevent a resurgence of their power.

Assassinations, political plotting, and fighting were common as the factions in the north

competed for power. This was a time of grave political unrest in Israel.

2. Read together the section “on the wrong path” (page 27) in the student text. Ask

students to explain why they think Jeroboam set up the golden calves. (He was seeking

to secute his political power by preventing the people from traveling to Jerusalem, in
 Judah, to worship.) Ask, “Why was this a problem?” (In “spicing up” the religious

practices by adding the golden calves, Jeroboam was introducing idols false images or

representations of God into what might have begun as faithful worship of the Lord.

According to God’s explicit command, the people were to worship the Lord only at the

temple in Jerusalem.)

ON THE WRONG PATH

King Jeroboam now faced a dilemma. Should he allow his people to travel south to

worship Yahweh in Jerusalem three times each year for the required pilgrim festivals

commanded in God’s covenant? What if Jeroboam were to lose control of the northern

kingdom? In a bid to maintain political power, he made his choice, and in so doing he repeated

the ancient sin of idolatry from Mount Sinai. Just as God’s people under Aaron had constructed

a golden calf, Jeroboam set up two golden calves, one at Dan and the other at Bethel (the

outposts of the northern kingdom), thereby introducing idolatry into the worship of God. This

not only broke the first two commandments but opened the door for further idol worship in

Israel. The northern kingdom also broke its covenant ties to worshiping God in Jerusalem.

First Kings 12 explains that King Jeroboam erected shrines of high places – locations

at the tops of mountain where foreign gods were worshiped because these places seem

physically closer to heaven. Jeroboam also “appointed priests from all sorts of people, even

though they were not Levites” (1 Kings 12:31). He promoted new festivals for sacrificing to

the golden calves at Bethel and Dan. The kings that followed Jeroboam in Israel continued to

do evil; the writer of 1 Kings describes each successive monarch as “walking in the ways of

Jeroboam and in his sin” (1 Kings 15:34, see also 16:7; 16:9). Omri, one of the later kings of

Israel, manipulatively arranged a marriage between his son Ahab and a Baal-worshiping

foreign princess named Jezebel. One of the lowest points in the history of God’s people began

when Ahab, Israel’s king, opted personally to worship Baal (1 Kings 16:31). He even built a
temple for Baal in Samaria, the capital of the northern kingdom. God’s people in Israel were

led astray from their covenant relationship with God through the encouragement of their

wicked kings.

3. Write the phrase “He did evil in the eyes of hte LORD” ON THE BOARD. With

students, skim through 1 Kings 15: 25-16:28, lookng for this phrase or variations of it.

Ask students to explain what “He did evil in the eyes of the LORD” Might mean. (Each

time this phrase appears, it is used in relations to the people of Israel worshiping

Jeroboam’s golden calves.) point out to students how many king there were during this

short period of Israel’s history and how many of them did not die a peaceful death.

(Five kings: Nadab, Basshas, Elah, Zimari, and Omri. All except Bassha and Omri

experienced violent deaths.)

4. Read 1 Kings 16: 29-33 with students. Note that Ahab is described as doing more “to

provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than did all the kings of Israel before

him.” Based upon the clues provided in this passage, ask students why this might have

been true. (Ahab not only worshiped Jeroboam’s golden calves but aso introduced Baal

worship into Israel, going so far as to construct a temple for Ball, similar to the temple

of the Lord in Jerusalem.)

5. Read togehter the sidebar “Introducing . . . Elijah”! (Page 28) in the student text. Ask

student to identify the primary task of a prophet. (the prophet’s main task was to speak

for God, which was sometimes accompanied by foretelling the future and/or miraculous

signs to confirm that the prophet was indeed speaking as God’s representative.)

Introducing …… Elijah!

Elijah the prophet, who came to speak for God during wicked King Ahab’s

reign, condemned Baal worship. Prophets were increasingly important

during the time of the kings. Many of the prophetic books in Scripture

were written during the time of the kings, most of whom were more

focused upon themselves than upon God’s covenant. The monarchs needed

direct reminders from God, so prophets came to them with specific

messages from the Lord. Sometimes these prophets foretold the future,

and they frequently demonstrated miraculous signs to demonstrate that

they truly were speaking on God’s behalf and as his representatives. Time

and again they called for repentance and obedience, for God’s judgment

was coming. Elijah is perhaps best remembered for the dramatic life and

death confrontation between Baal and God on Mount Carmel.

Student Activites

Option 1

1. Divide the class into groups of four. If there is an odd number of

students, adjust accordingly.

2. Distribute the activity sheet and explain directions for completing

the table contrasting ahab and Elijah

Read the stories about Ahab and Elijah in 1 King 17-18. Think about the following

characteristics of Ahab and Elijah and complete the table. Give reasons or specific

examples from Scripture to support your answers.

 Ahab Elijah

Based upon the Answers will vary. Answers will vary

information in these

stories, what sort of

person is he?

Seeks food for his animals all over Hides in the Kerith Ravine

the country; blames Elijah until it dries up; after this he

How does he deal,
leaves Israel and lives with a
with the drought?
widow in Zarephath, a town

in Sidon

Baal The Lord

Whom does he

worship?

With hundreds of prophets calling With a simple prayer of faith

How does he call out, dancing, and even cutting

upon his god/God? themselves

Who else in these Jezebel, the prophets of Baal and The widow at Zarephath and

stories worships Asherah, and the people of Israel later on the people after the

along Lord Sends fire

with him?
questions for reflection

1. Remember that Jezebel – Ahab’s Baal-worshiping wife – was from Sidon and had brought

Baal worship along with her into Israel. What is significant about this fact in light of

Elijah’s travels, during the drought, to Zarephath, a town in Sidon? Answer will vary. But

will likely address the irony that God’s spokesperson, who was not even in Israel, found

a woman in sidon who worshiped the Lord (1 King 17:24

2. The Hebrew word for “waver” in 1 Kings 18:21 (Elijah went before the people and said,

“How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if

Baal is God, follow him.” But the people said nothing) is the same as the word for “dance”

in 18:26. What might the writer of 1 Kings have been pointing out here? Answer will vary

but should address the idea that Israel’s “dancing” between the Lord and Baal was as

pointless as the wild dancing of Baal’s prophets.

3. Do you think it was hard for Elijah to “stand up” for God in his situation? Explain your

answer. Answer will wary

4. What kinds of things can make it hard for God’s people today to stand up for God? Answer

will vary but might center around fear---around worry about what others might think of

them if they do.

5. In what ways can students at our school support each other in standing up for God?

Answers will vary

3. Assign a pair from each group to work together to complete the

“Ahab” column, while the other pair fills out the “Elijah” column. If

you have copies of the NIV Study Bible, make them available to

students, encouraging them to read the text nots for the passages to

help them understand the encounter between Ahab and Elijah.

Encourage pairs to provide evidence from Scripture to support their

responses.

4. After the student pairs have completed their work, have the students

return to their groups to help their partners complete the other

column of their sheet.

5. After completing the table, quartets should work together to answer

the remaining questions.

6. Spedn some time discussing students’ responses to Question #5 and

talk about wys in which they can put their words into action.

Option 2

1. Distribute the activity sheet, and explain the directions for

completing the table contrasting Ahab and Elijah. If you have

copies of the NIV Study Bible, make them available to studnets,

encouraging them to read the text notes for these passages to

help them understand the encounter between Ahab and Elijah.

 Encourage students to provide evidence from scripture to support

their responses.

2. After allowing students some time to work individually on reading

the passages and completing the table, discuss the differences

between Ahab and Elijah to gether as a class. Answer the

remaining questions as a group.

3. Spend some time discussing students’ reponses to Question #5 and

brainstorm ways in which they can put their words itno action.

Enrichment

1. Devotional Material. The lesson “Who Is God?” from Feith Lessons on the prophets

and Kings of Israel, Volume 2 of Ray Vander Lann’s video series that the World May

know, explains the importance of the contest at Mount Carmel and encourages students

to stand up for God in the midst of a culture that does not.

2. Social studies. Have students use a bible dictionary or other resources to research the

gods and religious practices of the neighbors of Israel and Judah, including Philistia,

Ammon, Moab, Edom, Aram, Egyps, Assyria, and Babylonia.