[Church of God Mission International] CGMI ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL MANUAL DATE: SUNDAY 27th FEBRUARY,2022 TOPIC: REVIVAL UNDER KING JEHOSHAPHAT
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CGMI ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL MANUAL
DATE: SUNDAY 27th FEBRUARY,2022
TOPIC: REVIVAL UNDER KING JEHOSHAPHAT
TEXTS: 2 CHRONICLES 17:1-13
CENTRAL THOUGHT
God’s word will surely prevail
INTRODUCTION
The name JEHOSHAPHAT means “God has judged” or “God established the right”. He was the son and successor of Asa the king of Judah (1King 15:24). He was apious king who began to rule at the age of 35years and ruled in Jerusalem for 25years. During his reign, he carried out a national programme of religious education by teaching the people to know and observe the commandments of God. He realised that knowing God’s command was the first step to getting people to live as they should. He enjoyed several military victories. However, he did not completely destroy idolatry in the land.
LESSON OBJECTIVES
The objectives are to :
- Identify the good things that king Jehoshaphat did
- Mention the wrong things he did
- Comment on the prophecies/actions of Micaiah, Jehu etc
- Summarise the blessings that God bestowed on Jehoshaphat for his obedience
BIBLE TRUTH
QUESTION 1.
WHO WAS KING JEHOSHAPHAT ? 1kings 22:41-44
Jehoshaphat was the son of king Asa who became the king at the age of 35 years after the death of his father and ruled in Jerusalem for 25 years. His mother was Azubah the daughter of of Shilhi. Jehoshaphat had a good heritage of godliness from his father early life. He had seven sons with Jehoram as the first who took over from him as king of Judah after his death. Jehoshaphat was a bold follower of God who contributed immensely to the spiritual, moral and material health of his country. Like his ancestors Solomon and ASA, he failed to completely remove the pagan shrines in the hill so the people never fully committed themselves to follow the God of their fathers (2Chron 20:33)
ALSO READ: Open Heaven 27 February 2022 By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – WHO SAID WHAT? III
QUESTION 2
IDENTIFY THE GOOD THINGS JEHOSHAPHAT DID. 2Chron 17:1-9; 19:4-11
The young king Jehoshaphat took the following steps that enabled him to build a powerful kingdom.
A) Good relationship with God (2Chron 17:3-6)
Jehoshaphat found Baal worship detestable and offensive to God and so refused to serve this popular heathen god. He chose to serve and obey the commandments of the living God. He was deeply committed to the Lord who in turn established his control over the kingdom of Judah.
B) GOOD EDUCATION POLICY (2chron 27:7-9)
The people of Judah were biblically illiterate at this time. In some cases, people sinned against God because they were ignorant of His requirements. Jehoshaphat took the time to raise competent teachers of the word led by the Levites. Priests and Princes who travelled around all the towns of Judah teaching the people the word of God. This caused everyone to fear the Lord.
C) GOOD NEIGHBOURLINESS (2 Chron 17:10-11)
King Jehoshaphat maintained good relationship with surrounding nations. More so, the scripture says, “when a man’s way please the Lord, He maketh even His enemies to be at peace with him” (Prov 16:7). God caused the Philistines and Arabians to fear and respect Him. They were bringing gifts to this king and no one was ready to declare war against the king and his people.
D) GOOD DOMESTIC DEFENCE (2Chron 17:12-19)
Jehoshaphat provided security by fortifying the cities and building up a large , competent and we’ll equipped army. This army who were recruited according to their ancestral clans supported the king and were stationed in Jerusalem and fortified town and Judah.
E) PERSONAL EVANGELISM (2Chron 19:4)
Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem but went out among the people encouraging them to return to the Lord, the God of their ancestors. It is a great wisdom and humility for a ruler to leave his throne to go and persuade people to turn to the Lord.
F) APPOINTMENT OF JUDGES (2Chron 19:5-7)
Jehoshaphat appointed Judges throughout the land and drew their attention to what the Lord require of their duties.
G) APPOINTMENT OF CITY MAGISTRATES (2Chron 19:8-11)
In Jerusalem, Jehoshaphat appointed some of the Levites, Priests and Clan leaders in Israel to be Judges in matters relating to the Lord’s regulations and civil disputes. For all the Judges there was to be no partiality or taking of bribes. They were to appreciate that they were judging for God and not man.
QUESTION 3.
WHAT WERE THE WRONG THINGS THAT KING JEHOSHAPHAT DID ? 2Chron 18:1-4 & 28-29; 19:1-2; 20:33; 1King 22:43-44;
The first mistake of Jehoshaphat was his association with the evil king Ahab of Israel. The wickedness of Ahab and his wife was well known in the land. The hospitality lavished on king Jehoshaphat by king Ahab could have been because of the intended request to join force with Ahab, yet Jehoshaphat could not read the handwriting on the wall. His action earned him a rebuke from the Lord through Jehu the seer who asked him, “why should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord ? (2Chron 19:2).
Jehoshaphat desired to know the mind of God but did not obey Him. He requested that they inquirefrom the Lord whether to go to war or not against Syrians. Yet after being warned by Micaiah he still went to war against God’s will. Ahab appeared to have taken the message of prophet Micaiah more seriously than Jehoshaphat, thus he decided to disguise himself.
Jehoshaphat foolishly accepted the proposal, and this almost caused him his life. Another mistake of Jehoshaphat was to allowed his first born son Jehoram to marry the daughter of Ahabeand Jezebel (Athaliah). The evil committee by king Jehoram in killing all his brothers after he established himself was the handwork of his wife (2Chron 21:6)
QUESTION 4
COMMENT ON THE PROPHECIES/ACTIONS OF THE FOLLOWING
A) FOUR HUNDRED LYING PROPHETS (2Chron 18:5-6, 18-22)
At this time in Israel, the people received no teaching of God’s word. Thus, lying was freely accepted and practiced. Ahab’s confessyshowed him to be a person who preferred praise-singers to truth-tellers. The false prophets were aware of this and they told him what he wanted to hear. Jehoshaphat was not fooled by the false counsel (Vs 7). The prophets were so careless about their walk with God that their hearts provided a ready abode for lying spirits.
B) PROPHET MICAIAH (2Chron 18:7-27)
Micaiah always heard from God and declared same without fear or favour. This made him not to be in the good book of king Ahab, thus he did not consider him to be one of the prophets to be consulted but for the insistence of Jehoshaphat. On this occasion, he still declared God’s counsel in spite of the advice of those who came to fetch him to the king’s palace. It is not always easy to defer from popular opinions. He was slapped and imprisoned. Thus, he paid dearly for courageously declaring the truth. How we need believers like him in our country to confront our corrupt rulers with the sound messages from God
C) ZEDEKIAH (2 Chron 18:23-24)
Zedekiah the son of Kenaunah was one of the false prophets. As prophet Micaiah declared the word of the Lord to the king’s and other listeners, Zedekiah came forward and slapped him across the face . He demanded to know when the spirit of God left him to go to Micaiah
D) PROPHET JEHU (2Chron 19:1-3)
Jehu’s message from the Lord was clear and unambiguous. God was displeased with Jehoshaphat for going to war in the company of the wicked Ahab. God could have punished him for that offence but for the zeal and good qualities that were found in him.
QUESTION 5
IDENTIFY THE BLESSINGS THAT GOD BESTOWED ON JEHOSHAPHAT FOR HIS OBEDIENCE 2Chron 17:1,3-6,10-14; 18:31-33.
The Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he followed the example of the early life of his father Asa. The Lord caused his subjects to respect and be loyal to him and their gifts made him rich. Also neighboring nations were made to fear him and pay homage to him.
There was peace in the kingdom as no one was ready to make war with him. With peac and security in place, both the king and the people prospered spiritually and materially and there were development in the land.
Jehoshaphat joined forces with the evil king Ahab to fight against Syrians. This almost caused him his life but when he cried out to God, He saved him
DAILY LIVING APPLICATION
Jehoshaphat feared and worship God. He also encouraged and inspired his subjects to do the same. God established the kingdom of Jehoshaphat and gave him peace. He also caused his subject to be loyal to him and the neighboring nations to both respect and feared him in addition to giving him gifts that made him rich. Jehoshaphat had the habit of seeking the will and counsel of God in every situation. These are good examples to follow in our every day life.
MEMORY VERSE
2 Chronicles 17:3 “And the LORD was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the first ways of his father David, and sought not unto Baalim;”
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