Bible study course
An advanced, collegiate, eight-lesson academic study of the Book of 2 Kings, examining Ahaziah apostate consultation of Baal-zebub and the fire from heaven, Elijah ascension in the whirlwind and Elisha double portion inheritance, the Moabite campaign and Elisha musical prophecy, the multiplying of the indebted widow oil, the hospitality and resurrected son of the Shunammite, the healing of toxic stew and multiplying of barley loaves, the cleansing of Naaman the Syrian and the leprosy of Gehazi, the floating ax head, the visionary horses and chariots of fire at Dothan, the siege famine of Samaria and the four lepers discovery of good news, the trampling of the skeptical officer, Hazael assassination of Ben-hadad in Damascus, the secret anointing of Jehu and the violent extermination of the Omride dynasty at Naboth vineyard, the gruesome death of Jezebel, the slaughter of the prophets of Baal in Samaria, Athaliah murderous usurpation in Judah, Jehosheba preservation of baby Joash and the armed temple coronation by Jehoiada, the temple restoration chest, Elisha deathbed arrow prophecy and the reviving bones in his tomb, the prosperity of Jeroboam II and the warnings of Amos and Hosea, the rapid descent through regicide, the rise of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, the fall of Samaria in 722 BC, the theological post-mortem of chapter 17 and the origin of the Samaritans, King Hezekiah faithful reform and the angelic destruction of 185,000 Assyrian soldiers outside Jerusalem, Manasseh catastrophic fifty-five-year apostasy sealing Judah doom, Josiah discovery of the Book of the Torah and sweeping national covenant renewal, the fall of Jerusalem to Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon in 586 BC, the destruction of Solomon Temple, and the messianic ray of hope in the release and elevation of King Jehoiachin in Babylon.
An academic study of 2 Kings 1:1 to 2:25, analyzing King Ahaziah apostate inquiry of the Philistine fly god at Ekron, Elijah calling down fire from heaven upon royal contingents, the final journey of Elijah from Gilgal to Bethel, Jericho, and the Jordan with the prophetic guilds, Elisha bold request for a double portion of his master spirit, Elijah ascension into heaven by a whirlwind in a chariot of fire, Elisha inheritance of the prophetic mantle, the miraculous parting of the Jordan, the healing of Jericho toxic water spring, and the solemn judgment upon the disrespectful youths of Bethel.
An academic study of 2 Kings 3:1 to 4:44, examining the allied military campaign against King Mesha of Moab, the miraculous provision of water through dry wadi trenches, the human sacrifice on the wall of Kir-hareseth, and Elisha domestic compassion miracles: the multiplying of the indebted widow oil, the hospitality and resurrected son of the noble Shunammite woman, the purification of the poisonous wild gourd stew, and the multiplication of twenty barley loaves to feed one hundred men.
An academic study of 2 Kings 5:1 to 6:23, analyzing the healing of Syrian general Naaman through the testimony of an enslaved Hebrew maiden, his humbling immersion seven times in the Jordan, the tragic covetousness and perpetual leprosy of Gehazi, the supernatural recovery of the borrowed iron ax head, and the nocturnal Aramean encirclement of Dothan unveiled by the vision of Yahweh fiery angel armies.
An academic study of 2 Kings 6:24 to 8:29, investigating the horrific siege of Samaria by Ben-hadad, the cannibalism of starving mothers, Elisha prophecy of overnight economic abundance, the desperate faith of the four outcast lepers discovering the deserted Aramean camp, the crushing of the skeptical royal officer at the city gate, the restoration of the Shunammite land, Elisha weeping prophecy to Hazael, Hazael regicide in Damascus, and the wicked reigns of Jehoram and Ahaziah in Judah.
An academic study of 2 Kings 9:1 to 10:36, analyzing the commissioning of Jehu by a disciple of Elisha, his furious chariot ride to Jezreel, the assassination of Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah at the property of Naboth, the horrifying death of Queen Jezebel fulfilling Elijah prophecy, the decapitation of seventy royal princes of Samaria, the partnership with Jehonadab son of Rechab, and the total annihilation of the temple and cult of Baal in Samaria.
An academic study of 2 Kings 11:1 to 13:25, examining Athaliah murderous usurpation of the Davidic throne in Judah, the heroic preservation of infant Prince Joash by Jehosheba and high priest Jehoiada, the armed temple coronation of seven-year-old Joash, the execution of Athaliah, the covenant renewal and temple repairs, the subsequent compromise under Hazael, and the deathbed victory prophecy of Elisha with the arrows.
An academic study of 2 Kings 14:1 to 17:41, examining the territorial expansion and economic prosperity of the Northern Kingdom under Jeroboam II, the contemporary prophetic warnings of Amos and Hosea, the rapid collapse through regicide and civil chaos, the rise of the brutal Neo-Assyrian Empire under Tiglath-pileser III, the Syro-Ephraimite war, the three-year siege of Samaria by Shalmaneser V and Sargon II, the fall of the Northern Kingdom in 722 BC, the deep theological post-mortem of chapter 17, and the resettlement of Samaria producing the syncretistic Samaritan populace.
An academic study of 2 Kings 18:1 to 25:30, examining King Hezekiah faithful reformation and the miraculous destruction of Sennacherib 185,000 Assyrian troops by the angel of Yahweh, King Manasseh catastrophic fifty-five-year reign of institutional apostasy sealing Judah doom, King Josiah discovery of the Book of the Torah in the temple and monumental national covenant renewal, the fall of Jerusalem to Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon in 586 BC, the destruction of Solomon Temple, the Babylonian exile, and the messianic ray of hope in the elevation of King Jehoiachin.