A Gentle Ramble Through the Bible - Chronologically

A Gentle Ramble Through the Bible - Chronologically

di Pastor Gayle Evers

041 Samuel Through Solomon - Absalom Makes His Move

2 Sam 14-19 After Absalom kills his brother Amnon in revenge for the rape of his sister Tamar, Absalom flees across the Jordan. There he bides his time...convinced he is King David’s rightful heir. Through a little subterfuge, Absalom is given another chance and returns to King David’s court, only to betray him by sparking a palace coup! The tables are turned and now David is exiled across the Jordan! Will David prevail or will Absalom retain his grip on the throne? A free Study Guide is available. A video version of the class is available on YouTube. Click here for an index of all classes. More info at PastorintheWild.org.

042 Samuel Through Solomon - David Fights Back

2 Sam 19-23, 1 Kings 1-2 David fights back against Absalom and wins, but his kingdom comes at the cost of his son’s life. David is heartbroken. There’s a strange sequence of events as David returns to Jerusalem. He meets the same cast of obscure characters he met on the way out...wait a second...could this be a chiasm? We pull out our backpack tools to see what hidden secrets we can discover. A free Study Guide is available. A video version of the class is available on YouTube. Click here for an index of all classes. More info at PastorintheWild.org.

043 Samuel Through Solomon - Solomon, Wisdom, and the Temple

1 Kings 3-10, 1 Chr 22-29, 2 Chr 1-9 After a rocky start, Solomon builds a grand and peaceful kingdom with a brand new Temple as its centerpiece. The Lord grants his wish for wisdom to rule the people and throws in massive riches and honor for good measure. Solomon is so famous that eventually the Queen of Sheba decides she’s gotta see this for herself. Spoiler alert: She’s not disappointed. We find out what the Israelites thought about hell and life after death (you might be shocked). And we had a very deep discussion about Wisdom -- Is Wisdom a person? Why isn't Wisdom talked about in church? A free Study Guide is available. A video version of the class is available on YouTube. Click here for an index of all classes. More info at PastorintheWild.org.

044 Samuel Through Solomon - Solomon's Got It All--Wealth, Wisdom, and Women

1 Kings 11, Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes What could possibly go wrong? Solomon has absolutely everything going for him--good looks, wealth, wisdom, everyone admires him, and the Lord picked him to be king. But he throws it all away. No kidding. The smartest, wisest man in the world fails completely. How can this be? We hear from Solomon in his own words this week as he looks back on what went wrong. A free Study Guide is available. A video version of the class is available on YouTube. Click here for an index of all classes. More info at PastorintheWild.org.

045 Elijah and Elisha - The Great Divide

1 Kings 12-15, 2 Chronicles 10-16 Solomon was the last great king of Israel. After his death, his son Rehoboam’s arrogance causes the kingdom to split into civil war. The ten northern tribes make Jeroboam king, while Rehoboam is left only with Judah and Simeon, thus fulfilling the prophecy of Ahijah. The border between Judah in the south and Israel in the north remains fluid, moving and blending as battles rage. The battles are not just military ones, but are also fought over the people’s gods. Will the people choose YHWH or will they worship the golden calves their kings set up for them? When is God going to lose his patience with these people? A free Study Guide is available. A video version of the class is available on YouTube. Click here for an index of all classes. More info at PastorintheWild.org.

046 Elijah and Elisha - The Prophet Elijah -- Fearless Fireworks and Deep Depression

1 Kings 16-19 The northern kingdom is in a state of turmoil. We’ve got a civil war within a civil war. Total chaos. Finally, Omri seizes the throne and when he dies his son Ahab becomes king. Ahab is the worst king yet. Case in point? His wife is none other than the infamous Jezebel who starts a program of extermination of God’s prophets. Elijah proves to be elusive. He’s a survivor. On the outside he’s fearless, but behind the scenes we see his anguish and fear and discouragement. In this class we follow Elijah through an incredible mountaintop showdown against Jezebel’s prophets of Baal. Then Elijah faces torrential rain, wind, earthquake and fire. Which terrifying event do you think God was in? (It's a trick question) A free Study Guide is available. A video version of the class is available on YouTube. Click here for an index of all classes. More info at PastorintheWild.org.

047 Elijah and Elisha - Elijah Finds a Successor while Israel and Aram go to War

1 Kings 19-22 and 2 Chron 17-18 Ben-Hadad of Aram picks a fight with King Ahab of Israel. Ahab has virtually no military resources to respond. With his back to the wall, who does he turn to? His idols? Nope. YHWH. But of course, Ahab is only in this for Ahab. He doesn’t do what God tells him to do. When God calls him on it, what does Ahab do? He pouts! Jezebel has to step in and prop him up. A free Study Guide is available. A video version of the class is available on YouTube. Click here for an index of all classes. More info at PastorintheWild.org.

048 Elijah and Elisha - God Brings Out the Big Guns

2 Kings 1, 3-5 and 2 Chron 19-20 Not only are dates getting more solid, but we're beginning to run into historical records that corroborate biblical accounts. This commemorative monument ("stele") was set up by one of Israel's enemies--a king of Moab that we run across in this week's lesson. The northern kingdom of Israel is slipping deeper and deeper into idol worship, and they are enticing Judah to forsake dependence on YHWH. Desperate times call for desperate measures. God shows up in miraculous ways for even the wickedest of kings--all to try to woo his people back. And Elisha is right in the thick of it: calling down fire, purifying poisoned waters, rescuing widows, healing generals. We’ve got some crazy powerful stuff going on here. I wonder if the people will pay attention? A free Study Guide is available. A video version of the class is available on YouTube. Click here for an index of all classes. More info at PastorintheWild.org.

049 Elijah and Elisha - Elijah Makes a Dramatic Exit

2 Kings 2, 6-7 and 2 Chron 21 Elijah goes out with a quite literal bang, and Elisha gets a double portion of his spirit (Elijah told him to be careful what he wished for!). Elisha gives the King of Aram fits in a hilarious story that results in the Arameans slinking away with their tails between their legs. Meanwhile in Judah, sixty years of being governed by relatively good kings comes to an abrupt end. The bloodlines of the royal families of Israel and Judah are joined, and we witness the beginning of the end of the nations. We don't do separate breakout groups this time. Instead we stay together and use our backpack tools to figure out why a crazy story about bald heads and bears is in the Bible. A free Study Guide is available. A video version of the class is available on YouTube. Click here for an index of all classes. More info at PastorintheWild.org.

050 Elijah and Elisha - Jezebel Gets What's Coming to Her

2 Kings 8-10 and 2 Chron 22 As do her son, the King of Judah, and her grandson, the King of Israel. It's a complete rout and lots of old prophecies get fulfilled--as the story says, "Not a word the Lord speaks falls to the ground." The thing is, though, those prophecies were like 12-14 years old. God told Elijah to do them, but he dies and apparently passes the work to Elisha, who then dawdles around before suddenly doing it all. Why is that? What does that say to us about how WE are to understand when and how to do what the Lord tells us to do? Here's the link to the TED talk about Liquid Lead that I reference during class. A free Study Guide is available. A video version of the class is available on YouTube. Click here for an index of all classes. More info at PastorintheWild.org.

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