Josiah is perhaps Judah's most pious king, restoring Judah's worship of Yahweh after decades of neglect. But his desire to please God doesn't save him from making a fatal error. Josiah tries to keep the Egyptian Army from propping up the dying Assyrian Empire, but The Egyptian King is following God's direction. Both the message…

Hezekiah trusts God at a time when the stakes are huge. Facing the destruction of his people by the Assyrian Army, he hangs on to faith that God will deliver the people. We learn two lessons from this: First, that life is more than just our economic or material well-being. And secondly, God may want…

Jehoshaphat is a righteous king whose reign is upended by an ill-considered alliance with the wicked Israelite king Ahab. His story reminds us of the importance of partnering with people who have compatible core values, or we may find ourselves pressured to compromise at the most important places in our lives.

The interaction between Ahab and Naboth shows the misunderstanding that happens between people pursuing God's vision of a good life and people who pursue a vision of the good life that based in cultural assumptions. The church is called to devote itself to an alternative vision of the good life, so we will likewise be…

Jeroboam has an iron-clad promise from God that he will be blessed if he obeys, but because he can't imagine how God will keep his promise, he goes his own way with disastrous consequences for both his family and nation. Like Jeroboam, we also have promises from God. Do we choose to believe them, or…

Saul, the first king of Judah, is overwhelmed by his duties. But instead of his uncertainty leading him to trust God more, it leads him to a toxic form of insecurity that destroys his reign. He serves as a cautionary tale for believers about the importance of faith in God when things are difficult.