Lesson
99: 2 Kings 14–17
Lessons to find in
today’s class:
---What can happen if we do not remove
evil influences from our lives and help others to do the same (2 Kings 14-15).
---What can help you with your challenges
and fears. (2 Kings 18-20)
Kings
of Assyria: Shalmaneser, Sargon, Sennacherib
---What
are some spiritually dangerous situations that youth find themselves in these
days? (drugs, pornography…)
---Share
with a neighbor why would it be dangerous to do nothing in these situations.
---References
on the board:
2 Kings 14:1, 3 Amaziah 2
Kings 14:23-24
2 Kings 15:1, 3 Azariah/Uzziah 2 Kings 15:8-9
2 Kings 15:32, 34 Jotham 2
Kings 15:17-18
(righteous) 2
Kings 15:23-24
(kingdom of Judah) 2 Kings 15:27-28
(not
righteous)
(both
Judah and Israel)
---The
verses referenced on the board describe various rulers of the kingdoms of Judah
and Israel. Scan the verses to see the difference between the kings in the 2
lists.
---Did
you notice which kingdom these righteous kings ruled? (The Southern Kingdom of
Judah.)
---“High
places” refers to locations where idol worship took place. They may also have
been places where other wicked acts were committed, like human sacrifice and
sexual immorality. The failure to remove these high places allowed wicked
practices to continue within the kingdom of Judah.
---What might result if we fail
to remove evil influences from our lives?
If we do not remove evil influences
from our lives, we place ourselves and our
families in spiritual danger.
VIDEO CLIP Things as they
really are by Elder Bednar
---Looking
at the list of the spiritually dangerous situations we made, what could we do to
combat them? pray for strength and courage
---Are
there are any evil influences you need to remove from your lives?
---Pray
for the strength and courage to remove them.
---What’s
the danger in trying to please another person in order to obtain something in
return? Have you ever seen this happen?
---In
chapter 16 we read that in an effort to gain the favor of the king of Assyria,
Ahaz, king of Judah, gave him gold and silver from the temple and the royal treasury.
Ahaz also defiled the temple by replacing the altar with one fashioned after a
pagan altar in Damascus and by making other unauthorized changes to the temple.
---Did Ahaz’s actions show faith
in the Lord?
---In
chapter 17 we read how another king, Hoshea also tries to appease a different
king of Assyria. Hoshea’s people were
conquered after 3 years of siege.
---Mark
2 Kings
17:6,
which describes the downfall of the kingdom of Israel and the beginning of the
scattering of the ten tribes of Israel.
---What did the Lord do before He allowed the
Assyrians to conquer and carry away the kingdom of Israel?
---What truth can we learn from
these verses about how the Lord tries to save His people?
(The
Lord sends prophets to preach repentance and help us live righteously.)
---Because
they hardened their hearts against the Lord’s servants, the people of the
kingdom of Israel were conquered and taken captive by Assyria. Their identity
as distinct tribes and as the covenant people of Jehovah was lost. However, the
ten tribes are not lost to the Lord, and some of them were visited by Jesus Christ after His Resurrection (see 3 Nephi 15:15–16:5). The scattering
of the ten tribes began with the Assyrians, and they were eventually scattered
and lost among other peoples of the earth (see 1 Nephi 22:3–5). They will
remain lost until they turn their hearts to Jesus Christ as part of the
Restoration and gathering in the latter days (see D&C 110:11; Articles of Faith 1:10).
---Scan
the following verses silently, looking
for what the Israelites did to please other people and nations.
---verse 17, what did the
Israelites do to their children? What things did they turn to for revelation?
---Scan
2 Kings
17:18–21, 23
aloud looking for the results of the Israelites’ open rebellion and wickedness.
Assyria
practiced a policy of deporting and relocating conquered peoples. Thus, they
moved Israelites to foreign lands and brought other foreign captives into the
land Israel had possessed. The foreign peoples that the Assyrians moved into
the land of Israel after the conquest were the ancestors of the people who
became the Samaritans. These chapters relate the origins of the animosity
between Jews and Samaritans.
“The
statement that ‘there was none left but the tribe of Judah only’ can be
understood correctly only if one realizes that at this time Benjamin, Levi, and
all other Israelites who had left the nation of Israel and joined Judah were
included under the title of Judah [for Judah was the chief tribe in the south].
The ten tribes carried into captivity at this time were Reuben, Simeon,
Issachar, Zebulon, Gad, Dan, Asher, Naphtali, Ephraim, and Manasseh.
Ephraim
was the chief tribe in this northern kingdom and as such the northern tribes or
the tribes of Israel were often collectively called Ephraim. The three
remaining tribes were Judah, Benjamin, and Levi. Some of the tribe of Levi were
still with Israel (the ten tribes), however, and some of Ephraim, Manasseh, and
other tribes were with Judah, such as Lehi, who was descended from Manasseh.
So, the division is not as clear as a superficial reading might indicate”
---In
verse 20 we learn that the Lord allows them to be taken into captivity because
of their wickedness.
---What
can we learn from the accounts of the wicked kings of Israel and Judah trying
to please the corrupt nations around them?
(When
we seek to please others above God, we lose His
protection.)
---What are some examples of
situations in which a Latter-day Saint youth might be tempted to please others
above God?
---Elder
Neil L. Andersen gave the example of a Laurel who decided to declare her
belief in traditional marriage in a thoughtful way. On social media. She said, “With
my profile picture, I added the caption ‘I believe in marriage between a man
and a woman.’ Almost instantly I started receiving messages. ‘You are selfish.’
‘You are judgmental.’ One compared me to a slave owner. And I received this
post from a great friend who is a strong member of the Church: ‘You need to
catch up with the times. Things are changing and so should you.’ I did not
fight back, but I did not take my statement down’”
---How did this young woman show
her loyalty to God instead of to her peers?
---Questions
to ask yourself:
(1) Do I think more about pleasing
others than I do about pleasing God?
(2) What are some things that
distract me from loving God or that turn my heart and mind away from Him?
(3) How have I recently shown God
that I love Him above all others?
Lesson 100: 2
Kings 18–20
---In
these chapters, Hezekiah is King and Isaiah is the prophet.
---What challenges or fears do
you have?
---How might those challenges or
fears test your faith in the Lord?
---Scan
2 Kings
18:3–8
looking for the good things Hezekiah did as king. (removed high places, broke
brass serpent, trusted the Lord and clave to him, kept the commandments, the
Lord was with him, didn’t serve Assyrian king, smote the Philistines)
---What principle can we learn
from these verses?
(If
we trust in the Lord and keep His commandments, then He will be with us.)
---In
2 Kings
18:9–12
the Assyria conquered the Northern Kingdom of Israel—the 10 tribes who mostly
lived in the regions of Samaria and Galilee—“because they obeyed not the voice
of the Lord their God, but transgressed his covenant” (2 Kings
18:12).
---About
seven years after the Assyrian king Sargon conquered the Northern Kingdom of
Israel and carried the people away into captivity, Sennacherib succeeded him as
the king (see 2 Kings
18:9–10, 13).
---Map
on the board.
---Sennacherib
planned to conquer Jerusalem—the capital of the kingdom of Judah. The Assyrian
army appeared to be unstoppable. They had a reputation of viciously desolating
the lands and torturing the people they conquered, thus inspiring fear in those
who opposed them.
The
common practice for the Assyrian army after they captured a city or country was
to cut down all the trees, sow the fields with salt, and poison the wells. The
soldiers were rewarded for the head of every enemy brought to their captain, so
after a military victory they would decapitate the dead. Captives were often
flayed alive or roasted over fire or in kilns. Other captives were impaled on
stakes. Nobles taken captive were thrown from towers or had their ears, nose,
hands, and feet cut off. Those who were not killed were taken away while the
city was burned. Having this terrifying reputation, the Assyrians sent
negotiators to a city before the actual battle began, telling the people to
surrender or suffer the consequences. Many cities chose to surrender.
---What thoughts or feelings
would you have had if you had lived in Jerusalem and knew the Assyrian army was
approaching?
---Isaiah
had prophesied of the Assyrian invasion.
---In
Isaiah
10:28–32
Isaiah listed the cities that would be overrun. 28-Aiath, Migron, Michmash
29-Geba, Ramah, Gibeah, 30-Gallim, Laish, Anathoth 31-Madmenah, Gebim 32-Nob
---The
cities of Madmenah and Gebim (see verse 31) are not included
on the map because we do not know where they were located.
---The
city of Nob was less than one mile (1.6 km) north of Jerusalem. This means that
the Assyrian army came extremely close to Jerusalem.
---Isaiah
says that the Assyrian king would threaten Jerusalem but not destroy it. Then
Isaiah compared the Assyrian army to a bough, or large branch, of a tree and
says they will be hewn down.
---The
book of 2 Chronicles preserves
important details about how Hezekiah led his people during this time.
---How did Hezekiah demonstrate
his faith in the Lord at this time?
---Just
as Isaiah prophesied, the Assyrian army arrived outside of Jerusalem after
conquering the cities along the way. One of the Assyrians’ strategies was to
send negotiators to a city before their army would attack. The Assyrians used
their reputation as brutal, ruthless warriors to intimidate cities and persuade
them to surrender. Sennacherib sent negotiators to Jerusalem, where they were
met by Hezekiah’s representatives.
---There
is a conversation between the Assyrian Rab-shakeh and the Israelite Eliakim which
was witnessed by the people in Jerusalem, who were watching from atop the city
walls. Rab-shakeh mocks the Lord and tries to intimidate and scare Eliakim.
Eliakim asks that Rab-shakeh change to speaking in the Syrian tongue so the Israelites
that are listening won’t understand the threats being made. Rab doesn’t comply.
---Read
2 Kings 18:29-32. Rab is trying to shake their faith and get them to surrender.
---In what situations might
others try to sway us from trusting in the Lord?
---Hezekiah
did three things to turn to the Lord:
---Explain
that Rab-shakeh then sent messengers to Hezekiah with another message.
---What choice did Hezekiah have
to make? (Whether to believe Isaiah and trust in the Lord or believe Rab-shakeh
and surrender to Assyria.)
---Invite students to report what they
find.
---Summary
of 2 Kings
19:21–34:
Isaiah again reassured Hezekiah that the Lord would defend Jerusalem against
the Assyrian army.
---Read
2 Kings
19:35–37
aloud looking for what happened to the Assyrian army and their king,
Sennacherib.
---What happened to the army
during the night? What happened to Sennacherib?
---What principles can we learn
from this account? (Students may identify several principles, including the
following: If we turn to the Lord, then He can help us overcome
our fears and challenges.)
---When
have you turned to the Lord for help with a fear or challenge? How did the Lord
help you?
(You may want to share one of your own
personal experiences.)
---Explain
that Hezekiah later faced another challenge.
---What challenge did Hezekiah
face?
---What did Hezekiah do? How was
he blessed?
---What principle can we learn
from this account? (Students may use different words but should identify the
following principle: If we exercise faith in the Lord,
we can be healed according to His will. In rare circumstances the Lord in His
mercy will extend the life of an individual in mortality.)
---Summarize
2 Kings
20:7–20
by explaining that the Lord showed Hezekiah a sign to confirm that He would
heal him. Later, Isaiah prophesied that Babylon would conquer the kingdom of
Judah.
---Invite
students to ponder how they can apply the principles discussed in this lesson
when they face their challenges or fears.
---Testify
of these principles, and invite students to apply them in their lives.
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