As you read the Old Testament, leadership can be confusing because sometimes kings are over the whole nation, parts of the nation, or they’re not called kings at all. So who are all these different leaders described in the Old Testament?
Talking Points:
- The Patriarchs. The first leaders of the nation of Israel were the original “patriarchs,” Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
- The Judges. After the period of the Patriarchs, Israel fell onto hard times and ended up as a slave nation to Egypt.
- The united kingdom. Though God had never intended to install a king over his people, the Israelites grew jealous of the prestige and power that monarchs seemed to bring to their surrounding nations.
- The divided kingdom. Soon after Solomon’s death, a controversy grew over who would be the next king over Israel.
- The exile and return. Because God had promised to be faithful to his people, eventually God led Cyrus, the King of Persia who had conquered the Babylonians, to allow Israel to regather as a nation in their ancestral homeland.
Talk About It
- What is your initial reaction to this topic? What jumped out at you?
- Why do you think Israel had so many different kinds of leaders throughout its history?
- Read Genesis 15. Identify all that this chapter says about God and his promises to Abram.
- In what ways can those of us alive today mirror Israel’s unfaithfulness to God?
- How can we actively choose to crown Jesus king of our lives every day?
- Write a personal action step based on this conversation.
