1–2 Kings: A 12-Week Study

Knowing the Bible

by Gavin Ortlund, Dane C. Ortlund (Series Editor), Lane T. Dennis (Series Editor)

"A tremendous resource for those wanting to study and teach the Bible with an understanding of how the gospel is woven throughout Scripture." ―Bryan Chapell, Pastor, Grace Presbyterian Church The Knowing the Bible series is a resource designed to help Bible readers better understand and apply God’s Word. These 12-week studies lead participants through books of the Bible and are made up of four basic (1) reflection questions help readers engage the text at a deeper level; (2) “Gospel Glimpses” highlight the gospel of grace throughout the book; (3) “Whole-Bible Connections” show how any given passage connects to the Bible’s overarching story of redemption, culminating in Christ; and (4) “Theological Soundings” identify how historic orthodox doctrines are taught or reinforced throughout Scripture. With contributions from an array of influential pastors and church leaders, these gospel-centered studies will help Christians see and cherish the message of God’s grace on every page of the Bible. The books of 1–2 Kings describe the period of monarchy in ancient Israel, highlighting a clear contrast between the covenant-keeping God and the covenantbreaking people of Israel. Walking readers through these two books, this 12-week study guide helps us see God’s mercy and grace as he offers blessings instead of curses to his people in response to their disobedience―pointing forward to the faithfulness of the Redeemer yet to come.

96 pages, Paperback

First published March 16, 2017

About the author

Gavin Ortlund (PhD, Fuller Theological Seminary) is senior pastor at First Baptist Church of Ojai in Ojai, California. He was previously a research fellow for the Creation Project at the Carl F. H. Henry Center for Theological Understanding at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He is the author of Finding the Right Hills to Die On, Theological Retrieval for Evangelicals, and Anselm's Pursuit of Joy.

Reviews

[Karoline · Rating 3 out of 5]

This will sound like the ultimate backhanded compliment, but the best thing about this study guide is how short it is. Short IS actually good for group Bible study purposes! - it provides some structure and some insights without demanding so much time and attention that the assigned Bible reading becomes an afterthought. Which happens.

Each study guide chapter covers about 5 Bible chapters (it varies), about 12 questions with space for writing answers, and about 5 recurrent sections (big picture, gospel glimpses, theological comments, etc.). The entire guide is under 100 pages long.

As far as the content, many of the discussion questions could have been more narrowly focused. Some of them felt like six questions crammed into one, which became cumbersome and diluted; and even within the space constraints I think the author had room for something more interesting. But it worked reasonably well for purposes of a small group Bible study. We needed some hand-holding (it's not always a bad thing!) and this provided just enough without taking over our reading of the actual Bible text.