1 Kings Bible study guide

Group study · 6 sessions

Work through 1 Kings in order

Read each passage aloud before discussion. The questions begin with observation, then move toward interpretation and faithful response.

1. Session 1 · 127 verses

   1 Kings 1-3

   People and terms: Solomon, David, Adonijah, Benaiah, Nathan, Joab

   • Before anyone explains it, walk through what actually happens here. Who does what, in what order?
   • What does the writer repeat? Repetition is usually the point, not a habit.
   • What surprised you, or what did you have to read twice?
   • Adonijah turns up in this section. What does the passage actually show, as opposed to what you already assumed?
   • The word throne is doing real work here. What did you assume it meant, and does the passage agree?
   • What did the writer choose to include here, and why that detail?
   • Where does this cut against something you already believe or already do?

2. Session 2 · 141 verses

   1 Kings 4-7

   People and terms: Solomon, Hiram, David, Lebanon, Egypt, Hushai

   • Tell the story back in your own words. What is easy to skip over?
   • Who is being addressed here, and what do they already know that we do not?
   • What is assumed rather than argued? Those assumptions are often the real claim.
   • Read this section from where Hushai was standing. What changes?
   • Define temple from this passage alone, without reaching for what you already know.
   • This is a story, not a lesson with a moral attached. What is it showing rather than telling?
   • What would actually be different this week if you took this seriously?

3. Session 3 · 123 verses

   1 Kings 8-10

   People and terms: Solomon, David, Egypt, Hiram, Jerusalem, Lebanon

   • What happens in this section that you would struggle to explain to someone who has never read it?
   • Which single verse carries the weight of this section?
   • What is left unsaid that you expected to be said?
   • What does the writer tell us about Hiram, and what is deliberately left out?
   • Where else have you heard temple used, and is it being used that way here?
   • Whose perspective are we given, and whose are we denied?
   • Who do you know who needs to hear this, and what stops you saying it?

4. Session 4 · 141 verses

   1 Kings 11-14

   People and terms: Jeroboam, David, Solomon, Rehoboam, Jerusalem, Hadad

   • Read it once more, slowly. What do you notice the second time that you missed the first?
   • Where does the tone shift, and what causes it?
   • What question does this section answer that you had not thought to ask?
   • What would this section sound like if Hadad were telling it?
   • The word bread is doing real work here. What did you assume it meant, and does the passage agree?
   • What would you have written differently if you wanted to make a point?
   • What is the hardest thing in this passage to accept, and why that one?

5. Session 5 · 138 verses

   1 Kings 15-18

   People and terms: Elijah, Asa, Ahab, Baasha, Jeroboam, Omri

   • If this were the only part of the book you had, what would you conclude about Jesus?
   • What does the writer repeat? Repetition is usually the point, not a habit.
   • What surprised you, or what did you have to read twice?
   • Omri turns up in this section. What does the passage actually show, as opposed to what you already assumed?
   • Define book from this passage alone, without reaching for what you already know.
   • What did the writer choose to include here, and why that detail?
   • If this is true, what have you been getting wrong?

6. Session 6 · 146 verses

   1 Kings 19-22

   People and terms: Ahab, Jehoshaphat, Naboth, Elijah, Jezebel, Micaiah

   • Where does the pace change here, and what is the writer slowing down for?
   • Who is being addressed here, and what do they already know that we do not?
   • What is assumed rather than argued? Those assumptions are often the real claim.
   • Read this section from where Naboth was standing. What changes?
   • Where else have you heard silver used, and is it being used that way here?
   • This is a story, not a lesson with a moral attached. What is it showing rather than telling?
   • What would you want to be reminded of from this section in six months?

Deep study

Keep the book in context

For fuller background, use the companion 1 Kings commentary and the Bible dictionary as you work through each session.