📖 1 Kings Chapter 15 – A King with Courage for God

👑 Two Kings – and Two Hearts

🌅 Introduction

When someone is king, many people think:
“Wow, he can decide everything!”

But even kings must choose:
👉 Do I go my own way – or do I listen to God?

In this chapter we meet two kings:
One who is half-hearted.
And one who shows great courage – and puts God back at the center.

📖 The Bible story

After Rehoboam’s death, his son Abijah became king in Judah.

He ruled for only three years —
and sadly, his heart was not faithful to God.

Sometimes he did what was right —
but often only because it was convenient.
Not because he truly loved God.

God was patient,
because He had promised David
to give his descendants a chance.

But Abijah died early —
and his son Asa became king.

💪 Asa Wants to Do Things Differently

Asa was very different.
Early on, he made an important decision:

“I want to serve God alone —
not the false idols of my ancestors!”

And Asa acted:

🔹 He destroyed the altars of foreign gods.
🔹 He removed the idols from the land.
🔹 He made sure the people listened to God again.
🔹 He even removed his own grandmother as queen mother because she had worshiped an idol statue!

Asa had courage —
even when it was uncomfortable.

🛡️ A Life of Light and Shadow

Asa ruled for a long time: 41 years.
For many of those years, he lived according to God’s will.

But toward the end of his reign,
another king came: Baasha of Israel.
He attacked the southern kingdom of Judah
and tried to frighten Asa.

Asa became afraid.

Instead of asking God for help,
he sought support from the king of Syria —
and paid him with treasures from the temple.

Asa had a good beginning —
but in the end he relied more on people
than on God.

🟣 Summary

In chapter 15 we see two kings:

🔸 Abijah, who only half listens to God — and quickly disappears from the scene.
🔹 Asa, who shows great courage and ends idol worship — but later forgets where his strength comes from.

It is a story about decisions:
Following God — completely or not at all.

And it shows:
God rejoices in hearts that are honest and courageous.

💚 Message for Children Today

You don’t have to be a king to make decisions.
Every day you can choose:
👉 Do I listen to God’s Word?
👉 Or do I just take the easy way?

God rejoices over people
who take Him seriously —
even when it takes courage.

And if you ever feel afraid:
Don’t forget to go to God first —
because He is strong and faithful.

💭 Food for Thought

🔹 What would you do if others laughed at you because you believe in God?
🔹 What can you learn from Asa — and what should you avoid?
🔹 How can you show courage today and make it clear that you belong to God?

🧒 👧 👦

💌 Invitation to 1 Kings Chapter 16

🔥 When Kings Forget God … and Everything Falls Apart

How wonderful it would be if all kings listened to God!
But in the northern kingdom of Israel, many things go wrong.
One king follows another —
yet none of them asks for the Lord.

Then comes King Ahab.
He not only does evil —
he leads the whole nation even farther away from God.

Chapter 16 shows:
👉 Whoever forgets God loses the way —
but God does not forget His people.

🔔 Teaser for Chapter 16

Zimri, Omri, Ahab — these are three kings of Israel.
They rule one after another,
but none of them listens to God.

Then comes Ahab,
a king worse than all before him.

He marries Jezebel,
a woman who worships foreign gods —
especially Baal, the god of thunder.

And Ahab even builds a temple for Baal!

Now it becomes clear:
👉 Israel has moved far away from God.
But right at this moment, a new story begins …

Because in the next chapter,
a brave prophet appears:
Elijah — God’s man, who is not afraid even of kings.