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PLACE and TIME a Divided Kingdom joshua Hartwigsen, Wednesday adult class #6, Fall quarter, 2019.10.20, fellowship hall PLACE AND TIME A divided kingdom Summary of the story Israel, under the leadership of David and Solomon, reached it heights of power, influence and wealth (cf. 1 Kings 10:1-25), seemingly realizing its place as God’s “treasured possession” whom He promised to “set high above all nations which He has made, for praise, fame, and honor” (Deuteronomy 26:18-19). But God’s promises to bless the nation inseparably connected to its obedience (Deuteronomy 7:7- 10; 26:16-19), which the Bible’s record of Israel in 1 Samuel through 2 Chronicles measures through the behavior of its kings. The condition God placed on the blessings He gave to Israel prepares us for the nation’s sudden reversal of fortunes that followed Solomon’s apostasy - because of his sins, God divided the nation into two smaller nations (1 Kings 11:1-13), leaving only one tribe to the davidic line of kings (1 Kings 11:13) while promising the remaining tribes to Jeroboam (1 Kings 11:26-38). Selfish interests in power, wealth and influence combined with concerns over who would be the inheritor of God’s promises to create deep tensions between the newly formed northern joshua Hartwigsen, Wednesday adult class #6, Fall quarter, 2019.10.20, fellowship hall kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah (cf. 1 Kings 12:25-28; 14:30; 15:6; 2 Chronicles 11:1-12). The two nations, for example, battled over the border between their lands for about twenty years. Rheoboam’s son Abijah pushed the border north and captured Bethel, Jeroboam’s worship center (2 Chronicles 13:2-20). Israelite king Baasha responded by pushing the border south, moving it to within six miles of Jerusalem, forcing Judah’s king Asa to solicit the help of Ben-Hadad the king of Aram (1 Kings 15:16-22; 2 Chronicles 16:1-6). Although the border solidified after those events, deep tensions persisted between the two nations. While tensions existed between Israel and Judah, the record of the two nations instead focuses on their relationship with God rather than with each other. God had, for example, promised Israel’s first king Jeroboam blessings and “an enduring house as [He] built for David” if he listened and obeyed God’s commands (1 Kings 11:26-38). Yet Jeroboam chose to rebel against God after God placed him as king over the newly formed northern kingdom of Israel (1 Kings 12:20, 25-33). Jeroboam’s acts set the stage for the rest of Israel’s history (cf. 2 Chronicles 11:14-17), a history marked by unfaithfulness and instability. The kingdom existed for 209 years during which time: • 19 kings from 9 different families ruled Israel. • 8 kings were either killed or committed suicide. • The nation had four different capitals - Shechem, Penuel, Tizrah, and Samaria. • Numerous conflicts troubled the nation. For example, the Bible records 13 battles between Israel and Aram, with some involving Aram pushing to the gates of the nation’s capital Samaria (1 Kings 20:1-21; 2 Kings 6:24; 7:8). • The entrenched wickedness of Israel motivated God to allow the Assyrian armies to destroy the nation in 722 BC (2 Kings 17:1- 18). The southern kingdom of Judah lasted 345 years (from the division of the united kingdom to the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem 586 BC), outlasting Israel, in part, because it did have a number of joshua Hartwigsen, Wednesday adult class #6, Fall quarter, 2019.10.20, fellowship hall godly kings. The record of the southern kingdom emphasizes the connection between obedience/blessings and disobedience/punishments. Consider: • The unfaithfulness of Solomon’s son Rheoboam led to the invasion by Egyptian Pharaoh Shishak (2 Chronicles 12:1-4). God even permitted Shishak to plunder the temple in Jerusalem (1 Kings 14:25-26; 2 Chronicles 12:9). It is important to note that within five years of becoming king over a united kingdom, Rheoboam’s rule had been reduced by God to no more than the Judean hill country (cf. 2 Chronicles 12:1-4). • Kings Asa’s early obedience led to victories (2 Chronicles 14), but his later lack of trust in God led directly to his death (2 Chronicles 16:7-14). • King Jehosophat’s godliness led to peace and prosperity in Judah (2 Chronicles 17-20). His alliance, however, with the wicked Israelite king Ahab led to his son’s apostasy (2 Kings 8:18; 2 Chronicles 21:6) and caused serious reversals in his kingdom (2 Kings 8:20-22; 2 Chronicles 21:8-10, 16-17). • The wickedness of Ahaziah led to his death (2 Kings 8:25-27; 9:1-28), which provided his mother Athaliah (Israelite king Ahab’s daughter, 2 Kings 8:26) opportunity to seize control of the davidic throne and nearly led to the extermination of the davidic kings (only one of David’s descendent survived, 2 Kings 11). • Similar to Israel, Judah’s unfaithfulness eventually resulted in its captivity to Babylon beginning in 605 BC (2 Kings 24:1-25:12; 2 Chronicles 36:5-21). Survey of important people, places, and events A few things stand out in the midst of the material recorded in the books detailing Israel’s divided kingdoms (1, 2 Kings; 2 Chronicles). Consider, for example, the following items: • The Bible’s record of the divided kingdoms of Israel and Judah emphasize God’s sovereign control - events did not happen randomly but occurred “according to the word of the Lord”. Consider: o Jehu’s extermination of Ahab’s family (2 Kings 9:1-10:36). o Zimri’s destruction of Baasha’s household (1 Kings 16:1-3, 8-13). o Elisha’s pronouncement of God’s mercy on Israel (2 Kings 7:1-20). o God’s blessings on Jeroboam the son of Joash (2 Kings 14:23-27). o Josiah’s desecration of Jeroboam’s altar (1 Kings 12:25-13:5; 2 Kings 23:15-16). o Babylon’s assault against Jehoiakim (2 Kings 24:1-4; 21:10-16). • The reality of God’s sovereignty over the events in the records of Judah and Israel’s kings emphasizes the direct connection between faithfulness/blessings and unfaithfulness/punishment (Deuteronomy 7:7-10; 26:16-19; cf. 1 Samuel 13:5-14; 1 Kings 9:1-9; 11:1-13; 2 Kings 21:1-12; 22:1-20). • The failures of both Israel and Judah motivated God to appoint prophets who worked to prepare people for coming events that included the fall of Israel (cf. Amos 4:1-3; 5:25-27), the capture of Judah (cf. Isaiah 39:5-7; Habakkuk 1:1-17), and the coming of a messianic king and kingdom (cf. Isaiah 9:6-7; 53:1-12; Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 34:23-25; 37:15-28). joshua Hartwigsen, Wednesday adult class #6, Fall quarter, 2019.10.20, fellowship hall Applications • In what ways do you think the material in 1, 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles sets the stage for the rest of the Bible’s story? ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ • What insights does 1, 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles offer us into God’s promise to bless the world through Abraham and his descendants? ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ • In what ways do you think 1, 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles might help you better understand your own relationship with God? ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ .
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