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Home , 2 Chronicles 10, 2 Chronicles 33, Jehu, Kings of Judah

THE KINGS OF AND JUDAH SESSION 2: THE KINGDOM DIVIDES 4-15-20

(Study covers 1 Kings 11-12 and -11)

Note: The and Chronicles cover much of the same Ground, recording the reigns of the Kings of Israel and Judah. Like the Gospels they are accounts written by different authors about the same events. Although Authorship is disputed it is commonly believed by scholars that the books of the I Kings and II Kings were written by or possibly it is a compilation of the writings of a group of prophets that Jeremiah trained. Scholars mostly agree that the author of I Chronicles and II Chronicles is Ezra.

In this study today, we are going to examine what happened when the kingdoms of Israel and Judah divided into two nations. But before we discuss this division I want to give you a reference chart that shows the and Israel During the time of the divided kingdoms beginning with in Israel and in Judah. It shows which ones were recorded as being good and which ones were recorded as being evil. It also shows the years that they reigned and the prophets that God was using to speak to the two nations and specifically to the leaders of the two nations, whether they listened or not.

(Display Chart)

One of the things you will notice on the chart is that the majority of the kings were evil, especially the Kings of Israel. The only King of Israel that is defined as even partially good is whose rule started out good with Jehu destroying worship but Jehu did not destroy the worship and system of Idol Worship centered around the Golden Calves that Jeroboam had set up and it says that, “he was not careful to the follow the Law of the Lord the God of Israel, with all his heart”. Jehu traded one form of idol worship for another.

On the side there are 4 good Kings that followed God all through their reign. Asa, , , and . Manasseh started out as an exceedingly evil King but repented when he was taken captive by the King of . Scripture says that the King of Assyria put a hook in his nose, bound him with shackles and took him to where Manasseh in the midst of his distress humbled himself and sought the favor of the Lord His God. (:10-20). God returned Manasseh to where he ended his reign trying to undo the evil that he had done before his captivity by restoring the worship of the true God.

(Lesson: Grace of God - No matter how bad our past lives may have been or what we have done if we repent with all of our heart God is willing to forgive. We have a tendency to believe that God’s grace is just something that happens in the New Testament but there are multiple examples of God’s grace being expressed In the record.) Many of the Kings we will study are described as evil kings and there are specific actions that made the authors of Kings and Chronicles describe them that way.

(Exit Chart)

There are some commonalities to the way God defined evil and it would benefit us to be aware of those commonalities today.

1) The worship of false gods. This includes the original sin of Jeroboam setting up a system of the worship of golden calves (a return to the false religion of Egypt), Baal worship (a false god and system of worship originating in Babylon) and the worship of local gods of the Amorite peoples that occupied the “Land of Canaan” before Joshua’s conquest.

Although idol worship in the Old Testament took the form of worshipping actual hand-made images, idol worship is actually anything that comes between you and obedience and loyalty to the true God. The false systems of worship’s purpose was to shift dependency/sense of security/ and reverence from the true God to a false god that would allow the rulers of the day to control the people. This is true throughout the ages as men have used religion as a way to control and manipulate people. That is true if the religion practices is a false form of or if it is one of the other world religions or if it is outright occultism. The Key thing to understand is that true worship frees people to be who God designed them to be. False worship enslaves people and allows those in power to manipulate them for their purposes. Jesus said, “You will know the ​ truth and the truth will set you free”. When we are obedient to or allow our ​ dependence or our sense of security or what we hold in reverence to be anything but God (False religion, money, social status, physical pleasures, political candidates or systems, good looks, athleticism, intelligence etc.) we enslave ourselves to weaker elements, we are guilty of idol worship and we are subject to manipulation by those that have greater power in these false systems. So idol worship is one of the key elements that define evil in the historical books of the and I would contend that it is one of the key components of evil that we wrestle with in our society today.

2) The violent, immoral and Perverted practices that were an integral part of the worship ​ ​ of these false God’s: ie. Sacrificing Children in the fire, temple prostitution (both male and female, cutting oneself and other forms of self-mutilation, other immoral behaviors.

These immoral practices always followed immediately after the true worship of God was exchanged for the worship of a god that was not God at all. This was true not only in Old Testament Israel and Judah but Paul speaks of the same process of moral disintegration when speaking to the Romans in the New Testament.

Romans 1:21-32

21 ​For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were 22 23 darkened. ​Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and​ exchanged the ​ ​ glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. 24 ​Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity 25 for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They​ exchanged the truth about ​ God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. 26 ​Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged 27 natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In​ the same way the men also ​ abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error. 28 ​Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be 29 done. ​They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and ​ depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are 30 gossips, ​slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of ​ 31 doing evil; they disobey their parents; they​ have no understanding, no fidelity, no 32 ​ love, no mercy. Although​ they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such ​ things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

Once we untether ourselves from God we become subject to the deceptiveness of false gods and the addictiveness (slavery), of destructive behaviors and sin. These sins almost always progress from “not so bad” and attractive (sin is a trap and the bait is usually attractive to our flesh in some form) to evil, to a cycle of entrapment and fear, to outright misery and in the end destruction.

3) Oppression of the poor and powerless.

Just as prevalent as sexual immorality in God’s definition of evil is the sin of oppressing the poor and powerless. As we study the time period of the Kings and the words of the prophets spoken to these Kings we see again and again the condemnation of Kings and the ruling class of the nation for oppressing those that are at the bottom of the social structure or the economic structure of that society, for unfair practices that victimize people (Usually defined as the poor or the widowed, fatherless and stranger) rather than help them be lifted out of their desperate situations. Again, when we untether ourselves from God and we begin to worship gods of our own making, we naturally seek to exalt ourselves and seek to gain power at the expense of others. What that means is that the wealthy and powerful get more wealthy and powerful and the poor and powerless become poorer and more powerless. The gap between the two extremes of society becomes greater and the nation becomes progressively weaker. When we read the prophets and the reasons given for judgment on Israel and Judah – this form of evil (the improper use of power and wealth to further oppress the poor) is talked about more than any other.

Let’s go back now to the story of the Kings of Judah and Israel. Our last study took us to the point of ’s death and according to the line of succession, Solomon’s son Rehoboam should rule over the nation of Israel. But God, (because Solomon was not faithful), has already determined that he will rip away much of the nation from Solomon’s son and it will be given to another.

1 Kings 11:9-13

9 The​ Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the 10 God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. ​Although he had forbidden Solomon to ​ 11 follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the Lord’s command. So​ the Lord said to Solomon, ​ “Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of 12 your subordinates. ​Nevertheless, for the sake of your father, I will not do it during ​ 13 your lifetime. I will tear it out of the hand of your son. ​Yet I will not tear the whole kingdom ​ from him, but will give him one tribe for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.”

God had chosen Jeroboam to reign over the Northern tribes of Israel instead of Solomon’s son and we have that story of how that happened in

1 Kings 11:28-40 28 ​Now Jeroboam was a man of standing, and when Solomon saw how well the young man did his work, he put him in charge of the whole labor force of the tribes of Joseph.

29 ​About that time Jeroboam was going out of Jerusalem, and Ahijah the prophet of Shiloh met 30 him on the way, wearing a new cloak. The two of them were alone out in the country, ​and 31 ​ Ahijah took hold of the new cloak he was wearing and tore it into twelve pieces. Then​ he ​ said to Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces for yourself, for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘See, I am going to tear the kingdom out of Solomon’s hand and give you ten 32 tribes. ​But for the sake of my servant David and the city of Jerusalem, which I have chosen ​ 33 out of all the tribes of Israel, he will have one tribe. ​I will do this because they ​ [a] have ​ ​ ​ forsaken me and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god ​ of the Moabites, and Molek the god of the Ammonites, and have not walked in obedience to me, nor done what is right in my eyes, nor kept my decrees and laws as David, Solomon’s father, did.

34 ​“‘But I will not take the whole kingdom out of Solomon’s hand; I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of David my servant, whom I chose and who obeyed my 35 commands and decrees. ​I will take the kingdom from his son’s hands and give you ten 36 ​ tribes. ​I will give one tribe to his son so that David my servant may always have a ​ 37 lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to put my Name. However,​ as for you, I ​ 38 will take you, and you will rule over all that your heart desires; you will be king over Israel. If​ ​ you do whatever I command you and walk in obedience to me and do what is right in my eyes by obeying my decrees and commands, as David my servant did, I will be with you. I will build 39 you a dynasty as enduring as the one I built for David and will give Israel to you. ​I will ​ humble David’s descendants because of this, but not forever.’”

40 ​Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam fled to Egypt, to Shishak the king, and stayed there until Solomon’s death.

So, this is the story then of how the Kingdom is divided. We see that Rehoboam, Solomon’s son was not a wise ruler but one that was immature, one who had a sense of entitlement, and one who was out of touch with the needs of his people. God uses the immaturity of Rehoboam to accomplish the purposes he has already set forth.

Jeroboam (who was in exile in Egypt) is a popular leader with the people (especially in the tribe of Ephraim, and is sent for at the time of Solomon’s death to negotiate with Rehoboam on behalf of the people of Israel. The deal that the people wanted was this: Although Solomon’s reign had been prosperous in later years he had taxed the people heavily and they were in need of relief from the heavy burden that Solomon had put on them. So they said relieve us of this burden and we will serve you.

Jeroboam was from the tribe of Ephraim, one of the largest tribes of Israel where much of Israel’s leadership had come from in the past. Joshua who conquered the promise land was from the tribe of Ephraim, Samuel (Israel’s greatest judge) was from the tribe of Ephraim. Jacob (Israel) the father of the nation had prophesied that Ephraim’s descendants would be influential leaders. So, there was precedent for someone from the tribe of Ephraim to challenge Solomon’s son from the . Tribal rivalry specifically between the tribes of Judah and Ephraim had been stirring for some time. Many were angry when Jeroboam had been forced into exile by Solomon. Rehoboam however seems to be somewhat oblivious to the precarious political situation he is in. Jeroboam even knowing that he has been prophesied to lead Israel gives Rehoboam a chance to keep the nation united. Jeroboam goes forward on behalf of the people to ask Rehoboam for relief from taxes. He tells Rehoboam that the people will continue to serve him like they served Solomon if he will give them what they ask.

1 Kings 12:3-4

3 So​ they sent for Jeroboam, and he and the whole assembly of Israel went to Rehoboam and 4 said to him: “Your​ father put a heavy yoke on us, but now lighten the harsh labor and the ​ heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.”

At first Rehoboam does the right thing. He tells the people, give me three days to consult with my advisors and then come back and we will discuss this again. Rehoboam then consults with the elders who had served Solomon and they confirmed the fact that the people had a valid point and should be listened to. These were the leaders and advisors that had been there through the period of heavy taxation and they had a sense of the need the people had. They had experience and they could tell that the people were at a breaking point. This is what they told Rehoboam.

1 Kings 12:6-7

6 Then​ King Rehoboam consulted the elders who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime. “How would you advise me to answer these people?” he asked. 7 They​ replied, “If today you will be a servant to these people and serve them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your servants.”

They told Rehoboam, “You have the chance to be a hero here. If you will swallow your pride and be the kind of leader that will serve the people, if you will give them what they are asking for they will also faithfully serve you.”

But Rehoboam was not satisfied with their counsel. Sometimes when say we are seeking counsel we are not truly seeking to hear the truth we are seeking agreement with what we have already decided. Rehoboam decided that instead of heeding the counsel of the elders that had served Solomon, he would go to his friends who had grown up with him and shared his experience of being entitled and powerful and who also lacked a connection to the common people. After rejecting the elder’s advice and listening to his own friends this is the response that Rehoboam came back to the people with – and it changed the direction of the Kingdom forever.

1 Kings 12:12-15

12 ​Three days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam, as the king had said, 13 “Come back to me in three days.” The​ king answered the people harshly. Rejecting the 14 ​ advice given him by the elders, he​ followed the advice of the young men and said, “My ​ father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; 15 I will scourge you with scorpions.” So​ the king did not listen to the people, for this turn of ​ events was from the Lord, to fulfill the word the Lord had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah the Shilonite.

At this point the Northern tribes of Israel, led by Jeroboam decide to rebel against Rehoboam. Initially Rehoboam tries to force the Israelites to accept his rule. He sends his government officer (Adoniram) who is in charge of forced labor out to force the people to keep serving him and his government but that doesn’t work out well for Adoniram or Rehoboam.

1 Kings 12:18-20

18 [a] ​King Rehoboam sent out Adoniram, ​ ​ ​ who was in charge of forced labor, but all Israel ​ stoned him to death. King Rehoboam, however, managed to get into his chariot and escape 19 to Jerusalem. ​So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day. ​ 20 ​When all the Israelites heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. Only the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the house of David.

So now as prophesied Jeroboam is made King over 10 of the tribes of Israel in the North. Judah and most of the (they had been mostly assimilated by Judah at this time) stay with Rehoboam. The tribe of Levi is actually scattered throughout Israel and Judah so in reality Jeroboam reigns over 10 tribes (Asher, , Ephraim, , Issachar, Manasseh, Naphtali, ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Reuben, Simeon, and Zebulun) and Rehoboam reigns over 2 tribes (Judah and Benjamin). Levi is ​ scattered throughout both nations. There are actually 13 tribes because Joseph is divided into two tribes named after his sons Ephraim and Manasseh.

Rehoboam actually puts together an army and is going to go to war to keep his kingdom together but God’s prophet Shemaiah (see chart) warns him not to fight against his brothers because this is of the Lord’s doing.

1 Kings 12:21-22

21 ​When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he mustered all Judah and the tribe of Benjamin—a hundred and eighty thousand able young men—to go to war against Israel and to regain the kingdom for Rehoboam son of Solomon. 22 23 ​But this word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God: ​“Say to Rehoboam son of ​ 24 Solomon king of Judah, to all Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, ​‘This is ​ what the Lord says: Do not go up to fight against your brothers, the Israelites. Go home, every one of you, for this is my doing.’” So they obeyed the word of the Lord and went home again, as the Lord had ordered.

This completes the Story of the dividing of the nation of Israel into the nations of Israel and Judah. From here on out we will look at the parallel histories of the two nations as they existed side by side and interacted with one another, the nations around the and the empires that eventually came into power. We will begin next time at the end of 1 Kings 12 examining the reign of Jeroboam and the rise of false religion and idol worship in Israel.