lesson 10 scriptures

Jeroboam

• The prophet Ahijah tells

Jeroboam, one of Solomon’s

officials, that God will give

him control of 10 of the tribes

of Israel

• “If you will listen to all that I command you . . . and do

what is right in my sight . . . I will be with you, and will

build you an enduring house, as I built for David, and I

will give Israel to you” (1 Kings 11:38)

Rehoboam

• Solomon’s son and successor,

Rehoboam, refuses to relieve

the burden of labor and

taxation that Solomon imposed.

• Only the tribes of Judah and Benjamin remain loyal

to Rehoboam and the family of David

• The ten northern tribes revolt

and become an independent

kingdom under Jeroboam.

• The northern kingdom ruled by

Jeroboam and his successors is still

known as Israel, but has a new

capital at Samaria

• The southern kingdom ruled by

Rehoboam and David’s

descendants is known as Judah,

and Jerusalem remains its capital

Israel

Judah

• The division of the kingdom

occurs in 922 BCE

The Divided Kingdoms

Jerusalem

Samaria• The northern kingdom ruled by

Jeroboam and his successors is still

known as Israel, but has a new

capital at Samaria

• The southern kingdom ruled by

Rehoboam and David’s

descendants is known as Judah,

and Jerusalem remains its capital

Israel

Judah

• The division of the kingdom

occurs in 922 BCE

The Divided Kingdoms

Jerusalem

Samaria

Bethel

• Because Jeroboam fears that

those who go to Jerusalem to

worship at the temple may defect

to Judah, he sets up golden calves

at the northern and southern

borders of Israel

Jeroboam’s Idolatry

• Jeroboam’s promotion of

idolatry establishes a negative

template for the later kings of the

north, only one of whom is

described as even partially

faithful to YHWHBethel

• Because Jeroboam fears that

those who go to Jerusalem to

worship at the temple may defect

to Judah, he sets up golden calves

at the northern and southern

borders of Israel

Jeroboam’s Idolatry

• Jeroboam’s promotion of

idolatry establishes a negative

template for the later kings of the

north, only one of whom is

described as even partially

faithful to YHWH

Ahab and Jezebel

• Ahab “did more to provoke

the anger of the LORD, the God

of Israel, than had all the kings

of Israel who were before him”

(1 Kings 16:33)

• King Ahab and his wife

Jezebel promote Ba͑al worship

in Israel

Elijah

• God declares through Elijah

that He is sending a drought on

Israel as punishment for Ahab’s

wickedness

• God performs miracles of food multiplication and

resurrection through Elijah (1 Kings 17)

• Prophet whose name means

“My God is YHWH”

Contest at Mt. Carmel (1 Kings 18)

• Elijah challenges 450

prophets of Ba͑al to a

sacrifice contest to

determine whose god is

real

• Despite efforts of prophets of Ba͑al, their sacrifice does

not ignite

• YHWH proves His power by sending fire from the

sky to consume Elijah’s sacrifice

• Elijah puts prophets of Ba͑al to death

Naboth’s Vineyard (1 Kings 21)

• Ahab and Jezebel orchestrate

the wrongful execution of a man

named Naboth, who had refused

to sell Ahab his vineyard

• Elijah proclaims that Ahab and

Jezebel will be killed and their

bloodline will be cut off

• Ahab is killed in

battle in

fulfillment of

Elijah’s prophecy

The Death of Ahab (1 Kings 22)

Elijah’s Departure (2 Kings 2)

• Elijah does not die,

but is taken up by

God in a fiery

chariot

• Elisha (Elijah’s apprentice and successor) asks

YHWH for a “double helping” of the prophetic

authority that Elijah possessedElijah’s Departure (2 Kings 2)

• Elijah does not die,

but is taken up by

God in a fiery

chariot

• Elisha (Elijah’s apprentice and successor) asks

YHWH for a “double helping” of the prophetic

authority that Elijah possessed

Elisha’s Ministry

• Elisha performs miracles

of food multiplication

and resurrection that are

similar to Elijah’s, but

even more powerful

(2 Kings 4-5)

King Jehu (2 Kings 9-10)

• God instructs Elisha to

anoint a man named Jehu

as the next king of Israel

• Jehu orchestrates the

deaths of Jezebel and the

remainder of Ahab’s family

• Jehu kills Ba͑al worshippers and destroys temple of

Ba͑al, but does not destroy Jeroboam’s golden calves

Rise of Assyria

• Beginning in mid-700s, Israel is threatened by the

expansion of Assyria

The Schemes of Hoshea

• When Assyria begins threatening

Israel, a pro-Assyria Israelite named

Hoshea assassinates the king of Israel.

• Hoshea later stops paying tribute and attempts to make an

alliance with Egypt against Assyria, so the Assyrians

invade and conquer Israel in 722 BCE (2 Kings 17)

• Israel becomes a subject state of

Assyria, and the king of Assyria

rewards Hoshea by making him puppet

king of Israel.The Schemes of Hoshea

• When Assyria begins threatening

Israel, a pro-Assyria Israelite named

Hoshea assassinates the king of Israel.

• Hoshea later stops paying tribute and attempts to make an

alliance with Egypt against Assyria, so the Assyrians

invade and conquer Israel in 722 BCE (2 Kings 17)

• Israel becomes a subject state of

Assyria, and the king of Assyria

rewards Hoshea by making him puppet

king of Israel.

The Exile of Israel

• Many Israelites are taken into exile in

Assyria

• 10 northern tribes disappear from history

• Assyrians re-populate land of Israel with

foreigners who do not worship YHWH

Deuteronomistic Verdict

• “This occurred because the people of Israel had sinned against

the LORD their God, who had brought them up out of the land of

Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They had

worshiped other gods and walked in the customs of the nations

whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel, and in the

customs that the kings of Israel had introduced” (2 Kings 17:7-8)

• “Yet the LORD warned Israel . . . by every prophet . . . They

would not listen but were stubborn, as their ancestors had been.

. . . Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel and removed

them out of his sight; none was left but the tribe of Judah alone.

. . . So Israel was exiled from their own land to Assyria until this

day” (2 Kings 17:13-23)

The Kings of Judah (The South)

• While royal line of Israel’s kings changes

several times, all of Judah’s kings are

descendants of David

• While all of Israel’s kings except Jehu

are wicked, Judah has mix of good and

wicked kings

King Hezekiah (2 Kings 18-20)

• Described as Judah’s best

king: “There was no one like

him among all the kings of

Judah after him, or among

those who were before him”

(2 Kings 18:5)

• Destroyed idols and shrines of foreign gods

Assyria Invades Judah

• After conquering Israel, the

Assyrians invade Judah and

try to convince Hezekiah to

surrender

• They claim that the gods of

Assyria’s enemies have

never saved them, and that

YHWH will not save Judah

• The prophet Isaiah tells Hezekiah not to fear the

Assyrians but to trust YHWH

• Hezekiah prays to YHWH

to save Judah so that the

Assyrians will know that

YHWH alone is truly God

• God kills 185,000 Assyrian soldiers, and Judah

remains independent

YHWH Defeats Assyria

King Manasseh (2 Kings 21)

• Son of Hezekiah

• Judah’s most wicked king –

rebuilt shrines to foreign gods,

promoted worship of Ba͑al, set

up idols in the temple, killed

innocent people

• “Manasseh misled them to do more evil than the

nations had done that the LORD destroyed before the

people of Israel” (2 Kings 21:9)King Manasseh (2 Kings 21)

• Son of Hezekiah

• Judah’s most wicked king –

rebuilt shrines to foreign gods,

promoted worship of Ba͑al, set

up idols in the temple, killed

innocent people

• “Manasseh misled them to do more evil than the

nations had done that the LORD destroyed before the

people of Israel” (2 Kings 21:9)

YHWH’s Verdict

• “Because King Manasseh of Judah has committed

these abominations . . . and has caused Judah also to sin

with his idols; therefore thus says the LORD, the God of

Israel, I am bringing upon Jerusalem and Judah such

evil that the ears of everyone who hears of it will

tingle. . . . I will cast off the remnant of my heritage, and

give them into the hand of their enemies . . . because

they have done what is evil in my sight and have

provoked me to anger, since the day their ancestors

came out of Egypt, even to this day” (2 Kings 21:11-15)

King Josiah (2 Kings 22-23)

• Manasseh’s grandson

• During a renovation of

the temple, the high

priest discovers a “Book

of the Law” that had

seemingly been

forgotten

• When the book is read to Josiah, he responds, “Great is the

wrath of the LORD that is kindled against us, because our

ancestors did not obey the words of this book”

(2 Kings 22:13)

• The prophetess

Huldah tells Josiah

that God will destroy

Judah for its idolatry,

but that because of

Josiah’s repentance,

the destruction will

not occur during his

lifetime

The Message of Huldah

• As a result, Josiah (like Hezekiah) is

labeled Judah’s greatest king:

“Before him there was no king like

him, who turned to the LORD with all

his heart, with all his soul, and with

all his might, according to all the law

of Moses; nor did any like him arise

after him” (2 Kings 23:25)

Josiah’s Reforms

• Josiah leads the people to

rededicate themselves to keeping

the law and purges Judah of idols• As a result, Josiah (like Hezekiah) is

labeled Judah’s greatest king:

“Before him there was no king like

him, who turned to the LORD with all

his heart, with all his soul, and with

all his might, according to all the law

of Moses; nor did any like him arise

after him” (2 Kings 23:25)

Josiah’s Reforms

• Josiah leads the people to

rededicate themselves to keeping

the law and purges Judah of idols

• “Still the LORD did not turn from the fierceness of

his great wrath, by which his anger was kindled

against Judah, because of all the provocations

with which Manasseh had provoked him. The

LORD said, ‘I will remove Judah also out of my

sight, as I have removed Israel; and I will reject this

city that I have chosen, Jerusalem, and the house

of which I said, “My name shall be there.”’”

(2 Kings 23:26-27)

YHWH’s Enduring Wrath• “Still the LORD did not turn from the fierceness of

his great wrath, by which his anger was kindled

against Judah, because of all the provocations

with which Manasseh had provoked him. The

LORD said, ‘I will remove Judah also out of my

sight, as I have removed Israel; and I will reject this

city that I have chosen, Jerusalem, and the house

of which I said, “My name shall be there.”’”

(2 Kings 23:26-27)

YHWH’s Enduring Wrath

• During Josiah’s reign, the Babylonians gradually

replaced the Assyrians as the dominant power in the

region

The Rise of Babylonia

The Fall of Judah (2 Kings 24-25)

• (Phase 1) 605 BCE – Babylonians

invade Judah, Judah becomes subject

kingdom of Babylonia, some of the

upper class is taken into exile

• (Phase 2) 597 BCE – Judah revolts,

Babylonians plunder Jerusalem and

take more people into exile

• (Phase 3) 587 BCE – Zedekiah, the last king of Judah,

launches another revolt, so the Babylonians besiege Jerusalem,

burn the temple and palace, and take the remaining survivors

into exile

• The book of Lamentations describes the horrors of

Jerusalem’s destruction:

• “The young and the old are lying on the ground in the streets; my young

women and my young men have fallen by the sword; in the day of your

anger you have killed them, slaughtering without mercy. . . . The sacred

stones lie scattered at the head of every street. . . . The tongue of the infant

sticks to the roof of its mouth for thirst; the children beg for food, but no

one gives them anything. . . . Happier were those pierced by the sword

than those pierced by hunger, whose life drains away. . . . Compassionate

women have boiled their own children; they became their food in the

destruction of my people. The LORD gave full vent to his wrath; he

poured out his hot anger, and kindled a fire in Zion that consumed its

foundations.” (Lam 2:21; 4:1, 4, 9-11)

A National Tragedy

• Jeroboam – first

• Ahab – worst

• Jehu – “best”

• Hoshea – last

Kings of Israel (the North) to Know• Jeroboam – first

• Ahab – worst

• Jehu – “best”

• Hoshea – last