SEMESTER 3
446 – The Division of the Nation of Israel
BIBLE INSTITUTE OF CORRESPONDENCE
COURSE: BIBLE SURVEY III LESSON # 46
THE DIVISION OF THE NATION OF ISRAEL
Read II Chron. 10-11
.
INTRODUCTION:
1. In this lesson we will consider the short life of Israel as a unified kingdom.
2. They became a nation in about 1444 B.C. In about 1050 B.C. they rejected God and asked Samuel for a king. (I Sam. 8:6-9)
3. It is amazing how soon they destroy themselves under this “royal economy.”
I. A QUICK LOOK BACK
1. Israel as a united nation has had the following leaders:
i. Moses and Joshua combined, led Israel sixty-four years.
ii. Various judges from Othniel to Samuel, led them 330 years.
iii. Israel was united, about forty years under Saul.
iv. Under David, Judah and Israel were separated 7 years and united thirty-three years, total forty years.
v. Under Solomon, Israel was united forty years.
2. This brings us down to about 930 B.C. when, by God’s judgment upon Solomon, the nation was given to Jeroboam.
3. Only the tribes of Judah and Benjamin remained under the house of David and they became one nation.
II. ISRAEL’S SPIRITUAL DIRECTION (READ I KINGS 12:25-33
)
1. Jeroboam knew that Rehoboam was the rightful king and knew they would return to him if they went back to Jerusalem to worship. (I Kings 12:27)
2. He thus set out to turn them from Jehovah, the true God, to idolatry and image worship. (I Kings 12:28-29)
3. He also built groves and ordained priests thereof. (I Kings 12:31)
4. Jezebel’s idolatry was no more than an extension of this, coupled with Baal worship, which came from the Canaanites. (Read I Kings 18:4 and chapter 19.)
5. This was all an extension of Solomon’s compromise. (I Kings 11:1-8)
6. All this looked back to the very nature of man, manifested in the original golden calf. (Ex. 32:1-6)
III. JUDAH AND ISRAEL – TWO NATIONS
1. Ten tribes, the majority of the house of Jacob were rent from Solomon’s seed and given to Jeroboam, who was of the tribe of Ephraim.
i. In the minor prophets, Israel, the Northern Kingdom, is often referred to as Ephraim.
ii. The idolatry to which they turned, only showed the true nature of the human heart.
iii. Israel, the Northern Kingdom, only survived about 209 years after the death of Solomon.
iv. During this 209 years they had 20 kings, many of whom came to power by conspiracy or assassination.
v. Remember that many of these such as Omri, and Ahab his son, had either concurrent or overlapping reigns.
vi. All of Israel’s kings were idolaters, with exception of Jehu, and his fidelity was not consistent. (II Kings 10:30-31)
2. The tribes of Judah and Benjamin now comprise the Southern Kingdom, known as the Nation of Judah.
i. Only by God’s grace, Judah had several godly kings, whose administrations served to retard the demise of the nation.
ii. There was idolatry in Judah, but not to the extent and with the consistency it existed in Israel.
iii. Thus, the Southern Kingdom continued for about 345 years, before the destruction of the temple.
3. It is to be realized that the reason for Judah’s preservation and their restoration was promise, and this was through grace, and the purpose was Christ. (Gal. 3:16)