Scripture Studies Chapter 12 The Divided Kingdom The

Scripture Studies Chapter 12 The Divided Kingdom

The Divided Kingdom l Read: 1 Kings 12: 1 -20, 12: 25 -30 l Questions 1 -15

The Divided Kingdom “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the people of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thy altars, and slain thy prophets. . . And I, even I only, am left. . . ” (1 Kings 19: 10

The Divided Kingdom l Pride and false worship lead once again to misery l Both for son and father, and for the people they were chosen to shepherd l They accepted bad advice and their own mistaken notions instead of God‘s wisdom

The Divided Kingdom l God divides the kingdom as punishment for their pride and idolatrous conduct l The strength of God’s covenant with David is shown when God did not take all rule and dominions away from the line of David, but gave David’s line control over the tribe of Judah

The Divided Kingdom l Jeroboam, son of Nebat, was in charge of the laborers of the house of Joseph l They were important in the many construction projects Solomon commissioned

The Divided Kingdom l If Solomon and Rehoboam had followed the path of true wisdom, they could have maintained the unity of the kingdom l But God still kept the Davidic covenant, despite the affronts by Solomon and Rehoboam

The Divided Kingdom l Rehoboam succeeded Solomon as king l But he unwisely oppressed his people l The ten tribes of the Northern Kingdom rebelled formed the independent kingdom of Israel l Rehoboam was able to maintain control only over the Southern Kingdom of Judah

The Divided Kingdom l The Southern Kingdom of Judah remained faithful to the house of David l Rehoboam wisely chose not to try to recover the Northern Kingdom of Israel l The kingdom would never again be united

The Divided Kingdom l Jeroboam became king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel l He grew greedy for power and was suspicious of all loyalty to the Temple in Jerusalem l He reduced it to a political entity

The Divided Kingdom l Because of his desire for political control, he needed to keep the center of worship within his own territory l He had Golden Calves constructed as objects of worship l This led eventually to the exile of the northern tribes

The Divided Kingdom l Jeroboam’s actions set the pattern for future wicked kings of Israel l Israel alternated between good kings and bad kings l The good kings reformed worship and tried to lead the people back to God

The Divided Kingdom l The bad kings introduced foreign gods and sometimes even persecuted true believers l But God’s will cannot be thwarted

The Divided Kingdom l The story of Jonah is a good example l Jonah was a prophet in the Northern Kingdom at a time when the Assyrians were a constant threat l God spoke to Jonah and instructed him to go to Ninevah and preach

The Divided Kingdom l Ninevah was the Assyrian capital l The Assyrians were barbaric, hated and feared l But Jonah was supposed to to to Ninevah and preach repentance in the name of the one true God

The Divided Kingdom l It’s understandable that Jonah was reluctant to do this l Jonah would have preferred that Ninevah be erased from the map instead l So he set off for Tarshish, which was more or less in the opposite direction from Ninevah

The Divided Kingdom l Jonah apparently thought he could run away from God l God sent a big storm to threaten the ship Jonah was on l It terrified everyone else on the ship l They prayed to their idols for deliverance

The Divided Kingdom l Finally Jonah admitted that he was running away from God and was the cause of the storm l The crew threw him overboard l He was swallowed by a “great fish” l He remained in the belly of the fish for three days

The Divided Kingdom l After three days, God caused the fish to spit Jonah out on dry land l It was as if he had risen from the dead l God had not given up on Jonah l He again instructed him to go to Ninevah

The Divided Kingdom l This time, Jonah went l To his surprise, Ninevah heeded his preaching and repented l Even the king put on sackcloth and ashes l God spared the people of Ninevah

The Divided Kingdom l Jonah was disappointed l After all he’d been through, he had hoped Ninevah would fail to listen, and be destroyed l He asked God to let him die l He went out into the hot desert to sit in the sun and sulk

The Divided Kingdom l But God caused a plant to grow in a spot where it would give him shade l But then God sent a worm to eat the roots of the plant and kill it l The end of the book of Jonah is ambiguous and confusing

The Divided Kingdom l But the book shows what a prophet has to go through l A prophet has to put aside his own opinions and desires and go where God wants him to go l False prophets have easy lives l They just tell the king what he wants to hear

The Divided Kingdom l Elijah, Ahab and Jezebel l Of all the wicked kings in the Old Testament, one of the most remembered is Ahab l He married Jezebel, a Sidonian princess and avid worshipper of Baal

The Divided Kingdom l Jezebel persuaded her husband Ahab to worship Baal as well l He built a temple to Baal in Samaria, the capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel l He did more to provoke the wrath of the God of Israel than any of his predecessors

The Divided Kingdom It was not enough just to have a temple to Baal l Jezebel wanted to persecute the worshippers of the God of Israel l The prophets were hiding out in a cave l The worst of kings brought forth the best of prophets l

The Divided Kingdom l Elijah the prophet spoke to King Ahab l “As the Lord the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word. ” (1 Kings 17: 1)

The Divided Kingdom l The name Elijah means “The Lord is my God” l Elijah demonstrated his power to stop the rain with a prayer l But it only made Ahab hate him more

The Divided Kingdom l Baal was supposed to have power over the forces of nature l Elijah demonstrated that it was the God of Israel who actually had this power l Elijah demonstrated the power of God in many ways

The Divided Kingdom l He miraculously fed a poor widow and her son l He challenged the 450 prophet of Baal to a showdown, and defeated them l Elijah is the “father” of the prophets

The Divided Kingdom l Elijah told Ahab to eat and drink, because a rain was coming l A huge storm watered the whole land l Although Elijah prevailed, Jezebel was the real power in the kingdom

The Divided Kingdom l She threatened Elijah with death l Elijah wisely fled l God took care of him in the wilderness l 1 Kings 19: 11 -13

The Divided Kingdom l Elijah and Elisha l God instructed Elijah to anoint a new prophet to be his heir and successor l He laid his mantle on him, a symbol of the transfer of the power of the office

The Divided Kingdom l Elisha tried to put him off so he could tend to some personal business l But that’s not how it works with a “call” l Elisha may be my favorite prophet l 2 Kings 2: 23 -25

The Divided Kingdom l The Assyrian threat remained l The Assyrian empire was expanding, including worship of their gods l When Assyria conquered a province, the exiled and resettles the population elsewhere as insurance against rebellion

The Divided Kingdom l The downfall of Israel l In about 727 -722 BC, Assyria conquered Israel l They demanded tribute l Eventually it was not paid, and the Israelites were exiled and resettled