CHAPTER 9 THE FALL OF THE NORTHERN KINGDOM (ISRAEL)

CHAPTER 9 THE FALL OF THE NORTHERN KINGDOM (ISRAEL) DATES AND BIBLICAL MATERIAL Dates 931-722 BC Biblical Material The books of Kings 1 Kings 12-2 Kings 17 The books of Chronicles 2 Chron 17 (Chronicles does not discuss the Northern Kingdom) Prophets see the chronological chart of prophets on page Error! Bookmark not defined. Elijah see pages Error! Bookmark not defined. and 6 Elisha see pages Error! Bookmark not defined. and 7 Hosea see page Error! Bookmark not defined. Amos see page Error! Bookmark not defined. Jonah see page Error! Bookmark not defined. THE DYNASTIES OF ISRAEL Dynasty of Jeroboam I Dynasty of Baasha Dynasty of Omri Dynasty of Jehu The Last Kings JEROBOAM I Background An Ephraimite 1 Kings 11:26 Had supervised work in Jerusalem for Solomon Domestic/Administrative policies Jeroboam I had to create an entirely new state where none existed His capitals

Shechem Penuel in Transjordan, on the Jabbok - probably in fear of Shishak s invasion Tirzah which remained Israel s capital until Omri The Samaria Ostraca Discarded ostraca broken pieces of pottery or limestone containing a written inscription (also called potsherds) A collection of sixty ostraca found during an excavation at Samaria These contain mostly administrative notations regarding shipments of goods These help us understand the kind of governmental organization set up in Israel beginning with Jeroboam Religious policies Jeroboam I had to create an new state religion to rival that of Jerusalem Jeroboam needed theological legitimacy Made priests from all who wanted to be a priest 1 Kings 13:33 The Temple in Jerusalem was not just a sanctuary to worship Yahweh, but also had an institutional link to David and the covenant. The Davidic covenant inherently outlawed any other ruling authority within Israel Jeroboam had to make a total break! Establishment of two religious shrines 1 Kings 13:1f Dan northern border of Israel Dan had connections with Moses And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father who was born in Israel; however, the name of the city formerly was Laish. And the sons of Dan set up for themselves the graven image; and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the captivity of the land. So they set up for themselves Micah's graven image which he had made, all the time that the house of God was at Shiloh. (Judges 18:29-31) Bethel north of Jerusalem Bethel had connections with the Patriarchs (Gen. 12:8) Golden calves set up Then Jeroboam said to himself, "Now the kingdom may well revert to the house of David. If this people continues to go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, the heart of this people will turn again to their master, King Rehoboam of Judah; they will kill me and return to King Rehoboam of Judah. So the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold. He said to the people, "You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Here are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. He set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. And this thing became a sin, for the people went to worship before the

one at Bethel and before the other as far as Dan. He also made houses on high places, and appointed priests from among all the people, who were not Levites. (1 Kings 12:26-31) Theories regarding the golden calves Were these shrines intended to be idols to be worshiped? Were they intended to be pedestals upon which God was thought to stand? Could these have been intended to serve like the cherubim in the Holy of Holies? 1 This created confusion with the Canaanite citizens of Israel their former religion, Baalism, Jeroboam s motives used calves in pagan worship Present himself as a reformer rather than as a rebel Bring about a complete separation with Judah Provide the northern tribes with alternatives to keep them from traveling to Jerusalem and its Temple Ahijah (the prophet) broke with Jeroboam over the new state cult Ahijah accepted political separation from Jerusalem Ahijah rejected religious separation from Yahweh The end of Jeroboam s dynasty Nadab, Jeroboam s son, succeeded him Baasha, from the tribe of Issachar, ended the rule of Jeroboam s family and took over Elah, Baasha s son, succeeded his father, but was murdered by Zimri Zimri, a military leader, killed Elah and ruled for seven days Omri, another military leader, killed Zimri and established his own dynasty OMRI Conditions in Israel when Omri took over Fifty years of political instability Syria strong, menacing, and in alliance with Phoenicia Assyria emerging as a strong and threatening power in the East Omri s legacy Briefly mentioned in the Bible 1 Kings 16:21-28 1 Noth, History, p. 232-33

Reigned twelve years (six of which were years of civil war within Israel as Omri fought Tibni for the throne of Israel) The Assyrians referred to Israel as the house of Omri for many years after Omri s death Established Samaria as the capital of Israel Omri s foreign policy Neutralize the Syro-Phoenician Alliance by arranging the marriage of his son, Ahab, to the Phoenician princess, Jezebel. This reduced the threat of Syria. Maintain friendly relations with Judah actually not completed until the reign of Ahab when Ahab s daughter, Athaliah, was married to Jehoram, son of Jehoshaphat Strengthen defenses in Transjordan the Moabite Stone tells of Omri s defeat of the Moabites Alliance with Syria against Assyria (under Ahab) The alliance with Syria was made just in time to organize against Shalmaneser III in the Battle of Karkar in 853 BC The Stele of Shalmaneser III reported that Ahab fielded a military force of 2,000 chariots and 10,000 infantry AHAB Extravagant building projects in Samaria Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did, and the ivory house that he built, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel? (1 Kings 22:39) Improvements in city walls, making them more defensible Development of better offensive weapons 2,000 chariots used against Shalmaneser III Water tunnel at Megiddo once thought to be pre-israelite, now known to date to the Omrides Social decline Widening gap between privileged and lower classes Usury excessively high rates of interest Paganization of the royal court and the ruling class Religious crisis Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal, king of Tyre (1 Kings 16:31-33)

Worship of Ba al Melqart and Asherah 2 Slippery slope the introduction of Tyrian idols into Israel with its Canaanitic citizens opened the door for wholesale apostasy. Persecution of loyal Yahwists, especially the murder of prophets of Yahweh (1 Kings 18:4, 13) Hiel of Bethel, rebuilt Jericho (1 Kings 16:34) Rebuilding Jericho was forbidden by God At that time Joshua pronounced this solemn oath: "Cursed before the LORD is the man who undertakes to rebuild this city, Jericho: "At the cost of his firstborn son will he lay its foundations; at the cost of his youngest will he set up its gates." (Josh. 6:26) Hiel s oldest son, Abiram, died when the foundations of Jericho were laid (1 Kings 16:34) However, Jericho was apparently rebuilt The city gates were rebuilt (1 Kings 16:34) Prophets (including Elisha) operated from Jericho (2 Kings 2:18) People lived there even though the land was unproductive and the water was bad (2 Kings 2:19-22) Social injustice The plot against Naboth for this vineyard (1 Kings 21:1ff) Naboth was legally within his rights when he refused to surrender his land to Ahab The Torah prevented Naboth from selling the land even if he desired to do so (Lev 25:23-28; Num 36:7) Ahab s response was to become sullen and depressed (vs. 4) Jezebel s response to Ahab s depression was to forge a legal indictment (in Ahab s name) of blasphemy (vs. 8) Two men were bribed by Jezebel to be false witnesses against Naboth (vs. 10) The elders of Naboth s city found him guilty and had Naboth and his sons stoned to death according to Torah law (vss. 11-13; 2 Kings 9:26; and see Deut 17:5) Naboth s land was confiscated by the king Escheat is the legal principle that permits a king to take ownership of lands in the absence of a living heir. God s judgment for this murder 2 Dr. Janet Howe Gains has written a revisionist view of Jezebel in which she tries to improve the bad reputation Jezebel has given over the years Music in the Old Bones: Jezebel through the Ages, Southern Illinois University Press, 1999.

Elijah conveys God s condemnation of this act to Ahab, telling him that dogs will lick up his blood in the same place Naboth died (vs. 19) The Omride Dynasty will end and all descendants of Ahab would be killed (vss. 21-22) Jezebel s body would be eaten by dogs (vs. 23) Jezebel s death occurs in 2 Kings 9:30-35 Ahab repents and God s judgment against his family is delayed until after his death (1 Kings. 21:27-29) The death of Jezebel (2 Kings 9) Elisha orders a subordinate prophet to find Jehu and anoint him as King of Israel Jehu got up and went into the house. Then the prophet poured the oil on Jehu's head and declared, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'I anoint you king over the LORD's people Israel. You are to destroy the house of Ahab your master, and I will avenge the blood of my servants the prophets and the blood of all the LORD's servants shed by Jezebel. The whole house of Ahab will perish. I will cut off from Ahab every last male in Israel slave or free. I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam son of Nebat and like the house of Baasha son of Ahijah. As for Jezebel, dogs will devour her on the plot of ground at Jezreel, and no one will bury her.'" Then he opened the door and ran. (2 Kings 9:6-10) Jehu immediately sets out to obey his commission to exterminate the Omride Dynasty (2 Kings 9:14-19) Joram (Jezebel s son) had been wounded at Ramoth Gilead, defending that city from Hazael and the Syrians (vss. 14-15) The body of Joram is thrown onto the land of Naboth s vineyard Jehu also pursues and kills Ahaziah, king of Judah, who was visiting the wounded Joram (vss. 27-28; 2 Chron. 22:8-9) He then moves on to kill Jezebel (2 Kings 9:30-37) Jezebel saw Jehu coming and knew he coming to kill her (Note: see calls him Zimri instead of Jehu, which shows that she saw him as a usurper) (vs. 31) ELIJAH An eccentric prophet from Gilead Typified the primitive Mosaic tradition Confrontation with Jezebel s gods at Mt. Carmel (1 Kings 18:17-40) 450 prophets of Baal

400 prophets of Asherah The false prophets were executed at the Kishon River Fled to Horeb - 1 Kings 19:1ff God gave Elijah three instructions The LORD said to him, "Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu. (1 Kings 19:15-17) God said that there were 7,000 faithful followers of Yahweh in Israel (vs. 18) Condemnation of Ahab for stealing Naboth s vineyard and having him stoned Was taken by God in a chariot of fire witnessed by Elisha (2 Kings 2:11) ELISHA From Abel Meholah a small village near the Jordan River in the Northern Kingdom (1 Kings. 19:16) Succeeded Elijah and received a double portion of Elijah s spirit (1 Kings 19:16-21) The ministry of Elisha takes up about 1/3 of the material in 2 Kings. His role in the Northern Kingdom was to oppose the Omride dynasty and support ancient Yahwism. Performed numerous miracles throughout the Northern Kingdom (2 Kings 2:19-13:21) Completed the assignments God gave to Elijah in 1 Kings 19:15-17 Anoint Jehu as king over the Northern Kingdom Anoint Hazael as king over Syria The record of his death and the miracle that occurred with the bones in his grave are recorded in 2 Kings 13:14-21 DECLINE OF THE OMRIDES The successors of Ahab Ahab died from a lucky arrow shot in battle against the Arameans Ahaziah, Ahab s son, succeeded him, but reigned only a few months Jehoram (Joram), Ahab s other son, took over Mesha, king of Moab, rebelled and overthrew the Omrides control - the Moabite Stone tells the story

The Omrides are finally exterminated by Jehu (except or Athaliah) JEHU Coup d état 3 (see the diagram in Purges of Jehu and Athaliah on page 12) C. 843-842 BC Represented a popular, ultra-conservative, explosion of anger against the Omrides It was Elisha s anointing of Jehu while King Jehoram was recuperating from war wounds that ignited the match of revolt. Jehu killed (or had killed) the following (2 Kings 9) Jehoram, king of Israel Ahaziah, king of Judah Jezebel having her thrown out of a window Seventy sons of Ahab A traveling delegation of relatives of Ahaziah, king of Judah All of the prophets and priests of Baal Conditions in Israel after Jehu s coup d état Jezebel s death broke the alliance with Phoenicia The violent massacres left Israel in shock and uncertainty Baalism was exterminated, but the golden calves at Dan and Bethel remained Continued social stratification and abuse of the poor Foreign policies of Jehu Hazael became king in Syria in 842 BC Apparent alliance between Hazael and Jehu to overthrow the house of Ahab 4 Shalmaneser III of Assyria (not defeated at Karkar) moved against Syria and Israel in 841 BC Jehu was forced to pay tribute to Shalmaneser III depicted on the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III Syria was able to take much of Israel s land and power Resurgence after Jehu Damascus, capital of Syria, fell to the Assyrians in 802 BC However, due to internal problems, Assyria was not able to follow through at conquering Israel 3 A sudden and violent overthrow of a government 4 Eric H. Cline, Battles of Armageddon, Ann Arbor: Univ. of Michigan Press, 2000, pp. 86-87

Jehoash (Jehu s grandson) became king of Israel Recovered lands lost to Syria Captured Jerusalem and Judah at Beth-shemesh JEROBOAM II Was able to extend Israel s northern borders to the same extent as Solomon s Ruled contemporaneously with Uzziah, king of Judah, who extended the southern borders of Judah to those of Solomon Period of expansion and prosperity THE FINAL DAYS OF ISRAEL DECLINE IN ISRAEL Jeroboam II died in 746 BC Israel was Morally corrupt Spiritually dead On the verge of political anarchy Threatened by Assyria And would be completely destroyed within 25 years RISE OF ASSYRIA Tiglath-Pileser III (745-727 BC) Called Pul in the Old Testament By 738 BC was receiving tribute from most of the states in Palestine He then began a campaign of permanent conquests, rather than just receiving tribute His policy was to replace conquered peoples with conquered peoples from other lands

PEKAH King of the Northern Kingdom Tried to strengthen Israel s position against Assyria by an alliance with the Arameans Judah, wisely, refused to join this alliance The Aramean-Israelite Alliance attacked Judah for refusing to join the alliance Ahaz, king of Judah, appealed to Tiglath-Pileser III for assistance Isaiah warned Ahaz not to enter this alliance with Assyria, but to trust Yahweh This brought Judah under Assyrian control Assyrian attacks on the Northern Kingdom 734-732 BC Tiglath-Pileser III conquered most of Israel and her neighbors Left Israel with only a small area in central Palestine (about the size of Ephraim) HOSHEA Appealed to Egypt for assistance (not realizing that Egypt was too weak to help) This was political suicide for Hoshea and Israel Shalmaneser (who had succeeded Tiglath-Pileser III) attacked in 724 BC and captured all of Israel except for the city of Samaria (which continued to hold out for two years) The city of Samaria fell to Shalmaneser (or to his successor Sargon II) in 722 BC 5 AFTER THE FALL OF ISRAEL AND SAMARIA Sargon II imported captured peoples from foreign lands these intermingle with the Israelites who were left behind and become the Samaritans of the New Testament Judah is left as a vassal of Assyria The writer of Kings summarizes why Israel fell: All this took place because the Israelites had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them up out of Egypt from under the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They worshiped other gods and followed the practices of the nations the LORD had driven out before them, as well as the practices that the kings of Israel had introduced. The Israelites secretly did things against the LORD their God that were not right. From watchtower to fortified city they built themselves high places in all their towns. They set up sacred stones and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every spreading tree. At every high place they burned incense, as the nations whom the LORD had driven out before them had done. They 5 Historians disagree about which Assyrian ruler should be attributed with the final destruction of Samaria

did wicked things that provoked the LORD to anger. They worshiped idols, though the LORD had said, "You shall not do this." The LORD warned Israel and Judah through all his prophets and seers: "Turn from your evil ways. Observe my commands and decrees, in accordance with the entire Law that I commanded your fathers to obey and that I delivered to you through my servants the prophets." But they would not listen and were as stiff-necked as their fathers, who did not trust in the LORD their God. They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their fathers and the warnings he had given them. They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless. They imitated the nations around them although the LORD had ordered them, "Do not do as they do," and they did the things the LORD had forbidden them to do. They forsook all the commands of the LORD their God and made for themselves two idols cast in the shape of calves, and an Asherah pole. They bowed down to all the starry hosts, and they worshiped Baal. They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire. They practiced divination and sorcery and sold themselves to do evil in the eyes of the LORD, provoking him to anger. So the LORD was very angry with Israel and removed them from his presence. (2 Kings 17:7-18a)