S T U D E N T 4 L E S S O N The Divided Kingdom, UNIT I Captivity, and Restoration At the death of Solomon, his son Rehoboam ascended to the throne. The people petitioned him for a reduction in the heavy tax burden. Rehoboam s older and more experienced advisors told him to grant the people s request, but his younger and less experienced advisors told him to ignore the request and actually raise taxes. Rehoboam followed the advice of his younger advisors, causing a revolt. Under the leadership of Jeroboam, ten tribes revolted against Rehoboam and established their own kingdom, known as Israel, or the Northern Kingdom. The remaining tribes, Benjamin and Judah, retained Jerusalem and are known as the Kingdom of Judah, or the Southern Kingdom. First Kings chapter 12 tells the sad story of the tearing apart of the kingdom. The map of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah (page 61) shows the division of the territory. This period in the nation s history is sometimes also called the age of the prophets, because God raised up many outstanding individuals to proclaim His Word to the people. As we noted in last week s lesson, Samuel served as a bridge between the judges and the prophets, functioning as both. Following Samuel s time and during the Divided Kingdom, prophets and kings took center stage in Israel s leadership. Many Old Testament books came from the pens of these prophets. We usually think of a prophet as someone who foretells the future; and some of these prophets did so. But the basic meaning of prophet is someone who proclaims the will of God to His people. Notice on the Events Chart (page 48), the long list of prophets, and their writings during this Divided Kingdom period. Four of the prophets (Daniel, Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Ezekiel) are called major prophets because of the length of their writings. Sometimes Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Ezekiel are also called Prophets of the Trinity, because each seems to speak from the standpoint of one of the persons of the Trinity. Jeremiah, the Prophet of the Father, thundered the message: Thus saith the Lord. Isaiah, the Prophet of the Son, gave remarkable prophecies about Jesus with amazing detail about His birth, life, and crucifixion some 700 years before Jesus was born! Ezekiel, the Prophet of the Spirit, made at least twenty-five references to the Spirit in his prophecies and told of the mysterious work of the Spirit in making even dry bones live. The two kingdoms existed separately, each with its succession of kings. Note the Chronology of Kings of Judah and Israel Chart on page 60. It lists the succession of kings in each kingdom with their dates. Throughout this time foreign nations were threatening Israel and Judah, particularly Babylonia, Assyria, and Egypt. The prophets kept warning the people that if they did not repent of their sinful conduct, God would once again allow foreign powers to overcome them. This, in fact, happened to the Northern Kingdom in 722 B.C. when Sargon of Assyria invaded and destroyed the Northern Kingdom s capital of Samaria and took many of the people captive to Assyria. Sargon also colonized Israel with immigrants from Assyria who mixed with the population of Israel that had remained behind. This mixed race became known as Samaritans and was much despised by the true Jews during the time of Jesus. LESSON 4 57
S T U D E N T UNIT I Meanwhile, the people in the Southern Kingdom of Judah felt smug and safe because surely God would not allow them to be conquered. After all, they possessed the holy city of Jerusalem and were descendants of Judah, through whom God promised special blessing. In spite of Jeremiah s stern warnings, they continued in their sinfulness and refused to repent. Consequently, God allowed the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar to invade and conquer them in 586 B.C. The people of Judah were taken captive to Babylon, exactly as Jeremiah predicted. In the book of Lamentations, Jeremiah lamented the destruction of Jerusalem. Read Psalm 137 and feel the grief of the captives in Babylon. Among the captives were Ezekiel and Daniel. Jeremiah had prophesied that the captivity would last seventy years and the nation would be restored (Jer. 29). When the seventy years were almost completed, Daniel interceded for his people, looking forward to the fulfillment of God s kingdom on earth. God responded to Daniel with remarkable information about the future. He told Daniel, in essence, that his people would, indeed, return to their land but many more years would pass before God fulfilled His kingdom purposes and eradicated evil. He gave Daniel an outline of Gentile kingdoms still to come. God prepared a military ruler to invade and conquer Babylon and told of his arrival 200 years before his birth (Isa. 44:28 45:4). His name was Cyrus, and he allowed the captives to return to their land. The dramatic account of their return and the rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem and the temple are in the books of Nehemiah and Ezra. The story of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem under Nehemiah s leadership has been an inspiration to builders and Christian workers for 2,400 years! Read the first six chapters of Nehemiah before the next class. It will help to prep you for class discussion. Ezra describes the rebuilding of the temple. Read Ezra 3 6. The temple was completed and dedicated in 516 B.C., exactly seventy years after it was destroyed! In historical reference, it is known as the second temple, since it was a restoration of the first temple built by Solomon. The Old Testament record comes to a close at this time. In the next lesson we will look at the Inter- Testament Period and the ministry of Christ. 58 LESSON 4
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