ABriefHistoryoftheNationofIsrael

God promised to make of Abram a ‘great nation’ (Genesis. 12:1-3). He brought this to pass through the lineage of Isaac and Jacob, Jacob’s name later being changed to Israel (Genesis 32:28). His descendants remained in Egyptian bondage approximately 400 years and were lead out of Egypt by Moses to the threshold of the promised land, the land of Canaan! Upon hearing the report of the twelve men Moses sent to spy out the land, the people grew weak in faith, seeing themselves as grasshoppers in the land of giants (Numbers 13:33). This was the cause of their forty-year wilderness sojourn which was later used by the Hebrew writer to admonish Jewish Christians as a challenge to remain faithful (Hebrews 3:19-4:11). Because of his sin at Kadesh, Moses could not enter the promised land; but God did allow him to see it from the height of Pisgah on Mt. Nebo. Moses died there and God buried him in the land of Moab near Bethpeor (Deuteronomy 34:1-8).

The history of this nation now passes to the conquest of the land of Canaan under the leadership of Joshua, Moses successor. Scripture explicitly states that God gave unto Israel ‘all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers’ and that ‘there failed not ought of any good thing which the Lord had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass’ (Joshua 21:43-45).

God then ruled his people through a succession of saviors, or judges. Israel’s lack of faithfulness brought on oppression at the hands of her enemies; her cries for deliverance and repentance to God would be the occasion of His deliverance of them at the hand of one raised up to judge them. This period extended some three-hundred fifty-six years and ended with the death of the last judge, Samuel (1 Samuel 7:15). Samuel’s sons, Joel and Abiah, were rejected by the people as judges because they ‘walked not in his ways.’ The people demanded a king like the nations round about them (1 Samuel 8:5) and, ultimately, God had Samuel anoint Saul, son of Kish, as King (1 Samuel 10:1).

The United Kingdom (1095 BC - 975 BC)

The kingdom remained united for 120 years under Saul, David, and Solomon, each of whom ruled for forty years. Though some controversy is held over which date Saul began reigning over Israel, the year 1095 BC is accepted by the Jewish Encyclopedia (Jewish Encyclopeida.com). Others, like William Hales, fix a date of 1060 BC. These differences are not nearly so unusual as one might think. If one takes into consideration different methods of counting regnal years and periods of co-regency, the matter of 40-50 years is not that great. The United Kingdom ended with the death of Solomon with ten tribes following Jeroboam, son of Nebat, and Judah and Benjamin remaining faithful to Rehoboam, son of Solomon. The tribe of Benjamin was reduced dramatically in size owing to a civil war with the other eleven tribes (Judges 20) and was essentially incorporated into Judah (2 Chronicles 11:1-3; 15:9).

The Divided Kingdom (Israel 722 BC; Judah 586 BC)

The monarchy ended in approximately 975 BC. Rehoboam ignored the advice of counselors to make the yoke of the people lighter than it had been under his father. Construction of Solomon’s temple, and all that pertained to his rule, had laid a heavy burden on the people. In one of the all-time reckless moments in political judgment, Rehoboam answered “My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s loins” (1 Kings 12:10). His intent to collect even more money than had his father gave rise to a rebellion.

Actually, Rehoboam was but the catalyst for the event which God had previously described by the prophet Ahijah to Jeroboam. At that time, Ahijah, tore his garment into twelve pieces, giving ten of them to Jeroboam, saying, “Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and give ten tribes to thee” (1 Kings 11:31). The reason for this was the gross idolatry of the people who no longer ‘walked in the way of David.’ God promised to be with Jeroboam, as he had been with David, if Jeroboam would walk after His statutes and commandments. Out of respect for David, God determined to leave one tribe to Solomon’s son, as a light for Jerusalem (1 Kings 11:36-38). Solomon sought to slay Jeroboam but he fled to Shishak, king of Egypt (1 Kings 11:40) and returned when Solomon died to rule Israel (1 Kings 12:1-2).

Ten-Tribed Israel: A History of Bad Kings

As the chart concluding this article shows, the kings were bad, or notoriously bad, rulers. This began almost immediately with the reign of Jeroboam. Rather than ‘walking in the ways of David,’ he chose to establish an alternate capital at Shechem. Then he erected golden calves at Dan in the north and Bethel in the south (not far from Jerusalem). He told the people they did not need to go to Jerusalem to worship but could sacrifice to these idols. Jeroboam also ‘made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi’ (1 Kings 12:31). Sadly, the kings of Israel made no serious efforts at reform. Jehu, Jehoahaz and Jehoash ‘walked in the ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat,’ meaning that idolatry prevailed. Israel’s greatest prosperity was under Jeroboam II who ruled for 41 years.

About 723 BC Shalmaneser V, King of Assyria, laid siege to Samaria. Upon his death his successor, Sargon II, was finally able to take the city and claimed victory. A careful reader of 2 Kings 18 will note that Shalmaneser is named in verse 9 but verse 10 says that three years later ‘they took it” (Samaria). The ‘they’ of verse 10 covers the three year span in which Shalmaneser died. His son, Sargon II, completed this portion of the conquest, carrying the people of Samaria to ‘the cities of the Medes.’ Assyrian records found at Khorsabad say he took 27,280 people captive. The year was 722 BC and the captivity, at that time, was limited to the immediate vicinity of Samaria (2 Kings 17:6; 18:9-12).