ERa 7: Divided Kingdom

Introduction:

The Narrative books in this Era are 1 Kings 12-22 and 2 Kings 1-16. The Supplemental Books are Amos, Jonah, Hosea, Isaiah, and Micah

• 930 BC to 722 BC

• Assyria is the World Power

• Fun Fact #1: First Olympic Games in 776 BC

• Fun Fact #2: Founding of Rome in 753 BC

• Fun Fact #3: Homer’s Iliad & Odyssey c. 750-700 BC

• If we don’t understand this Era The Divided Kingdom, we are going to miss the REST OF THE BIBLE

• ⅔ of the Old Testament will be LOST TO YOU 

• The Major Prophets and the Minor Prophets

• Why is this so important?

• The major reason is because along the storyline of the ENTIRE BIBLE from Genesis to Revelation there are certain moments where if you take the WRONG ROAD, you are going to GET LOST

• When we come to this DARK PERIOD of Israel’s History on the tail end of the Royal Kingdom, EVERYTHING CHANGES

• Do you remember what happened at Mt. Sinai (Mt. Horeb)?

• A LOT changed then 

• This time period is that period ON STEROIDS

• Once you understand the change that takes place in the narrative in this period, then it actually becomes pretty easy to navigate through it

• Particularly if you have the Great Adventure Bible Timeline Chart to follow along with

• So we will discuss what happened that LEADS UP TO THE CHANGE

• The Kingdom is going to DIVIDE into TWO NATIONS

• And we will learn a bit about how to read it and navigate through this era

• This will hopefully help you to understand the story as it moves forward

• In order to understand the Divided Kingdom Period, you have to go back a little back to the Royal Kingdom

• In the beginning of that era, 1 Samuel Ch 8, Israel ASKED FOR A KING

• Do you remember who?

• SAUL reigned for 40 years

• Saul was replaced by DAVID

• God made a covenant with David and said, “From now on, someone from your family is going to be on the throne forever and ever.”

• We know that Jesus is the SON OF DAVID so that is the culmination of that COVENANT PROMISE

• After David, we had Solomon, his son, as king

• Solomon didn’t turn out so well, did he?

• There were three things the prophet Samuel told Israel that if they want a king, the king cannot have a lot of horses and chariots, a lot of wives, and a lot of silver and gold

• So in the last part of the Royal Kingdom we see the decline of Solomon

• In 1 Kings 10 & 11 we see that Solomon had 700 WIVES and 300 CONCUBINES

• Solomon had 666 (!!!) talents of gold

• Solomon had 1400 chariots

• Solomon had 12,000 horsemen 

• What does this all say?

• Solomon has made all these alliances with FOREIGN NATIONS and it doesn’t end well for Israel

• The result is a CIVIL WAR brewing underneath the surface

• We have the 10 Tribes in the NORTH, who didn’t like how they were treated by Solomon and his son, Rehoboam

• We have 2 Tribes to the SOUTH, Judah and Benjamin

• So at the beginning of the Divided Kingdom, we have the leadership of the NORTH headed up by Jeroboam (Rehoboam is from the south)

• So there are TWO KINGS

• Before Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, takes over the kingship, Jeroboam wants a meeting

• In that meeting in 1 Kings 12, the mess begins

• Jeroboam tells Rehoboam that Solomon was really rough on them so he wants to know how Rehoboam is going to lead?

• Rehoboam goes to two sets of councilors 

• Rehoboam goes to Solomon’s councilors

• Rehoboam goes to the councilors he grew up with, his buddies

• The ELDERS council him to SERVE the people and he CANNOT continue with a hard policy like his father, Solomon

• His BUDDY councilors give him bad advice

• They tell him, “Solomon ruled with whips. You will rule with SCORPIONS'' (GET OVER HEEEEEERRREEEEE!!!!! 🤓)

• They basically tell Rehoboam not to give into the people at all

• Rehoboam took their advice, and that is where EVERYTHING WENT WRONG

• 1 Kings 12:16 is SO CRITICAL

• This begins a MAJOR DIVISION in the land of Canaan from Israel to TWO NATIONS

• “When all Israel saw that the King did not listen to them, the people answered the King. What portion have we in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, O, Israel. Look now to your own house, David.”

• So that happened in the year 930 BC

• And now we have a DIVIDED KINGDOM

• A lot of people get lost at this point

• When you read THROUGH the Bible, you’re not going to hear, “And THIS is where the Kingdom Divided and let me explain this all to you.”

• So when you read about Israel in the NORTH and Judah in the SOUTH, you’ll think, “YO...WHAT THE HECK JUST HAPPENED??”

• To pay attention to THIS MOMENT IS CRITICAL

• Is Judah the people of God? YES

• Is Israel the people of God? YES

• We normally consider Israel the same as Judah because we’ve been talking about Israel all this time

• BUT NOT NOW

• Now, the name ISRAEL will be speaking about the TEN TRIBES TO THE NORTH under Jeroboam’s rule

• JUDAH will be the title for the SOUTHERN KINGDOM 

• So before we get into how we actually read this era, we have a problem

• Once the Kingdom divides, we have the COUNTRY OF ISRAEL to the NORTH led by Jeroboam

• We have the COUNTRY OF JUDAH to the SOUTH led by Rehoboam

• The PROMISE to David will flow THROUGH THE SOUTH

• Jesus is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah

• But the problem is that if you look at a map, you will see that the dividing line between the North and the South is just north of Jerusalem

• So that poses a problem for the TEN NORTHERN TRIBES

• Do you know what this means?

• Those Ten Tribes DO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO THE TEMPLE ANYMORE

• David established Jerusalem as the place where the Ark of the Covenant abides, where the Presence of God will reside, this is where the sacrifices will happen

• JUST IN JERUSALEM

• IN THE TEMPLE

• A lot of times people miss the fact that a SYNAGOGUE is a place of PRAYER and STUDY but NOT a place of WORSHIP that the TEMPLE IS

• Worship was restricted to THE TEMPLE

• The High Holy Feasts, people traveled to JERUSALEM to celebrate

• BUT NOW, it is a whole other country

• So what does the Northern Kingdom do now?

• A synagogue is NOT a temple

• Just like a community center is NOT a church

• The Church is a place for the Sacrifice of the MASS

• In Israel, the Temple IS the central place

• So Jeroboam has a problem

• If his people cannot get to the Temple, what do they do?

• Jeroboam creates HIS OWN SACRIFICIAL PLACES

• Jeroboam erects TWO GOLDEN CALVES (HERE WE GO AGAIN!!!! 🤦🏾‍♂️)

• He puts ONE CALF at Bethel, in the southern part of the Northern Kingdom

• The OTHER CALF is placed at Dan, which is in the very northern part of the country

• Jeroboam says, “These are the gods that brought you out of Egypt.”

• So Jeroboam makes up his own LITURGY, RELIGION, FEAST DAYS, and EVEN MAKES UP HIS OWN PRIESTS

• Jeroboam recruits others from OUTSIDE THE TRIBE OF LEVI to be priests!!

• If you are going to make up your own faith, then you are going to live with the result of that

• CHAOS

• DISILLUSIONMENT

• THAT IS WHAT HAPPENS IN THE NORTH

• So if you can understand that geo-political tidbit of what it was like to NOT be near Jerusalem then you will understand this Divided Kingdom era much better

• So we have TWO COUNTRIES

• Israel TO THE NORTH, Jeroboam is the leader, TEN TRIBES, Capital is SAMARIA

• Judah TO THE SOUTH, Rehoboam is the king, TWO TRIBES (Judah and Benjamin), Capital is JERUSALEM

• Now, as you begin to read the narrative beginning at 1 Kings 12 all the way to 2 Kings 16, that is the NARRATIVE of this period

• But here is we will need guidance

• When we read this narrative, we have to be careful of WHO THE WRITER IS TALKING ABOUT

• Is it from ISRAEL in the NORTH?

• Is it from JUDAH in the SOUTH?

• Is it referring to SAMARIA? That’s in the NORTH!

• Is it referring to JERUSALEM? That’s in the SOUTH!

• We will read about King So-and-So of Israel

• We will read about King So-and-So of Judah

• SO PAY ATTENTION!!

• This is where ⅔ of the Old Testament FITS IN

• THE PROPHETS

• Typically, people read the prophets and are confused

• The prophets are speaking to the CONDITIONS IN THE NORTH

• The prophets are speaking to the CONDITIONS IN THE SOUTH

• The prophets are speaking to the CONDITIONS IN COUNTRIES OUTSIDE OF THE NORTH AND SOUTH

• SO PAY ATTENTION!!

• There are a number of times where the Kingdom of Israel has a king that has the SAME NAME as the King of Judah

• For example, Jehoram King of Judah, Jehoram, King of Israel

• ENJOY THE CONFUSION!!! 🤪

• We are also reading from 2 Chronicles so the names DOUBLE UP, adding to the confusion

• So just keep in mind Israel is NORTH, Judah is SOUTH

• While there are SOME KINGS in Judah throughout this time period who are GOOD, a number of them are NOT GOOD

• BUT…

• NONE OF THE KINGS IN THE NORTH ARE FAITHFUL

• NONE

• Jeroboam sets up IDOLATRY

• The rest of them CONTINUE THAT

• No one ever fully undoes Jeroboam’s misdeeds

• So there are NO GOOD KINGS OF ISRAEL IN THE NORTHERN KINGDOM

• The division that resulted in the North not having access to the Temple led to FALSE RELIGION and FALSE KINGS

• So ALL THE KINGS in the north were HORRIBLE

• There were NINE DIFFERENT DYNASTIES

• One wipes out another wipes out another and so on

• But in the SOUTH, you have ONE FAMILY DYNASTY from DAVID all the way to JESUS

• There are SOME good kings

• BUT…

• There are also some REALLY BAD KINGS

• Most Christians in America DON’T KNOW THIS, the details of the SPLIT

• So listen to this episode about Era 7: Divided Kingdom A COUPLE OF TIMES

• READ THESE NOTES A COUPLE OF TIMES!!!

• When we get to Era 8: Exile, the NORTHERN KINGDOM will be GONE (SPOILER ALERT!!!)

• They will NEVER be recovered except through the UNIVERSAL COVENANT that God sends to the ENTIRE WORLD through JESUS and HIS CHURCH

• THIS IS SO CRITICAL!!

• People can find hope in the Southern Kingdom

• It is ONE BLOODLINE

• It is God being FAITHFUL TO HIS PROMISE to David

• A member of David’s line will ALWAYS sit on the throne

• God will NOT abandon this kingdom

• Yes, they will go into exile

• Yes, they will have a lot of problems

• BUT WE STILL HAVE HOPE recognizing and affirming the fact that even in the midst of ALL THIS MESS

• There is going to be VIOLENCE

• There is going to be UGLINESS

• There is going to be INFIDELITY

• AND YET…

• GOD REMAINS FAITHFUL

• And this is where the PROPHETS come in

• We will get to hear from Hosea, Amos, Jonah, and Micah

• Jonah goes off to the Ninevites and the others try to speak into the lives of the people in these kingdoms, imploring them to COME BACK

• STAY FAITHFUL

• COME BACK WHILE THERE IS STILL TIME

• Now that the Kingdom has divided…

• How has it divided? 🤔

• ISRAEL to the NORTH

• JUDAH to the SOUTH

• Israel doesn’t have a TRUE RELIGION now

• Does that mean that God is DONE WITH THEM?

• NO!!!

• God DOES talk to them THROUGH THE PROPHETS

• Amos and Hosea are the TWO PRINCIPLE PROPHETS that speak to the NORTHERN KINGDOM

• Which one is the NORTHERN KINGDOM?

• ISRAEL!!

• So Hosea is a LONGER BOOK

• God told Hosea to marry a HARLOT

• Pretty crazy, eh?

• No, there is MEANING there

• Hosea married this harlot and she cheated on him.

• Hosea feels the pain of that infidelity and then PROPHESIZED to the NORTHERN TEN TRIBES

• FIRST, God is your HUSBAND, NORTHERN KINGDOM

• SECOND, YOU have been UNFAITHFUL

• THIRD, YOU ARE GOING TO GO INTO EXILE

• But here is the GOOD NEWS

• God will NOT forget you

• God will come to you and give you LIVING WATER

• John Ch 4 😉 Jesus meets a Samaritan woman

• What was the capital of the Northern Kingdom?

• SAMARIA!!

• Amos has a similar message

• As we read through it, the Northern Kingdom NEVER COMES BACK TO GOD (GEEZ ANOTHER SPOILER ALERT, JEFF!!! 🤪)

• We will come across a lot of characters that will be familiar in the North like Jezebel and Ahab and Elijah

• Elijah has a real tough job

• Elijah speaks the TRUTH to the North but then he gets SCARED and RUNS FOR HIS LIFE

• In the SOUTH, we will see the line of David struggling with FAITHFULNESS

• What’s going to happen to BOTH North and South in the next period is that BOTH KINGDOMS will go into EXILE

• The Northern Tribes will be LOST

• But we will see in the New Testament that St. Paul always has them in mind

• God is FAITHFUL even when his people are UNFAITHFUL

• That seems to be the message again and again

• Hosea’s message is that the people are chasing all these lovers because they are given all these things and they didn’t realize that GOD was the one who gave them all those things

• Knowing our own hearts, they will get exposed in the course of this story because we realize how often in times of blessings and contentment, WE THANK THE WRONG SOURCE

• All these blessings COME FROM THE LORD

• All these blessings are meant to GO BACK TO THE LORD IN MANY WAYS

• So be aware of the following as we go through this era:

• FIRST, remember that people are going to be hearing stories that you may think you’ve read already...THAT’S CHRONICLES

• Chronicles does CHRONICLE the King of Israel and the King of Judah

• There is a SPECIAL EMPHASIS on the Southern Kingdom

• So Chronicles is CHRONICLING the SOUTH and not really the NORTH

• Chronicles talks about the POSITIVE things that happened with David

• 1 and 2 Samuel and 1 and 2 Kings talk about EVERYTHING

• SECOND, remember the IMPORTANCE OF LITURGY

• Liturgy is not something where GOD CONTROLS HIS PEOPLE

• Liturgy is where GOD SHARES HIS LIFE WITH PEOPLE

• IT IS VERY VERY IMPORTANT

• So LITURGY in this time in Bible History is all about SACRIFICE, PRIESTHOOD, GOING OUT AND BEING THE PEOPLE OF GOD

• In the EXILE ERA, we will find out that the Southern Kingdom failed to take what they learned from the Liturgy and BRING IT OUT TO THE WORLD

• Corrupt leadership and so forth

• As you’re reading through this, have a heart of THANKFULNESS for the fact that we do have a LITURGY

• THE MASS!!!!

• This is God’s PERFECT PLAN of sheer GOODNESS

• When you deviate from that PLAN (Like I did, like Jeff Cavins did, like many of us did), you lose THE EUCHARIST!!!

• So some of us “made up” a liturgy in a way (with evangelical services, american idol style services, prosperity gospel, etc.)

• The FURTHER you stray from the Liturgy, the LESS you are going to KNOW GOD

• GOD MEETS US IN THE LITURGY

• GOD REDEEMS US IN THE LITURGY

• GOD FEEDS US IN THE LITURGY

• GOD ENCOURAGES US IN THE LITURGY

• So that we can go out into the world and spread GOD’S KINGDOM

• GOD’S YOKE

• GOD’S WORLDVIEW

• The LITURGY ties us ALL together

• It’s almost like a COSMIC EXPERIENCE

• THOSE IN HEAVEN AND THOSE ON EARTH COME TOGETHER AND WORSHIP

• There is NOTHING ELSE IN THE WORLD that offers the People of God that opportunity like THE LITURGY

• We enter into this thing that is GREATER THAN US

• This thing has been given to us by GOD HIMSELF

• Jesus said, “THIS IS THE BLOOD OF THE NEW AND ETERNAL COVENANT”

• If we stay close to THIS, we are staying close to GOD

• We are all a bunch of GOMERS

• We all have a tendency to WANDER AWAY

• What does the LITURGY do?

• THE LITURGY BRINGS US BACK

• WOW!!

• We all can have a CLEARER LENS now, through these introductions

• That’s what the Bible in a Year is all about, to give us a CLEARER LENS 

• So that we can see THE WORLD

• So that we can see OUR LIVES

• So that we can see GOD HIMSELF in the BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW

• It’s pretty PHENOMENAL that all of you have been FAITHFUL to this so far 😁

• PRAY FOR EACH OTHER

• PRAY FOR FR. MIKE

• PRAY FOR JEFF CAVINS 😉