A Kingdom Divided

s we learned in Lesson 5, KingSolomon allowed his many foreign

wives and concubines, and their pagan prac-tices, to turn his heart away from God.Notice what God told him: “Because youhave done this, and have not kept Mycovenant and My statutes...I will surely tear

the kingdom away from you and give it toyour servant. Nevertheless I will not do it inyour days, for the sake of your father David;I will tear it out of the hand of your son.However, I will not tear away the wholekingdom; I will give one tribe to your sonfor the sake of my servant David, and for

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A KingdomDivided

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the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen”(I Kings 11:11-13).

The time had come for God to fulfill Hispromise.

Rehoboam Takes the Throne

Solomon died after reigning forty years.Although the Bible indicates that hereturned to worshipping God before hedied, God’s judgment for his idolatry wasstill in effect. After Solomon’s death, hisson Rehoboam became king of Israel. Hewas crowned at a ceremony in the city ofShechem, in the territory given toManasseh.

Solomon had made the people in Israelpay very high taxes. After his death, theIsraelites hoped that Rehoboam wouldlower taxes. Men from the 10 northerntribes of Israel asked Jeroboam, the son ofone of Solomon’s servants, to act as aspokesman for them and ask the king toreduce taxes. As we saw in the last lesson,God had promised to give 10 tribes ofIsrael to Jeroboam, though He did not sayexactly how this would happen.

Jeroboam said to Rehoboam, “Yourfather Solomon taxed us very heavily. Ifyou reduce our taxes, we will serve you” (IKings 12:4).

Wise Counsel Ignored

Rehoboam told Jeroboam and the assem-bled Israelites to return in three days for hisdecision. He thought about the peoples’plea. He wanted to know what the othermen around him thought, so he called for

them and asked for their counsel. This wasa good idea, since the Bible tells us that weshould seek counsel from others when wehave to make an important decision. Turnto Proverbs 20:18 and fill in the blanks:“____________ are established by______________; by ______ counsel wagewar.” This means that, when we are plan-ning to accomplish something, we shouldask advice from those who are experienced.

At first, Rehoboam sought counsel fromolder men who held responsibilities in thepalace and who had counseled his fatherSolomon. They told him that if he would bea servant to the Israelites—if he would tryto do what was best for them—the peoplewould loyally serve him throughout hisreign.

However, Rehoboam was not pleasedwith this advice. He asked some of theyoung men whom he had known since hewas a child. Their answer was quite differ-ent: “Thus you should speak to this peoplewho have spoken to you, saying, ‘Yourfather made our yoke heavy, but you shallmake it lighter on us’—thus shall you sayto them...‘whereas my father put a heavyyoke on you, I will add to your yoke; myfather chastised you with whips, but I willchastise you with scourges’” (I Kings12:10-11)!

After three days, Rehoboam metJeroboam and the other representatives ofIsrael. He had made up his mind. The newking had chosen the counsel of the youngmen. He told the people that he would raisetheir taxes!

He rejected the wise counsel of the oldermen. He and the young men did not under-

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stand that leadership brings a responsibilityto serve people. They did not believe in liv-ing the way of give! Rehoboam was moreconcerned with increasing his own wealththan with helping the people of Israel.

When they heard this, the people werevery upset. The 10 northern tribes rebelled,telling the king that they would not submitto him anymore. The people returned totheir lands in the north.

Rehoboam sent a tax collector namedAdoram to speak with the representatives ofthese tribes—but the people sent a clearmessage to the king by killing Adoram!

Rehoboam was afraid that he might bekilled too, so he fled from Shechem toJerusalem. He intended to send anarmy into northern Israel to force thepeople into obedience. But God sent aprophet named Shemaiah, who toldhim not to do this—he said that Godwas using this disagreement to fulfillhis will, tearing the 10 tribes fromRehoboam as a result of Solomon’ssins. Rehoboam did not dare to goagainst this command, and called offthe planned invasion.

Israel Splits

Rehoboam was left with only Judahand a portion of the neighboring tribesof Levi and Benjamin remaining underhis rule. Together, they were thenknown as Judah or the House ofJudah. God’s Word had come to pass,but He did not entirely take rulershipaway from David’s family. He had stillbound Himself to the promise that

David would not lack an heir on the throne.The 10 tribes asked Jeroboam to rule

over them as king. This new separate nationbecame known as the House of Israel orsimply Israel.

This was the first of several north-southsplits that would occur among the descen-dants of Israel throughout history.

Rehoboam’s Wicked Reign

Rehoboam ruled over his kingdom fromJerusalem. However, he did not follow inthe footsteps of his grandfather David. He

trusted in military strength for protection,rather than in God. Also, he did not set theexample of obeying God’s Law, so the peo-ple committed the same sins as the heathennations around them—even the kind ofwrong actions that led God to destroywicked cities such as Sodom andGomorrah.

Because of the unrighteous ways of theking and his subjects, God withdrew muchof his blessing and protection from Judah.They no longer enjoyed the peace they hadexperienced for much of Solomon’s time onthe throne. The nation was plagued bywar—even with their separated brothers inIsrael.

Egypt, led by KingShishak, invaded Judahduring Rehoboam’s fifthyear as king. Shishak led avery large army that includ-ed a number of allies—theLubim, the Sukkiim and theEthiopians (II Chronicles12:3). Shishak’s army over-ran the cities thatRehoboam had fortified onthe outskirts of Judah.Without God’s help, thesephysical efforts at protect-ing the nation were notenough. The advancing sol-diers marched to the bor-ders of the capital city ofJerusalem.

Why did God allowthis? Turn to II Chronicles12:5: “Then Shemaiah theprophet came to Rehoboam

and the leaders of Judah, who were gatheredtogether in Jerusalem because of Shishak,and said to them, “Thus says the LORD:‘You have _____________ Me, and there-fore I also have _____ you in the _____ ofShishak.”

The leaders of Judah were scared. Theyfeared for their lives and thought that thekingdom was about to come to an end. Inthis situation, they humbled themselves andacknowledged God’s supremacy. God sawthis and had mercy on them. He judged that,rather than allowing the whole kingdom tobe destroyed, Judah would become subjectto Shishak and serve him. This would teachJudah a hard lesson about their choice not to

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serve God. Shishak stripped Judah of all ofits treasures, including the riches of the tem-ple and the royal palace, even to the pointthat items of gold had to be replaced withbrass.

Following in Rehoboam’s Footsteps

Rehoboam was allowed to rule for a total of17 years. During that time, he never turnedhis heart to serve God. He died in Jerusalemand was succeeded by his son Abijam.

Abijam did not learn from the mistakesof his father, but continued in the same sins.However, since God had promised Davidthat his dynasty would continue, Abijamwas allowed to rule for three years.

During his reign, there was a great battlebetween Israel and Judah. Judah had halfthe troops that Israel had—400,000 versus800,000! However, God allowed Judah towin this battle, and Israel suffered 500,000deaths. This occurred because, as bad asJudah was under Abijam’s rule, Israel andJeroboam were even worse!

After his short reign, Abijam died andwas replaced by his son Asa as king ofJudah.

Asa—A Righteous Start

Asa had learned from the poor examples ofhis father and grandfather. He set his heartto serve the true God, realizing that this isthe only way to success.

Asa removed all the idols from the landthat Rehoboam and Abijam had allowed,and set out to end the worship of any falsegod in Judah. He removed his own grand-

mother from his royal court, since sheworshipped idols, and he destroyed herpagan place of worship. Asa instructedJudah to follow after God and to obey Hislaws. He set a good example, which manyof the people followed. As a result, Godblessed them with protection andprosperity.

In time, Zerah, the captain of theEthiopian army, decided to rise up againstJudah. His standing army of one millionmen far outnumbered the soldiers ofJudah. Asa knew that the odds wereagainst him and his nation—however, helooked beyond the physical things that hesaw. He knew that God could deliver them.He prayed earnestly and confidently toGod, asking Him for help.

Read how God answered Asa’s prayerin II Chronicles 14:12-15. “So the LORD__________ the Ethiopians before Asa andJudah, and the Ethiopians _____. And Asaand the people who were with him pursuedthem to Gerar. So the Ethiopians were___________, and they could not_______, for they were _______ beforethe LORD and His army. And they carriedaway very much ________.”

This miraculous victory contains animportant lesson: When things look veryhard—even impossible—if we trust God,He can and will deliver us, bless us andfight our battles for us!

Asa Quickly Forgets to Trust God

After this wonderful start, Asa began toforget that God is the great Giver. Afterthree years as king, he became afraid of an

invasion by a wicked new king of Israel—Baasha. This king’s army had crossed thenorthern border of Judah and transformedthe town of Ramah into an armed campand supply station.

Instead of seeking God’s deliverance ashe had before, Asa forged a militaryalliance with the nation of Syria. Then, ina terrible insult to God, he took treasuresfrom the holy temple and sent them as giftsto Ben-Hadad, the king of Syria! Syria hadbeen allied with Israel, but these gifts con-vinced Ben-Hadad to switch his loyalty toJudah.

God was very unhappy with Asa. Hesent His prophet Hanani with a messagefor the king: “Because you have relied onthe king of Syria, and have not relied onthe LORD your God, therefore the army ofthe king of Syria has escaped from yourhand. Were the Ethiopians and the Lubimnot a huge army with a very many chariotsand horsemen? Yet, because you reliedupon the LORD, He delivered them intoyour hand. For the eyes of the LORD roamto and fro throughout the whole earth, toshow Himself strong on behalf of thosewhose heart is loyal to Him. In this youhave done foolishly; therefore from nowon you shall have wars” (II Chronicles16:7-9).

However, instead of heeding thewords of the prophet and changing hisways, Asa threw Hanani into prison.After this, Asa continued to drift fartherfrom God. When he was old, his feetbecame severely diseased. However,instead of asking God for healing, hetrusted only in physicians. They were not

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able to help him, and he died after rulingJudah for 41 years.

Israel Under Jeroboam

Now that we have reviewed the reigns ofsome of the early kings of Judah, we nextconsider the house of Israel under the ruleof King Jeroboam. Remember that God hadpromised He would give the 10 northerntribes to him. However, Jeroboam did notserve the Eternal.

Jeroboam was afraid that those in Israelwould return to Rehoboam if they went toJerusalem to keep the Holy Days. Hemoved to prevent this through misguidedactions. He removed the Levites from theirGod-ordained positions in the priesthood,and appointed men to this office accordingto his own wishes, rather than God’s. Hethen created and installed counterfeit HolyDays that took place in the eighth month,rather than the seventh month as God com-mands.

Finally, heinstituted newplaces of falseworship in Dan( s o u t h e r nIsrael) andBethel (in thenorth), with

golden idols in the shape of calves (I Kings12:25). He and his false priests led Israelinto idolatry. He did all of this in order tohold on to his power over the nation—power that God had given to him!

God was very angry about this. Onceagain, He sent a prophet to warn a king.

This messenger from God prophesied that achild named Josiah would one day be king,and would cleanse Israel of the abomina-tions that Jeroboam had introduced.

What miracle did God perform as a signthat this would come to pass? Read I Kings13:3 and write the answer here:________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Like Asa, Jeroboam was not thankful forthis warning, but rather became angry withthe prophet. He pointed at him and orderedhis guards to seize him; but as he did, hishand stiffened and withered—he could noteven bring his arm back down to his side!

This struck fear into Jeroboam and his royalcourt. He begged the prophet to pray forhim, and God mercifully healed his arm.However, this did not move Jeroboam, as hecontinued to disobey God and to lead Israelfurther away from true worship.

Shortly after this event, Jeroboam’s songrew very sick. He sent his wife, in dis-guise, to talk to the prophet Ahijah. But Godlet Ahijah know her identity. He gave her avery unpleasant message. He told her thatJeroboam would have nothing but troublesince he had been ungrateful for all that Godhad given him, and had behaved so wicked-ly as king. His son would die, and his fami-ly would eventually have no heir to contin-ue on the throne of the house of Israel.

When shereturned home,Ahijah’s word cameto pass—the sondied. Later, after 22years of ruling,Jeroboam died aftera battle with Judah.

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Another son ofJeroboam, Nadab,followed as king ofIsrael. He continuedin the idolatry of hisfather. This wouldbe the last ofJeroboam’s descen-dants to rule. Duringa siege against a

Philistine city, Nadab was murdered by aman named Baasha, who appointed himselfking and then killed all of Jeroboam’s othersons.

This murderer only led Israel further intosin. The prophet Jehu warned him that Godwould make his house as Jeroboam’s—without an heir. Baasha was allowed toreign for 24 years before dying. His sonElah followed him, continuing in his idola-trous ways. History then repeated itself, asZimri, a servant, killed Elah. Zimri thentook the throne and had Elah’s family exe-cuted. As God had prophesied, Baasha’sfamily dynasty ended quickly!

Zimri reigned for only one week! Thepeople of Israel were angry with his treach-ery, and they chose Omri, the commander

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of Israel’s army, to be king. When Omri andhis army approached, Zimri chose to burnthe palace rather then surrender. He per-ished in the fire (I Kings 16:18).

Lessons From Israel and Judah

There are very important lessons to learnfrom the kings that we have studied.

One of these lessons is that idolatry is avery serious sin. God does not take it light-ly. To put anything or anyone before theCreator cuts us off from all His blessingsand from the purpose for life: to grow,overcome and work toward being born intothe God Family. This sin leads to manyother sins, all of which cause pain, unhap-piness, frustration and finally death. Godgives us a choice of how we will live—either the way that leads to success, or theway that leads to failure. Which one doesHe hope that we choose? Write outDeuteronomy 30:19 below for theanswer:_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Another lesson that we must learn is toalways trust God. King Asa of Judah started

with this approach, but soon began to trust inhimself and in physical things instead.Notice what David wrote in Psalms 118: “Itis___________to__________in the_______than to put________________in________.”

Finally, an important principle: No one,not even powerful people such as kings, areabove the Law of God. His commandmentsare like the law of gravity—there are auto-matic penalties for breaking them, and auto-matic blessings for keeping them. If we keepthem, they will keep us; if we break them,they will break us! All human beings willeventually learn to keep God’s command-ments, or they will not be a part of Hiskingdom. Turn to I Corinthians 6:9-10 andwrite out what things will prevent a personfrom entering the kingdom ofGod:_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

You, as a young person in God’s Church,are learning to be a leader in the world tocome, which will arrive with the return ofJesus Christ. You are in training to become aking and a priest. You can learn from theleaders in the Bible—both the good and thebad.

In our next lesson, we will learn more les-sons from the history of Israel and Judah, andcontinue to follow the rulers of these nations

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BIBLE MEMORY: I Kings 2:1-3

Published by The Restored Church of God.Printed in the USA; All Rights ReservedCopyright © 2005

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ISRAEL (before the split)1) _________________2) _________________

HOUSE OF JUDAH3) _________________4) _________________5) _________________

HOUSE OF ISRAEL6) _________________7) _________________8) _________________9) _________________10) ________________11) ________________

LIST OF KINGS:__ Baasha__ David__ Nadab__ Zimri__ Rehoboam__ Omri__ Abijam__ Solomon__ Asa__ Jeroboam__ Elah

ACTIVITY: PUT THE KINGS IN ORDER

Asa