St. Anthony's Catholic Church

·       Session 6 covered the Divided Kingdom, which was a black period in Jewish history; and the Exile where they were singing the “blues”.  I Kings Chapters 12-22 and all of II Kings are the books to read in the Bible.

·        Solomon, the son of David, took 7 years to build the Temple in Jerusalem.  He then took 13 years to build his own house. This gives us a clue as to where his heart is wandering towards.

·       Solomon allowed the influence of his many wives to turn his heart from God

·       God had the prophet, Ahijah, tell Jeroboam he would rule over 10 tribes of Israel.  Jeroboam then fled to Egypt until Solomon died

·       Solomon’s son,Rehoboam, was given council from his father’s advisors and then by his younger friends.  The elders advised Rehoboam to lighten the load on the people and be a gentler ruler. The young men advised him to put heavier burdens on the people and be harsher. 

·       Rehoboam took the advice of his friends and in I Kings 12:16 we are told the Kingdom split.

·       This is a key point to keep in mind: We now have Rehoboam to the south with the Tribes of Judah and Benjamin, they will be called JUDAH; and Jeroboam to the north with the rest of the Tribes, they will be called ISRAEL.  The split happens in 930 BC.

·       With Jerusalem and the Temple located in Judah, Jeroboam felt the need to provide his people in Israel with someplace to worship.  He set up two golden calves in his Kingdom and encouraged the people to worship there. Israel will continually have idolatrous kings.

·       During these periods, the supplemental books contain the majority of the prophets.  Each prophet spoke to a particular audience.  For example Elijah, Elisha, Amos and Hosea spoke to Israel in the north; whereas Joel, Isaiah, Micah, Zephaniah, Jeremiah, and Habakkuk spoke to Judah in the South.  Daniel and Ezekiel spoke to those in exile;

·       Side note: Hosea was instructed to marry the prostitute Gomer, who God compared to the Israelite people.  The message being to see God as a husband.

·       Jonah and Nahum spoke to Assyria.  The city Jonah warned of impending destruction was Ninevah. They repented and were saved, yet 40 years later they were destroyed.  This is the “sign of Jonah” Jesus mentioned; Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed 40 years later.

·       For a little over 200 years they had a Divided Kingdom until in 722 BC Assyria took over Israel and scattered the 10 Tribes.  Judah in the South had a few good rulers and were spared –for now

·        Interestingly, they remnant of Israel in the north became mixed with 5 foreign nations. They were known as the Samaritans. Jump forward to Jesus meeting the Samarita nwoman at the well and asking her bring to him her husband.  She says she has none and Jesus tells her she has 5 husbands. This points to Hosea’s message of God as husband.

·       The Babylonians became the world power and conquered Judah. There were three different deportations (mostly of the richer people)and the last king of Judah, Zekekiah, was forced to watch his sons killed and then have his eyes plucked out. Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed and the people marched to Babylon, where Abraham originally came from.

·       Daniel foresaw 5 successive kingdoms: Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome, and then the Messianic

·       They will remainin exile for 70 years until the prophesy of Isaiah comes to fruition and a king named Cyrus allows them to go home…