The Kingdoms of Israel and Judah

The kingdom of Israel in the north was built upon an apostate religion (that is, one which has ‘fallen away from’ true religion, or a perversion) and this was centred in Bethel and Dan (1 Kings 12:26–33). This, together with the political greed for power, was the cause of hardship and suffering for the people.

God, however, did not forsake them, though they had turned their back on His commandments. In His mercy He sent prophets like Elijah and Elisha, who pleaded with them to return to His ways but very few heeded their call. Some of the books of the prophets, in particular Hosea and Amos, are a record of God’s message to this northern kingdom.

Finally, God brought the mighty power of Assyria against them. They were overthrown in BC 720 and scattered throughout the Assyrian Empire (see 2 Kings 17).

The Assyrians then brought people from other conquered countries and settled them in Israel. These people brought with them their false worship and with it also blended the true worship of Israel’s God: “They feared the LORD, and served their own gods” (2 Kings 17:33). This confused false worship continued down to the days of Jesus. These people became known as the Samaritans (see John 4).

The Kingdom of Judah

Although the two tribes in the south maintained the Temple worship at Jerusalem, and though their kings were descendants of David, they too finally perverted the true worship of God and turned to idolatry. Many of the kings who ruled were not God-fearing men and only a few had the faith of David their forefather. Sometimes even the high priest himself refused to conform to God’s prescribed form of worship.

God sent prophets to warn them that unless they heeded His words, He would send the Babylonians to destroy both the Temple and the city and take them far off into captivity. His warnings were largely ignored and the kingdom was overthrown by Babylon, only 130 years after Israel in the north had been overthrown by the Assyrians.

Adapted from “The Exploring the Bible Course” by David Evans