Lamentations and the month called "Av"

An interesting article from http://www.ucg.org/ about Lamentations and the month called "Av." This follows this post about the historic Scopes Trial.  For a free magazine subscription or to get the books recommended for free click HERE! or call 1-888-886- 8632. You can follow me at blogspot here and at twitter here https://twitter.com/brianleesblog. Please consider following both in case one goes down!

Introduction to Lamentations (Lamentations 1)

http://bible.ucg.org/bible-commentary/Lamentations/The-desolation-and-misery-of-Jerusalem/


The author of Lamentations is not named in the book, but it is traditionally attributed to the prophet Jeremiah. "In fact, some copies of the ancient Greek Septuagint translation begin the book with these words: 'And it came to pass, after Israel [i.e., the remnant of Israel—Judah] had been carried captive, and Jerusalem became desolate, that Jeremiah sat weeping, and lamented this lamentation over Jerusalem.' Crediting Lamentations to Jeremiah is based on the following considerations: (1) Jeremiah was known as a composer of laments (see 2 Chr. 35:25). (2) Jeremiah was the prophet who mourned, 'Oh, that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!' (see Jer. 9:1). (3) In [Lamentations] 3:1, the author seems to identify himself with Jeremiah when he says, 'I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of His wrath.' (4) There are many linguistic similarities between Lamentations and Jeremiah" (The Nelson Study Bible, introductory notes on Lamentations.)
"In the Talmud (Baba Bathra 15a), this book is called qinot ('Lamentations')... The name commonly used in Hebrew, however, is ekah ('How'), the first word of the first, second, and fourth laments [that is, chapters 1, 2 and 4]. In the Hebrew canon it stands in the Writings as the third of the Megilloth, or Scrolls, between Ruth and Ecclesiastes" (Expositor's Bible Commentary, introductory notes on Lamentations). We are reading it now to keep it in the context of its writing in the wake of the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple.
"The five chapters of Lamentations are five poems with ch[apter] 3 as the midpoint or climax. Accordingly, the first two chapters build an 'ascent,' or crescendo, to the climax, the grand confession of 3:23, 24: 'Great is your faithfulness. The Lord is my portion.' The last two chapters are a 'descent,' or decrescendo, from the pinnacle of ch[apter] 3... The poetry of the book enhances its purpose and structure. Chapters 1 through 4 are composed as acrostics of the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Each verse or group of verses begins with a word whose initial letter carries on the sequence of letters in the Hebrew alphabet. This would be similar to an English poem in which the first line begins with A; the second begins with B, and so on. One purpose of this device was probably to aid in memorization of the passage. The acrostic also suggests that the writer has thought things through and is giving a complete account of the subject" (Nelson Study Bible, introductory notes on Lamentations).
While chapter 1 is a perfect acrostic, chapters 2-4 are slightly imperfect, and oddly enough for the same reason. In each case the 16th and 17th letters of the Hebrew alphabet (ayin and pe) are swapped—for what significance we don't know. The acrostic in chapter 3 comes in groups of three—that is, each of the first three verses begins with the first Hebrew letter aleph, each of the second three with the second letter beth, etc. (see Expositor's, introductory notes on Lamentations). And then there is the mysterious chapter 5, intriguingly not an acrostic even though it still seems to divide up into 22 verses. "That chapter 5 has twenty-two verses has caused some to suggest that the laments were first written in normal verse and then rewritten to include the acrostic. This idea is ingenious but unprovable" (same note).
Other laments are written in various books like the book of Psalms, but this is the only book solely devoted to lamenting. Orthodox Jewish custom requires that this book be read aloud on the fast of Tisha b'Av, the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Ab—the traditional day on which the temple of Solomon was destroyed in 586 B.C. and on which the second temple was destroyed by the Roman army in A.D. 70. Jeremiah was present at the destruction of Solomon's temple as Jerusalem was overrun and sacked by the Babylonian armies. He saw the horrifying imagery described in the book. And yet the terrible suffering portrayed seems to reflect even more than what occurred at that time. It evidently anticipates suffering that was, and still is, yet to come—for the judgment described here is what is to befall "all the dwelling places of Jacob...every horn of Israel" (Lamentations 2:2-3), not just Judah. The book, as we will see, calls for the coming of the Day of the Lord and the final judgment on Israel's enemies. Yet there is no question that the ancient anguish and suffering of Judah is also vividly revealed in the pages of this deeply emotional account.
In its introductory notes on the book, The Bible Reader's Companion (Lawrence Richards, 1991) states: "Lamentations does maintain a consistent theological outlook: Judah's [and later all Israel's] loss can be traced to God's sovereignty, His justice, and His commitment to a morality which His people abandoned. Yet Lamentations is primarily a book that plumbs the depths of human sorrow, not from an individual's perspective, but from the perspective of an entire people. Reading the book we experience something of the overwhelming sense of despair that can grip communities and even whole nations. Even the prayers recorded in Lamentations are desperate prayers; cries of anguish rather than affirmations of hope. It is terrible as well as wonderful to be human. It is terrible indeed if we surrender to our human bent to sin. The day must come when we will look back on our lost opportunities, and realize that the misery we endure now is a consequence of our own chronic craving for sin. If nothing else, reading the Book of Lamentations reminds us the pleasures of sin are at best momentary, the painful consequences lasting and deep."

Four Little Words With Big Meaning

An interesting article from http://www.ucg.org/ about Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. This follows this post about the phrase "judge not."  For a free magazine subscription or to get the book shown  for free click HERE! or call 1-888-886-8632.


This Is the Way... Four Little Words With Big Meaning



article by Robin Webber





During the American Civil War, Abraham Lincoln gave one the shortest yet most meaningful speeches in history. The two-minute address spoke to a crucial moment in the nation's history. Lincoln spoke in a redemptive tone about the judgment of God upon a single nation and what might yet be accomplished.



During the American Civil War, Abraham Lincoln gave one the shortest yet most meaningful speeches in history. The two-minute address spoke to a crucial moment in the nation's history. Lincoln spoke in a redemptive tone about the judgment of God upon a single nation and what might yet be accomplished.



Today that speech is known as the Gettysburg Address. It was so short that it was only afterward that people would begin to recognize the gravity of what was spoken.



In the annals of human history is there any more poignant and crisper message than the Gettysburg Address? If so, where?



Yes, there is a shorter message given long ago that also came to jolt a nation. Actually only four words were conveyed to those assembled. This message changed the course of not only a nation, but the entire world. It, too, would have to be later interpreted for its significance. Its meaning comes down to our day and has incredible prophetic implications for the future.



Far from the dirt roads and fields of Gettysburg, we enter a different time and place at the royal court of Babylon as described in Daniel 5:1-5 [1] Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand.

[2] Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein.

[3] Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them.

[4] They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.

[5] In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king's palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.





See All....



It is here we discover the actions of Belshazzar, the coregent of Babylon and grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, staging a gigantic banquet for 1,000 of his closest cohorts. Many of us are familiar with this biblical event, but what is the story behind the story?



Oh, those walls!



Extrabiblical literature can help set the stage for this particular night. Herodotus, the Greek historian, offers this interesting detail of what may have preceded the great banquet:



"A battle was fought at a short distance from the city, in which the Babylonians were defeated by the Persian king, whereupon they withdrew within their defenses. Here they shut themselves up, and made light of his siege, having laid in store for many years in preparation against this attack" ( Persian Wars, Book 1, Sec. 190).



Those defenses described by the historian were purported to be walls that were 90-feet high and so wide that six chariots could ride side by side at the top. Babylon stood seemingly impregnable and invincible for the ages!



We may not realize that by this time the city of Babylon stood alone as its soon-to-be conqueror, Persia, already stretched from Media on the east to the shore of the Aegean Sea on the west. Babylon was not simply in the way—it was to be the final, great prize!



Building on the thoughts of Herodotus, the Expositor's Bible Commentary informs us that, although the Babylonians were aware of the Medo-Persian threat outside their magnificent and unassailable city, they knew beyond a doubt that no army could penetrate their fortress walls. They were secure in the knowledge that their walls had not been "stormed by invaders in over a thousand years" (Vol. 7, p. 70).



The folly of pride



Oh yes, human nature loves denying reality. It can be amazingly delusional! After all, bad things happen to everyone else—right? Why is it so often we foolishly dream of being the exception, rather than the rule?



Thus, rather than face the facts, Belshazzar chose to gloat over victories from "the good old days." They brought out the sacred vessels of his grandfather's Judean conquest and drank from them as they praised their pagan gods. Bad move! This was a raw and unadulterated abomination before the Great Disposer of all events.



While God is long-suffering, ultimately He will not be mocked. He will answer at the right time, in the right way, and His judgments are sure. Verse 5 says that "in the same hour the fingers of a man's hand appeared and wrote…[on] the wall."



You can just imagine how this shook the audience. This account describes how the king's knees were knocking against each other. Obviously, the ruler wanted to know what was written on the wall. But no one present could interpret the meaning of the four little words written in Aramaic. Perhaps they were just scared to do so.



Finally the queen suggested that one of the wise men of old "be brought out of mothballs" and given an opportunity to grant understanding to the king and his audience. She was lofty in her praise of him as she described him as a man "in whom is the Spirit of the Holy God… light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him" (Daniel 5:11There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of thy father light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him; whom the king Nebuchadnezzar thy father, the king, I say, thy father, made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers;



See All...).



Once again, after many years, Daniel, now perhaps nearly 80 years old, stepped upon the stage of empire as he represented a greater and ageless kingdom. He had not rushed in like the other wise men, only to be stymied. Daniel wanted to be sure all knew his interpretation had no bias. The outcome was too great to slant the news!



Beware the heart lifted up!



The aged interpreter began to offer perspective in verses 18-22 as he informed the foolish ruler that "the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your [grandfather] a kingdom and majesty, glory and honor."



He described how the great ruler's "heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened in pride." Therefore "his heart was made like the beasts" until "he knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and appoints over it whomever He chooses."



Yes, Nebuchadnezzar had in a sense been "benched" for seven years till he understood who is boss. Now with this stated, Daniel directly confronts Belshazzar. He indicts him for his lack of humility and refusal to learn the lessons of history visited upon his grandfather. As George Santayana, the philosopher, so aptly put it: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."



Daniel made it plain as to what motivates God's activity. It is not the size of the walls around us, but the size and condition of our heart within us that makes the difference. The prophet Isaiah grants us perspective regarding the God of Daniel—our God—when he writes, "Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket, and are counted as the small dust on the scales" (Isaiah 40:15Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.



See All...).



Belshazzar was condemned because he lifted himself up. Daniel told him, "The God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified" (Daniel 5:23But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified:



See All...).



The four little words



Now, Daniel identified the author of the handwriting on the wall. The unsigned signature of this startling message that transformed the king's body into quivering Jell-O is none other than God Almighty.



It is here that four little words, brief and to the point, shake a kingdom and define the future. Everybody's eyes focus on the wall. It says, "MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN."



Daniel boldly interprets it. "Mene: God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it." Mene is repeated twice for emphasis. "T ekel: You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting; P eres: Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians."



It is of note that in societies of antiquity such as ancient Egypt, there are murals depicting the dead being set before scales to be measured. What is intriguing here is that Belshazzar becomes the "living dead" before the judgment seat of God.



It didn't take long for those four little words to rumble in the annals of history. Verse 30 tells us "that very night" the king was slain. Wow, what happened? The Persian general Ugbaru, King Cyrus's clever military strategist, recognized that he could not go over the walls, so he went under by diverting the Euphrates River into an old channel dug by a previous ruler. This reduced the water level well below the river gates. The rest is history, as the Persians and Medes waded thigh deep into a city that was caught asleep.



What do the words mean for us?



But what does this mean for us in the 21st century? Prophecy is often dual in nature—or what might be defined as "layered" as it builds toward a future climax. The Babylonian king who was removed from his throne as he spoke (Daniel 4:31While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee.



See All...) and that king's grandson who was "in the same hour" admonished by God (Daniel 5:5In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king's palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.



See All...) and was "that very night slain" (Daniel 5:30In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain.



See All...) foreshadow a scenario yet to occur between God Almighty and what He reveals as a Babylonian-type system yet to arise.



Again, there'll be three key ingredients: 1) God, 2) a worldly ruler and 3) an end-time "Babylon." Revelation 13:1And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.



See All..., 4-6 identifies this system as "a beast," just like the original head of the golden kingdom, Nebuchadnezzar, who became like a beast when God removed his kingdom from him.



Just like ancient times, people are going to be amazed at this future system. They are going to marvel, "Who is like the Beast?" (verse 4), just like mankind did long ago when they gawked at the immensity of Babylon's nine-story walls and said, "What's the use? If you can't beat 'em, join 'em."



It is of note that God further defines this future system with its mix of political and religious power as "Babylon" in Revelation 17:1-6 [1] And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:

[2] With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.

[3] So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.

[4] And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:

[5] And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

[6] And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.





See All.... In verse 4 the politico-religious system is identified as "having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations." Note that a religious vessel is being used in a wrong fashion just like long ago on that night before Babylon fell.



"In one hour your judgment has come"



What's truly amazing is that in its foolish arrogance this future Babylon is going to fight against God. Just imagine that for a moment. Humans are going to have the pride and the false security that comes with it to fight their very Creator! Revelation 19:19-20 [19] And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.

[20] And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.





See All... plainly states that this Beast system identified with Babylon is going to gather "together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army." Utterly incredible, isn't it? But God has seen the future and brings it to us.



Jesus Christ not only brings us these troubling tidings, but encourages us that this system is going to be as swiftly destroyed as ancient Babylon. Consider how similar the language in Revelation 18:9-10 [9] And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,

[10] Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.





See All..., 15-19 is to that of Daniel's prior experience. This future system, seemingly safe in its own vaunted opinion, will likewise discover "in one hour your judgment has come" (verse 10). It is repeated for effect in verse 17: "For in one hour such great riches came to nothing." Then, as now, God will not be mocked.



So what do we learn?



What lessons may we learn from these four little words with a big meaning?



Lesson one: There is an "hour of judgment" visited upon all humanity, not just Belshazzar. All nations and peoples, then and now and in the future, will be "measured and weighed" on the same common scale. That scale is found in Revelation 14:6-7 [6] And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,

[7] Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.





See All..., which defines an everlasting gospel in which we are to 1) fear God, 2) give Him glory and 3) worship Him.



Why? "For the hour of His judgment has come." The lesson of the four little words is that God did not just wind up the universe and let it go. He chooses to intervene when, where and how He chooses. Ask Belshazzar!



Lesson two: We need not be afraid. God grants us the same "excellent Spirit" that guided Daniel. It is identified in the same passage (Daniel 5:11-12 [11] There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of thy father light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him; whom the king Nebuchadnezzar thy father, the king, I say, thy father, made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers;

[12] Forasmuch as an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and shewing of hard sentences, and dissolving of doubts, were found in the same Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar: now let Daniel be called, and he will shew the interpretation.





See All...) as being the Spirit of the Holy God. Yes—the Holy Spirit is at work in us as well to guide us with understanding in the emergence of any system or society that confronts the sanctity of God. A scripture is great, but Daniel's story gives us something to hold on to. "We read to know we are not alone," as C.S. Lewis said.



Lesson three: Babylon and its mighty bulwarks reminds us it is not the size of the walls in front of us, but the size and condition of our hearts inside of us that is the ultimate strength that God centers on. Solomon spoke to this when he focused on how our Righteous Judge "weighs the hearts…and keeps your soul" (Proverbs 24:12If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works?



See All...).



Yes, God is a God of judgment, and He weighs and measures nations and people alike—past, present and future. The good news is we do not have to be weighed and "found wanting."



Perhaps the encouragement found in Isaiah 30:21And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.



See All... of "this is the way, walk in it" is best realized in the words of Daniel when He reminds not only kings, but us, to remember that it is "God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways." WNP





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Northern Israel: From Empire to Exile

An interesting article from www.ucg.org about Northern Israel going into exile! This follows this post about Jacob's Trouble.  For a free magazine subscription or to get this book for free click HERE! or call 1-888-886-8632.

From Empire to Exile


God's desire for Israel to be a model nation carried with it grave responsibilities.



"But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you..." (Deuteronomy:28:15But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:).



God's desire for Israel to be a model nation carried with it grave responsibilities. God had no intention of allowing Israel—the nation He created to be the world's model of righteousness—to escape the consequences of abandoning His ways and sinking to the level of the surrounding nations.



Before they entered the Promised Land, God had specifically warned the Israelites to make no alliances with any nations worshipping false gods: "You shall make no covenant with them, nor with their gods ... lest they make you sin against Me. For if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you" (Exodus:23:32-33[32]Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.[33]They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me: for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee.).



For the same reasons, He told them not to intermarry with the surrounding nations: "Nor shall you make marriages with them. You shall not give your daughter to their son, nor take their daughter for your son. For they will turn your sons away from following Me, to serve other gods; so the anger of the LORD will be aroused against you and destroy you suddenly" (Deuteronomy:7:3-4[3]Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son.[4]For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly.).



Solomon ignored both commands. First he made a treaty with the Pharaoh of Egypt that he sealed by accepting Pharaoh's daughter in marriage (1 Kings:3:1And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the LORD, and the wall of Jerusalem round about.). Also, "there was peace between Hiram [king of Tyre] and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty together" (1 Kings:5:12And the LORD gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him: and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon; and they two made a league together.).



At the beginning of his reign Solomon loved God and simply followed in the footsteps of his father David. At that time God appeared to Solomon in a dream and said: "Ask! What shall I give you?" (1 Kings:3:5In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.).



In his dream Solomon made a wise choice. He asked for an understanding heart so he could properly fulfill his kingly responsibility to render just judgment for his people. Through his dream Solomon perceived that God was pleased with his humble, unselfish attitude. God then promised not only to give what he requested, but also riches, honor and long life, provided that Solomon would continue to live within the terms of Israel's covenant with God.



Shortly after Solomon completed and dedicated the temple, God appeared in a dream a second time to him. "I have heard your prayer and your supplication that you have made before Me; I have sanctified this house which you have built to put My name there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually" (1 Kings:9:3And the LORD said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.).



God then conditionally promised to Solomon to establish the throne of his dynasty over the people of Israel living in their Promised Land forever. In case Solomon were to fail to follow God with integrity, God explained the consequences.



"If you or your sons turn away from me and do not observe the commands and decrees I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. Israel will then become a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples" (verses 6-7, NIV).



Solomon's example corrupts the nation



God not only prohibited a king of Israel from marrying pagans, but He specifically forbade him to "multiply wives for himself," as was customary among gentile rulers (Deuteronomy:17:17Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.). Solomon made this deadly mistake.



"But King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites—from the nations of whom the LORD had said to the children of Israel, 'You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods.' Solomon clung to these in love" (1 Kings:11:1-2[1]But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites:[2]Of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love.).



"For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods ... Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites ... Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab ... and for Molech the abomination of the people of Ammon. And he did likewise for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.



"So the LORD became angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned from the LORD God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice...Therefore the LORD said to Solomon, 'Because you have done this, and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant.



"Nevertheless I will not do it in your days, for the sake of your father David; but I will tear it out of the hand of your son. However I will not tear away the whole kingdom, but I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of my servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen'" (verses 4-13).



Israel splits into two kingdoms



God was true to His word. By the time Solomon died, about 931 B.C., the tribes occupying the northern part of the nation were discontented with Solomon's heavy taxation and forced-labor practices (1 Kings:4:7And Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, which provided victuals for the king and his household: each man his month in a year made provision., 22, 26-28; 5:13, 15). When his son Rehoboam came to the throne, the northern tribes petitioned for relief.



Rehoboam asked his counselors for advice. The older men suggested he respond to the petitioners positively, relieving the tax burden and making life better for the average citizen. However, the younger counselors argued that Rehoboam should exercise strong control as an absolute monarch over his kingdom, that he should demand even greater tax revenues. Rehoboam unwisely decided to follow the advice of the younger generation.



The result was predictable. The northern 10 tribes seceded and installed Jeroboam, a former high official under Solomon, as their king just as the prophet Ahijah had foretold years earlier (1 Kings:11:28-40[28]And the man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valour: and Solomon seeing the young man that he was industrious, he made him ruler over all the charge of the house of Joseph.[29]And it came to pass at that time when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the way; and he had clad himself with a new garment; and they two were alone in the field:[30]And Ahijah caught the new garment that was on him, and rent it in twelve pieces:[31]And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee:[32](But he shall have one tribe for my servant David's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:)[33]Because that they have forsaken me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in mine eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did David his father.[34]Howbeit I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand: but I will make him prince all the days of his life for David my servant's sake, whom I chose, because he kept my commandments and my statutes:[35]But I will take the kingdom out of his son's hand, and will give it unto thee, even ten tribes.[36]And unto his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a light alway before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen me to put my name there.[37]And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign according to all that thy soul desireth, and shalt be king over Israel.[38]And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken unto all that I command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do that is right in my sight, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did; that I will be with thee, and build thee a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel unto thee.[39]And I will for this afflict the seed of David, but not for ever.[40]Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam. And Jeroboam arose, and fled into Egypt, unto Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.; 12:20). Only the tribes of Judah and Benjamin remained loyal to the house of David.



Rehoboam's first reaction was to invade the northern tribes with an army of 180,000 soldiers to attempt to teach the northern tribes a lesson (1 Kings:12:21And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, an hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men, which were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon.). But God sent this word to Judah's leadership: "Thus says the LORD: 'You shall not go up nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel. Let every man return to his house, for this thing is from Me.' Therefore they obeyed the word of the LORD, and turned back, according to the word of the LORD" (verse 24). They called off the invasion. The era of a divided kingdom began.



At this point, more than 200 years before the Assyrians conquered the northern 10 tribes, they became separate as the kingdom, or house, of Israel. The southern tribes of Judah, Benjamin and a part of Levi would then be known as the kingdom, or house, of Judah. The scepter promise of a divine king remained with the tribe of Judah.



The northern tribes kept the name of Jacob, or Israel. With them went the birthright promise of national greatness, prosperity and wealth. To them went, by right of birth, the physical blessings and national standing God had promised to Joseph.



From that momentous separation of Israel and Judah, the Bible records a 200-year progression of 10 dynasties, presided over by no fewer than 19 monarchs reigning over the northern kingdom.



God's offer to Jeroboam



When God first sent the prophet Ahijah to inform Jeroboam that he would become the king of the northern tribes, He offered Jeroboam His blessings and the promise of an enduring dynasty. "You shall reign over all your heart desires, and you shall be king over Israel. Then it shall be, if you heed all that I command you, walk in My ways, and do what is right in My sight, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as My servant David did, then I will be with you and build for you an enduring house, as I built for David, and will give Israel to you" (1 Kings:11:37-38[37]And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign according to all that thy soul desireth, and shalt be king over Israel.[38]And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken unto all that I command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do that is right in my sight, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did; that I will be with thee, and build thee a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel unto thee.).



With God's help Jeroboam could have maintained the part of the empire God gave him. But his faith was in what he could see, not in God.



To secure his hold over the whole of his new kingdom, Jeroboam immediately built two capitals for his government at traditionally significant tribal rendezvous points. One was at Shechem, near Nablus in what is today called the West Bank region. The other was at Penuel, east of the Jordan River in modern-day Jordan.



Jeroboam then addressed what he considered a major problem, one that might wrest his kingdom from him. "Then Jeroboam said to himself, 'Now the kingdom may well revert to the house of David. If this people continues to go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, the heart of this people will turn again to their master, King Rehoboam of Judah; they will kill me and return to King Rehoboam of Judah'" (1 Kings:12:26-27[26]And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David:[27]If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah., NRSV).



Jeroboam changes Israel's religion



To prevent such a development Jeroboam established a competing religious system. For political reasons—to maintain his hold on the northern tribes—he changed Israel's forms of worshipping God.



Idolatry had already become popular during the last days of Solomon, so Jeroboam erected his own idols. "Therefore the king asked advice, made two calves of gold, and said to the people, 'It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt!' And he set up one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan" (1 Kings:12:28-29[28]Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.[29]And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan.).



Dan was in the far north of his kingdom. Bethel was in the south, just above the border with Judah and right on the major route people would travel while journeying to Jerusalem to worship.



Believing that observance of the same annual festivals as the Jews—the Holy Days of God (Leviticus 23)—would rekindle a desire for national unification, Jeroboam also changed the timing of the great fall festival (Leviticus:23:23-44[23]And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,[24]Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation.[25]Ye shall do no servile work therein: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD.[26]And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,[27]Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD.[28]And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the LORD your God.[29]For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people.[30]And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people.[31]Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.[32]It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath.[33]And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,[34]Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD.[35]On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.[36]Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein.[37]These are the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD, a burnt offering, and a meat offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, every thing upon his day:[38]Beside the sabbaths of the LORD, and beside your gifts, and beside all your vows, and beside all your freewill offerings, which ye give unto the LORD.[39]Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath.[40]And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days.[41]And ye shall keep it a feast unto the LORD seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month.[42]Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths:[43]That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.[44]And Moses declared unto the children of Israel the feasts of the LORD.) from the seventh to the eighth month (1 Kings:12:32-33[32]And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made.[33]So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense.).



He dismissed the Aaronic and Levitical priests (verse 31; 1 Kings:13:33After this thing Jeroboam returned not from his evil way, but made again of the lowest of the people priests of the high places: whosoever would, he consecrated him, and he became one of the priests of the high places.), men set apart by God's own decree (Exodus:40:15And thou shalt anoint them, as thou didst anoint their father, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office: for their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations.) to maintain the integrity of the nation's religious life. To Jeroboam the Levitical priesthood was a threatening independent power base. The Levites inherited their office, owed the king nothing and were largely outside his control.



By dismissing the Levitical priests, Jeroboam established monarchical control of the nation's religious life. As a result, many of the Levites moved to Judah, where they could continue to perform their divinely appointed functions (2 Chronicles:11:13-15[13]And the priests and the Levites that were in all Israel resorted to him out of all their coasts.[14]For the Levites left their suburbs and their possession, and came to Judah and Jerusalem: for Jeroboam and his sons had cast them off from executing the priest's office unto the LORD:[15]And he ordained him priests for the high places, and for the devils, and for the calves which he had made.).



In place of the Levites Jeroboam created a new priesthood of "the lowest" and least-experienced people (1 Kings:12:31And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi.; 13:33, KJV), men who owed the king all that they had and were. These appointees would have to cater to royal preferences to retain their positions.



Jeroboam introduced syncretism, a fusion of differing systems of belief. He combined aspects of God's true religion with pagan beliefs and human rationalization. He may well have patterned many aspects of his religious practices after the customs of Egypt and Tyre—Israel's allies by treaty—to strengthen his relationship with these two major commercial and military supporters.



From that time forward the northern kingdom appeared to the outside world as merely an extension of the powerful coastal cities of the Phoenician Empire. They were commercial partners, shared a language and likely held similar religious views.



The distinction that God had originally intended between Israel and the surrounding nations was soon obliterated. So it is no wonder that historians have difficulty detecting Israel's role in the region as anything other than traders with the coastal Phoenician cities. Israel was reduced to approximately equal status with the other kingdoms. Regrettably, it had forsaken its role as a spiritual light and example to the nations.



God's response to Israel and Judah's sins



Shortly after the inauguration of the new religious rituals and practices at Bethel and Dan, Ahijah the prophet, who had originally informed Jeroboam that he would become king, received another message from God:



"Go tell Jeroboam, 'Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Because I exalted you from among the people, made you leader over my people Israel, and tore the kingdom away from the house of David to give it to you; yet you have not been like my servant David, who kept my commandments and followed me with all his heart, doing only that which was right in my sight, but you have done evil above all those who were before you and have gone and made for yourself other gods, and cast images, provoking me to anger, and have thrust me behind your back; therefore, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam.



"'I will cut off from Jeroboam every male, both bond and free in Israel, and will consume the house of Jeroboam, just as one burns up dung until it is all gone ...'" (1 Kings:14:7-10[7]Go, tell Jeroboam, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Forasmuch as I exalted thee from among the people, and made thee prince over my people Israel,[8]And rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it thee: and yet thou hast not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in mine eyes;[9]But hast done evil above all that were before thee: for thou hast gone and made thee other gods, and molten images, to provoke me to anger, and hast cast me behind thy back:[10]Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it be all gone., NRSV).



Jeroboam's reign had quickly gone terribly wrong. Sadly, his actions were merely in tune with the times. In the southern kingdom of Judah, King Rehoboam, whose mother was an Ammonite, did nothing to correct the idolatrous example Solomon had set in his old age. Many people in Judah likewise became ensnared in apostasy, turning from worshipping God (1 Kings:14:22-24[22]And Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they had committed, above all that their fathers had done.[23]For they also built them high places, and images, and groves, on every high hill, and under every green tree.[24]And there were also sodomites in the land: and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.).



It wasn't long before the sins of Judah and Israel began to catch up with them. In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Pharaoh Shishak invaded Judah with 1,200 chariots, 60,000 horsemen and large numbers of infantry. Unprepared after so many years of relying on Egypt as an ally, Rehoboam panicked. The prophet Shemaiah brought this message from God to Rehoboam's court in Jerusalem: "You abandoned me, so I have abandoned you to the hand of Shishak" (2 Chronicles:12:5Then came Shemaiah the prophet to Rehoboam, and to the princes of Judah, that were gathered together to Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said unto them, Thus saith the LORD, Ye have forsaken me, and therefore have I also left you in the hand of Shishak., NRSV). The Bible records that the Egyptians demanded as tribute most of the golden treasures Solomon had made for the temple and his palace.



Shishak's own account of this invasion is preserved on the walls of the temple he built with his plunder to honor his god Amun-Re in Karnak. He boasts of taking 150 towns, mostly in Judah's Negev region and Israel's north. Israel's golden age under one monarch, and most of the golden treasures of the temple and king's palace created during it, had disappeared.



However, the Scriptures note that Judah's leaders admitted their guilt and humbled themselves before God. Such repentance wasn't seen with the rulers of the northern 10 tribes. Therefore the northern kingdom was the first to go into captivity.



Because of Rehoboam's change of heart God reduced the impact of Judah's disaster. "They have humbled themselves; I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance, and my wrath shall not be poured out on Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak. Nevertheless they shall be his servants, so that they may know the difference between serving me and serving the kingdoms of other lands" (2 Chronicles:12:7-8[7]And when the LORD saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah, saying, They have humbled themselves; therefore I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance; and my wrath shall not be poured out upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak.[8]Nevertheless they shall be his servants; that they may know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries., NRSV).



Here is another important lesson about how God deals with His people. Even though they may repent, He does not necessarily take away all the consequences of their mistakes or rebellion against Him. But, if people sincerely humble themselves, He is often merciful, balancing out punishment and relief.



God does not throw temper tantrums; He does not impulsively blot out the objects of His wrath. His actions have purpose. First He attempts to deal with people in ways that will teach them lessons (Ezekiel:33:11Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?). As we can see in many examples from the history of Israel and Judah, punishment is often His means of trying to change people's attitudes.



God looks out for the long-term good of those with whom He is working (Hebrews:12:5-12[5]And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:[6]For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.[7]If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?[8]But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.[9]Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?[10]For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.[11]Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.[12]Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees;). His ultimate goal, of course, is to bring everyone to repentance (2 Timothy:2:24-26[24]And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,[25]In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;[26]And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.; 2 Peter:3:9The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.), to acknowledge Him and willingly choose to live according to His laws.



The approaching catastrophe



Because the northern kingdom followed Jeroboam's leadership into idolatry, God warned the Israelites of the consequences of their rebellion: "The LORD will strike Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water; he will root up Israel out of this good land that he gave to their ancestors, and scatter them beyond the Euphrates, because they have made their sacred poles [idolatrous symbols associated with false worship], provoking the LORD to anger. He will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, which he sinned and which he caused Israel to commit" (1 Kings:14:15-16[15]For the LORD shall smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water, and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the river, because they have made their groves, provoking the LORD to anger.[16]And he shall give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who did sin, and who made Israel to sin., NRSV).



God dealt patiently with Israel, giving the people plenty of opportunities to repent. But over the course of the next two centuries the sins of the house of Israel and its kings increased. The Israelites drifted farther and farther from the covenant with their Creator that they had bound themselves to in the days of Moses.



God withdrew, in stages, His blessing and protection. "In those days the LORD began to trim off parts of Israel. Hazael [the Syrian king] defeated them throughout the territory of Israel: from the Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, the Reubenites, and the Manassites, from Aroer, which is by the Wadi Arnon, that is, Gilead and Bashan" (2 Kings:10:32-33[32]In those days the LORD began to cut Israel short: and Hazael smote them in all the coasts of Israel;[33]From Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, and the Reubenites, and the Manassites, from Aroer, which is by the river Arnon, even Gilead and Bashan., NRSV).



During the eighth century B.C. God's prophets continued warning the Israelites that they, like the other kingdoms in the region, would fall victim to a new and powerful military presence. The westward expansion of Assyria soon began to seriously threaten the existence of the kingdom of Israel.



During this time of approaching disaster the writers of many of the books that would become the prophetic books of the Old Testament were at work. God sent prophet after prophet to warn the house of Israel and the house of Judah to repent. On a few occasions the leaders of Judah listened and instituted reforms that lasted for a while. But the northern kingdom never repented of the idolatrous practices Jeroboam had introduced. Its people refused to heed the warnings of the prophets.



The prophets of God repeated the same basic themes. They called for immediate repentance. They proclaimed the certainty of a coming captivity if the people refused to repent. They also consistently spoke of the future of the people of Israel, especially about the redemption and restoration of their descendants by the prophesied Messiah. (To understand the foundational concepts of biblical prophecy, be sure to request the booklet You Can Understand Bible Prophecy.)



The end of the northern kingdom



Shortly after the death of King Jeroboam II (ca. 753 B.C.), the northern kingdom plunged into political chaos. "Civil war, assassinations and internal fighting between groups which supported Assyrian policies or opposed any capitulation to them racked the northern state ... The deaths of Jeroboam and Uzziah ... came at the very moment when Assyria regained her power and renewed her push to the west" (Lawrence Boadt, Reading the Old Testament, 1984, p. 312).



In the midst of their own domestic and internal difficulties, Israelite leaders had to consider the intrusions of Assyria into their affairs. By the time of Assyria's Tiglath-Pileser III, Israel's King Menahem (ca. 752-742 B.C.) had to pay enormous sums of tribute—protection money on a national scale—to induce the Assyrian monarch to leave him and his people in peace (2 Kings:15:19-20[19]And Pul the king of Assyria came against the land: and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver, that his hand might be with him to confirm the kingdom in his hand.[20]And Menahem exacted the money of Israel, even of all the mighty men of wealth, of each man fifty shekels of silver, to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned back, and stayed not there in the land.).



A few years later King Pekah (ca. 740-732 B.C.) rebelled against Assyria, only to be forced to surrender and pay a huge ransom to retain his throne (2 Kings:15:19-20[19]And Pul the king of Assyria came against the land: and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver, that his hand might be with him to confirm the kingdom in his hand.[20]And Menahem exacted the money of Israel, even of all the mighty men of wealth, of each man fifty shekels of silver, to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned back, and stayed not there in the land.). Pekah's disloyalty set in motion the first step in the Assyrians' policy of dealing with unruly peoples—turning the offending kingdom into a vassal state.



According to Assyria's foreign policy, those who would rebel a second time would forfeit their political control and be replaced by a vassal king whose loyalty the Assyrian government could count on. The Assyrians would also reduce the amount of territory the vassal would control, with the Assyrian monarch instituting his direct rule over at least some of the original kingdom.



A second rebellion would also trigger the deportation of significant numbers of the offending population. Finding themselves among strangers whose language they did not understand (Jeremiah:5:15Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of Israel, saith the LORD: it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest what they say.) and whose land and culture were unfamiliar to them, the deportees would have little hope of successfully revolting against their Assyrian masters.



Tiglath-Pileser initiated these steps against the northern kingdom in response to King Pekah's alliance with Damascus, his second attempt to revolt (ca. 734 B.C). The first deportation of Israelites (ca. 733-732 B.C.), sometimes referred to as the Galilean captivity, took part of the population—principally drawn from the tribes of Naphtali, Reuben, Gad and the portion of Manasseh living east of the Jordan River—to northern Syria and northern and northwestern Mesopotamia (2 Kings:15:27-29[27]In the two and fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah Pekah the son of Remaliah began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned twenty years.[28]And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.[29]In the days of Pekah king of Israel came Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, and took Ijon, and Abelbethmaachah, and Janoah, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, and carried them captive to Assyria.; 1 Chronicles:5:26And the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, and the spirit of Tilgathpilneser king of Assyria, and he carried them away, even the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh, and brought them unto Halah, and Habor, and Hara, and to the river Gozan, unto this day.).



Tiglath-Pileser III also occupied the greater part of Galilee and Gilead and divided Israelite territory itself into four new provinces: Magidu, Duru, Gilead and Samaria.



The last straw



Should a people rebel a third time, the official Assyrian response was firm and final: The nation would cease to exist. The Assyrian army would forcibly remove virtually the entire population into exile. The Assyrians would scatter the deportees throughout their empire and repopulate the vacated territories with people from distant and far-flung regions. Once removed from their homeland, and with their lands now settled by others, the scattered exiles would have less means or motivation to rebel against Assyrian control.



A pro-Assyrian but unreliable Israelite vassal, King Hoshea (ca. 732-722 B.C.), set in motion the events that brought the northern kingdom's dissolution. Hoping to receive critical aid from Egypt, to the south, Hoshea betrayed Assyrian trust around 724 B.C. (2 Kings:18:9-10[9]And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria, and besieged it.[10]And at the end of three years they took it: even in the sixth year of Hezekiah, that is in the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was taken.). Shalmaneser V responded with a siege (ca. 724-722 B.C.) that resulted in the fall of Israel's capital city, Samaria. At that point the northern kingdom ceased to exist as a political entity.



History records a postscript to the fall of Samaria in 722 B.C. Having successfully entered Israel's Promised Land via its victory over the northern kingdom, the Assyrians would soon return to attack the southern kingdom, Judah. In 701 B.C. the Assyrian army, led by Sennacherib, captured virtually all of Judah's fortified cities (2 Kings:18:9And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria, and besieged it., 13-14) and deported thousands of Jews. Jerusalem, however, did not fall in this invasion, and the southern kingdom recovered sufficiently to last another 115 years before Babylon's armies conquered and destroyed Jerusalem in 586 B.C.



Exiles disappear from history



With the extinction of the northern kingdom as a political entity, its people were divided and scattered beyond the Euphrates River in Assyria's eastern territories. God would now fulfill His promise to "sift the house of Israel among all nations" (Amos:9:9For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.). Now the Israelites would experience what it was like to live under the rule of the other nations they had so much wanted to emulate.



God had warned them: "Then the LORD will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other gods, which neither you nor your fathers have known; wood and stone. And among those nations you shall find no rest, nor shall the sole of your foot have a resting place; but there the LORD will give you a trembling heart, failing eyes, and anguish of soul. Your life shall hang in doubt before you; you shall fear day and night, and have no assurance of life" (Deuteronomy:28:64-66[64]And the LORD shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone.[65]And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the LORD shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind:[66]And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life:).



At this time they disappeared from history as the people of Israel. The Israelites had already begun to "serve other gods," having abandoned the religious practices that obviously distinguished them from other peoples. Among other things, they had abandoned the seventh-day Sabbath. God had proclaimed the Sabbath to Israel as "a sign between Me and you throughout your generations" (Exodus:31:13Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you., 16-17; compare Ezekiel:20:12Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them., 20).



Once their conquerors removed them from their homeland, they were merely refugees—part of the great mass of dislocated peoples the Assyrians had exiled. No longer did they possess outward characteristics that easily distinguished them from the peoples around them. Their obvious identifying signs quickly disappeared. But among their tribes fragments of their identity and culture would not so easily disappear.



How, then, can we find them? We need to look at the general region to which they were exiled and see if a people suddenly appeared in the region with characteristics that link them to the refugees of Israel's northern kingdom.



What we find is an amazing story, over many centuries, of God guiding displaced Israelites to the very region far to the north and west of their homeland that His prophets had foretold.

Tisha B'Av: Fall of the Temples

An interesting article from www.ucg.org/brp about the readings during the Fall of the Temples. This follows this post analyzing the Ten Commandments. This follows this post about Liberty. For more interesting stories like this click here to follow this blog.

Introduction to Lamentations (Lamentations )
The author of Lamentations is not named in the book, but it is traditionally attributed to the prophet Jeremiah. "In fact, some copies of the ancient Greek Septuagint translation begin the book with these words: 'And it came to pass, after Israel [i.e., the remnant of Israel—Judah] had been carried captive, and Jerusalem became desolate, that Jeremiah sat weeping, and lamented this lamentation over Jerusalem.' Crediting Lamentations to Jeremiah is based on the following considerations: (1) Jeremiah was known as a composer of laments (see 2 Chr. 35:25). (2) Jeremiah was the prophet who mourned, 'Oh, that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!' (see Jer. 9:1). (3) In [Lamentations] 3:1, the author seems to identify himself with Jeremiah when he says, 'I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of His wrath.' (4) There are many linguistic similarities between Lamentations and Jeremiah" (The Nelson Study Bible, introductory notes on Lamentations.)
"In the Talmud (Baba Bathra 15a), this book is called qinot ('Lamentations')... The name commonly used in Hebrew, however, is ekah ('How'), the first word of the first, second, and fourth laments [that is, chapters 1, 2 and 4]. In the Hebrew canon it stands in the Writings as the third of the Megilloth, or Scrolls, between Ruth and Ecclesiastes" (Expositor's Bible Commentary, introductory notes on Lamentations). We are reading it now to keep it in the context of its writing in the wake of the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple.
"The five chapters of Lamentations are five poems with ch[apter] 3 as the midpoint or climax. Accordingly, the first two chapters build an 'ascent,' or crescendo, to the climax, the grand confession of 3:23, 24: 'Great is your faithfulness. The Lord is my portion.' The last two chapters are a 'descent,' or decrescendo, from the pinnacle of ch[apter] 3... The poetry of the book enhances its purpose and structure. Chapters 1 through 4 are composed as acrostics of the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Each verse or group of verses begins with a word whose initial letter carries on the sequence of letters in the Hebrew alphabet. This would be similar to an English poem in which the first line begins with A; the second begins with B, and so on. One purpose of this device was probably to aid in memorization of the passage. The acrostic also suggests that the writer has thought things through and is giving a complete account of the subject" (Nelson Study Bible, introductory notes on Lamentations).
While chapter 1 is a perfect acrostic, chapters 2-4 are slightly imperfect, and oddly enough for the same reason. In each case the 16th and 17th letters of the Hebrew alphabet (ayin and pe) are swapped—for what significance we don't know. The acrostic in chapter 3 comes in groups of three—that is, each of the first three verses begins with the first Hebrew letter aleph, each of the second three with the second letter beth, etc. (see Expositor's, introductory notes on Lamentations). And then there is the mysterious chapter 5, intriguingly not an acrostic even though it still seems to divide up into 22 verses. "That chapter 5 has twenty-two verses has caused some to suggest that the laments were first written in normal verse and then rewritten to include the acrostic. This idea is ingenious but unprovable" (same note).
Other laments are written in various books like the book of Psalms, but this is the only book solely devoted to lamenting. Orthodox Jewish custom requires that this book be read aloud on the fast of Tisha b'Av, the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Ab—the traditional day on which the temple of Solomon was destroyed in 586 B.C. and on which the second temple was destroyed by the Roman army in A.D. 70. Jeremiah was present at the destruction of Solomon's temple as Jerusalem was overrun and sacked by the Babylonian armies. He saw the horrifying imagery described in the book. And yet the terrible suffering portrayed seems to reflect even more than what occurred at that time. It evidently anticipates suffering that was, and still is, yet to come—for the judgment described here is what is to befall "all the dwelling places of Jacob...every horn of Israel" (Lamentations 2:2-3), not just Judah. The book, as we will see, calls for the coming of the Day of the Lord and the final judgment on Israel's enemies. Yet there is no question that the ancient anguish and suffering of Judah is also vividly revealed in the pages of this deeply emotional account.
In its introductory notes on the book, The Bible Reader's Companion (Lawrence Richards, 1991) states: "Lamentations does maintain a consistent theological outlook: Judah's [and later all Israel's] loss can be traced to God's sovereignty, His justice, and His commitment to a morality which His people abandoned. Yet Lamentations is primarily a book that plumbs the depths of human sorrow, not from an individual's perspective, but from the perspective of an entire people. Reading the book we experience something of the overwhelming sense of despair that can grip communities and even whole nations. Even the prayers recorded in Lamentations are desperate prayers; cries of anguish rather than affirmations of hope. It is terrible as well as wonderful to be human. It is terrible indeed if we surrender to our human bent to sin. The day must come when we will look back on our lost opportunities, and realize that the misery we endure now is a consequence of our own chronic craving for sin. If nothing else, reading the Book of Lamentations reminds us the pleasures of sin are at best momentary, the painful consequences lasting and deep."

Coninued here

Tisha B’Av

Here is an interesting article from Dean Wheelock of Hebrew Roots Magazine!


Tisha B’Av

Alas!Lonely sits the cityOnce a great people!She that was great among nationsIs become like a widow;The princess among statesIs become a thrall.Lam. 1:1

The story of Tisha B’Av (the 9th of Av) begins in the second year of the Exodus. It is told in the book of Numbers:
“And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel... “And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan... “And they returned from searching of the land after forty days. “And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and shewed them the fruit of the land. And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it. Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there. “And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it. But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we. And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. “And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night. And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness! “And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt. (Num. 13:1-2, 17, 25-28, 30-32; Num. 14:1-2, 4.)

In the midst of all of this wailing and moaning by the children of Israel against God; “Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel.” (Num. 14:5)
“And Joshua (Heb. Yehoshua which is the same basic name as Yeshua. It was given to him by Moses and implies ‘May God save you from the counsel of the spies’.) the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, ... rent their clothes: And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land. If the LORD delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; Only rebel not ye against the LORD ... the LORD is with us: fear them not. But all the congregation bade stone them with stones....”(Num. 14: 6-10)

At this point in the story we have a remarkable scene that takes place between Moses and the LORD. God is angry and is ready to wipe out all of the children of Israel except for Moses himself In their place God promises to use Moses to father a nation of chosen people: “...and will make of thee a greater nation and mightier than they.” (Num. 14:12) Moses, however, again proves himself to be the humble type of the future ‘suffering servant’ Messiah, (Isa. 52:13-53:12) and does not seek self aggrandizement but rather, asks God to fulfill His original plan using the children of Israel. In the end, God sentences the children of Israel to wander in the wilderness “...forty years, and bear your whoredoms (idol worship), until your carcasses be wasted in the wilderness. After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise.”(Num. 14:33-34)
All of this is said to have taken place on Tisha B’Av (the 9th of Av). According to tradition, over 15,000 men died each year on Tisha B’Av beginning with this second year of the Exodus. Thus, (when you include the men that died in other uprisings such as Korah’s rebellion) over a period of thirty-nine years, all of the 600,000 men between the ages of 20 and 60 died. According to tradition, on the eve of Tisha B’Av each condemned man dug his own grave and rested in it during the night. All of those who had reached the age of 60 that particular year died in their self prepared graves. However, according to tradition, on Tisha B’Av of the fortieth year, an amazing thing happened. The men dug their own graves as usual but in the morning they discovered that none of the remaining rebels had died. They thought they must have calculated the date incorrectly so they continued to return to their graves each night for the next six days. When they saw the moon was full on 15 Av they realized that God, in His mercy, had lifted His decree. This caused 15 Av to also become a special day of celebration for the children of Israel. According to tradition, God’s rejection of the children of Israel (because they believed the spies report) had also affected Moses’ relationship with the LORD, in that during those thirty-eight years God did not speak to Moses face to face as He had in the past. Rather, God communicated to Moses through an angel; through the urim (oo-reem’) and thummim (thoomeem’) of the High Priest; or through visions. However, to Moses’ great joy, God reinstated him to his former estate on that final 15 Av.

There were some groups of people that were not affected by the death decree:
Joshua and Caleb.
All of the women. (Because they did not participate in the sin.)
The men older than sixty. Two examples are Machir and Jair who were children of Manasseh the son of Joseph) and who are mentioned later as living in the land. (Num. 32:40-41)
The members of the tribe of Levi. According to tradition they did not participate in any of the sins of the children of Israel except for those who died in Korah’s rebellion.

Tisha B’Av in Jewish History
The foe has laid handsOn everything dear to her.She has seen her SanctuaryInvaded by nationsWhich You have denied admissionInto your community. Lam. 1:10
As you can see, Tisha B’Av did not get off to a very auspicious beginning in the lives of the children of Israel. But there is much more to come. The next major event to take place on that day was the destruction of Solomon’s Temple in 586 BCE. The scriptures seem to differ on the exact day:
“And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, ... came Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, and he burnt the house of the LORD, and the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and every great man’s house burnt he with fire.(II Kings 25:8-9)
“Now in the fifth month, in the tenth day of the month, ... came Nebuzaradan, ... and burned the house of the LORD...”(Jer. 52:12-13)
This seeming discrepancy can be explained by the fact that the troops entered the Temple grounds on the 7th. However, the Temple fire was probably started on the 9th and did not finish burning until the 10th.
As a result of the destruction of the Temple, the Jews began a tradition of fasting and reading the book of Lamentations every year on the 9th of Av. The next major event to take place on this date is (incredibly) the destruction of the second Temple in 70 CE by the Roman general Titus. Thus we find the second Temple was also being destroyed at the precise time the Jews, who were still in the first Diaspora, were reading the book of Lamentations (in 70 CE) and lamenting the destruction of the first Temple,.

This event is described in detail by the Jewish historian Josephus in his book Wars of the Jews. The fighting was fierce, with many casualties on both sides. After heavy fighting on the 9th of Av, during which the Romans breached the Temple compound, the Jews locked themselves in the Temple that night. On the next day, 10 Av, the fire was started that resulted in the complete destruction of the Temple as had been prophesied by Yeshua, forty years before:
“And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? Verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”(Matt. 24:1-2)
Before the Temple was completely burned, Titus went into the Holy Place, that is, the outer sanctuary of the Temple. Because Titus was an uncircumcised gentile, this was a further desecration of the Temple in the eyes of the Jews. One might ask; how could a building built entirely of stone burn’? While the walls and floor were of stone, much of the building was overlaid with wood. Also, the roof was constructed of wood and the curtains were of woven material. All of this material was flammable. In fact, the Temple was often called “Lebanon” by the Jews because of the cedar wood that came from Lebanon for its construction. A prophecy found in Zechariah 11:1-2 was considered, by the sages, to be a prophecy of the destruction of the Temple:
“Open thy doors, O Lebanon, (Temple) that the fire may devour thy cedars. Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen; because the mighty are spoiled: howl, O ye oaks of Bashan; for the forest of the vintage is come down.”(Zech. 11:1-2)

What about the stones being thrown down? Much of the Temple wood was also overlaid with gold. The heat of the fire melted the gold and it ran down between the cracks in the stones. The Roman soldiers moved every stone in order to reclaim the gold. By the time the entire operation was over there was not one stone remaining in proper order on top of another, thus fulfilling Yeshua’s prophecy. Later on many of the stones were removed by other inhabitants and used for construction of other buildings.

But the story of Tisha B’Av does not end here. On this very day, in 130 C.E., the Romans plowed up the site of the Temple so that all trace of the Jewish Temple would be removed. It was then converted to a Roman colony and renamed Aeilia Capitolina.

In 133 CE the last Jewish revolt against Rome took place. It was led by a Jew who became known as Bar Kochba. A famous Jewish sage of that time, Rabbi Akiva, proclaimed Bar Kochba to be the messiah. This was the final straw in any relationship between the Jewish Believers and non-believers. The Believers could not accept Bar Kochba as the messiah but, rather, considered him a false messiah. They refused to fight the Romans and were thereafter considered traitors to Judaism by the non-believing Jews. Bar Kochba’s last outpost, Betar, fell to the Romans on 9 Av in 135 CE.

There are some other events that occurred on this day that have special significance to the Jews:
On Tisha B’Av 1290 King Edward I of England ordered that all Jews be expelled from the British Isles. In 1492, Spain was in the throws of its infamous inquisition. On April 30, 1492 a decree expelling the Jews from Spain went forth. This was the same day Christopher Columbus was given a royal commission to equip his fleet for a voyage to discover a new route to the Orient. On the 9th of Av Columbus made his final preparations for departure. On the 10th of Av, as Columbus sailed out of the harbor; he made note in his journal about the thousands of Jews who were in boats trying to leave Spain rather than convert to Catholicism. Some historians have speculated that Columbus was himself a Jew and that he had several, if not many, Jews as crew members. It is interesting that many of the Spanish Jews (known as Maranos) ended up immigrating to the Spanish controlled New World. Most of them made conversions to Catholicism some of which were false. About five years ago, the Los Angeles Times ran an extensive article about the unknown Mexican Jews. Many, of Spanish/Mexican descent have discovered that old grave stones, of their supposed good Catholic ancestors, were found to have small engravings of the Star of David, a menorah, or a Torah scroll. Apparently many of these Jews went to Mass every Sunday but still held to their Jewish traditions in secret. It has been said that Hispanics, whose last name ends in the letter ‘z’, may be of Jewish descent.
Other events that occurred on Tisha B’Av include:
1.) The ghetto of Florence, Italy was inaugurated in 1571;
2.) Shabbetai Tzevi, a pseudo-messiah, was born in Smyrna, Turkey in 1626. When the Muslims captured him they gave him the choice of converting to Islam or dying. He converted, much to the consternation of his followers.
3.) In 1648 three thousand Jews perished in Konstantynow in what were known as the Chmielnicki massacres.
4.) The last group of Jews were forced to leave Austria in 1670.
5.) In 1882 the Turkish government, which then controlled the Holy-land, barred immigration of Russian and Rumanian Jews and also banned the sale of land in Palestine to Jews.
6.) World War I broke out in 1914.
7.) A decree went forth expelling all Jews from Hungarian Ruthenia in 1941.

A Recent Happening
On Tisha B’Av in 1994 a most remarkable thing occurred. It was that day the first of twenty-one mountain sized parts of a comet collided with the planet Jupiter. Is this significant? Was this one of the “signs in the heavens”?
“And there shall be signs in the sun, arid in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. “And He spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.”(Luke 21:25-31)
While the world is unquestionably in a certain amount of distress at this time, it is also true that much of the world is at relative peace. Yet, we do see signs of breakdown in many countries, a tendency toward nationalism and fragmentation. (Sound like the Church?) But to say that the comet colliding with Jupiter is a direct fulfillment of the above prophecy is probably stretching it a little. However, it could be a wake up call for those who do study prophecy; for it was dramatic, it does prove that earth is not immune from such a disaster unless God protects us, and it did take place on Tisha B’Av. This year, (according to the traditional Jewish calendar) the 9th of Av falls on July 25th, beginning the evening before at sundown.
DEW

Sources
Bloch, Abraham P., Day by Day in Jewish History, Ktav, New York, 1983Bullinger, EW., Number in Scripture, Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, 1967The Jewish Encyclopedia, 12 Vols., Funk & Wagnells Co., New York & London, 1901Josephus, Flavius, The Complete Works, Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, 1984Strassfeld, Michael, The Jewish Holidays, A Guide & Commentary, Harper & Roe, New York, 1985Trepp, Leo, The Complete Book of Jewish Observance, Behrman House/Summit Books, New York, 1980Weissrnan, Rabbi Moshe, The Midrash Says, 5 vols., Benei Yakov Publications, Brooklyn, New York, 1983