THE BIBLE FROM BEGINNING TO END SESSION THREE

THE BIBLE FROM BEGINNING TO END SESSION THREE CONFLICT

By the end of Solomon’s reign… • people were living in the promised land but God was going to divide it • the nation was numerous and prosperous but God was going to divide them • the temple was a permanent sign of God’s presence with them but Solomon worshipped foreign gods • promised a king whose kingdom lasts forever but Solomon’s kingdom would be torn in two

Doing evil in the eyes of the Lord As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been. He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molek the detestable god of the Ammonites. So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord. 1 Kings 11: 4 -6

Doing evil in the eyes of the Lord So the Lord said to Solomon, “Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you… Yet I will not tear the whole kingdom from him, but will give him one tribe for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen. ” 1 Kings 11: 11, 13

JEROBOAM: First king in the north (Israel) “If you do whatever I command you and walk in obedience to me and do what is right in my eyes by obeying my decrees and commands, as David my servant did, I will be with you. I will build you a dynasty as enduring as the one I built for David and will give Israel to you. ” REHOBOAM: First king in the south 1 Kings 11: 38 (Judah) “Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon king of Judah, to all Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, ‘This is what the Lord says: Do not go up to fight against your brothers, the Israelites. Go home, every one of you, for this is my doing. ’” 1 Kings 12: 24

Doing evil in the eyes of the Lord …the king made two golden calves. He said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt. ” One he set up in Bethel and the other in Dan. And this thing became a sin; the people came to worship the one at Bethel, and went as far as Dan to worship the other. 1 Kings 12: 28 -30 “He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, following the ways of Jeroboam and committing the same sin Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit. ” 1 Kings 15: 34

Doing evil in the eyes of the Lord The Israelites persisted in all the sins of Jeroboam and did not turn away from them until the Lord removed them from his presence, as he had warned through all his servants the prophets. So the people of Israel were taken from their homeland into exile in Assyria and they are still there. 2 Kings 17: 22 -23

God’s marriage to his people The word of the LORD that came to Hosea son of Beeri during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and during the reign of Jeroboam son of Joash king of Israel: When the LORD began to speak through Hosea, the LORD said to him, "Go, take to yourself an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness, because the land is guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the LORD. " Hosea 1: 1 -2

God’s marriage to his people "Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her. There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she will sing as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt. "In that day, " declares the LORD, “You will call me ‘my husband'; you will no longer call me ‘my master'. I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips; no longer will their names be invoked. In that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the creatures that move along the ground. Bow and sword and battle I will abolish from the land, so that all may lie down in safety. I will betroth you to me for ever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the LORD. Hosea 2: 14 -21

God’s marriage to his people Betrothal Marriage Honeymoon Home Adultery Divorce Exodus Sinai covenant Wilderness Taking the land Worshipping other gods Exile

Following the ways of David Then the prophet Shemaiah came to Rehoboam and to the leaders of Judah who had assembled in Jerusalem for fear of Shishak, and he said to them, "This is what the LORD says: `You have abandoned me; therefore I now abandon you to Shishak. '" The leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, "The LORD is just. " When the LORD saw that they humbled themselves, this word of the LORD came to Shemaiah: "Since they have humbled themselves, I will not destroy them but will soon give them deliverance. My wrath will not be poured out on Jerusalem through Shishak. They will, however, become subject to him, so that they may learn the difference between serving me and serving the kings of other lands. " 2 Chronicles 12: 4 -8

Following the ways of David Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. He removed the foreign altars and the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He commanded Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and to obey his laws and commands. No one was at war with him during those years, for the Lord gave him rest. 2 Chronicles 14: 2 -6

Following the ways of David Although he did not remove the high places from Israel, Asa’s heart was fully committed to the Lord all his life. 2 Chronicles 15: 17 “Because you relied on the king of Aram and not on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand… from now on you will be at war. 2 Chronicles 16: 7, 9

Following the ways of David "People of Israel, return to the LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, that he may return to you who are left, who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria. Do not be like your fathers and brothers, who were unfaithful to the LORD, the God of their fathers, so that he made them an object of horror, as you see. Do not be stiff-necked, as your fathers were; submit to the LORD. Come to the sanctuary, which he has consecrated for ever. Serve the LORD your God, so that his fierce anger will turn away from you. If you return to the LORD, then your brothers and your children will be shown compassion by their captors and will come back to this land, for the LORD your God is gracious and compassionate. He will not turn his face from you if you return to him. " 2 Chronicles 30: 6 -9

Following the ways of David King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz cried out in prayer to heaven about this. And the LORD sent an angel, who annihilated all the fighting men and the leaders and officers in the camp of the Assyrian king. So he withdrew to his own land in disgrace. And when he went into the temple of his god, some of his sons cut him down with the sword. So the LORD saved Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib. 2 Chronicles 32: 20 -22

The end of the kingdom He brought up against them the king of the Babylonians, who killed their young men with the sword in the sanctuary, and spared neither young man nor young woman, old man or aged. God handed all of them over to Nebuchadnezzar. He carried to Babylon all the articles from the temple of God, both large and small, and the treasures of the LORD's temple and the treasures of the king and his officials. They set fire to God's temple and broke down the wall of Jerusalem; they burned all the palaces and destroyed everything of value there. He carried into exile to Babylon the remnant who escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and his sons until the kingdom of Persia came to power. The land enjoyed its sabbath rests; all the time of its desolation it rested, until the seventy years were completed in fulfilment of the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah. 2 Chronicles 36: 17 -22

God’s marriage to his people Betrothal Marriage Honeymoon Home Adultery Separation Re-virgination Exodus Sinai covenant Wilderness Taking the land Worshipping other gods Exile Restoration

God’s marriage to his people "If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him and marries another man, should he return to her again? Would not the land be completely defiled? But you have lived as a prostitute with many lovers--would you now return to me? " declares the LORD. Jeremiah 3: 1

God’s marriage to his people You will be a crown of splendour in the LORD's hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God. No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate. But you will be called ‘My Delight Is In Her’, and your land will be called ‘Married’; for the LORD will take delight in you, and your land will be married. As a young man marries a maiden, so will your sons marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you. Isaiah 62: 2 -5

God’s marriage to his people The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness. I will build you up again and you will be rebuilt, O Virgin Israel. Again you will take up your tambourines and go out to dance with the joyful. "Set up road signs; put up guideposts. Take note of the highway, the road that you take. Return, O Virgin Israel, return to your towns. How long will you wander, O unfaithful daughter? The LORD will create a new thing on earth--a woman will return to a man. " Jeremiah 31: 3 -4, 21 -22