Course Update: Monarchy
Lecture Items to Remember:
ASSYRIA
BABYLON
BABYLONIAN CAPTIVITY
"CHRIST"
ELIJAH
ELISHA
EXILE
HEZEKIAH
"HOUSE" OF DAVID
ISRAEL VS JUDAH
JEW
"MESSIAH"
NAVI
NEVIIM
REHOBOAM
JEROBOAM
SAMARIA
SAMARITANS
SENNACHERIB
INTRODUCTORY BACKGROUND: Prophets & Monarchs "The Arrival of a True King"
"and Israel went into rebellion against David's house to this day .... None remained loyal to David's house except the tribe of Judah alone." (Kings 12:19-20)
Divided Kingdom:
The glory of Solomon's kingdom comes to an abrupt end with his son, Rehoboam's, foolish and proud policies regarding the taxation of the North. Despite the polite request of the northern delegation and the advice of his own elders, Rehoboam alienates the Ten Tribes in the north by asserting a"..if my father whipped you with whips, I will whip you with scorpions" (1Kings12:14) Israel "returned to (her) tents" (v.16) and set up Solomon's rival, Jeroboam , as king in the north. Samaria is made the capitol of "Israel" in the North with its own sanctuaries at Dan and Betel, while Judah "alone" is left to manage the southern country with Jerusalem's palaces and Temple.
Jeroboam's politically shrewd move to make sanctuaries to detract from Jerusalem's great temple proved to be his religious folly. The calf figures which represented the thrones of God, injected a fresh infection of idolatry into the pagan prone Israelites. As we learned through the period of the Conquest, Israel's success is dependent upon their faithfulness to the Mosaic covenant. Should Israel abandon God's protection, by forsaking the covenant, they will go the way of every other nation. They too will fall.
God's love for his people is now manifested in his reaching out to them through his "mouthpieces" the prophets (neviim) who call them back to His protective care. As spokesmen for God, the prophets are to deliver His message, and His message alone. Often that message contrasts sharply with the popular conception of the times. In times of wealth and comfort, Israel and Judah are warned of the poverty and distress their rejection of God will yield. In times of great difficulty, the prophets come to remind God's remnant that they are in a season of hope - God will ultimately rescue and restore them.
With each successive prophet, what it means to be God's chosen is more clearly defined. Against the backdrop of Israel and Judah's many infidelities, the expectations of the covenant are held up to them by the prophets. Warnings of the consequences of disregarding these expectations are coupled with the promise of God's protective love, should they only repent and recommit to the covenant. "If you will return to me, I will return to you says the Lord."
In an effort to woo them back , God at times empowered his prophets with the ability to coordinate great signs and wonders, as in the case of the non writing prophets, Elijah and Elisha. Despite the signs, wonders, words and deeds of the prophets, Israel is unmoved with devastating results. This unfaithful bride of God is crushed by the Assyrians under Sennacherib. Any person of position and leadership, religious, economic, political and cultural were executed. The Assyrian conquerors focussed upon "cutting off the head of the snake," knowing that the body of a headless snake poses little threat. The shabby remains of the body of Israelite country folk intermarry with imported Assyrians, which further served to nullify the culture. The descendants of these people are not "Ten Tribes" but simply, "Samaritans," a people the Jews would hold in contempt even into the time of Christ for their ties to paganism.
Jerusalem miraculously withstood Sennacherib under Hezekiah. He was both a man of prayer and action. With the help and inspiration of Isaiah, the prophet, he refurbished and reopened the doors of the sacred Temple and led a significant reform in Judah. Preparing for an inevitable encounter with the advancing Assyrians, Hezekiah undertook an even more ambitious project ; he created a water tunnel which wound through 1,700 feet of limestone from the city's "'Pool of Siloam" to the outside spring of Gihon, ensuring constant water to its inhabitants even in the midst of a siege. Not withstanding this added security, the next event can only be considered miraculous and could not have been anticipated. With Sennacherib's awesome forces surrounding and mocking Jerusalem and her God, , "the angel of the Lord struck down" the Assyrians forcing the most expansive middle eastern empire up to this time to retreat in disgrace.
Important Archeological Evidence:
The famous "Prism of Sennacherib," (six sided clay prism inscribed with the victories and conquests of Sennacherib) supports the Biblical claim that Jerusalem was saved from the most powerful Army of its time - something which can legitimately be described as "miraculous." In contrast to the boastful listing of victory after victory, all that he can claim is that he ".....had shut up Hezekiah like a bird in a cage." Obviously, something forced him to retreat from the holy city.
A single line of 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles each tell of Hezekiah's tunnel. Not only was this tunnel discovered by archaeologists, but a memorial plaque commemorating the place of the meeting of the two teams of tunnelers was also discovered, written in the ancient Hebrew script of Hezekiah's time.